Pine Hill Little League player Reddy receives Sonny Man Hill Award

A crowd of about 100 people gathered at the Lynn Housing Authority?s Community Room on Sunday afternoon to present the 25th annual Sonny Man Hill city-wide sportsmanship award.The award is named for the late Sonny Man Hill, who was a local Little League coach in Lynn for many years. Hill?s son, Ken, had a Major League Baseball career that saw him win more than 100 games as a pitcher for several teams, and his grandson Kenny Hill is the star quarterback for Texas A&M.When Sonny Man Hill died in 1990, a group of longtime Little League aficionados, including Russ Meade, Bob Keaney, and Frank Colella, wanted to honor him in a unique way.?We decided that we did not want to give it to the MVP,” said Meade, one of the original founders of the award. “Sonny Man would not have wanted it like that, so instead we wanted to make it a sportsmanship award.”With the Hill family?s approval, the William “Sonny Man” Hill Award was born. Sunday, in the presence of Hill?s widow, Rosemary, Colin Reddy of Pine Hill Little League became the 25th winner of the award.?Each year, this vote keeps getting harder and harder,” said Sonny Man Hill Board Chairman Joe Gill. “This year, we were presented with six candidates who were truly great kids who lead by example on a daily basis. They understand that the most important statistic is not how many hits you get, but how you treat your coaches, teammates, opponents and officials.”The players nominated were: James Polonia (East Lynn), Matt Leonard (Wyoma), Andy Duverge (Lynn Shore), Will Hunter (West Lynn), and Steve Strangie (West Lynn), as well as Reddy.The nominees were also greeted by City Council President Dan Cahill as well as the General Manager of the North Shore Navigators, Bill Terlecky.?The phrase ?good teammate? is extremely important on and off the baseball diamond,” said Cahill. “As you get older, you realize that to accomplish anything you will have to have a good team working together for a common goal. You guys are obviously already on your way and I cannot wait to see the contributions you make to the community of Lynn.”In addition to trophies, each nominee was presented with an engraved jacket, a gift certificate, a signed baseball by both Ken Hill Sr. and Ken Hill Jr., and a copy of a letter that was signed by each member of the 2014 New England Regional Little League Champion, Warwick, R.I.