Recognizing  & Advancing
37 years of Sportsmanship, Teamwork, Leadership, & Pride!

Inductees

2000 Era

1990 Era

1980 Era

1970 Era

Listed by:

  1. Season joined, or the part of a season joined.
  2. Alphabetical by last name.
RIP is deceased, Rest in Peace.

Manny Rebello

Inductee: Manny Rebello

Member: 2001
Inducted: 2013

Through focused effort and practice, Manny has come a long way as a BSL player and competitor! And to the service he gives the BSL off the field, he applies the same dedication with a common objective in mind-- to make the League better!

Player (12 yrs), BSL Website Re-Designer/Re-Constructor ('09), BSL Webmaster (5 yrs), BSL Website Real-Time Score & Standings Coordinator/Manager (4 yrs), BSL Schedule & Competition Committee Co-Chair (3 yrs), BSL Board of Directors Division 1 Rep (1 yr), BSL Executive Committee Team Rep/Alternate (2 yrs).

Teams: Boston Blizzard (1 yr), Alley Gators (2 yrs), Club Café Angels (6 yrs), Fritz Southenders (2 yrs), Victoria House 2XTreme (1 yr - 1st team)

Awards, Award Nominations & Recognition: Rudy Becerra Sportsmanship Award Winner, Div 1, '09; Best Offense Player Award Winner, Div II, '03; Most Valuable Player Award Nominee, Div I, '07; Best Offense Player Award Nominee, Div I, '08; BSL All-Star, Div I, '09, Club Café Angels; Team MVP '06, Club Café Angels

Best League Finishes:
1st place (2 times): Div I, '12 as player – Alley Gators; Div II, '03, '04 as player – Fritz Southenders

8 World Series appearances: '02, '04, '07, '08, '09, '10, '11, '12
Has competed as a World Series player in the A, B, and C Division levels
Trophy Finishes:
1st place '11 – Chicago, Div B, as player – Alley Gators 2nd place '04 – Dallas, Div C, as player - Club Cafe Angels 4th place '11 – Seattle, Div B, as player - Club Cafe Angels

Tournament appearances (34):
Trophy finishes:
1st Place: 7 times ('11 - Atlanta, Div B, as player- Alley Gators; '11 - Phoenix, Div B, as player- Alley Gators; '09 - Philadelphia, Div B, as player- Club Cafe Angels; '07 - Wash. DC, Div B, as player- Club Cafe Angels; '06 - Wash. DC, Div B, as player- Club Cafe Angels; '05 - Wash. DC, Div B, as player- Club Cafe Angels; '05 – Montreal, Div A, as player Club Cafe Angels)
2nd Place: 6 times ('11 – Las Vegas, Div B, as player- Alley Gators; '08 - New York, Div B, as player- Club Cafe Angels; '08 – Philadelphia, Div B, as player- Club Cafe Angels; '06 - Gay Games Chicago, Div B, as player- Club Cafe Angels; '05 - New York, Div B, as player- Club Cafe Angels; '03 – Toronto, Div C, as player- Fritz Southenders)
3rd Place: 2 times ('10 – Philadelphia, Div B, as player-Club Café Angels; '07 – Philadelphia, Div B, as player-Club Café Angels)

Representing BSL Sponsored Team in Other leagues:
Woburn Men's Softball League (2 seasons) Best finishes:
1st Place: 1 time ('11, A Division, as player- Alley Gators)
Dorchester Cardinal League (5 seasons) Best finishes:
1st place: 3 times ('08, '07, '05, as player- Club Cafe Angels)
2nd place: 2 times ('06, '09, as player- Club Cafe Angels)
Providence RCSL Fall League (6 seasons) Best finishes:
1st place: 3 times ('05, Div 1, as player- Club Cafe Angels; '03, Div 1, as player- Fritz Southenders; '02, Div 1, as player- Fritz Southenders

Manny came to the BSL by playing for the BSL's Victoria House 2XTreme team. This team was the most recent chapter of a long-time BSL team from Providence coached by Bill Gorman since the 1980's. Manny, from the Providence area himself, had connected with the team by joining it to play in the fall league of Providence's recently formed gay softball league called the Renaissance City Softball League (RCSL) which would go on to be approved by NAGAAA as its newest association city member the following year. After the RCSL played its inaugural 'NAGAAA member' season in Providence, Manny (although living minutes from the RCSL fields) decided instead to play in the BSL. He hooked on with the Fritz Southenders who he had befriended during their own participation in previous RCSL fall league seasons.

Manny was the sure 'left'-handed shortstop for his 2XTreme team, and went on to be the same for the Southenders as they took first place in his first two seasons with them in 2003-2004. Manny also contributed greatly at the plate. He seemed to have always had a knack (and a love) for hitting, and it was quite evident that he had a real talent at it.

In 2004 the Club Café Angels picked him up for the Dallas World Series in the "C" Division where he played a major role (hitting .700 ) in the Angels finishing second, coming up just one run short against Norfolk for the Championship. The following year he joined the Angels, who had decided to move up to the "B" Division in competitive play nationally. Manny, himself, was also looking to increase his own competitive level and the Angels seemed a perfect fit! Since it wasn't easy getting by the Crew or the Gators in the next 3 seasons to qualify to represent the BSL at the "B" World Series, Manny and the Angels grinded it out in as many "B" level Tournaments as they could find (as well as competing in two other leagues and playing "B" in the Gay Games-Chicago) in an effort to increase their level of play. Manny led the way with his bat and with his determined motivation. Though not a "soap box" motivator, Manny led by his example of focus and hard work. All of his Angels teammates knew that he'd spend hours upon hours at the batting cages whenever he had a free moment, and it showed when he came to bat! Manny led the team at the plate as everyone "upped" their game, winning more than a dozen trophies along the way! And he again led the team at the plate when the Angels finally became a representative of the BSL at their first "B" World Series in 2008, taking home a 4th place trophy from Seattle with Manny hitting over .600 from his number 2 position in the line-up and scoring the most runs on the team because he was on base so much!

Manny also began working hard at learning and developing his pitching skills. He was known to pitch into the proverbial "barrel" in his yard whenever he could! As he began sharing the pitching duties on the Angels, he realized that veteran Angels pitcher Steve Thompson, HOF'12 would likely pitch forever leaving Manny only a part time pitcher at best. So, when a full time pitching opportunity on the Gators opened up, Manny made the tough choice to move on. It paid off immediately too! Manny, as pitcher, seemed to be the missing link to the 2011 Gator machine which went on to win "B" Tournaments in Phoenix, Atlanta, and then the ultimate prize: the "B" World Series Championship in Chicago!

Indeed, Manny came a long way as a BSL Player and Competitor as a BSL member!

Manny has also served BSL membership by recognizing their wants and taking responsibility to make it happen for them:

  • As Creator of a new, and functional BSL Website: After volunteering to help out as a "webmaster" for the long standing BSL Website, Manny strongly sensed that BSL members wanted something better and more useful. So he created a few sample models he thought would make a difference and brought them to the BSL leadership and newly formed "Web Committee" he helped organize. After much input from all sides, and multiple hours of making sure everything was properly encompassed and in place, the new website made its debut to the acclaim of BSL members! A new era of BSL information was born! And it has grown and improved every year since then, with Manny’s leadership and hours of effort in coordinating.
  • As Real Time Scores and Standings Coordinator: Manny established the unprecedented procedure where final scores are texted to him by each team for immediate website posting. Manny is relentless in chasing down teams not reporting quickly!
  • As BSL Scheduling & Competition Co-Chair: Co-chairing the Scheduling and Competition Committee has meant properly anticipating divisional team competition levels and quantities well before the season begins. In his role as the Co-Chair, Manny does so by working closely with the Board of Directors to create the best potential models that will likely align with the BSL's needs when all teams finally declare their 'scheduling' wants! Even with the assistance of computer software, creating the final schedule is a maddening process! Manny has taken scheduling to a whole new level doing everything meticulously by hand in order to accommodate all of the nuances, needs, and wants of the BSL. This process takes him dozens upon dozens of hours. And as if that were not enough, there are constant changes to the schedule throughout the season as games get rained out -- so Manny practically has a part-time job with the amount of effort and time he makes available to the BSL for this (and everything else too)! Making progressive improvements each year, the most recent schedules have been a particular triumph which have included such benefits as teams being given weekends off and having designated division rain out days.
  • As a BSL Board of Directors Member: As one of the first two elected Divisional Representatives for Division 1 after the BSL governance change of 2012, Manny came to that role with the same dedication that he's brought to the other activities, as well as the same objective -- to make the League better!