Ed Lucas

Edward Lucas (born 1939) is an Emmy winning broadcaster, author, and motivational speaker. He has interviewed thousands of sports figures and celebrities over a career spanning seven decades. Lucas been inducted into three different Halls of Fame.

Early life

On October 3, 1951, after watching the New York Giants defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the National League Pennant on a tiny little black and white TV, Ed Lucas, who was just twelve years old, went out to play baseball with his friends. He was struck in face by a line drive and subsequently lost his sight.

Ed was depressed. He pictured himself as a helpless soul standing on a street corner with a cup and a cane selling pencils. His mother did two things that changed his life.

First, she enrolled him in a revolutionary school for the blind run by nuns who believed that blind people could do anything they set out to do if they could just learn to be independent and have to self-confidence.

Second, she wrote letters to Leo Durocher, the manager of the NY Giants, and to Bobby Thomson, the home run hero, explaining what had happened to Ed, and how his love of baseball was the only thing lifting his spirits. Durocher invited Ed to be his guest at the Polo Grounds for the 1952 season. Yankees star Phil Rizzuto, who worked at a New Jersey clothing shop in the off season, heard about Ed's story, and also befriended him. This friendship lasted a lifetime, until Phil Rizzuto's death in 2007.

Ed Lucas (baseball)

Edward Lee Lucas (born May 21, 1982) is an American professional baseball third baseman in the Seattle Mariners organization. After graduating from Dartmouth College in 2004, Lucas played in minor league baseball through 2013, when he made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Miami Marlins.

Career

Lucas attended Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange, Florida, and Dartmouth College. He graduated from Dartmouth in 2004 with a degree in sociology and economics. Lucas played college baseball for Dartmouth under head coach Bob Whalen; and also played American football in his freshman year. Lucas won the Ivy League batting title as a senior, and was named Ivy League Player of the Year and received honors as Dartmouth's Most Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year.

The Kansas City Royals selected Lucas in the eighth round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft. As Lucas could not return to college, he had little leverage in negotiations, and received a $1,000 signing bonus. He made his minor league baseball debut with the Idaho Falls Chukars of the Rookie-level Pioneer League, and earned $101 a month after expenses. Needing to work during the offseason, Lucas took jobs in construction, substitute teaching, bartending, and as a temp for the Charles Schwab Corporation.