It was the 1978 AL East tiebreaker game between baseball’s most heated rivalry: Red Sox vs. Yankees.  

Starting Red Sox pitcher Mike Torrez threw for six innings giving the team a 2-0 edge over the Yankees. At the top of the seventh, Bucky Dent belted a three run homer off Torrez that soared over the Green Monster, giving the Yankees the 3-2 lead. The Yankees went on to win the game and eventually the 1978 World Series.

Mike Torrez and Bucky Dent were forever frozen in that moment of sports history commonly referred to as the “shocking blast that silenced Fenway.” 

Decades down the road, Torrez and Dent autographed a baseball. That famous ball will be one of the many items featured at this year’s Boothbay Charities Classic Sports Auction to benefit Special Olympics Maine.  

After raising $35,000 last year, auction organizer Tom Erskine is excited for this year’s fundraiser. 

For 17 years, Erskine and his wife Bonnie have committed themselves to helping out with Special Olympics events throughout the state. Every season after the Boothbay Charities fundraiser concludes, Tom Erskine starts his yearlong routine of writing letters to charity foundations and sports stars soliciting items for next year’s auction.   

The event each September draws local residents, sport stars and Special Olympic athletes from all over the country to the Boothbay Region. 

“Having the presence of the athletes at the auction is really what it’s all about,” Bonnie Erskine said. “Every year there is this wonderful vibe that surrounds the event.” She recalled several incidents when auction goers bid on the medals worn by the athletes. “People will pay $800 for the medal, and then give it back to the athlete,” she said.  

The lobster bake and sports auction will be held at the Boothbay Railway Village Sept. 21. Starting at 4 p.m., guests can bid on items at the silent auction that runs through dinner, or stay for the live auction which starts around 6 p.m. The silent auction will feature a variety of gift baskets from local merchants filled with goodies and entertainment prizes. 

The live auction is also free to attend and will feature autographed memorabilia from sports legends Steve Young, Emmitt Smith, Rob Gronkowski and many more. 

Tickets for the bake are $40, or are included in the fee for the golf tournament.  For questions or event sponsorship call Brenda Blackman at 380-7700. For donations of auction items, contact Tom Erskine at 633-6103. For a complete list of auction items, visit the Boothbay Charities Facebook page.

Golf tournament

This year's Boothbay Charities Classic Golf Tournament event will begin with a continental breakfast at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22 at the Boothbay Country Club. 

Team openings and limited individual positions are still available which include: being paired up with a celebrity; a complimentary goodie bag; and admission to the lobster bake and sports auction the previous night. 

The tournament will conclude after the last golfer on the course completes 18 holes by 3:30 p.m. Tickets to play in the open are still on sale for $200 per golfer. To purchase, call Brenda Blackman at 380-7770 or Ken Marston at 633-3914. 

For 22 years the Boothbay Charities Classic has been the headlining event to promote businesses in the community and support local charities. Over the years, people like Tony Krason, Otto and Duey Graham, Ken Marston, Tommy Blake, Butch and Mary Brewer and hundreds of volunteers and sponsors have donated and contributed to making the event successful. Board members of Special Olympics Maine want recognize the community’s support, and would like to thank everyone from the innkeepers donating rooms, to the countless volunteers providing materials and labor, to the sponsorship, both local and corporate, who promote the event each year. 

This year there is an effort to raise enough money to send Special Olympians from Maine to the national games to be held in Princeton, N.J. in 2014. Organizers ask for anyone who would like to make a donation to send a check to Special Olympics Maine, or the Boothbay Charities Classic at P.O. Box 207 Boothbay, ME 04537. For more information, visit the Boothbay Charities Classic Facebook page.