N.D.G.’s Loyola Park baseball field to be named after Lionel Geller
Lionel Geller is a giver.
He dedicated 37 years of his life volunteering full time for the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Minor Baseball League from 1976 to 2013.
During that time, he formed a skating club for intellectually challenged children, coached and was an executive member of the N.D.G. Minor Hockey Association, and founded the Dawson’s women’s hockey program.
Geller’s hard work and dedication to his community will be celebrated on Saturday at 11:45 a.m. when N.D.G. borough mayor Russell Copeman and the N.D.G. Minor Baseball League rename the Loyola 2 baseball field at Loyola Park after him.
“I’m very honoured” said Geller, 79. “It doesn’t happen very often, these kinds of things.”
Geller, whose commitment has been recognized by the league and borough in the past, is the only member of the minor baseball league to have worked every possible position. He was a coach, an equipment manager and president of the league four times, to name just a few of his positions.
Geller, who still acts as a parttime consultant with the minor baseball league, said he received the good news in a letter from Copeman in April 2014. However, Geller explained the baseball field wasn’t in good condition at the time. With new lights, stands and improved grass, the field is finally ready for Saturday’s event.
Geller, who was born and raised in Montreal, said his children inspired him to get involved with his local minor baseball league in 1976. He is one of the founders of the Saturday Morning Novice Program, where he came to be known as Grandpa Lionel. It was fulfilling for Geller to watch many of these children grow.
“It was very gratifying because as the kids grew older and you watch them grow older, you can see that sports taught them a way of life,” he said. “And the rules that they learned in sports, on how to treat other people, how to treat your opponents and so on, spilled over from sports into real life. That’s the most important thing I learned about the kids. “
Geller, a retired engineer and mathematics teacher at Dawson College, cherishes many memories from his time as a coach. He said one of his greatest memories came in 2010 when he led a group of 11and 12-year-olds to a house league championship.
Even when the stakes have been high, Geller’s attention wasn’t always solely on winning.
“I always believed in giving equal ice time or field time depending on the sport,” he said. “So, when you coach along those lines, you’re not just coaching to win. You like to win, but you know you have to try to be fair to the kids.”
Geller continues to devote his time to others, tutoring members of the Dawson women’s hockey team and other athletes from the CEGEP.
The N.D.G. Minor Baseball League has adopted Geller’s motto: “All about the kids,” which is can be seen on the league’s official baseball pins.
“Whatever you’re doing, make sure that it’s good for the players. … That’s it.”