Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle named Sportsman of Year by Dapper Dan
By Larry Snyder
Dec 10, 2013; Orlando, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle is interviewed during the MLB Winter Meetings at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports
Benefitting Dapper Dan Charities, the 78th Annual Dapper Dan Dinner and Sports Auction will be held on Thursday, Feb. 6, and will be honoring its 2013 award winners.
In recognition for leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to their first winning season, and playoff berth, since 1992, the Dapper Dan Committee decided their 2013 Sportsman of the Year could only be Clint Hurdle.
In the three years since Hurdle became the leader of the Jolly Roger crew, the Bucs have improved their victory totals from 57 in 2010, to 72 in 2011, to 79 in 2012, to 94 this past summer.
It marks the second straight year, that the Sportsman of the Year award will go to a member of the Pirates family. Last year, All-Star centerfielder Andrew McCutchen was honored, and now Hurdle joins Ralph Kiner, Danny Murtaugh, Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell as recipients of the award.
Patrice Matamoros, the chairperson of the Pittsburgh Marathon, has been named the Sportswoman of the Year. She has served as the marathon’s race director since she helped bring it back in 2009 after a five-year hiatus. It is her leadership that has made the marathon a signature event again for the community.
The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Steelers’ great Franco Harris by former teammate Joe Greene.
The Dapper Dan Dinner and Sports Auction will be held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center wiith the auction at 6 p.m. and the dinner and awards program at 7 p.m. Call 412-263-3850 for tickets and more information.