Gill Dolan Named Recipient of Futures League's Inaugural Pete Wilk Award
WEYMOUTH, Mass. (November 21, 2024) 一 Gill Dolan, infielder for the Futures League Road Warriors, has been selected as the first-ever recipient of the Pete Wilk Award. Futures League Commissioner Joe Paolucci made the official announcement on Thursday.
Named in honor of the beloved Vermont Lake Monsters field manager who passed away following a 15-month battle with brain cancer in April, the Pete Wilk Award will now be given out annually to persevering individual who has overcome injury, illness or personal tragedy to make an impact for their team on or off the field, as that is exactly what Wilk did throughout his life.
The award was introduced in March as the Futures League family continued to "Dig In For Pete," and after receiving nominations from each member club, a committee made up of representatives from the Lake Monsters organization and around the league determined the recipient.
During his freshman year at Weymouth High School in 2020, Dolan was diagnosed with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), an often life-threatening immune deficiency disorder which has a mortality rate of over 40 percent, according to the National Library of Medicine. Despite those odds, Dolan overcame and went on to excel in both varsity baseball and basketball in high school. Following his stint in the Futures League this past summer, he began his Division 1 baseball career at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
"It's an honor to receive the first Pete Wilk Award," Dolan said. "Going through adversity is what made me who I am today. Receiving this award means a lot to me, pushing me to keep going and keep working hard. I want to thank the Futures League and their community for this award."
Early in his first year of high school, Dolan was urged to visit the hospital by one of his fall baseball coaches after noticing red dots appearing on his skin. He was initially diagnosed with mononucleosis, but more than a month later, his health had not improved. Following a second hospital visit, he was sent to Boston for further testing and diagnosed with HLH there.
After being tested further, Dolan was put into a medically-induced coma for a week as doctors treated him with chemotherapy among other drugs, but he was able to return to health in time to begin the varsity baseball season in the spring. He not only became a four-year baseball player and three-year captain at Weymouth, where he was coached by Paolucci, but also set the program's hits record.
"This is a fitting honor for Gill," Paolucci said. "He is the toughest player I've ever coached. He had to get through so much mental and physical adversity just to get back to the field. For him to get himself back to an elite level and compete night in and night out is something that Pete would have truly appreciated."
The award's namesake, Wilk joined the Lake Monsters as their manager upon the team's arrival in the Futures League in 2021 and quickly became an instrumental figure who was beloved by players, coaches and other community members alike.
Wilk won Futures League Manager of the Year honors in 2021 and 2022, becoming the first two-time winner of the award. He returned to the Vermont dugout later in the 2023 season following treatment at Duke Cancer Center, helping the team to its third consecutive championship appearance alongside now-manager Matt Fincher. Before joining Vermont, the Barrington, R.I., native spent 21 seasons (2000-20) at Georgetown University, where he is the all-time winningest coach in program history with 426 victories.
"Pete was a true champion, both on and off the field. The Pete Wilk Award is a wonderful tribute to Pete's legacy as a coach, mentor, friend, and steward of this amazing game. He will forever be missed, but so pleased that the Futures League created this award in his honor," Lake Monsters Senior Vice President C.J. Knudsen said. "We know Gill is, and the future recipients of the award will be, of the highest character and will represent Pete's legacy very well."
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