Luderer name lives on as Don Bosco Prep baseball honors late star at Last Dance World Series
The mic was passed from one to the other, all echoing the same sentiments on the same field in the same spot – behind home plate – where Ben Luderer once became one of the most integral pieces to one legendary baseball team.
Luderer was a leader among leaders – and those who spoke Tuesday confirmed that – on Don Bosco Prep’s undefeated national championship team more than a decade ago, the starting catcher on a 33-0 squad in 2008 considered to be among some of New Jersey’s greatest ever.
Tragically, though, Luderer died in March at the age of 30 due to complications stemming from Covid-19.
His name and legacy, however, will live on forever in Don Bosco Prep history, as current head coach Mike Rooney announced prior to his team’s Last Dance World Series opener that Luderer’s No. 16 will be retired and a memorial scholarship in his name will honor him for years to come.
“He had this total confidence at all times, which fed into everyone else’s mindset,” said former teammate and batterymate Tim O’Sullivan, who spoke during the ceremony on behalf of 2008 head coach Greg Butler.
“He just had this killer emotional intelligence that I thought was off the charts. We might not have realized it or noticed it then, but you pick up on it later in life. How you interact with people. It wasn’t always the rah-rah speech or being the loudest guy, sometimes you just need to be omnipresent and supportive – and that was Ben. … I was a pitcher on that team and maybe not as talented as some of the other guys, but he treated me and had as much confidence in me as any other guy. Ben gave you exactly what you needed, when you needed it. He was just a special, special guy.”
Adding to emotion of the night, Cliffside Park – where Luderer was the team’s head baseball coach up until his death and Luderer’s mother, Elaine, previously had been a teacher at for years – was Don Bosco Prep’s opponent Tuesday night in Ramsey.
A special, heartfelt moment with Luderer’s parents and widow, Brandy, and the Cliffside Park team took place in the moments just prior to first pitch.
“There wasn’t a dry eye in that dugout,” his father, Bill, said before taking a lengthy, emotional pause. “I told them that a lot of people, and rightfully so, describe Ben as a giver and how he gave so much of himself in so many ways. But I also said I think Ben was a taker.
“He took the best things that he came across from the people that he encountered. And a lot of those kids in that dugout, I told them, he took things from. They all helped him become the person that he is and that he became. All the coaches he had, all the teachers he had, we as parents, his teammates… he took something from everyone in his life and I’m grateful for everybody that knew him because it helped him become the person he became.”
Weeks ago, it was announced the trophy of the eventual North champion in the Last Dance World Series will be named after Luderer – one more reminder of the impact the former Don Bosco Prep great had in the New Jersey baseball community.
“It all helps,” his father said. “It all helps in the process. It all kind of reinforces the feeling I had as a father that Ben was really an exceptional person. I think every father feels that way about their kid, but the sheer number of people and the words they’ve expressed have me thinking maybe it wasn’t just my prejudicial, fatherly view that he really was a wonderful person. From baseball and coaching to whatever he was doing, he was just a great, caring kid and a better adult. You could’ve known him two minutes and he’d be your best friend.”
JJ Conrad can be reached at jjconrad8@gmail.com