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University of New Hampshire Athletics
Keith Foulke, his girlfriend Amy Lynch, and Joe Balsamo, the father of Wildcat redshirt freshman safety Michael Balsamo, enjoyed Homecoming.
Keith Foulke: Red Sox Hero, Wildcat Football Fan
10/13/2016 4:34:00 PM | Football, UNH Insider
The first Saturday in October he stood in the rain on the football sidelines at Wildcat Stadium and cheered the UNH football team on to a Homecoming win over William & Mary.
But Keith Foulke – yes, the same Keith Foulke who as a World series hero in 2004 helped relieve Red Sox Nation of the anguish that came from nearly a century of title-less baseball – was unable to stay around and join the Wildcats as they celebrated their triumph.
He was off to Boston for the final day of the David Ortiz retirement weekend and on Sunday was strolling onto the field at Fenway Park, waving to a stadium packed with appreciative fans.
UNH senior cornerback Casey DeAndrade, a huge Red Sox fan who has become one of Foulke's buddies, understoood.
"I told him that's a pretty good excuse not to hang out with us after," DeAndrade said. "But it was cool to see him here."
Foulke – who's from Texas, lives in Phoenix and loves New England - has become a UNH football fan and has made it to a couple of games now and often mentions and encourages the Wildcats via social media.
Chances are he'll be looking to check in on Saturday's Colonial Athletic Association noontime showdown at Wildcat Stadium between No. 25 UNH and No. 6 James Madison on the American Sports Network. Tickets for the game between the teams that are both undefeated in the CAA are available at www.unhwildcats.com or by calling 603-862-4000 or at the Whittemore Center box office.
Foulke got hooked on the Wildcats in recent years.
"It's all through social media," Foulke said on the sidelines after the Homecoming game. "A couple of years ago when they were in the playoffs I started following them when they were playing on TV. After that, I started tweeting out about it and then the athletic department hooked up with it. I just happened to be up here last year and they're like, 'Come on out.' That was last year and it was pretty much the same this year."
UNH has qualified for the FCS playoffs each of the last 12 years – the longest such streak in the country - and advanced to the national semifinals in 2013 and 2014.
Foulke loves his football.
"I'm from east Texas so football, that's our sport," he said. "I always wanted to play football. Any time you can come out here like this and be embraced by a football program, be on the sidelines and watch a game, be up close to the guys and get to meet some of the guys, I mean, that's what it's all about."
Foulke and Ortiz, Theo Epstein and Terry Francona, Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling, Johnny Damen and Jason Varitek, and all the rest, of course, were embraced by all of New England in 2004.
"We understand what we did for the New England region," Foulke said. "It was huge. They still welcome us back with open arms. That's the thing. Being part of that 2004 team definitely opens up a lot of doors. It's a lot of stuff now, if the door's open and I'm welcomed in, I'll definitely come in."
The plan for 2004 – after the Red Sox dropped the American League Championship series to the Yankees in 2003 four games to three – was clear from the start.
"We realized how big it was for the region," Foulke said. "Especially after 2003. I came over to Boston in 2004 as a free agent. That was why Theo put together that team. They were putting together a team to end all the misery."
They went about their job.
"We didn't win the division, but everything went our way," Foulke said. "We played hard. After 2003, you hear all the heartache stories. It was just another heartbreak year. But everybody knew that we had the club to do it again. The '04 team was better than the '03 team. And we just went out and got it done."
They did it in the most dramatic fashion in the playoffs – back up against the Yankees in the ALCS where they lost the first three games and then rallied to win the next four. They followed that with a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Foulke's top memory?
"It has to be the World Series," he said. "Obviously beating the Yankees in that series, that's all anybody really remembers, coming back from 3-0 and all that. But for me it's the fact of how we handled our business in the World Series. It went by so fast. Everybody was so focused but we were all very level. We weren't thinking about being world champions, we were thinking about going out and doing our job for that day."
Foulke was a workhorse reliever in the playoffs, was the final Boston pitcher in each of the four games of the World Series and it was his throw to first base – after Edgar Renteria hit a grounder to him – that closed out the whole thing.
"Everybody always asks, 'What was it like?'" Foulke said. "I just kind of ask them back, 'What do you think it was like? They're like, it was incredible.' Exactly. I don't know how it can be topped actually. . . . It's the greatest feeling an athlete can have. It's definitely the pinnacle of my career."
Casey DeAndrade met Foulke after a game last season and saw him on the sidelines at Homecoming when he came off the field after intercepting a pass.
"I was in fourth grade, 10 or 11, when the Red Sox first won the World Series," DeAndrade said. "I remember we went to the parade with my family and everything after. . . . Seeing that whole thing happen and seeing just how happy my Dad was . . . I was young and didn't really get why my Dad was crying after they won. Now I understand what a big deal it was."
He had a good time chatting with Foulke last year.
"It was pretty cool to pick his brain a little bit about all the old players and everything," DeAndrade said.
Foulke has spent a fair amount of time in New England in the last year. He started working for the Red Sox this year and helped develop their minor league relief pitchers, which involved spending a fair amount of time in Portland, Maine, with the Sea Dogs during the summer.
He's not sure when he'll get back to Durham.
"I would love to come back," Foulke said. "But I live in Phoenix and there's a distance issue. But any chance I get to come back up here, I'd definitely try to get back. I love New England. I spend as much time up here as I can."
Allen Lessels
@UNHInsider
Allen.Lessels@unh.edu
But Keith Foulke – yes, the same Keith Foulke who as a World series hero in 2004 helped relieve Red Sox Nation of the anguish that came from nearly a century of title-less baseball – was unable to stay around and join the Wildcats as they celebrated their triumph.
He was off to Boston for the final day of the David Ortiz retirement weekend and on Sunday was strolling onto the field at Fenway Park, waving to a stadium packed with appreciative fans.
UNH senior cornerback Casey DeAndrade, a huge Red Sox fan who has become one of Foulke's buddies, understoood.
"I told him that's a pretty good excuse not to hang out with us after," DeAndrade said. "But it was cool to see him here."
Foulke – who's from Texas, lives in Phoenix and loves New England - has become a UNH football fan and has made it to a couple of games now and often mentions and encourages the Wildcats via social media.
Chances are he'll be looking to check in on Saturday's Colonial Athletic Association noontime showdown at Wildcat Stadium between No. 25 UNH and No. 6 James Madison on the American Sports Network. Tickets for the game between the teams that are both undefeated in the CAA are available at www.unhwildcats.com or by calling 603-862-4000 or at the Whittemore Center box office.
Foulke got hooked on the Wildcats in recent years.
"It's all through social media," Foulke said on the sidelines after the Homecoming game. "A couple of years ago when they were in the playoffs I started following them when they were playing on TV. After that, I started tweeting out about it and then the athletic department hooked up with it. I just happened to be up here last year and they're like, 'Come on out.' That was last year and it was pretty much the same this year."
UNH has qualified for the FCS playoffs each of the last 12 years – the longest such streak in the country - and advanced to the national semifinals in 2013 and 2014.
Foulke loves his football.
"I'm from east Texas so football, that's our sport," he said. "I always wanted to play football. Any time you can come out here like this and be embraced by a football program, be on the sidelines and watch a game, be up close to the guys and get to meet some of the guys, I mean, that's what it's all about."
Foulke and Ortiz, Theo Epstein and Terry Francona, Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling, Johnny Damen and Jason Varitek, and all the rest, of course, were embraced by all of New England in 2004.
"We understand what we did for the New England region," Foulke said. "It was huge. They still welcome us back with open arms. That's the thing. Being part of that 2004 team definitely opens up a lot of doors. It's a lot of stuff now, if the door's open and I'm welcomed in, I'll definitely come in."
The plan for 2004 – after the Red Sox dropped the American League Championship series to the Yankees in 2003 four games to three – was clear from the start.
"We realized how big it was for the region," Foulke said. "Especially after 2003. I came over to Boston in 2004 as a free agent. That was why Theo put together that team. They were putting together a team to end all the misery."
They went about their job.
"We didn't win the division, but everything went our way," Foulke said. "We played hard. After 2003, you hear all the heartache stories. It was just another heartbreak year. But everybody knew that we had the club to do it again. The '04 team was better than the '03 team. And we just went out and got it done."
They did it in the most dramatic fashion in the playoffs – back up against the Yankees in the ALCS where they lost the first three games and then rallied to win the next four. They followed that with a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Foulke's top memory?
"It has to be the World Series," he said. "Obviously beating the Yankees in that series, that's all anybody really remembers, coming back from 3-0 and all that. But for me it's the fact of how we handled our business in the World Series. It went by so fast. Everybody was so focused but we were all very level. We weren't thinking about being world champions, we were thinking about going out and doing our job for that day."
Foulke was a workhorse reliever in the playoffs, was the final Boston pitcher in each of the four games of the World Series and it was his throw to first base – after Edgar Renteria hit a grounder to him – that closed out the whole thing.
"Everybody always asks, 'What was it like?'" Foulke said. "I just kind of ask them back, 'What do you think it was like? They're like, it was incredible.' Exactly. I don't know how it can be topped actually. . . . It's the greatest feeling an athlete can have. It's definitely the pinnacle of my career."
Casey DeAndrade met Foulke after a game last season and saw him on the sidelines at Homecoming when he came off the field after intercepting a pass.
"I was in fourth grade, 10 or 11, when the Red Sox first won the World Series," DeAndrade said. "I remember we went to the parade with my family and everything after. . . . Seeing that whole thing happen and seeing just how happy my Dad was . . . I was young and didn't really get why my Dad was crying after they won. Now I understand what a big deal it was."
He had a good time chatting with Foulke last year.
"It was pretty cool to pick his brain a little bit about all the old players and everything," DeAndrade said.
Foulke has spent a fair amount of time in New England in the last year. He started working for the Red Sox this year and helped develop their minor league relief pitchers, which involved spending a fair amount of time in Portland, Maine, with the Sea Dogs during the summer.
He's not sure when he'll get back to Durham.
"I would love to come back," Foulke said. "But I live in Phoenix and there's a distance issue. But any chance I get to come back up here, I'd definitely try to get back. I love New England. I spend as much time up here as I can."
Allen Lessels
@UNHInsider
Allen.Lessels@unh.edu
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