Memorial Game Honors High School Baseball Star

ORANGE PARK, FL -- More than 100 people played a few games of baseball, Saturday, to remember a high school baseball star who died of bone cancer.

Stephen Dandridge died in 2005 of the disease. The Orange Park High School student loved the game.

He would have been 22-years-old, this year. He died at the age of 18.

After his death, a few friends gathered to play baseball on his birthday to remember him, in 2006.

"They just wanted to get together and play ball and show him some love," said Stephen's father, Bernie Dandridge.

After four consecutive years of the memorial game, the event has grown into a fundraiser for Wolfson Children's Hospital.

"Wolfson did a great thing for Stephen as they treated him for bone cancer. They meant a lot to all of us and we want to help other people who are going through the same struggle," said Dandridge.

"We got a few teams to come in and raise some money and we have a couple of items that we auctioned off and these guys have a little deeper pockets than my friends and I, so we were able to raise a little bit of money," said Stephen's friend, Tim Moore, who arranged the first memorial game.

This year's fundraising goal is $5,000 to purchase new games and computers for the teen center at Wolfson.

"We hope that it grows every year and every year it gets bigger and better and every year we'll be able to do more good things for more people," said Dandridge.

The memorial game is played every year, in June.

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