EDDIE (RIP) HIGGINS  (Old Timer, Class of 2006, Posthumous)

In the middle of the twentieth century most Warrenites knew Rip Higgins as U.S. Senator Theodore Francis Green’s administrative assistant and the town’s political boss.

But in earlier years Eddie’s fame came from his involvement in baseball.  He first received mention in the local press as the eight-year-old organizer of the North End Gang nine.  At the time that area of town was known as an Irish enclave, but his fellow players included those with such names as Bouffard, DuBois, and Jannitto.

In 1915 he served as assistant manager of the Warren Shoe aggregation that captured the Manufacturers League title.

Following World War I and numerous unsuccessful attempts, he and Jigger Higgins (no relation) were able to get a 1921 Warren team admitted into the Providence Amateur League.  Unfortunately, they felt that they did not get “a fair shake from the up-state boys” and did not return the next year. 

Besides, this was at a time when the Little World Series between Warren and Bristol was in its heyday and, between 1921 and 1924, Rip and Jigger devoted most of their efforts to bringing in a number of major league ballplayers to help Warren win three of the four series.  In the process, they apparently helped a number of Warren rooters earn extra cash winnings on a few friendly wagers against their Bristol brethren.

In 1925 Rip expanded his horizons and organized a Warren/Bristol nine that competed with a number of “fast” teams throughout Eastern New England.

As Warren High School captured multiple baseball and football championships in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, Eddie was instrumental in ensuring that the title-winning team members were properly honored.  For example, in 1946 he donated silver baseballs to the youngsters who captured the Class C and State Baseball Championships.

(In 2011 Eddie joined fellow Warrenites Pat Abbruzzi, Luther Blount, Chief Massasoit, Charlie Millard, and Lizzie Murphy in the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.)