The Donnellys went on about their lives, always keeping the memory of Amy in a special place within them. It was always on the minds of Tim, Rich, and the rest of the family. "It only made sense to put 'The Chicken Runs At Midnight.'"Īfter Amy's passing, the saying faded but never fully went away. "After she died, the question was about what to put on her tombstone," Tim said. Leyland was there, along with other MLB coaches with whom Rich had formed bonds.
Not only were family and most of Amy's high school classmates in attendance, but Tim's close friends, his brothers' close friends, and some of the '92 Pirates.
Tim recalled that her funeral was perhaps one of the biggest he has had the misfortune of attending. Rich promised his children that if he ever made it to the Fall Classic, he would get them there.
The chicken runs at midnight video series#
During the final game of their season, Pirates second baseman Jose Lind was caught on camera running out to his position screaming, "The chicken runs at midnight! The chicken runs at midnight!"īut Lind and the Pirates lost Game 7 in Atlanta, and the World Series hopes were doused. Throughout the rest of the 1992 Pirates' playoff chase, the saying stuck with them. Even some of the Pirates adopted the saying.Īfter Game 5, Tim, Amy, and their mother returned home to Texas with the promise that if the Buccos made the World Series, they would be in attendance. Amy did not even know, yet it became the motto for the Donnellys. The family did not understand the statement or where it originated. "We were like, 'What are you talking about? The chicken runs at midnight? What?'" Tim said. The whole car was immediately filled with laughter at the spontaneous question. "Amy just said, 'Dad, what are you saying to him? The chicken runs at midnight?'" "It was after Game 5, and we were on our way to the hotel," Tim said. Nobody could ever really make out what he would say. Rich coached third base for the Pirates, and could often be seen cupping his hands around his mouth, shouting directions to his baserunners on second base. Rich had a friend with a private jet and flew Tim, a bald Amy (from chemotherapy), and their mother to Pittsburgh for Games 3, 4, and 5 of the National League Championship Series. The Bucs were was entering into the postseason push.
During the summer of 1992, Rich Donnelly was on Manager Jim Leyland's coaching staff with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Tim was in the sixth grade when Amy, then 17, was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor.
Although separated by hundreds of miles, every baseball season the family members found their way back to one another. He and his older sister, Amy, took primary residence with their mother in Texas, while his older brothers stayed with their father in Ohio. Tim Donnelly was young when his parents divorced. Well, it is about baseball, but it is also about a daughter and sister, a saying, and a moment. To put it simply, baseball is in the Donnellys' blood. He's helped multiple players reach the Major League Baseball Draft.ĭonnelly's father, Rich, has spent more than 25 years coaching in the Major Leagues, and has a World Series ring to prove it. During that time, he's recruited more than 30 players to the Herd. Marshall assistant baseball coach and recruiting coordinator Tim Donnelly has been with the Thundering Herd program for eight seasons.
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