Cape Cod League: Gary Wilson, Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox Superfan
This article was written by Robert J. McDonough
This article was published in Cape Cod Baseball League: From College Stars to Big League Futures (2026)
Gary Wilson, August 2025. (Photo by Bill Nowlin)
Every summer, interns, volunteers, fans, and the most outstanding collegiate baseball players descend onto Cape Cod, Massachusetts. For these players, these brief, yet action-packed 10 weeks can change the trajectory of their lives. Some discover they are not fit for the next level, while others find out they have become top prospects. The Cape Cod Baseball League is known for developing players who can compete against the toughest teams. Take Pete Alonso, known to his former New York Mets fans as the Polar Bear, who hit 30-plus home runs a year for their team, but went homerless on the Cape. Anything can happen on the Cape.
Most works focus on the great on-the-field play the Cape has to offer. While important, the league would not exist without its enthusiastic adult volunteers, college interns, and loyal fans. Every team has its superfan. The Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox’ superfan can be found just to the left behind home plate, ringing a cowbell at each contest.
Despite his age, Gary Wilson roots for the Red Sox from the sidelines as if he were a small child cheering for his heroes. On August 2, 2025, while the Cape Cod Baseball League season was wrapping up, Yarmouth-Dennis’s media intern, Daniel Podolsky of Temple University (Class of 2026), sat down with Wilson to discuss his deep love for the “YD” Red Sox and the Cape Cod Baseball League. Danny spent the summer organizing the players’ stat sheets and writing extensive game notes for the Red Sox for each of their home games. When Danny asked Gary what he loved most about the league, Wilson responded that he “loves the whole thing. It is a lot more than just baseball. It is the young kids going to games at the player camps. It is the parents and grandparents who show up at the game for their kids who play. It is the atmosphere. It is the camaraderie around the league and the high-level baseball itself. It is just the best.”
Wilson began his love for the Cape League when he moved to Dennis in 2000. “I held a part-time retirement job [in retail]. Because we did not have lights here at Red Wilson Field with games starting at 5 o’clock, I usually could not make most of the games. So, I was not here as much or as enthusiastic for the first three or four years as I wanted to be. Starting around 2006 or 2007, I was really getting involved. By the time 2010 or 2011 rolled around, I was here almost full-time and had not missed a game in the last four years.”
He says his relationship with the team and the players “has been spectacular. It is an important part of my life. Year after year, to see these young men come in from all over the country with high aspirations, many of them, as you know, want to get into the big leagues, and many of them do, I establish individual and collective relationships. I am 84 years old. It keeps me young. It keeps me going. It gives me something to look forward to every single year, and I just enjoy the hell out of it.”
He even estimated that “after 20 years, I’ve been to close to 700 games, and 650 or so involving YD.” Wilson finds it fulfilling to watch these young men come in every summer to scratch and claw to reach their dreams. Describing his passion for the league, he said, “The league is important to me because, as a lifelong sports fan, to be able to retire here on Cape Cod and have this wonderful league in my backyard, and to be able to attend 45 to 50 games a year, it’s just uplifting. It is a big part of my life, and for 10 weeks every summer, I just enjoy the hell out of it. It is wonderful.”
Our interview with Gary was not his first feature. The team “featured me in the yearbook two years ago in 2023,” he noted. “I have been on the podcast of the Cape Cod league. I have been in the Cape newspaper and one of the local Barnstable Couriers. So, yes, I have gotten a fair share of pictures, interviews, and write-ups. I appreciate people wanting my time. I appreciate giving my time to talk about something I love.”
While Gary loves the action on the field, no superfan would be complete without being in touch with other fans at the park. One famous fan attraction at Red Wilson Field (the home of the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox) is the donut burger presented by Hole in One bakery of Yarmouth and the YD Red Sox. When asked his opinion of the novelty, Wilson laughed and remarked that he “loves the idea of the donut burger, but I have never had one. It is iconic. Gary W number two [Gary Werman] – I am Gary W one – promised to set me up with one before this season is over. I am going to take him up on that opportunity. I think I will get it on a plain, glazed doughnut with a cheeseburger and ketchup, and bacon. That will be my first taste of the iconic donut burger.” While I cannot confirm if Mr. Wilson was able to indulge, the donut burger remains a staple of the Cape League Red Sox.
Also known as a Ted Williams superfan, Mr. Wilson is as good as, if not better than, a Boston Red Sox encyclopedia. He has become a YD legend and a staple at every game. The team is lucky to have Gary as they head toward their 80th season of operation in 2026.
ROBERT J. McDONOUGH is a graduate of Pope Francis Prep, Springfield, Massachusetts, and is currently a student of economics and accounting at Providence College. He spent the past two summers working in game-day operations for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, where he has faithfully followed the team since being a toddler. While at Providence, McDonough has worked closely with Father Humbert Kilanowski on his MLB draft projection model (focusing on Cape Cod League players). McDonough is from Longmeadow and South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, and hopes to continue his statistical research and analysis to find a career in baseball.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Interviews with Gary Wilson were conducted by Daniel Podolsky during August 2025.
The author has had a unique relationship with Gary Wilson. He is in the Class of 2028 at Providence College. He says, “I have spent two seasons working in Game Day Operations with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. Yet I built my relationship with Gary on the sidelines over the past four seasons. My family and I began hosting players in the summer of 2021. Ever since we began hosting, we sat with Gary during the games.”