Jacobs High School assistant baseball coach John Sarna knows he'll never forget the steely determination and heart sophomore pitcher Henry Gigeous displayed last spring.
As a freshman, Gigeous took the field within hours of learning that his half brother and hero, 22-year-old Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart, had been killed in a car crash.
Henry, of Algonquin, didn't stop there. Wearing a Jacobs ball cap with "NA 34" in honor of Adenhart's jersey number, Henry worked his way up to playing at the varsity level by the end of the season.
"He was able to keep playing, and stay not only with baseball but going to school and going through with life," Sarna said Monday. "He didn't take any time off from the team."
On Jan. 17 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Henry will be honored with the Bo Jackson Courage Award by the Chicago Pitch and Hit Club. Among the two dozen other individuals honored by the 64-year-old organization are Chicago Cubs Hall of Famers Ferguson Jenkins and Ryne Sandberg.
Adenhart died April 9 of injuries sustained when the car he was riding in was struck by a van that ran a red light in Fullerton, Calif., hours after his fourth Major League Baseball start. Two others in the car, including the driver, also were killed.
The driver of the van has been charged with three counts of second-degree murder and felony drunken driving. His license had been suspended before the accident for a previous drunken driving conviction.
Jacobs varsity baseball coach Eric Sanders received a call from Henry's father, Duane, shortly after the family had heard the news.
Coaches told Henry the team was there for him. And Henry, in turn, was a steady presence for his team throughout the season.
"I just try to go out there and pitch like (Nick) would want me to," Henry told the Daily Herald last May. "Before the game I think of everything he gave to me and he taught me. I'm grateful for that. I feel blessed for 15 years to have a pitching mentor like that, and he was a very good one. I appreciate everything he did for me."
A board member of the Pitch and Hit Club, Sarna relayed the story of Henry's bravery at a monthly meeting, club President Peter Caliendo said.
The organization voted unanimously to give him the award.
"It's a moving story. We thought it would be fitting. Here's this local kid who has been through so much," Caliendo said.
Sanders said nearly all of Henry's varsity teammates will be on hand at the ceremony Jan. 17.
Courage: Vote to honor Gigeous was unanimous
