New London — Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world last Saturday, he walked into … his own. And the guy they call “E-Man,” proprietor of the New London institution known as the Birdseye Café, got the surprise of his life. The man whose life is measured by how much he gives, finally got to receive.

“E-Man,” otherwise known as Eric Anderson, whose benevolence has helped teams, kids, people and causes throughout the region for years, walked into his gin joint around 3 p.m. for his own surprise 50th birthday party.

The one he thought would be for someone else.

“The best way I can sum up 'E-Man,'" his friend Rick Beaney was saying the other day, “is that if he believes in your cause, he can’t do enough for you. The greatest guy. His party was so great because everyone finally got to do for him what he’s always done for everybody else. He got emotional.”

He wasn’t alone.

The Birdseye has always been a family business for Anderson, a 1984 graduate of Waterford High, where he played baseball and football. What was once a shot-and-a-beer place with no women, pickled eggs and Slim Jims, has undergone a Total Bar Makeover thanks to Anderson’s passion. Everything is new. Bathrooms, bar, back deck. A million televisions, bands, a place where wives and girlfriends are welcome. And still with the neighborhood pub charm, with the Rod Gaynor/Bill Bono floor show behind the bar.

Anderson created the occasional “Steak Night” for patrons a few years back. Eighteen bucks for a piece of steak that’s big enough to have four-wheel drive, pasta, salad, baked potato and seasoned tomatoes. This just in: It sure beats Olive Garden.

“We were sitting there one night and thinking ‘why couldn’t we do Steak Night as a fundraiser?’” said Bob Bono, the associate men’s basketball coach at Coast Guard and former president of Waterford Babe Ruth. “We asked Eric what he needed and charged five or six bucks more per ticket. All we had to give him was the head count. He did everything. Shopped, cooked, served, cleaned up. And Waterford Babe Ruth walked out of there with 1,500 bucks.

“He’s a bulldog of a guy with a heart of gold,” Bono said. “Not only does he do all the work, but he makes a donation to you at the end of the night, too.”

“Steak Nights” are staples now at 187 Jefferson Ave. Little League teams, Babe Ruth teams, American Legion teams, high school football teams, Project Graduation parties, benefits, causes. People laughing the night away. And when Anderson is done cooking and cleaning up, he’s buying rounds for whomever remains.

Anderson’s surprise party was vintage Birdseye, too. He did all the work. His friends duped him into thinking the party was for Mike Lancaster. They laughed all week watching Anderson bust his ascot setting up.

“He so hands on there that being able to surprise him like that was quite the feat,” said Dan Spellman, who goes back to Little League (The Lumberjacks) with Anderson. “He’s always the guy you wanted in your circle. He’s always doing everything for everyone else. And wants nothing done for him, except maybe giving him the occasional winner.”

You will note that Anderson has yet to be quoted here. He won’t be. He’s not very good talking about himself. And who needs to hear him talk anyway? His actions are louder than Dick Vitale.

“I love going in there,” said Beaney, a true, blue Waterford guy who is a volunteer, coach, fan and ace concession stand-runner. “My dad went in there. It’s like Cheers. People really care about each other there.”

No surprise there. Look at who runs the place.

Cheers, indeed, to “E-Man.” Good food, good fun, people helping people. Exactly what it’s all about.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.