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Post by bruce on May 17, 2014 23:18:23 GMT -5
As real as it gets. Great nostalgic piece, and moving too. Nice!
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Post by doncyoti on May 28, 2014 18:37:59 GMT -5
I loved your story as I realize we were going through the same rights of passage a half country away. You were in Brooklyn and I was in By God Texas. I recall bits about the '57 World Series as my mom had all her teeth pulled and was in bed while my Dad watched the Braves beat the Yankees. But, my baseball journey also began in 1960. I was seven in 1960 andfollowing my dad and uncles around a muddy field hunting quail. My dad told my uncles "For one game, I'll take Ford and you can have the rest of the American League". Didn't know much about this Ford but he had to be good. He at least sounded cool. (of course, he was the coolest dude in the room I discovered later. I really started collecting cards in 1961 and by 1962 I had a Roger Maris Home Run Trainer. You stomped your foot on the bellows and a plastic ball popped in the air and you whacked it with a plastic bat with a bb in it. I was on the playground in 1962 listening to McCovey's screamer on my little transistor radio. I remember shouting in what was some of the purest joy of my entire life. For some reason, all my friends were Giant fans, so I got to rub that in a bit. I suffered through the four game sweep in '63. I recognized Koufax's otherworldliness but couldn't believe Moose Skowron could do that to us after all we had been through together. I had the World Series flu in '64 so bad I saw three full games, including the Mick homer off Schultz and the Boyer homer off Downing. I went into the wilderness with the boys in '65 and was gone for a long time, Pepitone went native and Tresh lost his bat. Horace Clarke was HC and we had a couple of pitcher swap wives. But, like you there was the Mick for me. Like you, my name is also Mike so I was just short of having a cool name. I remember an article in 1962 called "Talent, Tenacity & Tape" about the Mick. It had a line I'll never forget concerning why Mantle won the MVP that year. "He led the league in Manhood" is what the guy quoted in the article said. I wish I had that article. I do have Sport Magazine from 1968 with Mickey Mantle resting on one knee. It's the farewell to Mick issue. I saw it the other day and tears came to my eyes all these years later. I never met him, but I did see him hit the first homer in the Astrodome. I saw the Yanks again in like 1967 in preseason and Whitey Ford pitched. It was pretty close to the end for him. I saw Derek Jeter in spring training this year with my son and grandson and it was pretty cool. The same tears I had for that magazine came to my eyes again. I kept the program with Jeets on the cover for the same reason I still have the Sport with the Mick. It's amazing how you grew up in Brooklyn and I grew up a wishedIwuz cowboy in Texas and yet we're brothers. I think you Italians would call us "paisans" in the fraternal order of Seven Heaven. If I misuse the Italian phrase, forgive me. I'm a dumb Texan.
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Post by JohnM on May 28, 2014 18:52:28 GMT -5
Don, very nice. Jimbue is the closest thing to a cowboy in Brooklyn.
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Post by jimbue2 on May 29, 2014 11:39:30 GMT -5
I loved your story as I realize we were going through the same rights of passage a half country away. You were in Brooklyn and I was in By God Texas. I recall bits about the '57 World Series as my mom had all her teeth pulled and was in bed while my Dad watched the Braves beat the Yankees. But, my baseball journey also began in 1960. I was seven in 1960 andfollowing my dad and uncles around a muddy field hunting quail. My dad told my uncles "For one game, I'll take Ford and you can have the rest of the American League". Didn't know much about this Ford but he had to be good. He at least sounded cool. (of course, he was the coolest dude in the room I discovered later. I really started collecting cards in 1961 and by 1962 I had a Roger Maris Home Run Trainer. You stomped your foot on the bellows and a plastic ball popped in the air and you whacked it with a plastic bat with a bb in it. I was on the playground in 1962 listening to McCovey's screamer on my little transistor radio. I remember shouting in what was some of the purest joy of my entire life. For some reason, all my friends were Giant fans, so I got to rub that in a bit. I suffered through the four game sweep in '63. I recognized Koufax's otherworldliness but couldn't believe Moose Skowron could do that to us after all we had been through together. I had the World Series flu in '64 so bad I saw three full games, including the Mick homer off Schultz and the Boyer homer off Downing. I went into the wilderness with the boys in '65 and was gone for a long time, Pepitone went native and Tresh lost his bat. Horace Clarke was HC and we had a couple of pitcher swap wives. But, like you there was the Mick for me. Like you, my name is also Mike so I was just short of having a cool name. I remember an article in 1962 called "Talent, Tenacity & Tape" about the Mick. It had a line I'll never forget concerning why Mantle won the MVP that year. "He led the league in Manhood" is what the guy quoted in the article said. I wish I had that article. I do have Sport Magazine from 1968 with Mickey Mantle resting on one knee. It's the farewell to Mick issue. I saw it the other day and tears came to my eyes all these years later. I never met him, but I did see him hit the first homer in the Astrodome. I saw the Yanks again in like 1967 in preseason and Whitey Ford pitched. It was pretty close to the end for him. I saw Derek Jeter in spring training this year with my son and grandson and it was pretty cool. The same tears I had for that magazine came to my eyes again. I kept the program with Jeets on the cover for the same reason I still have the Sport with the Mick. It's amazing how you grew up in Brooklyn and I grew up a wishedIwuz cowboy in Texas and yet we're brothers. I think you Italians would call us "paisans" in the fraternal order of Seven Heaven. If I misuse the Italian phrase, forgive me. I'm a dumb Texan. nice job la mancha man.....its the yanks that bring us together so we all share that in common.....a paisan in texas!!!.....nobody would believe me...lol
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2016 10:19:14 GMT -5
To me, the 'Babe' was god and Myth-like. The Mick was a real and present time Hero in the early 60's. You could actually see a real catcher in the chalked-in square on the school yard wall. You could here the cheers when one of us 'hit one out' and the Boo's when we fanned on third strike. My best friend, "Elsa" my loyal and best Terrier, was my biggest fan and barked and cheered for me and chased and retrieved the home run balls. Everyone had to take turns 'getting a boost' and climbing up on the school roof to retrieve 2-3 of our foul balls when we ran out.
Great read Thanks jimbue
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Post by JohnM on Mar 7, 2016 10:58:28 GMT -5
Welcome gatorwasgreat.
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Post by Lefteroo on Mar 8, 2016 10:19:26 GMT -5
Fabulous initial post by gatorwasgreat. Glad to have you aboard.
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Post by Effjay on Oct 11, 2019 19:09:12 GMT -5
One and done
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Post by NYY23 on Oct 12, 2019 4:48:57 GMT -5
Everyone has to be good at something. For us it’s scaring people away! Especially when they see Dave’s beard!
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