OT Current and Former New Yorkers, I'm Curious

[donalddoowop]

For the pat three weeks I have been watching my local PBS station's replay of the History of Baseball. From the time I was very young I heard about the teams from New York and their legendary players and stadiums. I could only imagine because they were not on television. I heard about the Bronx, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Flatbush, Harlem, Spanish Harlem and Queens. The show talked a lot about New York baseball history. It showed children playing baseball in the streets, once kids playing with Willie Mays. Also, as I got older I would read about Christ the King High, Boys and Girls High and Power Memorial High. It made me think of other questions I had about New York. My questions for you, for those who are willing to answer them, are as follows:
!. Were any of you at the game in 1951 when Bobby Thompson hit his "home run heard around the world"
2. At the World Series game in 1956 when Don Larsen pitched his perfect game
3. The game in which Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's home run record
4. Are the Bronx, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Harlem, and Queens neighboring communities
5. Did any of you attend Christ the King of Boys and Girls High
6. Did any of you ever attend any R&B/Rock & Roll Shows at the Apollo
7. Were any of you disappointed when the Giants and Dodgers left New York

I have always wondered what life was like in New York for teenagers during the forties and fifties.

 

[LoboDays]

I was at Ebbets Field on May 12, 1956 when Carl Erskine pitched a no-hitter against Willie Mays, Alvin Dark, Dusty Rhodes and the Giants.
Dodgers line up included Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, Junior Gilliam, Carl Furillo, Sandy Amaros.
The Boys of Summer. Baseball at its best. The game was over in 2 hours, 10 minutes. Now, the first 3 innings take that long.

New York Giants vs Brooklyn Dodgers Box Score: May 12, 1956 | Baseball-Reference.com

Brooklyn Dodgers beat New York Giants (3-0). May 12, 1956, Attendance: 17395, Time of Game: 2:10. Visit Baseball-Reference.com for the complete box score, play-by-play, and win probability

www.baseball-reference.com

 

[oldude]

I don’t go back quite that far, but did live and work in NYC back in 1977, when I was able to score a couple tickets to the World Series. My dad and I were seated in the right field seats, just inside the foul pole, within a few feet of the first 2 of 3 HR’s that Reggie Jackson hit in game 6 vs the Dodgers. To this day, it’s my greatest baseball memory.

 

[donalddoowop]

I was at Ebbets Field on May 12, 1956 when Carl Erskine pitched a no-hitter against Willie Mays, Alvin Dark, Dusty Rhodes and the Giants.
Dodgers line up included Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, Junior Gilliam, Carl Furillo, Sandy Amaros.
The Boys of Summer. Baseball at its best. The game was over in 2 hours, 10 minutes. Now, the first 3 innings take that long.

New York Giants vs Brooklyn Dodgers Box Score: May 12, 1956 | Baseball-Reference.com

Brooklyn Dodgers beat New York Giants (3-0). May 12, 1956, Attendance: 17395, Time of Game: 2:10. Visit Baseball-Reference.com for the complete box score, play-by-play, and win probability

www.baseball-reference.com

I forgot about Erskine's no-hitter.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I'm not quite that old either, in fact my mother was listening to Don Larson's perfect game on the radio while she was quite pregnant with me.

Not sure about your "communities" question. The Bronx (and yes, it is correctly "The Bronx") is a borough of NY north east of the island of Manhattan. Yankee Stadium is in the Bronx, visible from the water if you were to take a Circle Line around Manhattan Island. The boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens are on the Western end of Long Island, Brooklyn is kind of southeast of Manhattan and Queens more directly east, but it wraps around Brooklyn. Check out a map of NYC Boroughs.

Neighborhoods are something else again. Harlem is a neighborhood in Manhattan. The Met's home Citi Field is in Flushing Meadows / Corona Park, part of Queens, near the site of the 1964 / 65 Worlds Fair and the home of the US Tennis Open. There are tons of neighborhoods in all the boroughs. I worked for a movie theatre company and at one time or another was in quite a few, although, even then, it is only a "whiff" of what the neighborhood is like when you visit one site and drive through the area.

As to experiences - I went to a number of games at the old Yankee Stadium and a couple at the new one before we moved to Arizona. We took my late mother for a tour when she was around 90 after the new one opened. A friend and I attended one playoff game in particular where I believe a catcher named Hundley was the hero, I think against Toronto.

There were 2 years, probably in the '60's where the Yankees played at Shea Stadium and my parents and I went to a double header against Oakland because Joe DiMaggio, my Mom's hero, was a coach for them. My wife and I attended one of Billy Joel's "Last Play at Shea" concerts before it was replaced by Citi Field.

Not sure, again, what you were asking about neighborhoods, hoped this helps.

 

[donalddoowop]

I'm not quite that old either, in fact my mother was listening to Don Larson's perfect game on the radio while she was quite pregnant with me.

Not sure about your "communities" question. The Bronx (and yes, it is correctly "The Bronx") is a borough of NY north east of the island of Manhattan. Yankee Stadium is in the Bronx, visible from the water if you were to take a Circle Line around Manhattan Island. The boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens are on the Western end of Long Island, Brooklyn is kind of southeast of Manhattan and Queens more directly east, but it wraps around Brooklyn. Check out a map of NYC Boroughs.

Neighborhoods are something else again. Harlem is a neighborhood in Manhattan. The Met's home Citi Field is in Flushing Meadows / Corona Park, part of Queens, near the site of the 1964 / 65 Worlds Fair and the home of the US Tennis Open. There are tons of neighborhoods in all the boroughs. I worked for a movie theatre company and at one time or another was in quite a few, although, even then, it is only a "whiff" of what the neighborhood is like when you visit one site and drive through the area.

As to experiences - I went to a number of games at the old Yankee Stadium and a couple at the new one before we moved to Arizona. We took my late mother for a tour when she was around 90 after the new one opened. A friend and I attended one playoff game in particular where I believe a catcher named Hundley was the hero, I think against Toronto.

There were 2 years, probably in the '60's where the Yankees played at Shea Stadium and my parents and I went to a double header against Oakland because Joe DiMaggio, my Mom's hero, was a coach for them. My wife and I attended one of Billy Joel's "Last Play at Shea" concerts before it was replaced by Citi Field.

Not sure, again, what you were asking about neighborhoods, hoped this helps.

I just wondered if the places I named were within fifty miles of each other or were they spread across all of New York. Thank you for your response.

 

[uconnfan68]

Born in Brooklyn, but never went to Ebbets Field. Father was a huge Dodger fan though. The first gsme he took me to was Yankees-Red Sox at Fenway in late 50s. Mantle, Maris, Berra, and Ted Williams.
Also went to a Mets game at Polo Fields. Have been to old Yankee Stadium, not to new, or to Shea. Had my fill of baseball in San Diego. Much easier to get there in 15 minutes vs. a few hours.

 

[rvwsleep]

Slightly too young to see the Dodgers play in Brooklyn, however:
Went to high school in Brooklyn and we did play Boys high (As it was called back then = late 60's)
Lots of memories of the original Yankee Stadium. In the late 60's they played scheduled doubleheaders.
During our high school years,, my brother and I would pack multiple lunches and head out, via the subway, to the Stadium.
We would buy tickets, an hour before the game, at one of the tickets booths.
They were either $3.50 or $4.00 for a box seat, behind the catcher. That's how we would spend 6+ hours on a summer Sunday afternoon. Glorious.

 

[rvwsleep]

I just wondered if the places I named were within fifty miles of each other or were they spread across all of New York. Thank you for your response.

All of the places you inquired about, except Buffalo, are within the New York City boundaries. NYC is just over 300 square miles. For a comparison, that would be a square with a side of slightly more than 17 miles. Though the outer boundaries of the city are irregularly shaped. And all of the places named in NYC could be conveniently reached by a single subway fare.

 

[donalddoowop]

Born in Brooklyn, but never went to Ebbets Field. Father was a huge Dodger fan though. The first gsme he took me to was Yankees-Red Sox at Fenway in late 50s. Mantle, Maris, Berra, and Ted Williams.
Also went to a Mets game at Polo Fields. Have been to old Yankee Stadium, not to new, or to Shea. Had my fill of baseball in San Diego. Much easier to get there in 15 minutes vs. a few hours.

Did you exit the Polo Grounds by walking across the field and going through the bull pen? The program said that was a way for fans to exit.

 

[Monte]

I grew up in CT, but was, and I still am, an ardent DODGER fan. I was not old enough to drive to games in NY during the 50's, but I constantly begged older people to take me to Brooklyn.
I went to my first game in 1951. I saw the Dodgers lose to the Pirates at Ebbets Field. I was sick all the way home. I attended 3 more games in Brooklyn, and I was so lucky in 1957 when a friend of mine arranged for me to sit in the Dodger dugout during batting practice.
An older friend(who had a driver's license) was a Giant fan. He would often take me to the Polo Grounds when the Dodgers came in to play the Giants.
My uncle was a huge fan of Ted Williams and the Red Sox. I often went with him when Boston came to Yankee Stadium.
When I became an adult, I traveled throughout the US, and I have seen the Dodgers play in 17 stadiums across the country. I still wish the Dodgers, Giants, and Yankees were altogether again in New York.

 

[Boreifs]

Buffalo is probably 400 miles away, next to Niagara Falls. I went to my first Yankee game in 1954; my dad splurged for tickets behind the home team dugout that cost 3.50 each! Today, those same seats are likely 3500. Harlem is in Manhattan and way back then was east of seventh avenue to the Harlem River from 110th street to about 140th, with 125th the location of the Cotton Club. Today, it is likely much larger. The “A” train was the most important link, with an express going from 125th to 72nd ( might be wrong; I haven’t lived in NYC since 1973). The Polo grounds were directly opposite Yankee Stadium on the Manhattan side of the river; when it was torn down, they built high rise tenement buildings that were a legendarily failed experiment in urban renewal.

 

[uconnfan68]

Did you exit the Polo Grounds by walking across the field and going through the bull pen? The program said that was a way for fans to exit.

No. Didn’t know that was a thing. Do remember video of Willie’s catch though.

 

[oldude]

On a side note, today is the inaugural Lou Gehrig day throughout MLB, celebrating Gehrig’s legacy while raising awareness of, and support for ALS research.

 

[UcMiami]

I am a Storrs, CT native and spent 10 years living in NYC 1979-89. My dad grew up in the city and he was a huge Yankees fan (I'm all in on the Red Sox), and his sister actually dated Babe Ruth! I have a silver cigarette case he gave her (and yes, I think he was married at the time.) That is as close to the Yankees as I come!

As to question 4: Never heard of any place in NYC being referred to as Buffalo (far NW city in NY state is all I know of.) - Knightsbridge answered the rest.

 

[BBallF]

Best I can do is the first game of the 1963 World Series on October 3, 1963. Koufax strikes out 15 Yankees to set the World Series record. I wasn't even a teenager yet but I remember that curve like it was yesterday. We were seated behind home plate. The record would be broken in 1968 by Bob Gibson with 17. It still stands.

 

[husky8273]

Also just watched Ken Burns "Baseball". Not sure how I missed the original 20 years ago. born in Flushing, grew up a bike ride from Shea, played hoops at Boys High and Power (and Rice, All Hallows, Tolentine, Fordham Prep, LaSalle, etc.). Went to the final Giants game at Yankee Stadium.

 

[huskeynut]

Born in 1951and raised in Poughkeepsie, NY. My Dad took me to a lot of games when I was young. Most were in the old Yankee Stadium with the monuments in center field. Saw Jimmy Piersall have one of his moments and hide behind the monuments. Saw Mantle hit one in the upper deck of right field.

Also saw a few games in the old Polo Grounds during the Mets first couple of seasons.

Fast forward, took our sons to ball games in the remoldled Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium. Then my sons took me to games at the new Yankee Stadium. And the wife and I have seen a couple of games in Citi Field.

 

[msf22b]

I was born in '39 in the Bronx...
Played stickball in the street and also a slightly different version
against the wall of Woodlawn cemetery, pitching strikes into boxes painted on the wall...
They're still there (the boxes).

I was home, sick when Bobby Thompson hit the home run. On Decatur Ave
Giant fans were in short supply...everyone was a Yankee or Dodger fan.
After the big hit, the neighborhood bully went screaming out of his apt onto the street, I'll never forget it. The lone Giant fan.

My music school buddy's older brother was the student manager of the NYU basketball team...College BB was big in those days; He would get us tickets to the old garden; we used to go to double-headers
The Seattle team came in and beat NYU 102-101; never forgot it...the 5'9" O'Brian's brothers scored 60-something points...Boris Nachamkin was the NYU star, later played for the Rochester Royals of the NBA.

I was no better than a schoolboy jock...went to Music and Art HS. THe whole neighborhood
played softball in a lot adjacent to Woodlawn Cemetery; there's an apt building there now.
In back of 1st base was a hazard we called the big fat rock...and it was.

Once, one of the "big kids"hit one into a 3rd floor window in deep left and we all ran...Another time, a real, big kid hit one over the center field cemetery wall...That was some shot...Johnny Mancini...i always wondered if the Baltimore outfielder was a grandkid or great-nephew.

It was a vital, intellectually vibrant neighborhood; when my parents moved to Queens, near St John's, I thought I had entered a was a cultural wasteland...but the quality of schoolyard BB and softball as played in Utopia Park was better.

 

[Jingo]

For the pat three weeks I have been watching my local PBS station's replay of the History of Baseball. From the time I was very young I heard about the teams from New York and their legendary players and stadiums. I could only imagine because they were not on television. I heard about the Bronx, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Flatbush, Harlem, Spanish Harlem and Queens. The show talked a lot about New York baseball history. It showed children playing baseball in the streets, once kids playing with Willie Mays. Also, as I got older I would read about Christ the King High, Boys and Girls High and Power Memorial High. It made me think of other questions I had about New York. My questions for you, for those who are willing to answer them, are as follows:
!. Were any of you at the game in 1951 when Bobby Thompson hit his "home run heard around the world"
2. At the World Series game in 1956 when Don Larsen pitched his perfect game
3. The game in which Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's home run record
4. Are the Bronx, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Harlem, and Queens neighboring communities
5. Did any of you attend Christ the King of Boys and Girls High
6. Did any of you ever attend any R&B/Rock & Roll Shows at the Apollo
7. Were any of you disappointed when the Giants and Dodgers left New York

I have always wondered what life was like in New York for teenagers during the forties and fifties.

As an avid 10-year-old NY Giants fan, I watched Bobby Thomson hit the HR that won the NL pennant in 1951 on a 12-inch, black-n-white Philco TV. I stopped watching baseball when the Giants left NY. I realised even then that baseball was a business, not a sport. Very disappointed!
As a NYC kid in the 40s & 50s, you needed chalk, a Spaldeen, and a broomstick. Willie Mays used the latter to hit homers on the streets of Harlem. As a kid, you played street games all day until the street lights came on. Then you had to go in. Besides stickball, most popular games were punchball, "I Declare War', ring-a-Leevio & skelzy.
Alan Freed's rock-n-roll shows, mostly doo wop, were held at the Brooklyn Paramount, not the Apollo. The Paramount was four blocks from my high school, Brooklyn Tech, so I saw ALL the shows!
Boys High [no girls then] was in the same league as Brooklyn Tech so unfortunately I played against The Hawk [Connie Hawkins] in those days. I think he was the best high school hoopster in the country with the possible exception of Roger Brown [Wingate] who dropped 39 points on Boys High in the City title game at the old Garden on 50th Street. I enjoyed that game in person, eh?
I taught mathematics at Christ the King High School where both of my daughters graduated. Both were All-City, 1st team, in basketball. My older daughter played alongside Margaret McKeon, the first "Miss NY State Basketball" in 1986. My younger daughter played with Chamique Holdsclaw and CK won every NY State hoops' title in the 90s, need I say more?

 

[Jingo]

Street games in Queens in the early 50s:

 

[Boreifs]

Did you exit the Polo Grounds by walking across the field and going through the bull pen? The program said that was a way for fans to exit.

The players’ locker rooms were in center field. I never went to a game there, so I don’t know if the fans had to exit there as well.

 

[donalddoowop]

Also just watched Ken Burns "Baseball". Not sure how I missed the original 20 years ago. born in Flushing, grew up a bike ride from Shea, played hoops at Boys High and Power (and Rice, All Hallows, Tolentine, Fordham Prep, LaSalle, etc.). Went to the final Giants game at Yankee Stadium.

Ken Burns show is the one I watched.

 

[TheFarmFan]

As an until-quite-recent NYC resident, this entire thread makes me happy. I'm mostly preaching to the choir here, but I fully abide by Mary Schmich's famous call that everyone should love in NYC once. There is no place like it in America, or on the planet.

(and she was right that one should leave it before it makes them hard, too! )

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Ken Burns show is the one I watched.

My wife and I subscribe to a speaker series in Phoenix and it was conducted remotely this year on Zoom. The last guest for the season was Ken Burns and at the request of the series host before he started speaking (the guests speak for up to 45 minutes and then answer pre-submitted questions for about the same) he showed a 10 minute clip featuring a reference to (and sometimes a highlight of) all his programs.

In addition to being a wonderfully informative and entertaining what was amazing was the breadth of what he has covered and what he has in the pipeline for the next 5 years. I remember one was Benjamin Franklin and one that is his first focusing on someone not related to US history, but I forget who (DaVinci? maybe). His Civil War is magnificent.