OT Current and Former New Yorkers, I'm Curious

[CTrefugee]

I was a New Yorker until 1965. I was a Yankee fan. My father played semi-pro ball and was a Giant fan, so I had to go to the Polo Grounds most times. I hated the Dodgers ad Ebbets field. In high school, I got a job as a day camp counselor at a Boys' Club. The Yankees always let us (and our 80 kids) into the grandstand free, so I got to see many, many games. The downside was the long train ride from Queens to the Bronx with 80 feral boys.

One game that stands out was Ted Williams last game at Yankee Stadium. My father was a big fan of Williams, so we went to Yankee-Red Sox games. I am not sure of the details after 60+ years, but Ted did have a good day (two solid doubles I think). There never was a more beautiful swing.

I watched Don Larsen's perfect game and still remember Yogi's reaction after the last pitch.

 

[husky8273]

my family framed an earlier version of this NYC neighborhood map as a gift years ago - a favorite

Maps & Geography (nyc.gov)

 

[BBallF]

I was a New Yorker until 1965. I was a Yankee fan. My father played semi-pro ball and was a Giant fan, so I had to go to the Polo Grounds most times. I hated the Dodgers ad Ebbets field. In high school, I got a job as a day camp counselor at a Boys' Club. The Yankees always let us (and our 80 kids) into the grandstand free, so I got to see many, many games. The downside was the long train ride from Queens to the Bronx with 80 feral boys.

One game that stands out was Ted Williams last game at Yankee Stadium. My father was a big fan of Williams, so we went to Yankee-Red Sox games. I am not sure of the details after 60+ years, but Ted did have a good day (two solid doubles I think). There never was a more beautiful swing.

I watched Don Larsen's perfect game and still remember Yogi's reaction after the last pitch.

I was a big Yankee fan growing up. We had a "new" TV in the basement where you could adjust the color. I would stand for the National Anthem before the games which were on WPIX Channel 11 with Mel Allen. My father hated the Yankees with a passion. He also loved Ted Williams. I remember going to the Stadium to see Boston play, never to see the Yankees play. He never got over Joe D being the MVP in 1941 when The Splinter hit .406.

 

[darkstar1]

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.

I can only answer #7. Yea I was disappointed. Was a big Willie Mays fan. Saw him when I was very young at the Polo grounds, but just once. Can’t remember details but I turned into a SF Giant fan when they left. Can still name the lineup with McCovey, Cepeda, Marichal, et al as it was what I used playing stickball in the 60s. Now if you want to talk Knicks during their hey day under Red Holzman in the late 60s...I recall recall seeing them have a miraculous late comeback against Jabbar when he was Alcindor with Milwaukee. Patterned my jumper after Dick Barnett.

 

[husky8273]

I can only answer #7. Yea I was disappointed. Was a big Willie Mays fan. Saw him when I was very young at the Polo grounds, but just once. Can’t remember details but I turned into a SF Giant fan when they left. Can still name the lineup with McCovey, Cepeda, Marichal, et al as it was what I used playing stickball in the 60s. Now if you want to talk Knicks during their hey day under Red Holzman in the late 60s...I recall recall seeing them have a miraculous late comeback against Jabbar when he was Alcindor with Milwaukee. Patterned my jumper after Dick Barnett.

I am younger but also remember the Bucks comeback, see #NYK70 | 1972: Knicks End Game on 19-0 Run for Comeback Win vs Bucks, "What a ballgame!" | New York Knicks

 

[UcMiami]

my family framed an earlier version of this NYC neighborhood map as a gift years ago - a favorite

Maps & Geography (nyc.gov)

Bah ... this map has been sanitized - 'Hell's Kitchen' replaced by the tame 'Clinton'.

 

[Drift]

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.

I’m originally from Rochester, NY. Saw my first MLB game at the (very) old Yankee Stadium in 1954. In May 1961 at Fenway, sitting beyond the green monster, I saw the Yankees pound the Red Sox with seven home runs—two each for Mantle, Maris, and Skowron, and one for Berra. The next day a local paper ran a photo of Yogi holding up one finger, under the caption “only one.” In my neck of the woods, mostly via radio, the three NYC teams reigned supreme.

Years later, now living in NYC, I took my older daughter then eight to her first MLB game. it was July 4, 1983– Dave Righetti’s no-hitter vs. the Red Sox.

 

[rvwsleep]

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?

You graduated from Tech in 59 ?

 

[Jingo]

You graduated from Tech in 59 ?

Yes

 

[Jingo]

No. That is great about your daughters. First Team All City back then was and still is an incredible honor.

My brother saw that Boys High team play. He told me that during warm ups The Hawk would stand on the foul line with a ball being palmed in each hand and his arms outstretched as the rest of the team dunked around him in layups. Then, when they were done it was his turn and he would dunk both balls. Talk about an intimidating haka.

I went to Jack Donohue's basketball camp in Saugerties New York in the summers of 1966 and 1967. He coached Lew Alcindor as I am sure you know at Power Memorial, then Holy Cross and then the National team in Canada. Played 2 on 2 with Kevin Loughery there. I never saw anyone shoot like that before. Bobby Knight who was at Army then was a guest coach for the day. I knew even back then that he was possessed.

You mention the Old Garden. I saw the Finals of the Holiday Festival in early January 1965 when St. John's came back from 16 down to beat Michigan with Cazzie Russell. In the consolation game against Cincinnati, Bill Bradley put on a show. He had 41 the night before in a losing effort when Cazzie scored with 3 seconds to go. We were lucky because we got seats in the St. John's student section. If you were up top you had to watch the game through the haze since smoking was allowed. Hard to believe. Still the best soft pretzels in human history right outside the old Garden doors.

Yes Boys' High was intimidating, to say the least .. Billy Burwell and Eddie Simmons were on that squad too!

 

[Jingo]

No. That is great about your daughters. First Team All City back then was and still is an incredible honor.

My brother saw that Boys High team play. He told me that during warm ups The Hawk would stand on the foul line with a ball being palmed in each hand and his arms outstretched as the rest of the team dunked around him in layups. Then, when they were done it was his turn and he would dunk both balls. Talk about an intimidating haka.

I went to Jack Donohue's basketball camp in Saugerties New York in the summers of 1966 and 1967. He coached Lew Alcindor as I am sure you know at Power Memorial, then Holy Cross and then the National team in Canada. Played 2 on 2 with Kevin Loughery there. I never saw anyone shoot like that before. Bobby Knight who was at Army then was a guest coach for the day. I knew even back then that he was possessed.

You mention the Old Garden. I saw the Finals of the Holiday Festival in early January 1965 when St. John's came back from 16 down to beat Michigan with Cazzie Russell. In the consolation game against Cincinnati, Bill Bradley put on a show. He had 41 the night before in a losing effort when Cazzie scored with 3 seconds to go. We were lucky because we got seats in the St. John's student section. If you were up top you had to watch the game through the haze since smoking was allowed. Hard to believe. Still the best soft pretzels in human history right outside the old Garden doors.

Yes my daughters - Leslie&Chelsea - and Christ the King girls were very successful .. hard work pays off.

 

[Jingo]

View attachment 67803

I have this map on the wall of my apt, I luv it .. I went to high school in Fort Greene [at the top] .. I took the subway from Queens [every day] and got off at Lafayette Ave .. Brooklyn Technical High School .. we had our own airplane and fully-equipped machine shop on the first floor ...

 

[Jingo]

You graduated from Tech in 59 ?

Yes - late 50s - during the 'golden age' of early rock-n-roll/doo wop .. the Brooklyn Paramount was four blocks away .. that's where Alan Freed had all those fabulous Rock&Roll shows .. gr8 memories!

 

[donalddoowop]

Yes - late 50s - during the 'golden age' of early rock-n-roll/doo wop .. the Brooklyn Paramount was four blocks away .. that's where Alan Freed had all those fabulous Rock&Roll shows .. gr8 memories!

You were blessed to live that close to the Paramount. Man, the shows you must have seen. Well, we have two things in common, love of Doo Wop and we graduated high school in 1959.

 

[donalddoowop]

Yes - late 50s - during the 'golden age' of early rock-n-roll/doo wop .. the Brooklyn Paramount was four blocks away .. that's where Alan Freed had all those fabulous Rock&Roll shows .. gr8 memories!

Yes Boys' High was intimidating, to say the least .. Billy Burwell and Eddie Simmons were on that squad too!

Do you remember a male high school basketball player from New York who was highly ranked and at one point some said he was ready for the NBA when he was a sophomore? It was the late seventies or early eighties. He was the talk of New York. However, when his school played against a team that featured Gene Banks, Banks, who wound up at Duke because Penn did not give scholarships, destroyed him. This player never was the same. I believe he wound up at St. John. His last name was McCoy. I can't remember his first name but he was highly overrated.,

 

[BBallF]

Yes my daughters - Leslie&Chelsea - and Christ the King girls were very successful .. hard work pays off.

Wonderful. You should be very proud. BTW, who was #1 in the country that year? It said CK was #2.

 

[BBallF]

I can only answer #7. Yea I was disappointed. Was a big Willie Mays fan. Saw him when I was very young at the Polo grounds, but just once. Can’t remember details but I turned into a SF Giant fan when they left. Can still name the lineup with McCovey, Cepeda, Marichal, et al as it was what I used playing stickball in the 60s. Now if you want to talk Knicks during their hey day under Red Holzman in the late 60s...I recall recall seeing them have a miraculous late comeback against Jabbar when he was Alcindor with Milwaukee. Patterned my jumper after Dick Barnett.

Your free throw too?

 

[BlueDolphin]

Big Giant fan in 1940's. We lived in Queens until we moved to LI in late 1949. Attended a number of Polo Grounds games in those days, and one each in Ebbetts & Yankee Stadium, but not for any of the historical events.

We got the first TV in the neighborhood in 1947. About a 10" B&W. I remember a big Giant-Dodger game when my father invited a bunch of guys from the 'hood to watch the game on TV. Chairs lined up theater style in the living room. Evenly divided between Giant & Dodger fans (no such thing as a Yankee fan in that area). Keg of beer iced down in the kitchen sink. Great stuff. I remember Johnny Mize hitting a huge home run over the bullpen in right-center field in the Polo Grounds, which made him my Giant hero until Monte Irvin and then Willie Mays came along.

Devastated when the Giants left NY. I still think moving Willie Mays out of the Polo Grounds was a Crime Against Nature.

 

[CTyankee]

View attachment 67801
Fans exiting thru field at old Yankee Stadium---also was done at Polo Grounds

Ahhh... I remember my father taking me out to the area behind center field to see the monuments of the most magnificent Yankees, Babe Ruth and Lou Gerhig. (I can't remember if Joe DiMaggio was the 3d monument at that time.) I was a kid of the late 40s and early 50s and a huge Yankee fan. I played catcher and my nickname was Yogi for obvious reasons. I lived right outside of Fort Monmouth in New Jersey and when Whitey Ford was stationed there, he played for the Special Services baseball team. I went to all their games during that period just to watch him pitch and to see how the catcher caught him...

 

[Fairfield Fan]

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.

My dad was living in New York during the 1930's and 1940's. He grew up in a tenement in the South Bronx, which was then an Irish neighborhood. That was almost next to Yankee Stadium, but he was a Nationals fan. They played in the Polo Grounds, which was in the northern part of Manhattan across the East River. The Bronx is the only borough of the city that is situated on the mainland. The other four are on islands. He told me about Bobby Thompson's home run, but was a few years before my time.

 

[Jingo]

Wonderful. You should be very proud. BTW, who was #1 in the country that year? It said CK was #2.

#1 Oregon City [OR] was also undefeated but didn't defeat five state champions like CK did that year. Cardinal O'Hara from Philly was pre-season no. 1 but lost to CK 49-46. After the loss to CK, O'Hara went undefeated for the rest of the year while averaging 90 points per game!
Oregon City is the top team on a list that names the best-ever high school girls' teams.
BTW, Sue Bird enrolled at Christ the King the following year.

 

[Jingo]

Do you remember a male high school basketball player from New York who was highly ranked and at one point some said he was ready for the NBA when he was a sophomore? It was the late seventies or early eighties. He was the talk of New York. However, when his school played against a team that featured Gene Banks, Banks, who wound up at Duke because Penn did not give scholarships, destroyed him. This player never was the same. I believe he wound up at St. John. His last name was McCoy. I can't remember his first name but he was highly overrated.,

Yes .. Wayne McCoy from Long Island Lutheran. I believe he played with Reggie Carter at LuHi.

 

[Jingo]

You were blessed to live that close to the Paramount. Man, the shows you must have seen. Well, we have two things in common, love of Doo Wop and we graduated high school in 1959.

Yes Don, I was lucky to see so many Alan Freed shows, in downtown Brooklyn, a few blocks from my high school .. I still listen to doo wop at home, in my car, I have playlists from my doo wop website : nydoowop dot com .. lucky me!

 

[Jingo]

Your free throw too?

Dick Barnett - "Fall back, baby!"

 

[donalddoowop]

Yes Don, I was lucky to see so many Alan Freed shows, in downtown Brooklyn, a few blocks from my high school .. I still listen to doo wop at home, in my car, I have playlists from my doo wop website : nydoowop dot com .. lucky me!

Yes, I listened to your website. There are a lot of my favorite songs on there and some I liked that I had never heard. I enjoyed years ago listening to and reading about some white guys talk about how they responded when they first heard Doo Wop and how excited it made them to discover this new music. Of course for us it was not new. One guy said his friends were playing ball in the street below his window and wondered why he was not coming out. His response was something to the effect "I won't be playing today, I'm listening to this exciting new sound, this new music." How old were you when you first heard Doo Wop and what was your reaction?

 

[Sargassoc]

My mother, a life-long Red Sox fan, was at the Don Larsen game. Her father (a Yankees fan like his grandchildren) had two tickets, but the friend who was supposed to go with him got sick. Recently a widower, he was living with my parents in NY, and he got my mother to go with him. Somewhere in a cabinet, she still has the scorecard.

 

[Ouremblem]

I was at Shea Stadium the night Tom Seaver lost his perfect game in the 9th inning with one out to a hitter named Jim Qualls. It was a huge crowd and he was very fast that night. You could see early on he had his “A” stuff.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

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.

My mom grew up in Washington Heights in the 20s-40s, very close to the Polo Grounds, which was basically across the river from Yankee Stadium. During that era, baseball was huge in NYC and she often attended their games. Her favorite player was Lou Gehrig.

 

[boontonbomber]

I grew up in North Jersey in the 40's and 50's , an avid Dodgers' fan starting in 1947. Of course, Jackie was my favorite player. Went to my first game in 1947, at the Polo Grounds. Watched Ewell "The Whip" Blackwell pitch for the Reds. Saw my first World Series game in 1951. For some reason very clearly remember Eddie Stanky stealing second for the Giants, kicking the ball out of Rizzuto's glove. But my highlight Series game was in 1953, as Erskine struck out 14 Yankees, and Campanella hit a home run that I almost caught in the left field stands. I'm still a Dodgers' fan; never understood how fans could stop rooting for the players just because they were in Los Angeles. And earlier this week I was thrilled to get a look at the Dodgers' Series ring. A friend who I play golf with , was showing a photo of the ring that was presented to his son. His son played in the majors, and is now an advance scout for the Dodgers. Quite the piece of jewelry; not meant to be worn.
Someone mentioned Alcindor, and I actually saw him playing for Power Memorial at the Garden. They were playing DeMatha from Maryland, coached by the legendary Morgan Wootton.
And someone else mentioned Bobby Knight. He spoke at the athletic awards banquet at the Ct. school where I was teaching, while he was coaching at West Point. Very forgettable speech. On the other hand, Jack Donahue ,Alcindor's coach from Power Memorial, also spoke one year, and was very entertaining. Oh, and we also had that old Yankee Lefty Gomez one year, and we were rolling in the aisles for an hour. Great story about getting a guy in a run-down between home plate and the dugout.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I was born and raised in the Bronx, on the Grand Concourse. About 2 miles from Yankee Stadium.
Echo Place and Tremont Ave. were nearby.
Between 1962 and 1965 I had season tickets to the New York Football Giants in Yankee Stadium in the first base seats (end zone seats) 7 games $7.00 a game, $49.00 a season! You can't get a beer for that in the current Giant Stadium in NJ!
I left to go to William Jewell College in Liberty, MO in September 1965 and my NYC days were basically over!