Category Archives: Manhattan
Today’s event is at 109th…
My best day ever ,was when…
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My best day ever ,was when my cousin Sonny took me to see the Dodgers play at Ebbets Field. I got to meet The Duke “DUKE SYNDER”, he was my hero as a young boy and still is. I finally got to meet him again at Studio 54 in New York City many years later at a private party given by our own MANHATTAN SPECIAL SODA COMPANY. I was very sad when the Dodgers left “my” BROOKLYN, I never rooted for a NEW YORK ever again.
I almost forgot. Does anyone…
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I almost forgot. Does anyone remember the four finger drag in Skellzie. Also guys would HEAD FOR THE HILLS when another would become killer. I remember chasing a guy all over Carmine Street park just to blast him after I would become a killer. Great memories, give me a Manhattan Special….Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
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A story from Bill Rammelkamp. Years ago the guys from Maujer st and Teneyck st played the Hasidm boys from Marcy Ave in a game of punchball. This must be back around 1960. Before the game a fight almost broke out because we played with a tennis ball and they played with a white pimple ball. It was decided that one game would be played wih each ball. We did some special stuff to the tennis ball. It was taken and put in a brown paper bag. Then the bag was put on fire so all the heavy hair was burned off. We used these heavier balls instead of the Spaldeen because we could get more English on it. When we played stickball if we didn’t have the money for a ball, we would take a newspaper, fold it up to abou 1 1’2 inches. After you had that thickness you’d roll it up, put a rubber band around it as tight as you could get it and then put it on the curb and bang it down with a stickball handle, to make it as hard as possible. You could do all kinds of things with that kind of ball. Great spins & flukes and when you hit it, you could make it fly. ——— Well, we were definitely more interested in that story than the game that was going on. The Bronxfield Bombers won 13-2. We’re cleaning up and getting ready to go. More pictures will be posted on the site over the weekend. See you next week in Manhattan.
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Some of the cops and firemen have been whacking the ball pretty good. So far the furthest shot was 260 feet. Several of the players hit it 200+ feet, lots of whiffs though. Each player got 6 swings. Total distance from the best swing of each player will be computed to determine the winner.
Well the celebrities got to bat first…
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Well the celebrities got to bat first, and they’re clearly rusty. Willie Randolf struck out, so did Art Shamsky. Ed Charles got a couple of good cuts, as did Joe Torre – but none of the former pros really whacked it. Best shots from the 1st crew were by the non ballplayers like the VP of Modells Peter Lindenbaum and Chris Waldeck, from Spalding. Each of these guys connected for about 175 feet. Lindenbaum whacked a few. Hey Pete – forget about this business stuff – the Mets could use another slugger!
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Curtis Sliwa, the Stickball Commissioner is now at the mike. “I’d like to thank all the people for coming out and celebrating what this little pink ball meant for us growing up in the streets of NYC. Stickball in the streets, stickball in the schoolyard, punchball, handball, boxball, and the 100 different games that we played. This ball was an important part of what it meant to grow up in the City of New York, then, twenty years ago it vanished like the Dinosaurs of old. But thanks to Spalding it’s now back Thanks to John Campi of NY Daily News who understood the importance of these games to the youth of our city, and how they actually helped make the streets safer because people were out there playing the games. Today’s contest is the kickoff for the competition that will be taking place in NYC and Hudson County. Today is an exhibition -a distance contest. We’re going to see if the people can hit the legendary 3 sewers. Stepping up to the plate will be 10 members from the Fire Department led by the Commissioner Tom Von Essen, 10 members from the Police Department, led by Commissioner Howard Safir and a celebrity team lead by the greatest manager of all Joe Torre. The celebrities will bat first.
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John Campi VP for the News Public Affairs has introduced on Rober Merrill who is singing Take me out to th Ballgame accompanied by the Dodger Sym-Phony Band. After the rendition was complete Campi said “When you sing there’s nothing like being accompanied by a great band, and this is nothing like a great band.”