On July 18, 1940, the borough of Brooklyn welcomed a young Joe Torre into the world.
And now 74 years later, he will be fulfilling one of his lifelong dreams.
Torre will be enshrined July 27 into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., along with fellow MLB managers Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa and former players Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas.
“I think he (Torre) deserves every bit of it,” said Sister Marguerite Torre, Joe’s sister and an Ursuline Sister of Tildonk for 62 years, who served as principal of Nativity B.V.M. School, Ozone Park, for 27 years until 2007. “He’s had a terrific career, and he’s a terrific athlete and a terrific sportsperson. I feel he deserves it totally.”
The family grew up in Good Shepherd parish, Marine Park, and Sister Marguerite fondly remembers young Joe always going to play baseball in the park on the corner of their street.
Joe was only 11 years old when Sister Marguerite entered the convent, but even at that young age, he was already one of the best players in the neighborhood.
“I knew he (Torre) loved it (baseball) and I knew he was good, but I never dreamed he would be as good as he was,” Sister Marguerite said. “When I entered (the convent), I gave him a glove. I said, ‘If I give you a rosary, you won’t pray for me, but every time you use this glove, you have to say a prayer for me.’”
Torre’s baseball talents led him to St. Francis Prep, Brooklyn, where he played on the varsity team his final three years. He starred as the team’s slugging first baseman and was actually one of the team’s best pitchers as well. He was even referred to as the “speedballing Bob Turley of St. Francis.” Turley pitched for the New York Yankees in the 1950s into the ’60s and featured a powerful fastball.
“Toots,” as Torre was known to his high school teammates, graduated the Prep in 1958, and two years later at just 19 years old, he signed a professional contract with the Milwaukee Braves. His 18-year career as a player included stints with the Braves/Brewers, the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets. In 1971 with the Cardinals, the nine-time All-Star was named the National League’s M.V.P. after leading the league with a .363 batting average, 230 hits and 137 RBI.
Early on in her brother’s career, Sister Marguerite was not allowed to go see him play, due to her order’s strict rules. However, Joe had a priest friend write a letter to the superior of the Ursuline Sisters, and Sister Marguerite was then allowed to watch her brother on television.
“He (Torre) always wanted to involve me and let me be there,” she said. “I really wasn’t allowed to go until some time in the mid-60s when our rules changed. Then I went to the games.”
Sister Marguerite recalls Joe’s talent as a player, but he truly left his mark on the game of baseball as a manager. Most notably, he led the Yankees to the postseason in each of his 12 seasons with the club, including four World Series titles (1996, 1998-2000).
He retired with 2,326 wins as a manager – good enough for fifth all-time in MLB history – and is the winningest manager in Yankees’ history, with 24 more wins than the legendary Casey Stengel.
Since 2011, Torre has been MLB’s executive vice president of baseball operations, and he also runs his “Safe at Home” Foundation, which helps combat domestic violence. His No. 6 will be retired by the Yankees on Aug. 23.
When the unanimous Hall of Fame selection was announced in December, 2013, Sister Marguerite and the Torre family were ecstatic.
“It was unbelievably exciting,” she said. “We’re just so proud of him, and we’re just so happy. The Hall of Fame…wow! It really is great, and we’re all so excited.”
Torre is no stranger to Halls of Fame, as he was inducted in 1999 into St. Francis Prep’s Hall of Fame. He was also acknowledged in March of this year as a member of the Prep’s inaugural Ring of Honor.
Take nothing away from these previous accolades, but with over 50 years of service in professional baseball, Torre’s plaque will now forever hang alongside baseball’s immortals in Cooperstown. That’s quite the honor for a Brooklyn boy!
[hr]All photos courtesy of Brother Robert Kent, O.S.F., alumni director, St. Francis Prep[hr]Contact Jim Mancari via email at jmancari@desalesmedia.org.[hr]
