Unfortunately, as sports has entered the realm of big business, the importance of money has overshadowed the true purpose of the game. The NBA is currently in its fourth lockout in league history. The players and owners can’t agree on the division of the league’s $4 billion in marketing rights. However, one former NBA player […]
Most football players are known for their immense size. Standing at just five feet five inches tall and 160 pounds, Xaverian H.S., Bay Ridge, senior Tu-Shaun Plummer doesn’t exactly fit the mold of a typical football player. However, what he lacks in size he makes up with his speed, intensity, playmaking abilities and leadership skills. […]
“If you build it, they will come.” Though this phrase was made famous in the movie “Field of Dreams,” the St. Francis Prep, Fresh Meadows, community has adopted it as a slogan. As part of its Capital Improvement and Modernization Project, the Prep hosted its inaugural walk-a-thon on Oct. 7. The goal was to support […]
God must be a baseball fan, and the events of the 1961 season solidify this claim. Only God could have allowed two Roman Catholics to be linked forever in one of the game’s greatest moments. Those Catholics were New York Yankees slugger Roger Maris and Sal Durante, the young man who caught Maris’ 61st home […]
Many people think of the American Revolution’s Battle of Lexington and Concord when they hear the “Shot Heard ’Round the World.” However, for baseball fans, the phrase takes on a completely different meaning. It refers to New York Giants’ outfielder Bobby Thomson’s three-run home run off Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the […]
“Dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you’re willing to pay the price.” These famous words were spoken by two-time Super Bowl champion coach and Sheepshead Bay native Vince Lombardi. Though Lombardi spent his senior […]
“Behind every great man, there stands a great woman.” Such is the case for the iconic Gil Hodges. On Dec. 26, 1948, Hodges married East Flatbush’s own Joan Lombardi. The soon-to-be 85-year-old Joan Hodges was born a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, so meeting Gil just seemed right. The couple had four children – a boy and […]
Though scores of young men love the game of baseball, very few earn the chance to play the sport professionally. Of those lucky enough to make the big leagues, a miniscule percentage play for their hometown team. However, for Whitestone’s Mike Baxter, not only did his dreams of playing professional baseball come true, but he […]
Be prepared to hear an even louder roar from the Bears and Lady Bears of Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, starting this fall. Effective Sept. 1, St. Joseph’s College’s Brooklyn Campus became the newest member of the NCAA Division III. The athletic program persevered to get where it is today, thanks to the support of the administration […]
Normally in tune with his Catholic faith, there was a time when Brooklyn Cyclones first-year manager Rich Donnelly lost his religion to the peer pressures of baseball. However, one chilling experience reeled him back in and gave him a new look on life. Donnelly has been a Major League Baseball coach for nearly 30 years. […]
