Rod, Wow! Remarkable. I too thought I would be a professional baseball player. No doubt in my mind. All-star in Little League, home run leader, all-star in Babe Ruth League, I was a catcher. I was asked if I wanted to play varsity baseball in eighth grade (fortunately my brother explained to me I only had four years of eligibility, and I would not be able to play as a senior.) But I still practiced indoors with the varsity and there was another catcher just one year ahead of me. He had an arm like a rocket, I weighed 139 lbs. He weighed 190, all muscle and he was 6'2 and I was 5'10. By the way, we won the NY State Championship in 1961 - at least our school (John Jay High School in Cross River, NY) did. The team didn't carry two catchers, and I was relegated to the JV squad as a freshman. I played some good baseball the next three years (outfielder and second base), but I knew I wasn't going to the majors after that. The interesting thing is, like you, I played two sports and started varsity football as a freshman as a defensive back because I was fast. I played on the same team as my older brother, and I had some interest from a couple of colleges by the time I was a senior. But baseball was my love and didn't play sports in college.
Sounds like we had similar experiences, Art! I wish I’d just stuck to baseball, but I knew my main ticket to college was football. The problem was I had to bulk up for football, which was not good for pitching. I’m glad to hear you felt the same way I did—there was never a doubt in my mind baseball would be my future. Sometimes I think I was just naive, but then I had the gaudy statistics and track record of success to back it up. Anyway, once I saw Mickey Mantle play at Yankee Stadium the deal was sealed! I couldn’t watch baseball for about six or seven years after I had to stop playing; it was too painful. But man, I love the game, and always will.
Rod, Wow! Remarkable. I too thought I would be a professional baseball player. No doubt in my mind. All-star in Little League, home run leader, all-star in Babe Ruth League, I was a catcher. I was asked if I wanted to play varsity baseball in eighth grade (fortunately my brother explained to me I only had four years of eligibility, and I would not be able to play as a senior.) But I still practiced indoors with the varsity and there was another catcher just one year ahead of me. He had an arm like a rocket, I weighed 139 lbs. He weighed 190, all muscle and he was 6'2 and I was 5'10. By the way, we won the NY State Championship in 1961 - at least our school (John Jay High School in Cross River, NY) did. The team didn't carry two catchers, and I was relegated to the JV squad as a freshman. I played some good baseball the next three years (outfielder and second base), but I knew I wasn't going to the majors after that. The interesting thing is, like you, I played two sports and started varsity football as a freshman as a defensive back because I was fast. I played on the same team as my older brother, and I had some interest from a couple of colleges by the time I was a senior. But baseball was my love and didn't play sports in college.
Sounds like we had similar experiences, Art! I wish I’d just stuck to baseball, but I knew my main ticket to college was football. The problem was I had to bulk up for football, which was not good for pitching. I’m glad to hear you felt the same way I did—there was never a doubt in my mind baseball would be my future. Sometimes I think I was just naive, but then I had the gaudy statistics and track record of success to back it up. Anyway, once I saw Mickey Mantle play at Yankee Stadium the deal was sealed! I couldn’t watch baseball for about six or seven years after I had to stop playing; it was too painful. But man, I love the game, and always will.