Richards: My first game, Yankee Stadium 1951
From Lawrence Richards at The National Pastime Museum on November 10, 2014:
I grew up in the East Bronx. Some might opine I’m still growing up. But that’s another story.
It was a perfect Sunday mid-morning. My parents told me we were going to a movie. I asked, “What’s playing?” My father said, “You’ll see when we get there.”
Getting on at Hunts Point Station, we rode the IRT Subway uptown to 161st Street. I stopped at a landing as we descended toward the street. I saw enormous crowds, seemingly headed toward some type of massive structure. I’m sure I jumped the last several steps. My mother tells me I said, “This must be some movie!”
I became a rabid Yankees fan when I was seven, two years before. We didn’t have a TV, so I never saw Yankee Stadium. I would glue (might as well have been literally) myself to the radio, listening to the dulcet, syrupy tones of Mel Allen. His Southern drawl up-tick when he announced, “A Ballantine Blast!” Phil Rizzuto was my favorite player. That was primarily because I played shortstop at PS 48, and like the Scooter, I was short.
Read the full article here: http://www.thenationalpastimemuseum.com/article/my-first-game-yankee-stadium-1951
Originally published: November 10, 2014. Last Updated: November 10, 2014.