FYI..I grew up in the Bronx..a few miles from Yankee Stadium. In 1953..when I was 6..my aunt took me to my first ball game...she was a lifelong Yankees fan..going back to Murderer’s Row. After the game, she had me stand outside the player’s entrance..to try and get some autographs..None of the Yankees would stop tht day for this little kid. So, after an hour..we give up.. we’re walking up the hill to the subway..we go past the visitor’s entrance...the door opens, this man comes out..he was carrying several bats...he came over to me, knelt down, pulled out a bat, and spent about 5 minutes talking to me...and giving me “batting tips”..though I could barely hold the bat. The Yankees were playing the Red Sox that day, and the man was Ted Williams..and I became a lifelong fan..
My father-in-law used to run a summer Y-camp for disadvantaged kids outside of Worcester. Ted Williams and another Red Sox player (Johnny Pesky? I forget.) dropped in unanounced one day, and basically the same story. Spent the whole afternoon with the kids, no reporters, no publicity, just spending time with young fans.
BTW, I grew up in Queens, when everyone was a Dodgers fan, even after the move to LA. I was a Yankees fan because I was a front runner. I always hated the Mets and Met fans, except maybe 1969 and 1973. The Red Sox “grew” on me after I moved up here.
The thing I remember about Ted Williams is how nasty he was to the Boston fans.
You were lucky.
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Wow... incredible story!
Brought a tear to my eye and a wee lump in my throat:)
What a GREAT story!