That’s cool.
Where’s east Long Beach?
I grew up in L.A. in the 1950s, and I remember the Dodgers coming to L.A. from N.Y. I saw a few Dodgers games when they played at the Coliseum (for old guys like me, do you remember the high left field screen/fence?). Those were great times: Gil Hodges; Sandy Koufax; Duke Snider; Don Demeter; Wally Moon; Ron Fairly; Charlie Neal; just to name a few.
Interesting story. Thanks for posting. š
He hit four home runs in a single game in 1950.
The Dodgers manager was taking a great risk letting his players meet with General MacArthur. Could lead to insubordination.
Evidently he once had been looking at a home in my little town in NJ, but passed it up. I rarely go by that house without thinking of him.
bump
Gil managed the 1969 Amazing Mets, a worthy achievement and title winning team.
My mom was a big baseball fan. She saw all the greats like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. When she married my dad they moved to California from New York. But she never forgave the Dodgers for moving to LA. She spent her remaining years rooting for any team playing against the Dodgers. I remember her listening on the transistor radio in the evenings to Vin Scully’s play by play and telling me he was the best. I became a Dodgers fan around the age of 13. To me, Vin Scully was the voice of baseball. Even I remember the name of Gil Hodges though he was before my time. If Vin Scully says Gil Hodges should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame then it should be.
My uncle Phil was Gil Hodges’ paper boy in Brooklyn. He describes Hodges and his family in glowing terms.
PING!!!