I received this bill for parking cars on a public street at a baseball game for the Orioles when I was about 8 years old. I only charged $2.00 and people paid it. It was a different life back then and people were a lot nicer. Again, it's crisp as can be.
I remember getting paid in green seal 2 dollar bills in California for re-cycled soda cans. I thought it was weird at the time but kept them and spent them. I would get thee weirdest looks from cashiers. Priceless. Yes they are real. lol
Are you old enough to remember Brooks Robinson, Paul Blair, Frank Robinson, Luis Aparicio, and that bunch? The first major league home I ever saw at the ballpark was hit by...Aparicio, believe it or not! Max Alvis of my Indians hit an inside-the-park job that night, too. It took a wicked hop that skipped past Blair in CF. But you beat us. That was in 1967...
Old enough? Brooks was a good friend and he loved kids. All the Orioles players from the early sixties were fantastic. Nothing like today's players. I was there from 1958-1966 until we moved to the country. I sure missed the Orioles but I made it back to the Camden Yards a few times. My sister was the VP executive secretary for them. Over 200 Orioles from over her 30 plus years attended her funeral. I was taken on tours, had great seats for the few games I got to and I met a number of the retired ball players that I knew as a kid. Wish I could give you 2 likes. I knew all of them! Brooks knew my name and wasn't afraid to use it in front of others, even crowds. When I was 10 or 11 I sold newspapers at the games. That way I got $.02 per paper that I sold and I could watch the last 4 innings for free. Press pass was used to get in. I had just walked up into the stands and someone yelled "Watch out kid". I turned and got my right hand up in front of my face. I dropped the ball but after the game I met Brooks and asked him why he hit that foul ball so hard. He couldn't believe it was me. I showed him my hand which still hurt and had the stitches from the ball on it. He put his arm around me and took me into the office. He gave me a free baseball, photos and a bat. Brooks loved kids and it showed. I could tell you other stories as so was always there. I lived a block away. Thanks for the memories.
I loved Brooks and Frank Robinson as players, and I thought that Frank was one of the best managers the Indians ever had. He got the most out of what he had to work with. I met Frank at the 1997 National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland. He was sitting right next to Muhammad Ali. I got him to sign his book "Frank: The First Year". At the time, he was working in the NL front office, and I asked him if he'd ever like to get back to being a field manager again. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Yes". He was gracious to me, unlike other reports I had heard about him. And I do remember him vaguely with the Reds before the big trade for Milt Pappas. Brooks was the best 3B I ever saw.
We used to chase Yaz, The Conigliario's brothers and Rico Petrocelli around Fenway for autograph's and "the splendid splinter (Ted Williams) wouldn't even acknowledge you!!! Those were good times. And using S& H green stamps for Ice cream sundaes on way back to Maine! Still have the impossible dream album with Yaz climbing the wall.
Brooks was the best 3rd basemen in the history of baseball as far as I'm concerned. I was at the game when Frank hit the home run that was out of the park. I was at a Twins game. It was late in the game, 8th or 9th inning. Boog Powell came up to bat. He hit a dead center field home run. When his bat hit that ball you could hear that bang for blocks. It almost went out of the park. The Twins won that game, 5 to 1 but that home run was so powerful it brought life to the losing fans. I also saw Boog steal 2nd base once. He never stole a base as he ran so slow. He was in 2nd without a throw and he did it standing up. The O's won that game, something like 18-3. I'd love to see them be like they were in the 1960's again. Such entertainment.
