OT: What Were Some of Your Best Memories, Playing Sports as a Kid?

Do you have a personal first Sports memory, you will never forget....

Considering all sports you played what memories are burned in your brain.

What was your last memory of a sport you loved?

The more i think on this subject, the more I realize how deep these memories are often, the pillars of our youth. While I know this Question is or could be, quit a lengthy response. As with my own memories, you would of thought I never went to school, other than to play ball, and numerous other sports.

 

As I've shared many times I was at Yankee stadium the day Maris hit #61.

Meeting Lew Alcindor (Jabbar) was a bad memory. I was about 12-13 & he was playing in a charity game, while other players were very open & polite with us kids Jabbar was a prick who couldn't be bothered. One of the priests over heard him saying that spending time with these orphans was a waste of his time. I've hated the asshole ever since.

John Havlicek was a different story as I met him coming out of the old garden. Not only did he stop to sign a few autographs but he also took the time to have a picture taken with a bunch of us. A real nice guy.

 

...probably playing Baseball and getting drafted out of HS ...but I decided to play college ball first and it ruined me.

...and don't ask me what league I played in because I don't fucking remember and I kinda get confused when people ask me...in fact, I can't even remember what my career BA was. And don't ask me what my zip code is either because I'm a little fuzzy on that as well.

 

Will the same thing happen to me when I become senile?

 

mark: 0.30-1.40

[video=youtube;n2A194yTWoQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2A194yTWoQ[/video]

So Lew Alcindor gave you the cold shoulder treatment, like in the Movie "AirPlane". "My Daddy says your lazy running down the court." "Well then get your Daddy to fly this plane"

 

Hell, I'm still trying to remember my phone number, let alone my Social Security number

Some of my memories, the very 1st 2 years of playing Little League.

I was put at SS to try out for that position. We had the # Pitcher in the League, who also was the best hitter, for avg. RBI"s and HR's. He was at bat, and hit a rocket line drive right at my face. My glove was not an official glove. I had complained to my Dad, that I needed a real glove not one of those Xmas toy gloves.

Needless to say, he never got one for me, until, that 1st hit my way, I hung onto the line drive at my face, but the tiny glove with no pocket allowed the force of that smoker to not stop the ball, until my glove hit me right between the eyes. That one knocked me out cold, the 1st of 3 more broken noses to come due to BB.

The very next year, I found myself Pitching one game a week, and Catching the next. I threw harder than most little leaguers, and had control probs at times. I threw a high heater inside, and hit the batter square between the eyes, and he went down out cold too. An ambulance was called, and my worst fear other than possibly killing the kid batting, but was also afraid His mom was going to jump the fence and kick my ass.

A year later, I found myself drafted by invite only, by the Shreveport Travel Lg. Team, who had won 8 consecutive city championships. WE played 14 little league games, then when LL was done for the summer, we began a 28 game season. We went 32-0 to win the City Championship for the 9th cons. year.

On to LA State Finals, we were upset 3-2 to suffer our first loss of the year, and cost us a state championship.
This is a bitter memory for me, as I batted 3rd or 5th all year. We had a man on 3rd with 2 outs. I was at the plate, and had gone 3 for 3 with all gap line drives off or to the wall. With a full count, my Mgr. called me over, and told me to bunt the ball right in a divot in front of the Pitchers mound. His theory was the pitcher literally had one leg shorter than the other, and couldn't field it in time, to throw me out at 1st or the RISP crossing home.

This coach like all LL coaches stressed the importance of not bunting with 2 strikes on you. I knew he had full trust in me bunting, yet he overlooked the 3 Doubles, and 2 runs I scored. Why he didn't let me hit was besides me, of which I'm still trying to figure out. 3 for 3, and League Leader in RBI's, Doubles, Triples, Runs Scored, HR's, Hits, Stolen Bases, you name it; other than I hit for 2nd best B'Avg, at .454, and lost that title by only .002 of a point. I knew with no doubt, I was going to make it a 4 for 4 day by hitting at will, as I had done with this pitcher.

Just a few memories to name many....keep it coming guys....!!!

 

One of the few ways for this old(er) mind to remember, is i was extremely lucky my Mom kept all of my sports memorabilia, including yearly statistic sheets too,.

In 67, my team mate buddy, was a neighbor to the Braves Pitcher Cecil Upshaw, who was more than glad to help us refine our deliveries. Then along came Gary Peter's, cousin of one of my best friends. By then LL was over, American Legion was going great guns, and Peter's teaching me to throw a hard slider from hell with eyes in the ball, made all the difference in the world.
Peter's was the

1963 AL pitching_title
1963 AL Rookie of the Year
1966 AL pitching_title

Still but a few of many many memories to come. Favorite moment, not only walking out of Anaheim Stadium with the Mick, as much hanging out over the dugout at Candlestick, to obtain Mays, McCovey and Marichal's autographs, with not so much as a word to me, by Security. Tho' they were busy holding back the other 30 kids to try and do the same. It paid to have seats right behind the Giants dugout too....

hell, we can do this all day, eh?

 

...you can bet on it.

 

Wait a minute.....Ricardo said "when" I become senile.....

I already thought Rick was senile....

 

...actually, some of my fondest memories of sports/baseball was playing catch with Dad...and playing baseball on the vacant lot in the neighborhood where I lived when I was about 7-8-9 years old.
...it was very reminiscent of the the movie "The Sandlot"...just a bunch of goofy kids who loved to play the game. Hell, Mom used to have to drag me off the field, even when it was too dark to play...we still wanted to play anyway.
...We'd collect pop bottles to trade in for money to buy packs of baseball cards, hoping to get a Mickey Mantle...the cards of Gus Triandos, Marv Throneberry, Wally Moon, and the like, were placed on our bicycles with clothes pins so that they'd make that cool sound in the spokes.



...ahhhhhh, good times.

 

treated like a child prodigy in my younger years, at 17 was given title "honorable mention all world"" SS after winning the big league world championship, would have been "all world" had i had 1 additional hit!

 

Oh it wasn't just me, it was all us kids, While other players like Lucius Allen, Mike Warren & others were sharing there time & signing autographs Alcindor was being a real dick.

 

Damn it... Had it all typed out & POOF... Grrrrr

OK, my top 3 as a player in no particular order....

I was 8 or 9... I was playing catcher in little league & the batter popped up.... I threw my mask of as I ran quite a bit and made a sliding catch.... I even made the town paper...

I was in high school watching my brother play & helping a pitcher warm up when my classmates who were starting pitchers on the varsity team & needed to warm up for a game and asked if I could... I had a standard glove & no gear.... They threw sliders, breaking balls, curves, fast balls, & the kitchen sink & nothing got by me... Nothing was dropped... The only balls that hit the dirt did so before getting to me.... They were amazed & asked why I wasn't on the team... I told them I couldn't hit for my life... I kicked ass in wiffle ball though...

And not a specific memory, but after a great game of soccer on a cool (some would say cold) day & would take my cleats off, the "steam" would pour off my feet.... Satisfaction!

And then as a fan, the earliest championships I could remember for MY teams...

I had just turned 9 a little over a month earlier when the Giants won the Super Bowl in '87....
The Devils won via sweep over the "dominant" Red Wings in '95 &
then our Yankees in '96.. Granted, I was alive for the '78 championship, this was the first I saw...

And then the '98 team was amazing.

 

You should have dragged one down toward the open left side of the field like Ernie Fazio.

 

Our neighborhood had a small sand lot for softball or tackle football and a bigger lot for baseball. We played 3 on 3 touch football in the street as well as street hockey. I also had a half court basketball court. There was always a game going on somewhere. Like here, I was one the youngest...lol!

 

Ahhh, playing sandlot ball is the best in many ways....and playing catch with your Father is a special memory. My Dad never would play catch with me, but my neighbor was as much my Proxy Dad, and played catch endlessly. Teaching me to pinpoint control my pitches, and paint the corners.

I would of never believed it then if God Told Me Himself. 36 years later, I would wind up with his Job at Northrop. Who would of ever thought as much.

I too collected bottles to buy my baseball cards with, what a thrill. I never used them in my bicycle spokes, but used Mom's playing cards instead.

 

It sounds like you had a wonderful childhood Hammer. As well as some great memories too. I loved those dominat Red Wings, especially with their all Russian Front. Fedorov was by far my favorite player, even over Gretzky. I like Sergei's ability to play Defense, Forward, Center or a Winger. I've only seen one hockey player take the puck behind his own goal, and skate down the ice, past and around, beyond all 5 defenders to score. Fedorov slid the puck b/t two defenders legs, making them look like little girls.

I've seen Gretzky plenty of times here in LA, however Wayne was treated like a non-defensive prima donna. there I said it. Gordie Howe IMO is/was better than Gretzky, regardless of statistics. I don't mean to put Wayne down, cuz he was an incredible scorer. Who can ever forget his OT Hat Trick in 93 against Doug Gilmour and the Maple Leafs. Altho' the Cup was pretty much a Les Canadiens de Habitat to win or lose. Roy was incredible to see play in person. But then so was Brodeur, and Hasek, Belfour too. Vernon, Cujo....et al.

 

We played football and soccer in the streets more than on a field. Amazing how we didn't kill ourselves playing on hard blacktop....

When we did get a yard to play Football in, the street was out of bounds. Have plenty of memories of hitting guys going up for a catch, only to hit them so hard, they landed in the middle of the street.

One memory I can't ever forget with Football, was playing at the City Park, in 3 feet of snow, with drifts as high as 4 feet. After all it never snows in Southern California.

Here's one for ya', I lived in Merced CA. for 2 years. We had a field hockey game with golf clubs, as a defender approached me, I'd take a whack at the ball, with no intent to hit the ball, rather the defender's shins. Ouchhh.

Or-one big backyard we used for football only. After a few tackles we were all soaked wet. None of us thought much about the field/yard being wet. we all thought they had just watered their lawn. After about 1/2 an hour, we all commented on how soaked we were, and it did NOT smell like water. It WAS a overflowing Septic Tank.

And that is how the First Shit Bowl went down....I had to take 3 showers that night to get the stench off, and Mom made sure I was cleansed to the bone. There never was a Shit Bowl II.

 

...lol...do you remember that awful waxy bubble gum that used to come with the baseball cards?...but back then we thought it was good and we'd try to get as many pieces of that stuff in our mouths and pretend we had a chunk of chewing tobacco in our mouths...and by extension, spitting was also a prerequisite.
...and many times when sorting through our card collection, we'd eventually take a card and after reading the player's stats on the back of the card, press it to our nose and inhale in order to get, for lack of a better term, a "bubble gum smell flashback". Hell, I think that smell stayed with the cards for years.



...again, Ahhhh, good times.

 

Indeed, that stick of gum was a bonus. I never could chew on one piece at a time, like you said, as much as possible to look like one was chewing tobaccy....

Later on in the early 80s, I got back into collecting BB cards, and was stunned how many cards from that era were stained with the stick of bubblegum, driving the value way down. Yet in our youth, I can't ever recall seeing one card stained by that bubblicous. I still have all my cards when I was a kid. (I thank my Mom for that much, as she packed away all of our childhood belongings that meant the most to us, she had the foresight to do as much, and it made my day/life when she pulled them out 20 years later, still in Mint Shape). Not one of those late 50s, and 60s cards had a single bubble gum stain on them.