HAWORTH TO CELEBRATE “CARL OWEN HUBBELL DAY”
BASEBALL HALL OF FAMER AND FORMER RESIDENT
Two of our members to speak, Peter Laskowich & Jerry Liebowitz!!
Baseball Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell was called the “Meal Ticket” for the New York Giants during the 1930s, or sometimes “King Carl.” He helped take the Giants to three World Series. In the 1934 All Star Game he struck out five future Hall of Famers in a row, starting with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. He was the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 1933 and 1936. And from 1946 through 1950, he and his family lived in the small Bergen County town of Haworth, New Jersey (at the time he was developing the Giants farm system).
Carl’s old team, now the San Francisco Giants, recently honored his time in Haworth with a $500 contribution to the Haworth Library’s building fund—enough to memorialize the pitcher’s name on the library’s Donor Wall. Up until that donation, probably only the town historian and the people who live in the Hubbells’ former home knew of his time here. While everyone in town knows that actress Brooke Shields once lived here, and some may know that General Henry Robert, who wrote “Robert’s Rules of Order,” had a Victorian house on Sunset, the Giants’ donation was a big surprise to local folks who had no idea that the town had been home to a resident truly in a “league of his own,” a man famous for what was called a “baffling” and “devastating” screwball. The Giants’ donation created so much local interest that the Friends of the Haworth Library decided to celebrate Hubbell’s legacy and residency with a special day.
To that end, the Haworth Borough Council has passed a resolution officially making Sunday, April 24, “Carl Owen Hubbell Day.” At 1:30 PM the Hubbell family home, 474 Haworth Ave., will be open to see, and a video there will showcase Hubbell’s baseball career. At 2:30 at the Haworth Library, 300 Haworth Ave., New York baseball historian Peter Laskowich will talk about the place of the Giants, and Hubbell, in baseball history, and Jerry Liebowitz, with the New York Giants Preservation Society, will show off his collection of Hubbell and Giants photographs and memorabilia. Additional photos have been sent by Carl Hubbell’s two sons, Carl, Jr., and James, who now live in the Midwest. Finally, at 4 PM, when the speakers are finished, there will be a showing of the 1953 movie Carl made with Edward G. Robinson and Vera-Ellen, “Big Leaguer” (it was the first movie directed by Robert Aldrich, who went on to make “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane” and “The Dirty Dozen”). Peanuts and Cracker Jacks will be served.
For more information on “Carl Owen Hubbell Day,” contact Beth Potter, president of the Friends of the Haworth Library, at 201-384-1020 (or Beth’s cell, 201-723-6289).

Happy Holidays! If you wish to attend you need to call in and speak to Amanda Parker. Click on photos for contact information and address of event. Don’t e-mail her. There is limited seating (300), so act quickly. If you are not on the list, you will not be let in. They have assured me of that!! The Giants will be taking on the Mets at 4PM that afternoon.

Joe Garagiola passed away today at the age of 90. His death brings down the number of living NY Giants to 22. Here is a link to his passing.http://www.sfgate.com/…/Remembering-Joe-Garagiola-hanging-w… It is followed by the list of remaining NY Giants along with their birthdays.
■Foster Castleman 1954-57 B: 1/1/1931 INF
■Joe Margoneri 1956-57 B: 1/13/1930 LEFTY PITCHER
■Joey Amalfitano 1954-55 B:1/23/1934 INF
■Bill White 1956 B: 1/28/1934 1B
■Red Schoendienst 1956-57 B: 2/2/1923 INF
■Al Worthington 1953-54, 1956-57 B: 2/5/1929 P
■Ron Samford 1954 B: 2/28/1930 SS
■Johnny Antonelli 1954-57 B: 4/12/1930 LP
■Jackie Brandt 1956 B: 4/28/1934 OF
■Ed Bressoud 1956-57 B: 5/2/1932 SS
■Willie Mays 1951-52, 1954-57 B: 5/6/1931 OF
■Ozzie Virgil 1956-57 B: 5/17/1933 INF
■Gil Coan 1955 B: 5/18/1922 OF
■Harvey Gentry 1954 B: 5/27/1926 ?
■Wayne Terwilliger 1955-56 B: 6/27/1925 2B
■Pete Burnside 1955, 1957 B: 7/2/1930 P
■Daryl Spencer 1952-53, 1956-57 B: 7/13/1929 INF
■Windy McCall 1954-57 B: 7/18/1925 LEFTY RELIEF
■Billy Gardner 1954-55 B: 7/19/1927 2B
■Ray Crone 1957 B: 8/7/1931 P
■Roy Wright 1956 B: 9/26/1933 P
■Mike McCormick 1956-57 B: 9/29/1938 LP
Gil Coan is the oldest living member of the New York Giants (93), while Mike McCormick is the youngest at 77.

Our 1st NYGPS of 2016 took place Wednesday, January 20th at the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse in lower Manhattan. Over 30 people listened to David H. Lippman and Nicholas Diunte talk about their contributions to the SABR Anthology: The Team Time Won’t Forget, the 1951 New York Giants
http://www.amazon.com/Team-That-Tim…/…/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0…
Lippman spoke about the 50th anniversary of Bobby Thomson’s Shot Heard ‘Round the World, while Diunte spoke about pitcher George Spencer. Both men then took questions on the entire book. A wonderful night concluded with NYGPS Member Jerry Liebowitz conducting a Trivia Contest on the nicknames of the members of the NY Giants. Winners received an authentic signed photo of Bobby Thomson. Thanks to Jay Goldberg for opening his clubhouse to the NYGPS.http://www.bergino.com/

WILLIE MAYS REMEMBERS MENTOR MONTE IRVIN
With audio!! (SEE LINK BELOW)
Hall-of-Fame center fielder Willie Mays was once quoted as saying, “I think I was the best baseball player I ever saw.”
But when it came to life off the field, the legendary player credits his former teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Monte Irvin with being his teacher. Irvin died Monday at his home in Houston at the age of 96. Mays, now 84, spoke to NPR’s Kelly McEvers about the man he described as a father figure.
“He taught me a lot things about life,” Mays said. “I already knew how to play the game, but sometimes you need a little more. You need to know how to treat people. You need to know how when you hit a home run, you run around the bases — you don’t stop and show anybody up. Thinking was more important to him than just playing the game.”
For much of his career, Irvin played in the Negro leagues with the Newark Eagles. When he finally reached Major League Baseball in 1949, two years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, he was already 30 years old. Still, his skill was undeniable.
“He had what I call a very good arm, ran very good, good hitter and most of all thinking,” Mays said. “He was a good thinker in the outfield and that sometimes is overlooked.”
When Mays entered the MLB in 1951, he joined Irvin on the New York Giants, where, he said, the older man’s guidance was invaluable.
“When I came up in ’51, Monte taught me a lot of things about life in the big city — well, I call it the Big Apple, New York. I learned very quickly because I had to play the games in the Polo Grounds,” he said. “So Monte was there playing alongside of me at all times, and it was just a wonderful feeling to have someone in the outfield with me to make sure I didn’t make a lot of mistakes out there.”

Mays, Irvin and Hank Thompson went on to form the first all-black outfield in Game 1 of the 1951 World Series against the Yankees. It was a huge moment for baseball. For Mays? Not so much.
“To me it wasn’t, because I knew those guys … it wasn’t anything different. It made me proud to be a part of that particular unit at that particular time.”
When Irvin was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973 he acknowledged that he “wasted [his] best years in the Negro leagues.”
But he added: “I’m philosophical about it. There’s no point in being bitter. You’re not happy with the way things happen, but why make yourself sick inside? There were many guys who could really play who never got a chance at all.”
It was this thoughtfulness that stuck with Mays. When asked about what he will miss about Irvin, Mays said simply, “the man.”
“He was a guy that was sort of like my father. … There was a park by his house there, we would go out and just talk, nothing specific, just talk, mostly about life.”

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/13/462945783/willie-mays-remembers-mentor-monte-irvin?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=storiesfromnpr

HALL OF FAMER, TRAILBLAZER IRVIN DIES AT 96
Fourth African-American to play in big leagues helped many during game’s integration
By Richard Justice and Chris Haft / MLB.com | 3:15 PM ET
Monte Irvin was a mentor to Willie Mays and a friend to Ted Williams. He was in the Polo Grounds’ home dugout when Bobby Thomson hit the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” and was visiting Havana when the Cubans ran out a hotshot pitching prospect named Fidel Castro.
Irvin’s long, wonderful life was the stuff of dreams, a uniquely American story and an enduring testament to talent, perseverance, grace and dignity. Perhaps it is the greatest tribute to this remarkable man, who died Monday night in Houston of natural causes at age 96, that he’ll forever be remembered as much for his decency and sense of humor as for his amazing skills.
“Monte Irvin’s affable demeanor, strong constitution and coolness under pressure helped guide baseball through desegregation and set a standard for American culture,” said Jeff Idelson, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. “His abilities on the field as the consummate teammate are undeniable, as evidenced by World Series titles he contributed to in both the Negro and Major leagues, and a richly deserved plaque in Cooperstown. He was on the original committee that elected Negro League stars to the Hall of Fame, something for which the Museum will always be grateful.”
• Baseball world remembers Monte Irvin
In the 1940s, Negro League owners had recommended to Branch Rickey, then the Dodgers’ president and general manager, that Irvin would be a perfect candidate to break Major League Baseball’s color line, which Jackie Robinson did in 1947. Looking back on the subject years later, Irvin simply didn’t believe he would have been ready after having just served three years in the Army.
“I don’t have any regrets,” Irvin said in 2010. “I couldn’t aspire to becoming a Major Leaguer because the door was closed. Jackie Robinson is the real hero and the real pioneer. I was just so happy he was successful, and it made it much easier for all of us who came after him.”
But Irvin played a significant role in the integration of MLB, mentoring many of the African-American players who were breaking into the big leagues in the 1950s. He was the fourth African-American to play in the big leagues, following Robinson, Larry Doby and Hank Thompson.
He made his debut with the New York Giants at age 30 in 1949, two years after Robinson debuted with the Dodgers. Along with Mays and Thompson, he was a member of the game’s first all-black outfield in 1951. Mays joined the Giants that season. Continue reading →

HERE’S THE POLO GROUNDS AS YOU’VE (MAYBE) NEVER SEEN IT
By Dayn Perry | Baseball Writer
The Polo Grounds! The storied venue that once sat perched on the upper end of Manhattan played host to, among other sports spectacles, Giants home games for much of their New York history. Now, via Alex Belth, let’s enjoy a color, aerial photograph of the modern Polo Grounds (i.e., the one that was rebuilt in modern fashion after burning the ground in 1911)
Excelsior! This vista gives you a good grasp of just how sprawling the Polo Grounds was in center field. Said spawl, of course, helped make Willie Mays’ famed catch of Vic Wertz’s deep drive in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series one of the most iconic moments in sports history.
Anyhow, this photo is from the 1962-63 period, when the Giants were already in San Francisco and the Mets were just getting started. The Polo Grounds would be torn down for good and all in 1964.
Hey, Polo Grounds, we remember you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE NYGPS!!!
Wishing you all the best for 2016! Thanks for supporting our efforts to keep the New York Giants Baseball Team’s memory alive through the NYGPS. Be well!!-Gary

NYGPS 1ST MEETING OF 2016!!
Our first 2016 NYGPS Meeting will take place on Wednesday, January 20th, at 6:30PM, at the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse. Two contributors to the Team Time Won’t Forget, the 1951 New York Giants, David H Lippmann and Nicholas Diunte, will be on hand to talk about their part in this anthology by members of SABR, as well as speak on the book in general. Please RSVP as soon as possible as this will be a well-attended meeting for sure. Thanks to Jay Goldberg for always opening up his Clubhouse to the NYGPS.-Gary

November 24, 2015 by Andrew Baggarly
The Giants don’t have to win a World Series for Willie Mays to drop by the White House and say hello to President Obama. The Say Hey Kid had an especially memorable visit on Tuesday.
Mays was among 17 individuals on Tuesday who were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in a ceremony in the East Room. Yankees catcher Yogi Berra was a posthumous honoree. The honor has been bestowed on 11 baseball players; Ernie Banks was the last recipient, in 2013.
Mays, 84, rose from his chair and took off his Giants cap with the script G logo, and President Obama smiled as he clasped the ribbon around his neck.
The honor is presented “to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors,” according to the White House.
Advertisement
“We don’t have time to list all of Willie Mays’s statistics — 660 home runs, .302 lifetime batting average,” President Obama said. “The list goes on and on. I won’t describe that miracle grab at the Polo Grounds, either — because Willie says that wasn’t even his best catch. I will say this: We have never seen an all-around, five-tool player quite like Willie before — and we haven’t seen one since. He could throw and he could field, hit for contact and for power. And, of course, he was so fast, he could barely keep a hat on his head.
“On top of that, Willie also served our country, and his quiet example while excelling on one of America’s biggest stages helped carry forward the banner of civil rights.
“A few years ago, Willie rode with me on Air Force One. I told him then what I’ll tell all of you now — it’s because of giants like Willie that someone like me could even think about running for President.”
Other honorees included Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand, James Taylor, Stephen Sondheim, violinist Itzhak Perlman and NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson.
“This is an extraordinary group,” President Obama said. “Even by the standards of Medal of Freedom winners, this is a class act. What an incredible tapestry this country is and what a great blessing to be in a nation where individuals as diverse, (from) wildly different backgrounds, can help to shape our dreams, how we live together, help define justice and freedom and love. They represent what’s best in us and we are very, very proud to welcome them today.”
The theme from E.T. played as the President went through and greeted each winner one more time.
Mays stood and applauded when Streisand was announced. Who knew he was a fan of “Funny Girl?”
Giants CEO Larry Baer congratulated Mays on the honor after it was announced Nov. 16.
“As everyone knows, Willie is a national treasure and one of the greatest players in the history of baseball,” Baer said in a statement. “I cannot think of a more fitting tribute to recognize Willie for his endless contributions to our national pastime.”