Quick, name the oldest and largest non-profit literacy organization in America?
Come on, check the acronym in the title of the entry.
YES! Reading is Fundamental.
I lacked the fundamentals of reading growing up in Windsor Terrace. Heck, I actually had a book report due one day in Miss Monzillo’s class and instead of reading the book, I watched the movie the night before. As bright as Miss Monzillo is, she caught me.
RIF had the big truck that drove around different neighborhoods. Too bad the truck kept on rolling through our neighborhood. And if it did stop, I was probably in the schoolyard playing basketball; with zero interest in books.
Fast-Forward a few years later – and boy have things changed.
I now read one book per week! Bio’s, sports, novels, and of course motivational books.
Taylor, my nine-year old is in the library once sometimes twice a week. I allow her to check out 5 books each time we visit. (And of course we make our occasional trip to Barnes and Noble)
I lived on Windsor and 9th for a long time and the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza was within walking distance. I was there a total of 3 times in my life.
There was another Public Library on 6th avenue and 9th street, again within walking distance – you can count how many times I walked through their doors on your hand…one hand.
The New York Public Library on 42nd and 5th in Manhattan? I was in there once. And I think it was to go to the restroom during or after the St. Patrick’s Day parade. Or maybe it was during a day I cut school?
How about the lovely Mrs. Cregg with her book store within a stone’s throw away from my front door all those years? I believe it was called ‘The Bookshelf‘. She would sit behind her counter reading a book in front of the window where she always had a smile and a wave when you passed. I might have been in there 10 to 15 times. In my early twenties I began to go in more and more; always walking directly to the sports section. I’ll never forget picking up Connie Hakwins’ book, ‘Foul‘.
But hey, I would read, don’t get me wrong.
Glenn T and I would await eagerly for the next edition of Basketball Digest to come out at Ray and Otto’s. (When she was hiddy to us, we’d head over to Tokeyo Joe’s on 16th and 9th).
We would read it from cover-to-cover. G’s favorite section was ‘The Game I’ll Never Forget’, where they had a NBA player talk about their most memorable game. My favorite part of the pocket-sized magazine was the last section – the rosters of all NBA teams. I memorized where every player went to college. The crossword puzzle was another favorite part of the magazine. (Do they still publish Basketball Digest?)
The Daily News, Post, Newsday and the Sporting News were three papers I would also get lost in.
Today, as a middle-aged grown up I try and read as much as possible. I can read anywhere from 2 to 5 newspapers per day. I enjoy reading material via the internet and of course books.
Give me a bookstore or library and you probably won’t see me for a few hours. How about this for reading paradise – Michigan State University’s library is open 24 hours a day! Don’t be surprised to see yours truly up on the third floor in the middle of the night when I have Insomnia.
Reading is Fundamental!
great topic.. I like the internet but when I go to the library , I go for one book and I come home with 5. I think the best thing you can give a kid is a library card. Once my kid When my kids were about 4 (We have Irish twins-11 months apart), I would take them to get their library, the criteria then was thry had to be able to write their name small enough to fit on the card and it had to be legible. We went almost every Saturday and they wathced old movies, read alot of books and magazines, especially my daughter.
Steve, like you, I waited at R&OS for the latest sports, magazines, and comic books. My uncle began taking me to the library when I was about 7 and encouraged me to read other topics besides sports . He also taught me when you argue about a fact, to liik it up to prove your point, which I still do to this day.
JV,
Good stuff – the day Taylor got her library card she was in paradise!
if I recall there was also a library down by East 5th and Ft. hamilton pkwy.
That’s right.. it was a little more modern . We have nothing like Grand Army in Staten Island. I took my wife and kids there because my son at age 9 wanted to research a distance cousin who wrote for the Booklyn Eagle. When we walked in, my kids were awestruck.. and when I lliked at my wife she was too.. My department moved near the 42nd street Library and if I ever have a lunch hour again, two things I gotta do: hang with Jerry Cole and visit the library up here..
By the way, FOUL was one of the greatest books ever not just sports either.
I remember the Library on 6th Ave, it was one of the only places off the block I was allowed to go at a young age. My sisters and I would walk down there and I would just lose myself in the shelves. On certain days, they had a woman reading stories, sometimes that was cool, but I liked to explore the shelves myself. It was such a big decision to make, which should I take home. I forget the limit, but if it was 5, I wanted to take 6 and I would agonize over the one left behind, what if it wasn’t there next time? Reading has been one of the pleasures of life through good times and bad, there is nothing like being transported into other lands and lives. I suffer from the “one more chapter” syndrome, many nights, it has been 4 am when I have been forced to put the book down because I can’t keep my eyes open. I can spend the day in the book store, I prefer used book stores. I loved Mrs. Craig’s store, I was a frequent customer. We have another one on the avenue, Babboo’s Books. When I go to New Orleans, they have a few used bookstores that have some fascinating stuff, I always come home with a suitcase full of books and music (I have not joined the digital age musically yet) I find it so hard to believe that a lot of people don’t read, don’t they know what they are missing? I know I am running long here, but I will close with this. The library on 6th ave has cut their hours (like most of the smaller branches). I work in the neighborhood and pass the library frequently, and there is always a group of people waiting for it to open. So, I have mixed feelings, I am happy to see people reading, and sad that the access is becoming more and more limited.
Red,
Just a correction… Mrs. Craig is Joan Cregg.. She’s my aunt… Wonderful woman
Billy,
Thanks my man. Do they still live down on Horace Ct.?
Mo,
Good stuff.
JV,
On point. Like the use of ‘awestruck’!
Maureen,
I have the same problem. When I am reading a good book, I bring it everywhere, the bus, the train, bathroom. During lunch, I go off by myself and try to read uninterrupted. I too have done the 4AM reading . The last time was a Patterson murder mystery. My daughter is a reader and my wife is becoming more of one.. my son is a magazine and newspaper guy.
I read once where Stephen King said to take a book with you everywhere you go.
Miss Monzillo always tried to get us to read.
mrs cregg still lives on horace ct, with her son Patrick,
Richie,
Thanks for the information – send her our best. I hung out with her daughter Gerry. Coached Phillip when he was in the 6th grade.
Hey Richie,
Give my regards to your bro.. we were class of 74 together.
jimmy i will, hoops gerry lives on long island, and phillip, is in alabama, both doing well,
The other sections of Basketball Digest that I really loved was the section ¨Who´s Better¨ where the magazine would put two players of the same position from two different teams and then compare them. Another section that was great was ¨The Fans Speak Out¨ where fans would give their opinions on certain topics and lastly at the end were the team rosters and the college/university that each player attended except if you were Moses Malone, Darryl Dawkins, or Bill Willougby. does anybody remeber Willouby actually going up and not only blocking Kareem´s sky hook but actually catching it and coming down. Those were fun times watching the NBA and Basketball Digest was a great read!!
The library on 10th Street and 6th Avenue and the other library on Fort Hamilton Pkwy and East 5th St. are still open but each location is now classfied as a children´s library. One now has to go over to Grand Army Plaza if they really want to find an array of adult reference materials.
Glenn,
The one I remember was David Thompson blocking Bill Walton’s shot. Thompson was 6′4” and Walton was listed at 6′11 but was really about 7′3” (look at the Celtics team picture, he was way taller than Parrish and MccHale).. The other great thing about Basketball Digest was that it did features on the ABA.. Back then, that league did not get the coverage or respect it deserved.
I recall Willow’s block on Jabber.
And,
DT’s block of Walton.
Two great blocks.
The greatest blocked shot I have seen took place in the playoffs about 4 years ago. Tayshaun Prince of the Detroit Pistons catching a streaking Reggie Miller who was a good 4 steps ahead. Prince went up and swatted the ball away.
Unreal!
Does anyone remember the good Doctor Julius ¨Dr. J¨ Errrrrrrrrrrrrving ( as the Zink would later say over the PA system in Philly) when he played for the Nets in the ABA. They cleared it out for him in the playoffs around 1974-75 and he went down the middle of the lane at Freedom Hall in Kentucky vs. the Kentucky Colonels and dunked it over 7-2 Artis Gilmore to win the game at the buzzer? Those were great games! the Nets had Brian Taylor, Billy Paultz, Larry Kenon, and John Williamson to go along with Erving while the Colonels had Gilmore and Dan Issel and that little guard that could knock down jumpers from all over. His name escapes me. The Nets originally played on WPIX 11 and them moved over to WOR-9 and were on tape delay after ther Knicks at times. B-Ball Digest was good at giving the ABA its due. They had the better players at the time ( Erving, Kenon, Marvin Barnes, Mo Lucas, Moses Malone, David Thompson, George McGinnis, Bobby Jones, Artis Gilmore, Dan Issel, and George Gervin to name some.) J-Vack you are right for that league was very underrated. The NBA tried to make it seem inferior so that they could offer the players less $$.
That little guard for the Colonels that I missed was none other than Little Louie Dampier. and you guys thought that I was going to say Louie Webber.
He(Webber) should be in the HN Hall of Fame for never wearing shorts in an HN Summer League game. He wore long jeans. That was his mystique! LOL!
The ABA was smart and slick. They would sign a guy for 5 years for 3MM and the NBAwould panic and up the ante to keep their players from jumping. It would turn out the salary was 1.5 MM over 5 years and a 1.5 MM insurance annuity that would start when the payer turned 40. The Nets, Colonels, Spurs, and Nuggets could have competed in the NBA. When the first post merger All Star game was played.. 40 percent of the players were from the ABA.
Doc dunked on everyone.. Walton in the 76-77 finals, Jabbar in an ALL-Star Game. He was the mosr exciting player I ever saw.
Glen, you were rgight about Louie , he started out as a scorer and became an excellent point guard. He and Byron Beck with the Nuggets were the only guys to play all nine years that the ABA was areound. More useless knowledge: There were two brothers, I think the name was SILna, that oned then St. Louis Spirits.. they were a holdout for the merger. They took the TV rights for the NBA and those revenues have earned well over 100 Million and their deal goes into perpetuity.
Correction.. closer to 300 million… A great book about the ABA and it hilarious.. is called “Loose Balls” by Terry PLuto. It is one of the best books (not just sports) I have ever read.
JV,
Loose Balls is one of the best books ever for sure! Good call.
Remember back in 1975 when the Nets won the title in the ABA and the Celtics in the NBA. The Nets wanted to play a game to determine the real champ and Red Auerbach said no.
Semi-Pro is a good movie about the ABA, I saw it with Jim Larranaga out here in Michigan.
A Sports Hall of Fame would be a great idea for Holy Name. (Next blog entry?)
Out here in East Lansing they have a Lansing Hall of Fame. It’s pretty cool. It’s not like a venue you attend, just a plaque in your name on the wall at Lansing Community College – pretty cool. They have a dinner, get together, etc. I guess the notion of being nominated is special in itself.
The same thing happened with the Golden State Warriors and the Colonels. I think Kentucky would have beat them. Boston and the nets would have been a great game….
Does anyone remember:
How it was quite plausible to be both a Knick and Net fan because they were in different leagues and you would never be forced to make a choice?
During the regular season, the only Knick games on TV were road games? I never got to see the Knicks in White & Orange on TV until the playoffs.
Pistol Pete dropping 68 aganist my beloved Clyde on a Friday Night on Channel 9?
John Sterling announcing Net games “Bullseye!”
Wendell Ladner? Remember him?
Al,
Pistol should of had 70! They called him for an offensive foul late in the game which was clearly a terrible call. The shot went in! He also fouled out of that game…
He never liked Clyde – So I’m sure he wanted to light him up.
Ladner passed away, correct?
Those were the days man, those were the days.
I liked Cal Ramsey on WOR. One night, Ron Lee dove into the scorers table chasing a loose ball and Cal’s drink went all over his suit. Years later I saw Cal at NYU and reminded him of that night. He couldn’t believe someone would remember that.
Ladner passed away in a plane crash while still a player. He was like a bigger Ron Lee, crashing into everything in sight.He rammed into a water cooler, got 66 stitched during halftime and wanted to still play!!
He also was known as a fighter with John Brisker, who may have gone to Africa and been killed by Idi Amin. Ladner was JUlius’ body guard..
.LIke Al, I was a Nets and Knicks fan. I remember having mixed emothions seeign the Doctor being guarded by MY guy Dave De Busschere who held hi down pretty well in the half they played against each other during the exhibitionseason. That was 73-74, Dave’s last year with the Knicks and Doc’s first as a Net. I asked Dave about it , he said that Erving was not hitting his outside shot so he was able to play off him nad cut the drive to the hoops. Dave was listed at 6′6 but was relly about 6′8 with long arms.
I remember the first time seeing the Knicks in white.. it was a game of the week on ABC. I also saw them in 72-73 when Hawthorne Wingo scored his first basket against the Buffalo Braves..
Pistol was awesome but Clyde usually did well against him. The guy that gave him nigtmares was West. He once said the only game he outplayed him was the championship game. Frazier scored 36, 19 assist and grabbed 7 rebounds.. one of the most underrated clutch performances !!
Wendall Ladner died on that TWA plane crash at JFK back in the 70´s. He was beloved for the fans all gravitated to him for he made time for them tomake them feel special. If you google and go on some of the old Kentucky Colonels fans websites where they print stories about the players Ladner is like a god in the Louisville/Lexington KY area to this day.
I watched Pistol light Clyde up for 68pts from the Louisiana Superdome on WOR-9 as well. They had a player Leonard ¨Truck¨ Robinson on that team which is the same washed up player the Knicks received down the road. The Knicks are the best at picking up old washed up players that are way pássed their prime. Others such as Rolando Blackman, Kiki Vandeweghe, Doc Rivers, Mo Cheeks, That list is endless.
As for Ron Lee he later played professionally in Sweden. He still lives in Sweden for he stayed at my apartment with me in Stockholm when I coached over there in 1988. Great guy! He was tremendous when he was with the Suns. He actually won the Slam Dunk contest on CBS one year. Does anyone remeber him playing at the U. of Oregon for Dick Harter´s Kamikaze Kids?
Cuz,
I remember him being a great natural athlete but not much of a shooter. I liked watching him play both in college and in the pros.. did’nt Harter coach in the pros? Outside of the Knicks, I liked the Suns alot. Westphal was one of my favorite players ,, if he did’nt injure his knee he would have been in the HOF… Ron Lee would have been a helluva safety or cornerback in football..Ya know what he’s doin know?
I remember how excited I was when the Knicks got Westphal. (Little did I know he was washed-up.) Anyway, soon after the Knicks got him I was at the Garden with a bunch of friends. We are right behind the Knick bench. Hubie Brown never puts Westphal in the game. The whole game we are screaming at Hubie to put him in.
Finally, in the 4th quarter, Hubie calls a time out. The first minute of the time out, Hubie devotes to me and my friends: “I have a rule, if a guy doesn’t practice, he doen’t play. Westphal did not practice, therefore, he is not gonna play”- Hubie lectured.
After Hubie’s little speech, he returned to the team huddle. We were slient for a moment. Than we starting yelling, “Hubie, cut the B.S. forget the stupid rule, put Westphal in the game!”
Of course, he never did.
Ron Lee married a Swede and still lives there and coaches there on the side. His older brother Gerald Lee played at Dowling College and later played in Finland still lives in Finland as well. These two brothers were such great athletes that they played well into their forties. Great guys the two of them!
How about the Knicks getting Mike Newlin from the Nets for Mike Woodson. Newlin was at the end of his raod in the league while Woodson a good defender and serviceable player lasted a lot more years in the league.
Hey Glenn:
Didn’t the Knicks get Randy Smith too, when he was at the end?
Glen-
Regarding the Lee brothers: There were three of them- Russ Lee and Jerry, who graduated from Dowling College in ‘73. Russ went to Marshall then played for Milwaukee a few years with Kareem. Jerry was not drafted but went directly to Sweden to play pro ball. Both brothers eventually followed him over there. I got to know Jerry during his senior year at Dowling because they played and practiced at my high school. Dowling had some great NAIA teams back then and we would get to play with them in the off season.
GW,
I only knew Ron and Gerald. Ron is doing well over in Sweden as far as I know and has a family there. He has always kept his US citizenship for Sweden does not allow dual passports. He said that it had something to do with his NBA pension. He is a first class guy! Thanks for that info about the other brother. I should have asked my good fiend Joe Maniaci who coached at Dowling as an assistant under Richie Berg and then was the head guy there himself. The ironic thing about this conversation is that the current Dowling head coach Steve Hayn just moved into Brooklyn and lives not too far from Windsor Terrace!
Al Mac!
Yes add Randy Smith to that list and I am on the verge of adding Derek Harper but I liked him so much with the Mavs in his prime.
Hubie is a good coach but did not like players that could create.. Wesphal averaged about 5 or 6 APG playing limited minutes…His system was everything!!! Newlin was a great outside shooter but was an old32 when he got to the Knicks..
Great hoops conversation…
Al-C’mon man, a rule is a rule! Westphal missed practice. We used to wait for the Knicks outside the Garden and one night Hubie came out last, about 1AM and he talked hoops with us until 2!
Hubie had a system and unless you were Bernard King “Power Right” you weren’t going to disrupt the system.
Randy Smith, Mike Newlin, Westphal, Kiki, all saw better days in their earlier years.
How about Bob McAdoo with the Knicks?
Lonnie Shelton, Ticky Burden (Glenn played against him), Mo Layton, Sugar, Ray Williams, Campy, Toby Knight!
Man o man, those were the days.
Steve:
You are correct, Hubie was right. But at 17, it is hard to know what was right.
Love all the old Knicks you mentioned. Remember when they got Marvin Webster? Everyone thought he would bring us a championship?
On a sad note, Steve, do you remember Darryl Wheatley? Used to play with us down in 51’s. Played for Carl Manco, with Chris Logan. He passed away two years ago this month. He was 45.
Coach-
The Knicks got a few of the Buffalo Braves in ‘76. McAdoo, Jim McMillan, Tom McMillan, and eventually Randy Smith. Shelton was also on that team- fun guy to watch. That same year Hubie Brown came to the Garden with his Atlanta Hawks and at one point was yelling and cursing at John Drew as Shelton was beating him from everywhere on the court. Hubie didn’t hold back on anyone and was nasty with Drew for good reason. I had courtside seats and could see as Drew ran by Hubie let him have it with assorted profanities. The ref thought the tirade was directed at his calls so he ejected him. John Drew sighed “Thank God” as he looked to the top of the Garden. Hubie went nuts, of course, but walked off disgusted. It was Armond Hill’s debut as a Rookie in the Garden as well, and he had a great game.
GW,
Hubie didn’t like Drew (we all know why). As for Armond, not sure Hubie liked him either. If you played soft, Hubie could make your career tough. Hubie would go after Trent Tucker also.
Al,
I had heard about Darryl – he was a good dude man. Strong finisher on the break – he used to remind me of BK. Too bad the streets took him. The streets could be mean and ruthless!
Marvin Webster played well for Seattle but I knew those legs weren’t going to hold up. The Human Eraser! We used to hold some great conversations with him on 33rd and 8th after games.
I love Hubie Brown to this day but he was wrong on some things. While coaching in Atlanta the word was that he did a character assasination on Armond Hill saying that he was doing some bad things off the court. Anyone who knows Armond to this day knows that this was not the case and never was the case. The Hawks had some problems with John Drew and Eddie Johnson which were well documented and I think that Hubie gotta little paranoid. He is a brillant basketball mind but in the case about Armond he was wrong for Armond had nine solid years in the league with Atlanta, Seattle, and i think Milwaukee and is an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics to this day and just a solid, solid guy on and off the court.
I remember when I played against Luther “Ticky” Burden when I played at SUNY-Cortland after coming back form an ACL reconstruction surgery. It was at the Aurburn Correctional Facility in the winter of 1983 on the exact same day the Jets lost to Miami 14-0 in the infamous “Mud Bowl” AFC Championship Game. Ticky was serving time for a bank robbery on LI. Aurburn is located just off of one of the Finger Lakes. When we got there the TV’s were in a huge courtyard chained to the walls so that the inmates could watch the football game. The place looked like a fort or like an even bigger Brooklyn Tech HS with the walls like the size of the green monster. I remember the prison activity director who organized the game telling us that if a fight broke out in the stands during the game to run to this little room across the gym. That room never left my sight. The inmates had just lost to the Rochester Zeniths of the CBA the previous week and were really upset that they got killed the Zeniths earlier by a large margin. The inmates wound up beating us by like 15pts. That was an experience to say the least. Most of the persons in the stands were form the city for they spoke to you afterwards. As for Ticky he scored 53 points. I remeber him being a nice guy after the game sand speaking to us a bit. He wore a pair of blue low-cut canvas pro-keds for no one wears expensive stuff inside a prison. that was a scary but definitely a great experience for me.
Speaking of R.I.F.:
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Glenn, I haven’t read all of the comments above but I did see your comments on Dr J. I met UMass coach, at the time Coach Lehman at Jack Donahues Basketball camp. During one of the drills Coach Lehman was working on the Pick and Role. He asked for 4 volunteers, so he picked the three All Stars and me. The drill went on for a while and the three All Stars didn’t have a clue. Through my education in the Holy Name School yard I actually made each one of them look silly. At the end of the Drill Coach Lehman came up to me and asked me my name. Thats always a Good Thing….
So as my Sernior year went on Coach Lehman came to one of my High School Games agaianst Xavier in New York City, I believe, and guess who he brought with him to assist with his recruiting, DR J, with that Huge Afro, and gigantic hands. needless to say it was awesome getting to meet one of the Top NBA players ever to play the game. Dr J asking me to go to UMass..Thats pretty Kool.