THE BATTLE IN BROOKLYN

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kids

A couple of years ago I had the chance to talk with Red Slavin about the disturbing incident back in June of 1977.

Whenever I see a brawl in baseball I think back to June of 1977.

Only this wasn’t your typical “Pitcher hitting batter,” dugouts empty-type fight.

On a warm sunny day at the Parade Grounds, there was a catholic youth organization baseball going on; a huge fight broke out between Holy Name and St. Finbar’s.

The players were 15 and 16 years old.

The Parade Grounds was the place to be. I witnessed so many great ball players come through there. I was lucky enough to play a few games on those fields when I was a kid.

Holy Name was handling St. Finbar’s pretty easy on this day.  The coach for Holy Name was Joe Mussa (he later became Brother Joe).  Holy Name had only lost one game the entire season.  By the way, Mussa was my favorite teacher at H.N.S. – I had him in the 5th grade.

Holy Name’s team consisted of neighborhood guys; Kevin Maloney, Timmy Hardy, Gonzo Gonzalez, Donald Barbieri, Jose Bolono, Tommy Parker, Chris Bullock, Jody Stanizewski and Robert Price. I’m sure I’m leaving a few out.

From behind the chain-linked fence a fan from Holy Name began ribbing the Finbar players for their effort.  At the conclusion of the game, some of the Finbar players had heard enough. They grabbed the antagonistic fan and began beating him up.

Seeing the fan getting attacked by the team, a Holy Name player ran over to help his friend.  It’s what you did when you saw a friend getting beat up by a group.

A St. Finbar player wound up with a broken nose in the melee.

It was a mess.

One week later it got worse.

The scene was Dyker Field in Bensonhurst.  Not too far from St. Finbar’s.

Only the opponent this day wasn’t Finbar’s, it was St. Bernadette.

During the course of the game tons of kids were making their way from the Golf Course towards the baseball field.  They proceeded to walk through the left field fence. I don’t think they were here to watch the game. They had revenge on their mind.

Standing in the outfield, they resembled the “Baseball Fury” from the 1980’s film, “The Warriors.” You know, the wimps;

“I’ll shove that bat up your ass and turn you into a Popsicle,” My boy Ajax said.

Ajax was played by James Remar, a fine actor.

These clowns were at the game for the big payback.

The rowdy group of teens began shouting at the lonely left fielder for Holy Name.

Next thing you know they are going after him.

The entire Holy Name team seeing this, took off towards the outfield to try and help their teammate.

It was no use, Holy Name was outnumbered.

At one point, the rowdy group trapped Holy Name’s team in the dugout.  After lots of yelling and screaming, they began throwing things at the scared baseball team.

“One guy took my cap so I went after him,” said Red Slavin.

The red-headed ninth avenue resident was a member of the team and within minutes was hit over the head with a baseball bat after retrieving his cap.

Red wasn’t about to let someone snatch his cap. A Holy Name baseball cap was Gold…

“I felt my left arm going crazy, then I blacked out.” He said.

Red was having a seizure.

An ambulance arrived and took him to Kings County hospital.

“I wasn’t hurt or anything. No pain, no headache.” Slavin admits.

Holy Name kids were built tough!

Also in the melee, Gonzo was whacked over the head with a bat. Luckily he had a helmet on. As a memento of that day ‘G’ still has the cracked helmet.

After the x-rays Red Slavin was diagnosed with a depressed skull fracture. He spent three days in the hospital.

Upon his discharge from the hospital Slavin went up to Bishop Ford to clean out his locker; the semester was over. Red had just completed his Freshman year. Brother Sullivan walked by and expected Slavin to take his History final.

“Brother, I have a 100 percent in History and I just spent three days in the hospital.  Do I really have to take it?” Slavin pleaded.

Hearing this, Sullivan explained;

“Unless you want to attend summer school, yes, you have to take it.”

Slavin did as he was told and took the final.  And being the outstanding student, Slavin aced it.

Back in the day teachers didn’t take any shit from the students.

Hoops135@hotmail.com

ON THE BEAT

Tags

Container Diaries, Holy Name, kids, Prospect Park, Teens

They said he would never amount to anything.

Said he didn’t have any talent.

No discipline.

No commitment.

No chance.

I told them, “Survival is a talent.”

WHY? WHY? WHY?

Tags

Container Diaries, Depression, High School, kids, Life, Parents, Teenager, Windsor Terrace

This past week our school experienced more tragedy.

A teenage girl committed suicide.

It’s the second time in a month.

This time it was a senior (Last month the young lady was a freshman.)

I’m not sure why these girls did this. We’ll never know actually. But it broke my heart once again.

I recall from back in the day a guy a few years older than me from our neighborhood took his life. I loved this guy. He was awesome. Great athlete. Great family. Great dude! He always treated me well.

The families have to be devastated. Our students are stunned and in shock.

The school has provided

As a father of a 16 year-old daughter, these deaths hit home.

I knew both of these young ladies.

Suicide is a complex issue. Everyone has an opinion on it.

Who really knows what people are going through?

Everyone has problems.

We can never tell what our friends or family are going through.

Suicide is often carried out as a result of despair, the cause of which is frequently attributed to a mental disorder such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder,^[1] alcoholism, or drug abuse,^[2] as well as stress factors such as financial difficulties, troubles with interpersonal relationships, and bullying

I found the above content on Wikipedia. I know it’s hard for someone to talk about these problems.

We keep things bottled up. Sometimes it’s too embarrassing for one to discuss what is going on. There’s shame. Call it what you want. But something has to be done.

There’s help but for some reason it must be hard for people struggling to reach out for help.

If you know someone who has talked of suicide, please do something. Don’t just sit there and do nothing. If you notice someone acting differently, speak up.

Life is tough, but we have to do all we can to stick it out.

We have to fight. We can’t let problems lick us. Gotta fight!

Bottom line is we have to work hard to get through our problems – and we need each other.

We can do it. Gotta band together.

I know it’s easier said than done, but we need to pull together and help.

As a group we can defeat suicide.

Red

Hoops135@hotmail.com

 

KING OF PAIN

Tags

Chris Mullin, Holy Communion, Holy Name, Kareem Abdul-Jabber, kids, LaSalle Academy, NBA, P.S. 154, Power Memorial, School, Subway, Windsor Terrace

As a young boy growing up in Windsor Terrace, I was hurting.

Not hurting physically, I was one of the better conditioned kids in the area despite being on the skinny side. I don’t ever recall having a sprained ankle, a broken leg or knee problems.

I was competing all over the place battling in the lot, the boys and girls schoolyards, PS 154’s and of course the streets. Not to mention rough tackle WITHOUT equipment in Prospect Park.

This young boy was hurting mentally.

Little did I realize at the time that each day was a struggle.

But all along I was unaware that inside of me there was a much better person.

Lack of courage, fits of rage and a chip on my shoulder were three things I experienced each and every day. Making fun of people, teasing and being downright annoying. You could have called me an “attention whore.”

If anyone has ever taken a Psychology course in college, we know where this behavior stems from.

Insecurity.

Lack of confidence.

Need I go on?

I saw it all.

Wait, I’ll give you more…

Domestic abuse.

Alcoholism.

Lying, cheating and most of all the absence of love.

Human compassion was missing in this young boy’s life.

The will to fight through problems was another trait I lacked. When things got hard, I quit. Just gave up and moved on to the next thing.

A work ethic. I hated to do anything that required physical or mental fortitude.

“Get a job!” they said.

“Screw you, I ain’t working!” I replied.

Goal-setting? Oh I wanted to play in the NBA someday but that desire ended at the age of 14 when I dropped out of Power Memorial after three days; no check that, I actually went for two days. On the third day I got off the train on my way to school, crossed the subway platform and went back home.

Bishop Ford was where I wanted to be as a student. Many of my friends were there. I thought if I had just said something, went up there and walked into the attendance office and declared, “I want to be a Falcon!” I’m sure things would have been different in my life. But that wasn’t me. I didn’t have it inside of me.

Funny thing is there were a few responsible, interested adults outside of my home willing to help. But I never told them what I wanted to do. Never told them I wanted to play basketball for Bishop Ford.

But of course being the stubborn prick I was, I refused anyone’s effort to reach out to me and put me on the right track.

There were countless attempts to get me back in school.

I recall someone on ninth avenue telling me, “you really should be in school getting an education.”

I looked at them and said, “screw an education...”

Matter of fact, not only did I attend Power Memorial, the school where Kareem Abdul-Jabber and Chris Mullin attended but I enrolled in John Jay three different times over the span of two years.  Include a short stint at LaSalle Academy (a student at the all-boys, Catholic  school stole my leather bomber right out of my locker) mom also tried to place me in an alternative school somewhere out in Canarsie.

That experiment lasted less than a week.

You had to take two buses to get there.

Plus the kids there were weird.

Those that know me, can probably figure out that discipline was not one of my strengths.

One of my biggest problems as a teenager as I look back was trust. I didn’t have any of it not only in myself but in others as well.

Can you blame me?

My father left me when I was five. Just got up and left mom to raise three kids. What kind of man does that?

The prick also promised me so many things over time only to fail me by going back on his word each and every time.

The morning of my first Holy Communion I woke up all excited.  Mom wasn’t there. She must have been working late or hanging out with her friends.

I was eight years old (my brother, who was twelve helped dress me and send me off to the church).

When I see kids today struggling either academically or socially, the first thought that pops into my mind is, I wonder how their home life is?

Because that’s where I firmly believe it all starts.

-Steve

Hoops135@hotmail.com

BOTTLED UP INSIDE OF ME

Tags

College, Failures, Hal Zina Bennett, Hurt, John Jay, kids, LaSalle, Mistakes, Power Memorial

Quote of the Day:

“We get hurt and embarrassed by our early failures and forget to go back and take a second look at what we’re feeling. We get disconnected from who we really are and what we can do.” -Hal Zina Bennett

(Image from the Mickey Breen Collection. Click to enlarge)

FUCK!

I came across this quote early Saturday night and cried.

Hal’s words best describes me as a kid and maybe it describes you too?

In 1978 I lasted three days as a 14 year-old freshman at Power Memorial High School.

Later on I spent a few months at John Jay High School on three different occasions from 1979 to 1980.

Sandwiched in between I can’t forget the one month I spent riding the ‘F’ train to the Lower East Side at LaSalle Academy in 1979.

Believe it or not, I never completed one full semester of high school. I can’t even recall taking an exam; that’s the God’s honest truth!

You’re probably wondering; How did you ever graduate from Central Michigan University in 2003?

Well, it was easy; I went back and took that second look at my life.

-Steve

Hoops135@hotmail.com

DESIRE AND DETERMINATION

Tags

Briann's Angels, Diabetes, DJ Joey Pira, Farrell's, Fundraiser, Holy Name Church, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, kids, Neighborhood, Prospect Avenue, Rhythm and Booze, Valentine's Day

The one unbreakable staple of our neighborhood was the outstanding people; always there for each other.

As kids, we didn’t realize how much help was available to us (at least I didn’t know).

Whether it was a coach at Holy Name, a teacher, a friend, a store owner up on the Avenue or even a neighbor; if you looked hard enough, there was help. Speaking of help, did they have ‘Self-Help’ books back in the day?

Matter of fact, sometimes I don’t think we fully realize how much we can help others. If only I knew back then, what I know now. Mamma mia!

I recently came across something on Facebook that inspired me to step up to the plate.

Often times you hear about a local fundraiser or someone putting on an event for some sort of inspiring situation.

With the many readers of the blog, I felt like I could raise awareness on an all-important cause and let people know about a special,upcoming event.

6th Annual Fundraiser

Valentine’s Day Dinner/Dance

For Briann’s Angels

All proceeds to: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF)

Please join Karen Burke-Abruzzese and Friends for a night of dinner, drinks and dancing. Listen to the sounds of DJ Joey Pira.

Saturday, February 11,2012

Sheperd’s Hall at Holy Name Church

245 Prospect Park West

7:00 PM to Midnight.

$60.00 donation for admission per person.

Contact Karen at: kabruzzese@nyc.rr.com

You can also stop in Farrell’s to see Hooley or Rhythm and Booze on 10th avenue and Prospect avenue to see Jamie.

RSVP by January 30.

Click here for the JDRF Website. 

In speaking with Karen, she told me that the night always turns into a neighborhood reunion.

So come on out and have a good time with friends from the neighborhood but most important, you’re helping a great cause.

If you can’t make it out to the event, help us spread the word…because if you’re from the neighborhood, it’s what we do!

Respectfully,

Steve

Hoops135@hotmail.com

THE EVIL THAT MEN DO…

Tags

Adults, Crime, kids, Pedophiles, Power Memorial

Sad story out of Brooklyn.

A young kid was picked up by a stranger on the streets of BoroughPark while walking home to meet his parents. Seems like the young boy was lost and had asked an adult for directions.

The dismembered body of a missing 8-year-old Hasidic boy was found at two locations in Brooklyn.

One of those locations was a trash bin on 20th street and 5th avenue.

The New York Daily News has the story.

The Orthodox Jewish boy’s body parts – including his severed feet – were in the refrigerator of a man who lives in an attic apartment on E. Second St. in Kensington, one of the sources said.

Other pieces of the boy were found in a red suitcase wrapped in a black plastic garbage bag in a Dumpster on 20th St. between Fourth and Fifth Aves. in Greenwood Heights, Kelly said.

Where to start?

First off, there are some sick individuals walking the streets. What did this kid do to deserve this? He was walking to meet his parents after a day at camp.

It blows my mind that adults can even think about harming an innocent child.

As a parent, this tragedy hits home a lot harder.

A few days ago I wrote about my days of growing up in the schoolyard, I think back to how many times I walked home from the yard to my apartment at such an early age. Despite it only being around the corner, anything could have happened to me.

Matter of fact, I’d walk to a lot of different places as a kid…alone.

When I was 12, I took the ‘F’ train from 15th street Prospect Park West to Jay Street Boro Hall for the ‘A’. I then took that train to 59th street where I walked another few blocks to Power Memorial to watch Julius Erving throw down a few dunks at a Converse Clinic.

I was alone!

Often times I have discussions with other adults that grew up right around the same time as me and we wonder if there were pedophiles in our neighborhood?

All I can say is if you’re a parent, I’m sure you watch over your kids but this incident will make me watch Taylor a lot closer.

-Steve

Hoops135@hotmail.com

STREET LIFE

Tags

kids

I found this article written by Ken West of the Advance News.

Click here to read a pretty neat piece on kids today and the difference from when we were younger. Here’s a small excerpt.

As soon as I walked (yes, walked) home from school each day, I grabbed my bat or football and ran to the park a couple of blocks away.  We played without adults present. When we disagreed over foul balls or rules, we worked out our problems by ourselves.

We returned home at dusk or after someone was called to dinner. At night we did our homework. There were no SOLs. I was slower to like school than either of my siblings, but my parents didn’t panic. After all, in those days, the academic pressure was almost non-existent.

What do you think?

-Steve

Hoops135@hotmail.com

MORNIN’ RITUAL

Tags

Alarm Clock, Cereal, kids, Morning Ritual, Spongebob Square Pants

Each and every morning, Monday through Friday, our 11 year-old daughter Taylor gets up for school. She’s finishing up the 5th grade. (By the way, when I was in the 5th grade, Mr. Mussa was my favorite teacher; Miss Monzillo, my 7th grade teacher was a very close second)

It begins with getting her up at 7:20, handing her a glass of chocolate milk while she checks out Spongebob Square Pants on the boob-tube. (I’ve come to the conclusion that his screaming this early in the morning is too taxing-no more Spongebob)

A few minutes later she comes downstairs for breakfast. Most often it’s her favorite cereal, Trix. While Taylor eats at the table (half-asleep) I pack her lunch which was prepared by my wife the night before. (I miss the days of coming home for lunch at 12 o’clock)

After she polishes off the bowl it’s time to get dressed.  Brushing her teeth and her hair is a given.

8:20 and it’s time to jump in the car while we carry her heavy bookbag and lunch box to make the drive to school.(I lived across the street from Holy Name. I usually had one, maybe two books in my hand)

During this time of day, how difficult is it for you? When I first started in this thing they call parenthood, it was crazy. I was out of control. Always yelling, always screaming. “COME ON TAYLOR, WAKE UP!” or it was, “LET’S GO HURRY UP OR YOU’LL BE LATE!”

Not anymore.

Arguably, Monday’s are the hardest, no kid wants to get up (shit, us grown-ups don’t want to get up but we have to). The thick, heavy, soft blankets over their body keeps them warm. Who really wants to get out from under them? And why is it the person sleeping always gets mad at the person sendng the wake-up calls? We’re just trying to help for crissakes.

But it’s in our job description as parents to get them up and at ’em. We do everything we can. We try the nice, soft, sweet approach and if that doesn’t work, we get tougher and tougher when they ignore our calls.

A few weeks ago I came across a story in the New York Times on child development. The author mentioned, “If you make it easy on the kid today, they’ll have it hard tomorrow.” That quote has stayed with me ever since.

As a kid growing up on 9th avenue, it was tough for me in the morning to get motivated.  Eating cereal, getting dressed, the brushing of the hair and teeth. There were some mornings I didn’t brush my hair nor did I eat anything.  Yeah, I know, both gross and sad.

To top things off, I was often late for school…and I lived right across the street! I recall mornings in my house where I rolled out of bed as the bell from school was our alarm clock; slid my school uniform on and walked across the street. I was so late at times Angel, our crossing guard on the corner was already gone from her usual post.

On mornings I did get up on time, I’d often peek out my bedroom window and wonder who were those kids waiting outside school at 8:00AM? How did they get up so early and why were they there 45 minutes before the bell?

When I look back on those morning rituals, I have to say, I learned a ton. These days as a parent, I could never allow my kid to be late for school. She has to eat, brush her hair and teeth. It’s a work in progress but we manage.

How’s your morning ritual with the kids; tough? easy?

-Steve

Hoops135@hotmail.com

ONE-ONE THOUSAND, TWO-ONE THOUSAND

Tags

Button-Hook, Farragut Road, Football, Hail Mary, Holy Name, kids, Mississippi, Pass, Quarterback, Rugby, Sports, Two-Hand Touch

I watched these kids play football the other day in a small park; I think they were playing football.  They had a brown ball that resembled a football.

I do know one thing, it was terrible.

First of all, no huddle amongst the players.   No cadence (“down, set, hut 1, hut 2…), no plays, etc.   Kids were running out and stopping at random spots on the grass with their arms raised in the air jumping up and down screaming “HERE, HERE, HERE!” (One kid got mad that the QB didn’t throw him the ball so he walked off the field).

Back in the day, I used to love the guy with hand raised in the air who yelled out, “HUDDLE UP!”  His team would crowd around the QB who was usually the brightest player on the field, (or the fastest or even the one with the best arm) and the most vocal/leader would give each guy his play.

“You go five and across.”

“You go down and out.”

“You go ten and turn around.”

“You run a button-hook”

“You run a stop and go.”

“You go to the Station Wagon and run in front of it/behind it.”

“You come around for a fake hand-off!”

After each guy had his assignment, the QB would then say, “ready team…(then all together you’d hear) “BREAK!”

Nope, on this day with these particular youngsters, all I witnessed was kids who didn’t know how to line up at the line of scrimmage; The QB just took the ball off the ground and looked around.    I stood there and watched kids run out and the QB (who had a chicken arm) was just tossing the ball in the air, up for grabs  sorta like a jump-ball, hail Mary type pass.

No defensive guys on the line rushing the QB (like Jack Kelly on the loose after Charlie Kawas), no hiker (I used to love the guys who hiked the ball at Farragut road).  The dude was like a statue!

No throw-offs after a touchdown.  They weren’t even keeping track of  “downs”!

No one  “stayin-in” reciting ‘one-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand…’ with his arms raised high to distract the passer.

Not even a ‘one-Mississippi, two-Mississippi, three-Mississippi…’

No blocking or double-reverse flea-flickers.  I didn’t even see the QB take off down field on the run trying to outrun the defenders.  (I think he was playing the role of  “official Quarterback)

When a kid did catch a pass, which wasn’t very often, the defense didn’t attempt to go after him on the completion to try to attempt the ever famous  “two-hand” touch!  They just stopped.  The guy who caught the ball wouldn’t even run with the ball!

I wondered to myself where the goal line was? Were they even keeping score?  Did they know they could go for extra points?(QB runs it in for two points, a pass completion gets you one).

What I watched the other day wasn’t football!  I don’t know what it was to tell you the truth.  Actually, maybe it was Rugby? Speaking of Rugby, a very tough sport I might add – how come Holy Name never had a Rugby team?

-SF

Hoops135@hotmail.com