Probably one of the earliest memories that I have of “Big Grandpa” (dad’s dad) was when I was around 8 or 9 years old. My dad was getting us tickets for a twilight doubleheader – the Yankees hosting the Washington Senators in Yankee Stadium. I was really excited to go because I would get to see one of my all-time favorite ballplayers, Mickey Mantle.
But my dad didn’t know how to get up to the stadium by car, so he asked Big Grandpa for some directions. Big Grandpa said that if he would buy another ticket for him, dad could swing by where he worked in Jersey City, pick him up, and head up to Yankee Stadium with him.
On game day, my dad drove from West Long Branch to Jersey City to pick up Big Grandpa. Now my dad knew how to get around Jersey City, having been born at Margaret Hague Hospital and raised there until the family moved down to Long Branch in 1949, right after graduating from St. Bridget’s Parochial School.
On the way to the warehouse where Big Grandpa worked, we passed by Roosevelt Stadium. Built in 1937, it was one of Frank Hague’s pet projects, built on the grounds where Jersey City Airport at Droyer’s Point once stood.
It was also the stadium that Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley used as leverage to get the City of New York to build a replacement stadium for the team back in the early 1950’s. The city rejected O’Malley’s proposal to build a new stadium in Brooklyn and countered with their own proposal to build one in Flushing Meadow in Queens, at the site where Shea Stadium once stood and where Citi Fields now stands.
O’Malley rejected the city’s counter proposal, and on April 19, 1956 (opening day), after the Dodgers had won the World Series a year earlier, they raised their 1955 World Champion banner at Roosevelt Stadium instead of at Ebbet’s Field. The Dodgers played a handful of games in Roosevelt Stadium in the early part of the 1956 season, and then moved to Los Angeles the following season. Roosevelt Stadium was ultimately torn down in 1985.
We waited outside the warehouse for a couple of minutes. Back then, recyclable materials were big business in Jersey City. Cardboard, plastic bottles, newspapers – you name it, the city paid for it. I found out later on that Big Grandpa had a deal going where he'd go to the A&P warehouse, cut up any unused cardboard boxes into the size that the recycling center would accept, then bring it to the recycling center for beaucoup bucks.
When he walked out of the warehouse, he was wearing a pair of work goggles, and he was covered in cardboard dust. When he took off the goggles, he looked like a raccoon. He brushed himself off, got in the car, and we drove off to the Bronx.
Unfortunately, Mickey Mantle didn’t do too well that day. In the first game of the double header, he struck out twice and walked a couple of times. But to see him in action was the highlight of my day. As it turned out, it would be Mickey’s last season in the pros.
We left after the first game to beat the traffic out of the city. Watching Mickey Mantle, spending time with dad, and seeing Big Grandpa imitate a raccoon is something I’ll cherish and remember for a very long time.
(The entire Jersey Shore Retro Blogography can be found at http://longbranch.patch.com/blogs/kevin-cieris-blog. You can also follow Kevin Cieri's blog on his Facebook page, "Jersey Shore Retro" as well as on Twitter @jsretro).
