Hometown Heros

[itjclarke]

... and my childhood hometown, Portola Valley (and tiny Corte Madera junior high) produced a couple MLBers that there when I was.

Byrnes.jpgGall.jpg

[the 'stache]

There have been some great athletes born in my hometown of Milwaukee, including Olympic Gold medalist speed skater Dan Jansen, and Collin Kaepernick, the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers. But as far as baseball players go, one of the game's all-time greats was born here. Hall of Famer Al Simmons.



Simmons batted .334 over a 20 year career. He won two batting titles, hitting .381 in 1930, and .390 in 1931. He had 253 hits in 1925, scored 152 runs in 1930, and drove in 157 runs in 1927. For the first 11 years of his career, he was a .354 hitter, averaging a whopping 232 hits per 162 games played. He hit .387 in 1925, .341 in 1926, .392 in 1927, .351 in 1928, and .365 in 1929 before finally breaking through to win his first batting title. He ended his career with 2,927 hits, 307 home runs and 1,828 RBI.

[Rich Klein]

some of the players born where I was born (Hackensack NJ) as well as where I grew up (Saddle Brook, NJ) which when this player was born was Saddle River Township NJ.


Courtesy of COMC.com


Courtesy of COMC.com


Courtesy of COMC.com


Courtesy of COMC.com

And the one from my home town


Courtesy of COMC.com

And because this thead fascinated me at 4 AM on a Sunday Morning: I never realized (and I should have) that an original astronaut was also from my birthplace


Courtesy of COMC.com


Courtesy of COMC.com

There are others as well

[barrysloate]

I've had two primary residences in my life and each has boasted a famous athlete.

I grew up in Cedarhurst, NY, a town in the southwestern corner of Long Island. During my sophomore year at Lawrence High School, our very successful football team was anchored by Lyle Alzado. Lyle was an absolute terror and the best player in the county. I was terrified of him, and whenever I saw him in the hallway I would walk the other way. He once threatened to beat me up (he thought my hair was too long) but fortunately forgot about it by the next day. We all thought he would end up in prison or worse. Luckily, he was able to channel his anger and volatility into a fine NFL career.

For the past forty years I've lived in the Cobble Hill/Brooklyn Heights area. Our most famous athlete was Jim Creighton. Creighton lived and died at his parents' home at 307 Henry Street, about four blocks away. During his years with the Brooklyn Excelsiors, he walked a few blocks to their clubhouse at 133 Clinton Street (I live on Clinton St. too, several blocks south). There is currently a plaque on the front of the building that mentions him and the great Excelsior team. When he died there was a funeral procession through the neighborhood, it was a pretty big event.

Two athletes who had little in common except they both died too young.

South River NJ Hometown to Joe Thiesmann , Drew Pearson and Alex Wojciechowicz

[margoaepi]

Oceanside, New York. Where both Dennis Leonard and John Frascatore played high school ball. Both before my time. We also claim former QB Jay Fiedler.

[barrysloate]

Originally Posted by margoaepi

Oceanside, New York. Where both Dennis Leonard and John Frascatore played high school ball. Both before my time. We also claim former QB Jay Fiedler.

Josh- wasn't Boomer Esaison from your neck of the woods?

[z28jd]

Originally Posted by rgpete

South River NJ Hometown to Joe Thiesmann , Drew Pearson and Alex Wojciechowicz

You got a pre-WWII player from there, Pete Sivess. He played for 1936-38 Phillies. A quick search didn't find any baseball cards, but he is a fairly easy autograph to obtain and there are some cool old pics around

Now that you mention that, my Grandfather new him and a group went to Pittsburg to watch him. I remember my Grandfather telling the story going on the train and horseshoe curve. I grew up in So River