Cooperstown

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Posted By: Peter Thomas

I have to agree with Ted Z about Williams and Rizzuto. As a 7 and 8 year old kid during the summer weekdays I was left with the family that had built a house next to a lot on lake Cochituate that my parents owned and planed to build on. I would for two summers at age 7 and 8 clear underbrush from the 1/2 acre lot. During the summer of 1949 Earl Torgeson, who was the Braves first baseman and lived across the street, was injured and he liked to fish as did Williams. To my amazement they both would show up to fish quite often on Williams off days and Williams was extremely gracious to the few kids in the neighborhood. The next year 1950 Williams was injured in the all-star game and missed the rest of the season, but still got some fishing in with Earl on Earl's off days.



In the late 1980's I was visiting Boston after moving to Florida and was renting a car at Budget as was Rizzuto, who was in Boston to broadcast a Yankees series. There was a long wait for the cars and I had a very nice discussion with Phil, which resulted with Phil giving me tickets for the 2 best seats I have ever had at Fenway that night and the sox won! Of course the best seat I ever had at Fenway was a free walk in bleacher seat in September 1960, freshman year at MIT, about 50 feet from the spot that Williams last homerun landed - no chance at the ball.