NYC Dep't of Sanitation baseball squad (1930s); Hoboken; Sinatra, etc.

[Al C.risafulli]

Mike:

Outstanding. I collect New Jersey baseball stuff, so I can understand the interest.

The photos are spectacular. Gorgeous detail.

A friend of mine used to live in an apartment that once was the firehouse where Sinatra's father was, evidently, fire chief - I remember being in there and thinking how cool it was to be so close to history.

I wish I had some info to give you about this team - I don't - but digging up this kind of history is a big part of the hobby. Good luck!

-Al

[mikedenero]

Thanks for the reply, Al! Perhaps my next article will be about the Sanitation squad ... just kidding. Regarding Sinatra, the house that he lived in (415 Monroe St.) has since burned down (all that remains is a small brick arch that someone built in later years -- as far as I know, it is still a vacant lot). Pretty cool claim to fame for the family. My sister did a documentary on the house, the people who have lived in it since Sintatra, and how Sinatra affected their lives, but, as of yet, she hasn't found funding to produce it. Fun stuff.

[Potomac Yank]

Mike, I agree with Al, the pictures are awesome.

I wish I could add information to your quest, but the only thing that I can say is that as a youngster, I recall seeing some abreviated games prior to the Yankee games at Yankees Stadium during the 1940's.
They would play two, or three innings prior to the Yank game, and the teams were made up of players from the fire dept, police dept, and sanitation dept.

Lot's of luck with your search ... It's an interesting topic.

Joe

PS
Some time in the late 1970's, I found myself in Hoboken.
I said to myself, "Let me check out Elysium Field" where the Knickerbockers use to play.
Believe it, or not ... I found the spot, and to my disappointment, that's exactly what it was.
I found a building with a plaque on it ... stating that this was the spot of home plate, where the Knickerbockers played their games in the 1840's.

[rc4157]

Thanks for posting this Mike, some of the personal memories, etc... are what many of us enjoy the most here. How cool to have been able to play at Yankee Stadium before a Yankees game. Too bad you haven't found some type of diary that would have any references to this time period in your family.

RC