Since I am an avid baseball fan who also loves England, especially London, and since there are several baseball teams in Greater London and other cities, I decided to start a group on Yahoo where we can exchange ideas about those topics. Messages and pictures covering baseball teams both inside and outside M25 and in North America are welcome. Just send an e/mail to greater_london_baseball-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and you are in. I also have a related homestead site called www.london43baseball.homestead.com. Please check it out.
I'm South Shore Billy, residing in Islip, New York (on Long Island). Interests include New York baseball, especially the New York Mets, the New York Yankees, the Long Island Ducks, the Brooklyn Cyclones, and the Staten Island Yankees; and also the Beatles and rapid transit systems. I attended St. John's University and served in the U.S. Air Force in both Louisiana and Guam. I got married in 1979, and a daughter was born in 1990. Since 1985 I've been active in the Islip Fire Department.
This page is always being remodeled. A little bit at a time. Build we must! While visiting the main page, please scroll down past the pictures of the Beatles and the light rail trains for links to other pages on my "official" web-site, as well as my other Homestead web-sites.
South Shore Billy's Home(stead) Page
Where did the "Minot" part of the name come from? I have been interested in North Dakota for awhile, and Minot does look like a nice city. People I was in the Air Force with said Minot AFB was a decent place to visit, and to be stationed at. So one of these days I might find out for myself and everyone else. There was the Minot Muskies hockey team that played for one season in the America West Hockey League until they could not secure the permanent use of an arena. There were the original Minot Mallards of the ManDak League from 1950-1957. Check them out at www.minotmallards.com. We had the Minot Sky Rockets from 2005 through 2009. Luckily we still have the Minot State University's Beavers. There is also a railroad museum in Minot. In 2011 parts of Minot were evacuated because the Souris River was flooding the city - the worst in recent memory!
I do think that North Dakota is a very interesting place to visit, despite the shortage of fall foliage. After all Lewis & Clark, as well as Teddy Roosevelt, liked the place. North Dakota is in the center of things. The geographic center of North America is near Rugby, about 1,500 miles from both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Tough luck, surfers. The most state-of-the-art hockey arena in the country is in Grand Forks at the University of North Dakota. Go Fighting Sioux! Before Jackie Robinson integrated the majors in 1947, Bismarck ND hosted integrated baseball games. Read all about it at Pitch Black Baseball.
You have to be yourself. Don't follow the crowd. After all I am me, therefore I am.
No friends are better that false friends.
Make yourself happy first. If you try to make other people happy first, you will only succeed in making yourself miserable, and the others will still be unhappy.
Some of My Quotations:
Keep on surfing and please check out my favorite sites noted here.
Besides the Mets and New York baseball, another of my favorites is the Beatles.
During the 1965 Shea Stadium concert, I was in the parking lot and saw them come into the parking lot in the armored car from the heliport in the New York World's Fair. A video is below.
Sadly, former Beatle George Harrison passed away on November 29, 2001. He was the "Quiet Beatle" but his music spoke volumes. Some classics include Within You Without You, Taxman, Here Comes The Sun, My Sweet Lord, and While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
As you can see, I am an avowed Marxist!
If you are wondering why there is a yellow background (or should be), and most of the text is blue, there are reasons. My family's crest has a gold charge on a royal blue background. And the school colors of my elementary school - St. Ann's in Flushing NY (not far from Citifield) were blue and gold. On Mozilla Firefox, the background sometimes comes out black.
I also like the Yankees since they have New York in their name and have a great tradition. And in the PM years (Pre-Mets) I was a Yankee fan. Flushing was Yankee country, and I also had numerous relatives in the Bronx. And the "43" in this web-site's name comes from the uniform numbers of two of my favorite ballplayers: Lou Gehrig #4 and Babe Ruth #3 of the Yankees. As a youngster, I read several books about these men, and at Cooperstown in 1987, I made certain to photograph their plaques.
I did serve in the United States Air Force from 1971 through 1975. The first assignment was at England Air Force Base in Alexandria LA. While the A-10 did not come into service until 1976, it was the last plane to fly at England when it closed in 1992. Being in Alexandria exposed me to Cajun cooking and other interesting things. After England it was Andersen Air Force Base with the C-130's and B-52's on Guam. It was interesting to be 10,000 miles from home and NOT be in a foreign country. But the culture was an interesting blend of North America, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. The only drawback to being in the military in those years (the last years of the Vietnam War) was that service people were considered low lifes. We were not patriots, but stupid enough not to have beaten the draft. But I can say that I am glad to have done my part. And if enough people did nothing in 1776, we might be called the Dominion of British America!! We would probably have frustrated republicans as opposed to frustrated royalists!! So thank the veterans, and not the politicians, stockbrokers, welfare parasites, hippies, or draft dodgers for the freedoms that we enjoy!!
Check out some pictures further down from my USAF days.
As I mentioned in the introductory paragraph, one of my favorite baseball teams is the Brooklyn Cyclones. During 2000 they played as the Queens Kings at the Ballpark at St. John's University. Since June 25, 2001 they have been playing at MCU Park, their ballpark in Coney Island, not far from their namesake roller coaster ride.
I do enjoy using computers, but there have been times when they left unpleasant results. Our computer at home did short circuit and was in the repair shop for 7 weeks! It was a miracle that we survived. I also worked as a Electronic Data Processing (EDP) Auditor at a bank during the 1980's. The experience was not very good.
In February 2002 I succeeded in hooking up my computer at home to the Internet. I never dreamed that I had such hi-tech prowess!
I also like rapid transit systems. I have riden the New York City Transit System extensively, and have also been on those in Philadelphia, Boston, Montreal, London, Paris, Washington DC, and Chicago. I have also taken rides on light rail systems in Europe and North America.
The train below in this picture is a 1910's vintage BMT Standard near the Rockaways.
1910's vintage PATH/H&M train at the Exchange Place station in Jersey City NJ
Another love is pre-World War II vehicles.
Remember those lost on September 11, 2001 - another date that will live in infamy!!!
These are the 1919 Chicago White Sox (the Black Sox). Eight members of the team were brought to trial on charges of throwing the World Series to the Cincinatti Reds. They were acquitted, but were banned for life from baseball by Commissioner Landis. Many people (including yours truly) believe that Joe Jackson was not guilty and should be re-instated and eligible for Cooperstown. Check out the website dedicated to him - www.blackbetsy.com
During August and September 2001 we all went to Chicago for a wedding, and to make a visit to the Windy City out of it. We got to visit the Navy Pier, Michigan Avenue, the Loop, the Shedd Aquarium, the Wrigley Building, Wrigley Field (no game that day), and the Chicago subway trains. We all found Chicago to be a pretty friendly city, for nearly 3 million people. I got extremely interested in the history of Chicago baseball, especially the 1919 White Sox.
This is an L train in the Chicago Loop. The 1910's vintage cars have been retired several years ago, but I felt that it did make a great picture. The Loop still looks pretty much the same, as you can see from the alternate picture.
This page was last updated on: August 6, 2011
In the above picture we are outside the Shedd Aquarium on Lake Michigan, with the Chicago skyline is behind us. You can see the Sears Tower in the left background. I am wearing a Long Island Ducks tee shirt and hopefully put them onto the map in the Windy City. I am sorry if the picture is a bit blurry.
We stopped in Dayton OH on the way back from Chicago to visit friends. Dayton was the home of the Wright Brothers, and now to Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Charles Kettering also came form here, and thanks to him, we don't have to crank up our cars anymore. The Wright Brothers came from Dayton, and while their first flight was made in North Carolina 100 years ago, they developed their Flyer in Dayton. Today Dayton is home to the University of Dayton, and its teams are called the Flyers in honor of the Wright Brothers and their first airplane.
Dayton is the home of the Dragons Single A baseball team. And you can get around on trolley busses!
Dayton was also a charter member of the National Football League, with the Dayton Triangles. They moved to Brooklyn in the 1930's but the team no longer exists.
Here are the logo of the Dayton Dragons baseball team, as well as Fifth Third Field in downtown Dayton.
The Minot Mallards and the Grand Forks Varmints used to play in the Prairie League during the 1990's.
See more on North Dakota below.
This is a restored 1920's vintage BMT Triplex, so called because of the three cars connected as a single unit. A single wheel truck was under the articulated joint. The last ones were retired in the 1960's. I rode them often, and consider them the most unique rolling stock ever to grace the New York City rails.
Why be normal? If we were all normal the world would be pretty boring.
Another city that has piqued my interest is our Nation's capital - Washington DC. I did visit while in elementary school, and again in high school. I never did get stationed near the city while in the Air Force, but I have been able to make it inside the Beltway recently. There are the usual historical sights, and of course Washington now has a subway (metro) system which I have ridden on and recommend highly. Unfortunately there had been no major league baseball team between 1972 and 2004. On September 29, 2004 MLB approved the transfer of the Montreal Expos to Washington DC for 2005. They are now called the Washington Nationals.
Here is a blue line train at the Arlington Cemetery station. We boarded there when we rode the DC Metro for the first time, in 2000. We took it towards the apartment houses in the background, near our hotel. We would also take it to visit the Smithsonian, the National Zoo, and Alexandria Virginia.
These are the 1924 Washington Senators, after they won the only World Series while in DC. Pitching great Walter Johnson is in the center. The original Senators moved to Minnesota in 1961.
There are three minor league teams in the DC Metropolitan Area. The pictures link to their official web sites:
This is a photo of RFK Stadium in Washington DC. It was the home of the second Washington Senators team, from 1961 to 1971. Baseball legends like Gil Hodges and Ted Williams managed Senators II. On September 29, 2004 the efforts to bring back major league baseball to DC finally succeeded. The new Washington Nationals played their first home game here on April 14, 2005. You have to admire that rooftop, it's a skateboarder's paradise!! In April 2008 the Nationals began playing at a new ballpark on South Capitol Street near the Washington Navy Yard. However, the DC United soccer team will still call RFK home.
Baseball is life; everything else is just details.
I had collected baseball card as a youngster (who didn't). 1957 was considered one of the best years for Topps, the premier baseball card maker. This photo gallery features Hall of Famers who played on the three New York teams in 1957, along with a great from another team: Ted Williams
Dodger great Gil Hodges is not in The Hall of Fame yet. Gil was a great player for the Dodgers, and an excellent manager for the Washington Senators II and the New York Mets. Let's campaign to have him elected in either 2011 or 2012.
Babe & Lou: Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day July 4, 1939
NORTH DAKOTA U.S.A
Chicago: my kind of town
Dayton - where airplanes and cash registers were born
Washington DC: the Nation's Capital
This is my official web-site. It features a biography, my interests, and places that I have visited or would like to visit. Enjoy the site and don't forget to sign the guestbook.
Here are my other Homestead sites:
Since the Long Island Ducks are a local team, I have had a chance to go to several of their games, and take some photos. There is a larger section dedicated to the Ducks on my Long Island baseball website.
Below are some photos from when we visited the Smithsonian, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and watched the Independence Day Parade. Enjoy!!
That's all folks but first
My wife and I went to a Brooklyn Cyclones game on August 21, 2005. A web page was created to commemorate the event. Here is is at www.brooklyn43cyclones.homestead.com
Here is a site dedicated to the 4 teams that play or played on Long Island, the QSAC Games, and New York Hoops:
On October 26, 2005 the White Sox won the World Series for the first time since 1917. Congratualtions to them for a great season!!!
On December 20, 2005 I went to Jersey City NJ to check out the Hudson Bergen Light Rail and the Newport Center Mall. In 2006 I played sofball with the Long Island Slowpitch Softball Association, and in 2007 saw the Harlem Globetrotters play. Since 2008 I have playing with the Bees in the Yorkville Sports Association. Another place I hope to visit is Hershey PA. Here is the web-page for those events:: www.islip29.homestead.com.
We have not gotten to Hershey yet, but in August 2006 we visited Charlottesville VA and also Washington DC. Read about Charlottesville here: http://olddominion43.homestead.com/
We visited Washington DC two more time since July 2000: in September 2004 and in August 2006. Both visits are commemorated in web-pages and have links further up on this page.
Pictures from the Air Force Days.
In December 2007, we did make it to South Bend IN for a wedding on the Notre Dame Campus. Here is the page: www.southbend2007.homestead.com.
Our new President, Barack Obama, is an avid Chicago White Sox fan. So I guess they can qualify as America's Team.
On February 18, 2009 the last part of Shea Stadium came crumbling down. It was replaced by Citifield, right next door.
This is NYSEG Stadium, home of the AA Binghamton "B-Mets"
1938 Graham "Sharknose", another beauty
1934 DeSoto Airflow
A 1937 Cord Convertible - one of the most beautiful cars ever made in the USA!!
Here is a trolley bus in downtown Dayton, near Fifth Third Field
Bethpage Federal Park, home of the Long Island Ducks
The Snow Bears, Muskies and Sky Rockets are gone, but the MSU Beavers still play in Minot, and the Minotauros will start play in fall 2011
Railyard near downtown Minot, and Minot FD Engine 3
Our new engine being wet-down; me and new engine
Beatles' 1969 Rooftop Concert
Hudson Bergen Light Rail trains at Pavonia & Hoboken
Taylor McCormack and Kimera Bartee at the 2004 Blood Drive
Quackerjack leading the cheers against the Bridgeport Bluefish in 2004
Long Island Ducks pitcher heading to the clubhouse
Quackerjack & Elvis Impersonator
Left, above: LI Duck Kimera Bartee;
Right: LI Ducks, 2004 Atlantic League Champions
December 15, 2001: yours truly and former New York Mets great and now Long Island Duck's vice president Bud Harrelson. Bud was signing autographs at Citibank Park that day.
Quackerjack in the stands, 2000
Left to right: The Bowie Baysox are the Eastern League AA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and play in Prince George's Stadium; The Frederick Keys are the Single A Carolina League affiliate of the Orioles; The Potomac Nationals are now the Single A Carolina League affiliate of the Washington Nationals, starting in 2005. Their ballpark is in Woodbridge, Prince William County, Virginia.
New Washington National's logo
1974: at the Guam Datsun (Nissan) dealer and their 1937 Datsun
Above, left: Me in front of my new 1972 Toyota Corolla, England AFB LA; right: Me at the main Guam Navy Base in 1974, in front of a captured WW2 submarine
Being a true New Yorker, I have a page dedicated to the 5 boroughs, and how each one played an important part in my life. The link is at http://billysnewyork.homestead.com/
To keep my trips in one place, I recently created a new web-site called The Travels of Billy. The link is here.
In August 2009 we returned to Chicago for another visit. This time we were able to take in a Chicago White Sox game at US Cellular Field. Unfortunately the Kansas City Royals won, 5-4. Please see the link to the trip here.
Days until retirement
I love to read. Some of my favorite books and authors are:
The Mouse That Roared by Leonard Wibberley;
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury;
Seven Men of Gascony by R.F. Delderfield;
Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe and Starbuck series;
Barbara Vine's novels;
Roddy Doyle's novels;
The Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling;
Wait Till Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin;
The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn;
On The Beach by Nevil Shute
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett.
Eight Men Out by Eliot Asinof
In March 2011 I started a site, almost a biography, about how baseball has been a part of my life (and also not a part for a while). Please check out
