“Say hey” is an expression used as a nickname for the great baseball player Willie Mays. Willie used the word “hey” quite a bit but no one really knows how the nickname came about. Real baseball fans know little facts such as this. Avid baseball fans talk baseball constantly, regardless if it’s baseball season or not.
Baseball is truly an American game created by a brash young country, just as we developed jazz music and tap dancing. Of course, it’s become a bit of a global enterprise but its roots grew throughout the cities and rural areas of the US. Early newspapers paid great attention to baseball regardless of the level of the league. Look up a newspaper from the early 1900s and read the wonderful reporting of the game. You’ll be able to feel the sun on your face, smell the peanuts, and hear the crack of the bat.
It seemed each small town had at least one team. There were loads of different leagues which gave many men the opportunity to play. We all know that not everyone makes it to the big leagues. Many spend entire baseball careers in the minors. I surmise that if one just loves to play, it’s the opportunity to play that matters.
Case in point…a young man, born in New Haven, CT, played organized baseball from 1895-1911. Mostly a third baseman, he also played at second base. Not a stellar hitter, career batting average of .250. He played on many different teams. Here are a few: Augusta Kennebecs, Bristol Bellmakers, Reading Coal Heavers, Schenectady Electricians, Albany Senators. There were a few more. He also had the chance to be a player/coach with the Albany team.
Also due to his association with the game, one of his daughters married a major league player named Johnny Cooney. Johnny played mostly for the Boston Braves and Brooklyn Dodgers. A lifetime immersed in the game of baseball. It’s kind of the stuff of some kid’s dreams. His name was Mike Doherty and he was my great-grand uncle.
As a baseball fan, I would have loved to talk to him but he died a few years before I was born. When I was a kid, the circumstances surrounding baseball were a bit different. Many games were played during the afternoons. If we were lucky we owned a transistor radio with an earplug to listen surreptitiously to a game. Many of us went to sleep at night with the transistor under our bed pillow so we could listen. It was exciting!
Take some time to look at how baseball developed and was supported by small towns as well as big cities. It was accessible to the public and affordable. It could be played wherever there was a field and players. In the early years, players shared equipment. It was more of a pure game until greed took over. Regardless, today was Opening Day and I’m looking forward to the season.
Stories Are For Eternity 