Resorts International Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City decided to have a special event celebrating Joe’s 70th Birthday. Many of his old Yankee team mates attended and it was a wonderful time and well received by the invitees. There were quite a few baseball Hall of Famers in attendance.
I was the Senior Executive Host and had the opportunity to spend a little time with Joe. He was a perfect gentleman and was happy to share a number of old baseball stories.
The story that impressed me the most was about his Brother Dom. The Yankees were playing the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. It was the last game of the season and Joe needed 3 RBIs, runs batted in, to win the prestigious “Triple Crown” To win the crown was an almost impossible feat. You had to have the highest batting average, the most home runs and the most RBIs.
Dom played center field for the Red Sox, the same position Joe played for the Yankees, and was considered one of the best defensive players at that time. In the first inning Joe got up with the bases loaded. Any extra base hit would have won him the crown. He hit a towering blast deep into center field, “Center field at Yankee Stadium was labeled the place where fly balls went to die.”, Dom raced back and back deep into where the monuments of the old Yankee greats were placed and made a spectacular leaping catch to rob his older brother of the hit that would have won him the crown. Later in the game Joe got a hit that drove in a run and was now only two RBIs from the crown. In the ninth inning Joe again stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded. Any base hit to the outfield would cinch the crown. Again he lofted a huge blast directly at the monuments. (Keep in mind that in any stadium in the Major Leagues both of these shots would have easily been home runs. Again Dom raced back and back into the monuments and made the identical leaping catch to deny his beloved brother his last chance at the crown. It was like an instant replay of the first catch. Joe, the good sport that he was, laughingly described the story in vivid detail and said, for a long time, he and his brother never discussed it among themselves.
It was a distinct pleasure for me to spend the little time we shared together. He was the epitome of a class act.
Tags: Atlantic City
