Yesterday I saw a 90 minute documentary on PBS-channel 13 on Carl Erskine, the remaining core member of the Boys of Summer--the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers.
I remember when I was young an Oisk was one of the Dodger stars. He always gave his all on the field. My wife knew his family because they "summered" in Brooklyn a few houses away. She played with his 2 older sons and Carl's daughter used her crib one season. She had memories and photos of the party in 1955 when they won the series--at last. In the late 1970's Carl and his wife visited the Walk to see some old neighbors who asked us to come over. I was in awe in meeting one of the heros of my youth and noticed a piece of jewelry on his finger. his world series ring. He noticed my looking at it and took it off for me to get a better look. Wow what an experience to hold an actual world series ring of a favorite of your youth. As the afternoon went on Carl spoke of his youngest son, Jimmy, who was born in 1960 with Down's syndrome.
Carl spoke with pride in his son and his own involvement in the Special Olympics. He related how he worked with Jimmy to help him prepare to compete in a dash, going through detail from ready set go to the way to go and to cross the finish line only on the day of the race he found out the one item he didn't practice--the gun to start the race which when it went off froze Jimmy at the starting line. It was amazing to think of this great athlete, Carl, and his pride in his son and devotion to handicapped children.
The documentary goes into the human side of a professional athlete who was truly a Christian gentleman who practiced what preached. He was ahead of his time in race relations starting in elementary and high school to his relationship with Jackie Robinson to his work for the special needs children starting with his son Jimmy who he was tolkd should be institutionalized but who Carl and his family brought home and raised. It is a wonderful story of a successful baseball player who had great values and I would recommend that you try to find it and view it; it is a feel good story.
I remember when I was young an Oisk was one of the Dodger stars. He always gave his all on the field. My wife knew his family because they "summered" in Brooklyn a few houses away. She played with his 2 older sons and Carl's daughter used her crib one season. She had memories and photos of the party in 1955 when they won the series--at last. In the late 1970's Carl and his wife visited the Walk to see some old neighbors who asked us to come over. I was in awe in meeting one of the heros of my youth and noticed a piece of jewelry on his finger. his world series ring. He noticed my looking at it and took it off for me to get a better look. Wow what an experience to hold an actual world series ring of a favorite of your youth. As the afternoon went on Carl spoke of his youngest son, Jimmy, who was born in 1960 with Down's syndrome.
Carl spoke with pride in his son and his own involvement in the Special Olympics. He related how he worked with Jimmy to help him prepare to compete in a dash, going through detail from ready set go to the way to go and to cross the finish line only on the day of the race he found out the one item he didn't practice--the gun to start the race which when it went off froze Jimmy at the starting line. It was amazing to think of this great athlete, Carl, and his pride in his son and devotion to handicapped children.
The documentary goes into the human side of a professional athlete who was truly a Christian gentleman who practiced what preached. He was ahead of his time in race relations starting in elementary and high school to his relationship with Jackie Robinson to his work for the special needs children starting with his son Jimmy who he was tolkd should be institutionalized but who Carl and his family brought home and raised. It is a wonderful story of a successful baseball player who had great values and I would recommend that you try to find it and view it; it is a feel good story.
