OT, but a great share! State of the hobby

[7nohitter]

Hi All,

This is a little post WWII, but it has to do with the evolution of the hobby and I thought this board would definitely enjoy the story.

I am a teacher in MA (7th grade English) and each year the Boston Globe hosts a sports writing contest in honor of the late Will McDonough. The topic this year was to identify a player and/or team which inspires and why.

I had a submission, from a girl, about 'The Shot Heard 'Round the World." Well, sure enough I thought, "what 13 year old girl in 2014 knows about Bobby Thomson and Ralph Branca??" She wrote a nice piece about how inspirational Thomson was.

I thought it was a great piece...but HAD to be completely copied from somewhere....right? What 13 year old girl knows about this stuff? So the day after getting her submission I peppered her with questions about the '51 Giants...."Who was the manager?" "What rookie was on the team who is now a HOF'er?" "Where did the Giants play?".....and she KNEW all of the answers!!

She told me how the call of Thomson's shot inspires her....and how she and her father listen to it EVERY DAY....she pulled out her tablet and showed me, right on the homescreen, the link to the call!!

THIS is what this hobby is all about. That night I went home and dug out my Bobby Thompson autographed card (It's a '53 reprint with the '51HR infor on the back) ...I gave it to her the next day. I enjoyed the card...but she LOVES the card....she was SO EXCITED and carried it around school all day....and I had absolutely no problem giving it to someone who APPRECIATES the game and the hobby!!

Just thought I would relay this story-the game/hobby is still alive!!

Andrew Miller