My 1972 Topps Rookie Pick-up

[herbc]

Ahh! The good old days! Mmm....maybe not. The summer of 65, or was it 66? I had suddenly grown to 6'3", and learned how to dunk. Our East Harlem team was playing in a summer Basketball tournament held at Mt. Morris Park in Harlem. We were a young confident average team that held its own.

This particular Saturday was different. We had the early game, playing a team from Yorkville. This would be a piece of cake....a walk in the park. Yorkville! There are no ball players in Yorkville! Yorkville was a neighborhood bordering East Harlem, at that time primarily an Irish and German neighborhood. No problem.....

I arrived late, my team was already on the layup line. Our coach looked at his watch...I didn't worry, I knew I was starting anyway. I quickly changed and joined them. My buddy EG (RIP), pulled me to the side. He pointed out this player warming up on the other team, his name was Roche. My assignment....stick on him like glue....rumor is he is good. No Problem.

Long story short.... There were no three pointers then, but he was shooting them. Making everyone of them, from every spot. Every time I tried playing him tight, I was crossed over tripping over my feet, as he made the layup. The crowd oooood and ahhhhed every time he used me. But wait! A defensive rebound; ball passed to me...fast break, I got him now. Almost to the rim... And then.... Bam! He and a teammate, yes two of them slammed me and the ball, pinning it and my arm to the backboard. It felt like I was stuck up there for a few seconds. When released, I crumbled to the ground with a bloody arm. Damn!

We were schooled.... I was owned! I've been haunted by this memory for decades, but today is different.
I can now say that.... I OWN JOHN ROCHE! My latest pick-up

[Exhibitman]

Great story. So Roche lit you up? Well, don't feel bad; at least your butt-kicking was metaphorical. A friend of mine was an amateur boxer until he got in the ring and got destroyed by a fighter named "Hagler".

For those who don't know the geography, Yorkville is south of Harlem (72nd-96th Street). I am from there originally (72nd street as a tyke, then over to 84th street). The best basketball player from there is Bob Cousy, who moved to Queens when was a teen. The best athlete from the area is Lou Gehrig.

I looked up Roche and found that Roche is an attorney at the Denver office of the law firm Taylor|Anderson. If you want to get him to sign the card, you could probably track him down. Might be a fun memento from the old days!

[Justus]

Awesome story!

[FourStrikes]

Originally Posted by Justus

Awesome story!

agreed!

[irv]

Originally Posted by FourStrikes

agreed!

Same here.

[LuckyLarry]

Yes great story!

[nicknock-2013]

Great story indeed. I know this is a basketball story but you mentioned Yorkville so I thought I'd chime in. Yorkville was a tough (Irish German) neighborhood. As a kid from the Bronx we played roller hockey, the Nationals were a Yorkville roller hockey team. The West Side Jokers were another Manhattan roller and ice hockey team we played against. Several boys that played for those teams made it to the NHL. Joey and Brian Mullen were two of the most famous. Didn't mean to step on your story Herb but you conjured up some memories of my own. Thanks

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

[herbc]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

Great story. So Roche lit you up? Well, don't feel bad; at least your butt-kicking was metaphorical. A friend of mine was an amateur boxer until he got in the ring and got destroyed by a fighter named "Hagler".

For those who don't know the geography, Yorkville is south of Harlem (72nd-96th Street). I am from there originally (72nd street as a tyke, then over to 84th street). The best basketball player from there is Bob Cousy, who moved to Queens when was a teen. The best athlete from the area is Lou Gehrig.

I looked up Roche and found that Roche is an attorney at the Denver office of the law firm Taylor|Anderson. If you want to get him to sign the card, you could probably track him down. Might be a fun memento from the old days!

Small world, I lived on 83rd street for 22 years. I've thought about trying to get it autographed, but will wait to get a duplicate in case it's not returned.

Originally Posted by nicknock-2013

Great story indeed. I know this is a basketball story but you mentioned Yorkville so I thought I'd chime in. Yorkville was a tough (Irish German) neighborhood. As a kid from the Bronx we played roller hockey, the Nationals were a Yorkville roller hockey team. The West Side Jokers were another Manhattan roller and ice hockey team we played against. Several boys that played for those teams made it to the NHL. Joey and Brian Mullen were two of the most famous. Didn't mean to step on your story Herb but you conjured up some memories of my own. Thanks

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

Yes, roller hockey was very big there. As a matter of fact, it became popular up the entire Eastside into East Harlem for a while.

[jb67]

Great story. Thanks for sharing.

[WillBBC]

That is great! Thank you for sharing!

[brian1961]

Fascinating story and well told. Happy for you on your pick-up. What a swell accoutrement to go with your story. That's what I'd call the perfect conversation piece!

Being from metropolitan NYC, were you acquainted with Stahl-Meyer hot dogs? Were they as good as I've heard people remember them to be? Sorry to be so off-topic; I rarely get to converse with a New Yorker, and back in 53-55 they issued baseball card sets. So, I just thought I'd take the opportunity to ask you.

Thanks again for the story. It sure kept my interest. ---Brian Powell