[ooo-ribay]

Originally Posted by Kevin

My uncle covered the Pirates from 66-86 (before that, he was at the Long Island Press covering both baseball and football Giants, Yankees after that). He had a ton of stuff. He lived in North Versailles for 40+ years and his neighbor and best friend was a former MLBer, Pirate. We were regaled of very, very un complimentary stories of Roberto Clemente. The guy seemed nice enough. As my uncle was at the beginning stages of senility, my mother sort of figured out that the neighbor/friend was taking things from my uncle. As my folks moved my uncle out of Pennsylvania and to Long Island, my mother was carrying out the last remaining piece of memorabilia: my uncle’s HoF bat - a Bill Mazerowski model with my uncles name on it. The former Pirate apparently touched my mother’s shoulder and said, “Charley promised that to me” my mother stated, “it’s a family heirloom, it stays with his family.”

I believe my uncle had WS rings, a lot of stuff. Once in a blue moon, he’d send us memorabilia. Not much. I wonder just how much the former Pirate absconded with? I wonder just how true the Clemente stories were coming from that source. If anybody has Charley Feeney Pittsburgh Post Gazette items, I’d be interested in finding out about them!

That is a crazy.....and sad....story.