I have always loved baseball and growing up in the NY Metropolitan Area in the 1950s and early 60s had the opportunity to attend ball games at Ebbets Field, The Polo Grounds and The House That Ruth Built prior to 1957. I witnessed the great ones; Mays, Snider, Mantle, Aaron, Hodges and Berra to name a few. With the exception of Fridays, games were played in the daytime. Wrigley Field didn’t have lights. My dad would, on occasion, take me to a Friday night double header at Yankee Stadium. The first World Series night games didn’t commence until 1970 when Roberto Clemente led the Pirates over the Orioles.

While in high school the nuns would give us seat work and allow a radio in class so we could listen to a few innings prior to dismissal. Great play by play by Mel Allen, Red Barber and Vince Scully with only an occasional commercial lasting a minute. Box seats were $3.50 less than the price of today’s hot dogs. Now we are bombarded with commercials between every inning and split screen ads while the game is in progress. Now betting odds appear on the screen. Players salaries are exorbitant and a family of four attending a game could cost a week’s paycheck for some. I still love the game but yearn for the old days!

Daniel Kocsis

Concord