Mar
21

 For the Love of the Game...

SASOPRS: I understand that you’re a big baseball fan. When did your interest in baseball begin?

Richard: My interest in baseball began when I was about seven years old.  My first baseball game I attended was in 1963 at the old Polo Grounds. The Mets were playing the Cardinals that day, and, of course, lost. I began collecting baseball cards.  In those days, we would put the cards in the spokes of our bicycles, use them to "color", trade, etc. I remember attending about 20-25 NY Met games a year at Shea Stadium with my father who was a Deputy Chief Inspector in the NYPD.  My father commanded half the precincts in Brooklyn.  We would go on "rounds" after the game and officers in the precinct stood up and saluted him when he entered.  We would then go to either Peter Luger Steak House or Crisci's restaurant for dinner. I remember car rides with my dad. We would talk about current events and other topics and really "bond."