Yankees vs. Red Sox Wild-Card Showdown Reignites Baseball Memories

Beginning early this morning, friends and family shared excitement about this evening's Yankees vs. Red Sox Wild-Card showdown.

The game is a fantasy dream come true for die-hard Yankee and Red Sox fans.

One particular article that we texted to one another this morning was titled Bucky Dent Knows How the Yankees Can Beat the Red Sox.  It was posted in the New York Times and reignited the emotions of the Oct. 2, 1978 classic during our early morning chatter.

The article spotlights the Do-or-Die game between sports greatest rivals at Fenway Park.  The highlight of the game was Bucky Dent entering baseball immortality with this three-run homerun.

Dent, who became a close friend during that same year, and worked with me to write my book with the New York Yankees, expressed his thoughts in today's article. "It was one of the greatest games I ever played in.  It's the most pressure game that I've ever been in through my entire athletic career."

Fast forward 43 years, and the emotions run high again for baseball fans. A lifetime of memories is also reignited with fans not only in Boston and New York, but throughout the nation.

In honor of tonight's game, with memories of Dent's eternal moment, and my honored friendship with him, I share these thoughts from my past article titled:

Baseball 2021: New York Yankee Confidant and Little League Memories

 Despite the challenges of the 2021 baseball season due to the coronavirus, a new season of  Play Ball has begun.

The excitement of the national pastime is here, and affords countless fans like me who cherish the game, the gift of unforgettable memories.

From the time I was a  boy in the Bronx, sports have always been a part of my life. I played Little League Baseball, stickball, and basketball in the public school yards, ran cross country track for Mount Saint Michael High School, golfed at Van Cortland Golf Course and Mosholu golf courses, and wrestled for John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

During my years as an educator, I was privileged to coach a state championship soccer team for Shaw High School in Louisiana where I coached varsity and JV soccer for two years.   I also served as a lifeguard, swimming coach, and lifeguard instructor not only in America but also in the Bahamas. 

And I loved to run, especially from 1978 - 1985 when I jogged between 15 to 25 miles per week.  

In both 1983 and 1984, I ran 100 miles during the course of a month on two occasions, each as fundraisers during two years while studying for my master's degrees.  The purpose was to raise money for Saint Michael's Catholic Church on Grand Bahama Island.

I had worked for Saint Michael's during two summers in 1982 and 1983 directing their summer youth camp.  The parish needed a small bus to assist picking up youth for the camp, along with assistance for different programs for the poor.  

The bus was also important to pick up people on Sundays throughout the community to attend Mass.  It was also essential for public safety to assist the community, most of whom had no vehicle, with emergency assistance to the doctor's office, or to the hospital.

My running was successful and I was able to purchase the bus and assist the parish programs thanks to the generosity of many family, friends and benefactors.

Coaching Little League Baseball

One of my greatest thrills was coaching my son’s Hackensack Little League baseball team for 7 years. The years of coaching his team provided some of my fondest sports memories.

Coaching is a treasured privilege as it gives one the opportunity to utilize sports in the development of character in the life of the young.

Like it or not, athletes and coaches are role models for our youth and must strive to be examples of character.

Major League Baseball: Lessons for Athletes

Major League Baseball (MLB) has lessons of discipline, teamwork, and perseverance for the upcoming Olympics, and for all who enjoy sports.

Since baseball has always been my favorite sport, I often used lessons from it not only during coaching, but in many of my presentations on leadership.

As a child, love for the game was expressed through card collecting.  The real fans always knew statistics, the lineup of one’s favorite team by heart, and articulating it with each batter at every whiffle ball, stickball, or Little League game.

Baseball became significantly more serious to me after the tragic death of Yankee catcher Thurman Munson.

Soon thereafter, I found myself involved with MLB on a much more profound level as a confidant to the New York Yankee baseball players, and to many players throughout the American league.

In particular, I will always be grateful to legendary former New York Yankee shortstop Bucky Dent.  His appreciation for my work with youth as a Salesian of Don Bosco opened the door for me to work with players on the New York Yankees.  

Bucky's leadership was exemplary not only as a player, but as a person of character. His respect by his teammates, and those in the Yankee organization led me to serving as a confidant to many of the players, and collaborating with them on my first book.

Bucky wrote an inspirational letter to young fans for my book which included these motivational words:

"You must also have a dream about your future.  Remember that if you allow God to be a partner in your life, He will help you with all your dreams.  But remember He expects your cooperation.  You must be totally willing to give of yourself totally, that is, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically.

"Remember that you will also have failures during your efforts of fulfilling your dreams.  But have faith in God always.  God allows you to fail so that we may have faith in Him more than ourselves and therefore truly grow as persons.  When troubles come your way, it is so easy to quit, but these are the times to totally believe in God, for He will give you strength to overcome all obstacles."

During one summer in particular, I was working at a camp at St. Thomas the Apostle Church on 118th Street in Harlem in 1982 as a youth counselor. In the evening, I took the subway to Yankee Stadium to work with the players, as well as to collaborate with them on my first book titled On the Eighth Day God Created the Yankees.

The experience with inner city kids during the day and with the great names of baseball in the evening, gave me an unforgettable perspective.  I was working with the very poor and the very rich all in the course of the same day.

The lesson from this experience remains with me to this day, money, fame, and prestige does not define the person. It is character – a good heart, appreciating life, and fostering good will toward others – that is paramount in life.

Final Reflections

Yankee pinstripes did not determine a person’s greatness, but the stripes of thoughtfulness, respect, civility, truthfulness, kindness, and charity toward others.

This is what is important in the game of life, and living a life of character is greater than any World Series Championship. 

Many Yankees learned that lesson in the summer of 1979 after the death of their beloved captain.  It is a lesson each of us must live as life is short, and every day we must strive to live a life of character and to do something to help others.

About the Author

Vincent J. Bove, CPP, is a national speaker and author on issues critical to America with 275 published works.  Bove is recipient of the FBI Director's Community Leadership Award and former confident of the New York Yankees.  He served as spokesperson for a coalition of Virginia Tech tragedy families of victims. His most recent books are Reawakening America and Listen To Their Cries. 

For more information see www.vincentbove.com or twitter@vincentjbove 

Photos:

1.  Mosholu Little League, circa 1966, Vincent Bove 2nd from top left.

2. Running for the Money article, Columbus Citizen Journal, Nov. 6, 1984 covered Vincent Bove fund raising running for St. Michael's Parish in the Bahamas.

3. New York Yankee collage, includes photos from Yankee Stadium, the New Orleans Super bowl, and the Columbus Clippers Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, circa early 1980's.

4. St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Harlem, New York, 1982, Vincent Bove with summer campers.

5. Mount Saint Michael freshman track letter, 1968.