First Sneakers Championship Trivia

[retrojint]

Because Dasher, who always leaves his women craving for more, decided to honor the second of the Sneakers Championships, I'd thought we would ask a couple of questions about the original affair.  1934.  What was the name of the assistant club house man who was sent out to get the sneakers to provide traction against the Bears.  And which school did he get them from? 

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[dasher]

Abie Cohen who became my barber in his later years.
Manhattan College

[retrojint]

Well done Dasher.  Where would one find Manhattan College?  Need a street address please.  The Polo Grounds was located on a patch of land known as Coogan's Bluff.  Is the tiny school on the same or opposite side of the Harlem River, and how many blocks did the future barber have to travel? ???

[dasher]

Well done, retroman.
Manhattan College moved from Harlem to the Bronx in the mid 1920's when Abie was cutting Calvin Coolidge's hair.
Exact street address could be 4513 Manhattan College Parkway, Riverdale, NY.
It is located north of the Harlem River.
Abie took the 1 train- can't tell me how many blocks that was.

[retrojint]

Torre is using about 70 pitchers tonight in a game in which his team has given up one run so I am taking a break.  Let's see, when I 'd crash at my buddy's place, who was known as Quinn the Eskimo, I believe we were talking about 220 and Broadway under the EL.   That's where their dorm was.  The Jaspers were my drinking buddies. Sound correct?  The Polo Grounds was on a kittie corner (what does that mean?) from the Stadium across the river. Approximately 158.  Means Abe had to get on his silver horse to go get those sneakers. 

This story is often mistold that he went to Fordham, by the way. 

[dasher]

Hey Retro,
Tell me about the history of the 7th inning stretch and the Jaspers?

[retrojint]

President Taft got up in the seventh inning of a Senator's game he was attending.  Everybody rose in unison with him out of respect.  A tradition was born.  Or that's how I remember the story.

There is no definitive answer on the Jasper evolution.  They were our biggest rivals.  I can't tell you what they chanted at us during games given this is a family board.  We'd chant back, "What the Hell is a Jasper?"

[dasher]

Hey Retro,
Acording to Wikipedia
"It is written in the Baseball Hall of Fame that "During one particularly warm and humid day when Manhattan College was playing a semi-pro baseball team called the Metropolitans, Brother Jasper noticed the Manhattan students were becoming restless and edgy as Manhattan came to bat in the seventh inning of a close game. To relieve the tension, Brother Jasper called time-out and told the students to stand up and stretch for a few minutes until the game resumed." On the college's 150th anniversary in 2003 at a New York Yankees game, Brother Jasper was credited with the Seventh-inning stretch.

Since the College annually played the New York Giants in the late 1880's and into the 1890's at the Polo Grounds, the Manhattan College practice of the “seventh inning stretch" spread into the major leagues, where it has now become a time-honored custom practiced by trillions of fans annually"

Now you know what the hell a Jasper is and the true history of the 7th inning stretch.
Just here to help.
dasher

[retrojint]

Dasher:  Not so fast my friend.  That is highly contested data that you quote from a site that is notorious for inaccuracies.  I heard the legend of Brother or Father Jasper.  I don't think they can prove that the guy ever existed.  Nice story.  I'll still go with the one that states that President Taft got up to take a leak or whatever, and everybody rose out of respect. 

[dasher]

I admire your admiration of the late great president, but what say you concerning the mighty Yankees recognizing the true stretcher- Brother Jasper-  in 2003 at Manhattan's 150th anniversary day at the big ballyard? Isn't that rather conclusive evidence? Especially with Mr. Steinbrenner's zeal for nothing but truth within his domain?

[retrojint]

I didn't hear about that.  Whether apocryphal or not, if George says he existed, he existed.  Period.

[bighitterdalama]

Dasher,

If I am not mistaken, this photo shows Mel Triplett scoring the game's first touchdown:





BTW,

Be careful in quoting Wikepedia as a source. Its information can be spotty. For example, Wikepedia lists George Halas as the Bears' HC for the 1956 Championship Game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_Championship_Game,_1956

Big Hitter

[dasher]

Yes, Pell Mel ran around and over about 5 different Bears on his TD run.
Extra, extra bonus point Big Hitter- name the official he just sent sprawling into the end zone? You can snow me here- at one time I knew his name- no longer do. Knowing you, there will a picture of him here soon with name and biography!
And yes, Wikipedia needs to be taken with a huge grain of salt. Only used here to further engage Retro with comments pertaining to his Manhattan College questions.
I admit to learning from him, though. Until his response, apocryphal was a term not in my normal vocabulary!
dasher

[Grizz299]

  Well you've got the bit and pieces........but not the whole thing.

    Manhattan College was a religious school and they insisted on giving the Vespers in the seventh inning.  Hence  A local tradition was born for all New York schools.   Taft knew of that and being a man of enormous girth and just as enormous appetites he suffered from flatulance in the extreme.    He stood up during that game to relieve enormous pressures and when the press inquired he suggested he was merely honoring a New York tradition.    And he was right not only about the religious angle but the flatulance angle..  Both proud NY traditions. 

  Meantime as the Italians poured into NY the V in Vespers got corrupted into a J, and the original nickname "Vespers" got corrupted into Jaspers. 
  While it's not widely known ,   Joe Dimaggion suffered from the same language corruption.......Originally he was Voe Dimaggio. 

   end of case.