Wednesday,
April 25, 2007
Obit:
The
ANNOTICO Report
But in
May of 1943, one month past his 17th birthday, Pierro
enlisted in the Marines.
For
the first time in my life Pierro remembered,
I found out what real prejudice against Italians was like. Although
he often heard terms like dago and
wop in
Pierro also found there was no
romance in actual war. I went through the hell of the South Pacific. And
let me tell you, it was not like the musical. Id be talking to a
guy Pierro states And
all of a sudden his head would explode from a bullet.
Discharged
in 1946, Pierro was scouted by the New York
Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates, as a pitcher, took the Pirates offer.
He
would always be sayings things like `Hey, gangster, wheres your gun?
In one
game, when he was getting hammered, all Myers did was grin.
Finally,
when Pierro was lifted. I asked Myers why he
waited so long to lift me, he only said Take it up with your
spaghetti-eating buddies in
Lest we
forget.....as if we ever are allowed to...!!!!!
Remembering
Brooklyns
By Albert Peckman
Special to the
April 25, 2007
Longtime Bensonhurst resident and former Pittsburgh
Pirates pitcher died on April 1, 2006, two weeks before his 80th birthday.
I was an adopted baby, Pierro explained in his gravely blue-collar tones.I dont know who my natural parents were andI really dont care.
My adopted parents took me home when I was six months old.They had two older natural girls so they wanted a boy and they picked me. And I never felt like I was anything but a real part of the family.
Very early in life, Pierro realized he had a natural talent for pitching. Even as a kid, the old ballplayer explained, I was naturally coordinated. I was good with tools with woodworking and cabinetmaking.
There were various American Legion
and Police Athletic League squads. But the most reverent of memories is
contained in that mecca of
Pierro was vivid in his recollection.
It was a good one hour bus ride from my home.But every holiday and weekend-during the spring and summer, I was on that sandlot. Pierro remembered future Major Leaguers like Chuck Connors and Tommy Brown.
I, Pierro
remembered with more than a little relish, was the one they always wanted
on the mound. But in 1943, at age 17, a far greater conflict intruded in Pierros life: World War Two. He was going to a trade
school in
In May of 1943, one month past his 17th birthday, Pierro enlisted in the Marines.
For the first time in my
life Pierro remembered, I found out what
real prejudice against Italians was like. Although he often heard terms
like dago and wop in
Pierro also found there was no romance in actual war.
I went through the hell of the South Pacific. And let me tell you, it was not like the musical. Id be talking to a guy Pierro states And all of a sudden his head would explode from a bullet. Discharged in 1946, Pierro joined the 52/20 unemployment insurance club and was back on the Parade Ground.
Scouts from the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates soon heard of the 21-year-olds talents. He decided to take the Pirates offer.
The offer was a stint at Class D Bartlesville in 1948. The starting salary the veteran remembered, was seventy five dollars a month with three dollars a day meal money. Sometimes-you had to sleep two in a bed.
Nevertheless, his performance
earned him promotions to
Hey, Gangster, Wheres Your Gun?
He would always be sayings things like `Hey, gangster, wheres your gun?
But just as bad, I just sat on the bench for the last month of the 49 season.The team was going nowhere.
And the old guy just refused to let me pitch.
After a successful 1950 year with
But Pierro found there was a vast gulf between even the high minors and the majors.
The Brooklyn Dodgers and the Boston Braves just clobbered me. I was a tall, thin kid.About six-one, 155 pounds. But I thought I had a pretty good fastball. That was my specialty.
But what worked in the minors just did not help me in the big time. They just kept belting me.
I even lost control, and started walking everybody in sight. And all Myers did was grin.
Finally, Pierro
was lifted. When, he recounted grimly, I asked Myers why he
waited so long to lift me, he only said Take it
up with your spaghetti-eating buddies in
Illness Strikes
Still, in the spring of 1951, despite his dismal 0-2 record, Pierro found himself back in a Pirates uniform. He wanted
to prove himself, but this was not to be.
We were down in
Two days later, Pierro woke up in the hospital. The doctors said he had encephalitis, which may have been caused by his exposure to malaria in the Pacific during World War II. Pierros baseball career came to an end.
I recuperated well enough to be able to have normal life as a cab driver and auto mechanic. But baseball that was over.
By 1976 when I was almost 50, my condition degenerated to the point where I could not even work. At any level.
Thankfully, he had a grown son and daughter, as well as the house to give him some security.
However, the government continued to deny that his neurological damage had any links to his wartime bout with malaria.
I spoke to all kinds of politicians and veterans groups. They are full of promises to do something But I never hear from them again, he said.
Still, he counted his blessings.
In 1949, I was strikeout king of the
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