~ Malden Musings ~ “Tales from Ferryway Green”

By Peter Levine

If this old tree could talk – located in front of 273 Ferry St. at the very corner of Ferryway Green overlooking the park much like Quasimodo of Notre-Dame de Paris – the tales it would tell of legendary ball players that once ran The Green. It would tell of….

• The one-hitter pitched by Shawn Campbell of the Barons in June of 1983 with the DeMayo brothers, (Quadzilla) Paul & Mike, chipping in with four hits between them
• Little Harvey Nadler retrieving jump shot after jump shot for Willie Barron as Willie honed his legendary hoops skills
• Right-handed hitter Mike Maddaleni swinging late on a Peter Levine “fastball” and nearly hitting the tree we are talking about in right field
• Bruce Vining embarrassing opposing hoop players with pure athleticism and an array of impossible jump shots
• Right-handed hitter Bobby Foley launching a moon shot to left field off another Peter Levine “fastball” that still may be travelling to this very day
• The whole Russo clan dominating the hoop court from early morning to the wee small hours of the evening
• Catcher Dommy DiSario of the 1970 City Champ BRL Barons throwing out Jimmy D’Adarrio from the Stars trying to steal second, from the sitting position
• Bruce Vining of the BRL Seals in center field throwing out Bobby “Peanuts” Pelosi at first base after Peanuts hit a shot up the middle that Bruce fielded cleanly in center, letting fly a rope to first for the putout
• Russ Garland hitting a mammoth shot to center for a round tripper, possibly his only hit in the BRL. MHS football star “Galooch” appearing in a cameo role for the injury-plagued Stars
• George “Tommy” Hoffman stepping back and draining long-range (line drive) jumpers from the corner, double teamed with Bobby Willis’ long wingspan in his face!
• Bobby Langston of the BRL Seals going from first to third on one pitch

To be continued…

Five platters that mattered – making a lasting impression on me growing up in Malden:

• “The Kink Kronikles” – 1975, mom asks what I’d like for Christmas. I mention the Kinks’ 1972 double LP “Kink Kronikles.” Lo and behold what do I wake up to Christmas morning? Yes indeed, the same album I have to this very day in my collection and the vinyl that launched my love affair with the Davies brothers. Thank you, mother! By the way, she was the best gift giver, ever!
• I have gone on record as to not quite understanding the genius behind the Ramones when they released their self-titled debut slab of vinyl “Ramones” (1976). But count me all in by late ’77 (or so) when I purchased the album at Strawberries (Dave Surette possibly selling me the vinyl) and placed the needle on the first track. Blitzkrieg Bop ever since!
• In 1979 I asked sister-in-law Helen to pick me up an E.P. at Lechmere Sales in Cambridge. I was smitten by a song called “Rapper’s Delight” by a group called the Sugar Hill Gang. I wrote the name of the song as “Wrapper’s Delight” on a piece of paper and gave it to Helen having no idea at that point in time what the heck a “rapper” was. Love at first hearing as the golden age of hip hop unfolded before my ears.
• The release of Extreme’s first album “Extreme” in 1989 was an epic moment in Malden/Medford history. And my life. Local boy makes good and all that – Gary, Paul, Patrick and Nuno taking Herb Alpert and A&M Records into uncharted waters. A&M playing nice until the song that haunts Gary and Nuno till this very day isn’t easily replicated.
• Spending time in my brother Joe’s room when he wasn’t home circa 1970 – digging through his record collection – Parliament Funk, James Brown, “Little Stevie” Wonder, the Four Tops – but the record that hooked me and had the most play on Joe’s Magnavox console record player was the 1968 double L.P. “Diana Ross & the Supremes Join the Temptations”! I wore the album(s) out! Eddie Kendricks! David Ruffin! Dennis Edwards! Diana Ross! Angelic voices during the golden age of soul music!

As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” – Sir Paul McCartney turned 81 years young last week. Thank the deity of your choice for Sir Paul and the Beatles. So many of us will forever remember that legendary night in 1964 when the Beatles were broadcast into our lives for the very first time! With that said, I bring to you a review of the Beatles’ first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” by an old curmudgeon named Paul Jones. From Feb 11, 1964, and it does not hold up very well.

  “As I See It – (Ed) Sullivan Wasted Time with Beatles…”

“If Ed Sullivan can find no better use for the time allotted him on Sunday night than to devote it to such exhibitions as he presented last Sunday night, I suggest that CBS-TV find something else to put in this hour of prime time.

“Why Sullivan found it necessary to aid in the phony promotion of four rock ‘n’ roll exponents, all of whom resemble Moe from the Three Stooges, is beyond comprehension. And why he felt it necessary to ‘load’ the theater with screaming teen-age girls when he normally restricts his audience to grownups, is also a mystery.

“It was obvious to those who saw the Beatles, four young fellows from Great Britain, that they have not attained their present notoriety on the basis of their musical talents, for the sounds emanating from their mouths were anything but melodic.

“Shorn of their mop-like hairdos they would look and sound like many other inferior rock ‘n’ roll groups which are still attempting to keep alive the fad which died when Elvis Presley entered the armed forces.

“There is nothing attractive about the looks or the sounds of the Beatles.

“There is no reason why Sullivan should take part in the absurd campaign to make this group appear to be important.

“But then Sullivan’s program has been on the skids for several weeks. I have noticed a general deterioration in the type of entertainment presented in at least three of the last four shows.

“In catering to the screaming teen-agers who find this group exciting, Sullivan has shown his contempt for the vast millions who used to find his program diverting.”

Postscript 1: Very few in Malden know the game of baseball better than M.H.S. Athletic Hall of Famer and 1970’s “Athlete of the Decade” Dave Caiazzo – just a handful like Bob Rotondi, Terry Matthews, Peter “Panama” Carroll, Kenny Mazonson, to name but a few. So, Cai was the first to get back at me with his take on the best hitters seen in Malden. As always, Dave tells it like it is: “Well, I never saw Johnny Salmon play and only saw Billy (Croken) a couple of times. I know Billy was a great defensive catcher with his hitting taking a back seat to his defense. Frank Adorn once told me Billy was one of the very best defensive players he has ever seen. Also, I hesitate to include the BRL because most are good hitters at that level. With that said, Dennis (Damiano) was an exceptional hitter and a five-tool guy in the BRL but never played in high school beyond his sophomore year. So, here are my top 5. At number 1, without a doubt, Steve Ring. Number 2, Carmine Cappuccio. My take on Carmine was that he had an uncanny ability to hit to the opposite field and I am not sure if he was trying to do that or not. Either way, it worked. Number 3, Steve Carpenter. Another guy who only played high school. Don’t know if he could have hit at the college level. But I liked him when I saw him. Number 4, Johnny Brickley (if we include him as a Maldonian) good hitter to all fields. Number 5 is a tie. Robby Santo was a late bloomer and improved a great deal in college which was obvious with his recent induction into the Flagler College Sports Hall of Fame. Paul Abbatinozzi ties Rob at number 5. Paul was a better hitter than Rob at MHS but from watching Rob improve after high school I will give it a tie. So those are my picks. I have seen a lot of good hitters since I played little league in the late 1960’s, but I can only judge by which players I actually saw.” Thanks for your always thoughtful (and honest) opinions, Dave.

Postscript 2: My favorite line from Paul Jones’ Beatles review was, of course, the “all of whom resemble Moe from the Three Stooges.” First because myself and each one of my friends are 3 Stooge fanatics and two, picture if you can – John, Paul, George and Ringo sitting in their hotel room the next morning, reading the review, and saying to themselves, who the heck is “Moe” and what are the “3 Stooges?!” So much fun to think of!