By ARIELLA MONTI
John Cameron recalls day of Yankee glory
Rockville Centre resident John Cameron, Jr. may be the owner of a successful environmental engineering consulting firm and the chairman of the Long Island Regional Planning Board, but for some he will always be remembered as a 10-year-old kid who stood with Mickey Mantle. On June 7, 1960, in the heyday of New York Yankees baseball, Cameron got the chance to be bat boy for a day.
"It's hard to peak at the age of 10," laughed Cameron. "Everything is downhill from there." Cameron had entered a poem contest sponsored by WNBC and beat out 13,000 writers for th e coveted position. Along with the chance to be bat boy for a day, he took home glossy photographs, an autographed team ball and his very own uniform.
He was brought to the stadium from his home in Long Beach by limousine and was greeted by Yankee legends Casey Stengel, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Bobby Richardson, Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra.
"I remember walking out from the clubhouse down the runway, into the dugout and onto the field," recalled Cameron. "It was almost overwhelming for a 10-year-old die-hard Yankee fan." In the stands sat 50 of his classmates from Long Beach Catholic as his personal cheering section.
Cameron has vivid memories from that day 48 years ago. "I remember odd things," he said. He remembers Mickey Mantle having his leg taped by the trainer and the size of his forearms. He recalls Whitey Ford's "colorful" language and the splattering of Ralph Hauk's chewing tobacco on the dugout steps. "It was kind of daunting." he laughed.
To this day he holds a special place in his heart for Bobby Richardson who he describes as a wonderful man. Richardson admitted to Cameron that on his radio show he spoke of this young boy that will be coming to the stadium to be their bat boy. "It blew me away," Cameron said.
During the game, Cameron had a short interlude with Chicago White Sox catcher Sherman Lollar. When Cameron went to retrieve a bat, Lollar leaned in close. "Don't tell anybody I ever told you this," said the intimidating masked catcher. "But just between you and I, I hope the Yanks win this one for you today."
Cameron holds those moments close to his heart and has a constant reminder in the memorabilia of that day. In his Rockville Centre home hangs his uniform which his wife framed for his 40th birthday. He still lives and breaths Yankee baseball and while he understands the economics for tearing down his beloved stadium he claims, "I'm going to get a lump in my throat" when that day surely comes.
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On October 1, 1961, when I was 9 years old, my late father and I followed our usual routine when the Yankees were home: Sunday Mass; lunch at Granny's; then off to Yankee Stadium.
Although the Yankees had already clinched the pennant, this was a special day Dad said we certainly could not miss. Roger Maris had one last game to homer and break the Babe's record he had previously tied at 60 several games.
We sat in the last row of the upper deck in fair territory in right field. It was packed, mostly with Red Sox fans who had arrived by bus to root against Roger.
In the fourth inning, like so many times before that year, Roger launched one last shot toward the right field stands. As it arched toward us, we knew it definitely had a chance of reaching the seats, but the ball dropped out of sight, our view blocked by the rows of seats and people below us. For a horribly long moment we waited, unsure if it was out, then the stadium erupted (except for the heartless New Englanders who remained in their seats).
Years later, I learned that attendance for that last, otherwise meaningless game of the regular season, was only about 13,000. They must all have been sitting in right field, hoping to catch the historic home run that Sal Durante actually grabbed.
