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Youngbloods take no prisoners in Brooklyn
September 16
Four of the groups that entered today's Brooklyn Stickball Classic were "pick up teams" composed of players who heard about the contest and decided to "give it a whack." Although anyone can take the field, winning is another matter. The finalists, the Bronx Youngbloods and the Brooklyn All Stars were composed of players who regularly participate in the sport. Unfortunately for local fans, the visiting Youngbloods defeated the All Stars by the football like score of 20-7 and will represent the borough in next week's semi-final competition. In the opening round, The Brooklyn All Stars defeated East 36th Street, another locally based team, 5-0. The second game was more competitive than the score suggests as the Youngbloods defeated FDNY 9-1, scoring 6 runs in the bottom of the 6th inning. Given the fact that FDNY was a pickup group composed of some firefighters and friends from the Bronx, the fact that they remained close to the Youngbloods until the end of the game was a surprise to the spectators. The turning point came in the top of the 5th with some heads up fielding by the Youngbloods as Tommy Burke was thrown out at the plate trying to stretch his monster 330+ drive into a 4 bagger. With the first two games won by the established teams, it was up to The Do Wallops and ESB (Empire State Building) to represent the pick up squads. A four run rally in the 5th inning provided more than enough for the Do Wallops to take it by a 5-1 score. In response to the six team field, Curtis Sliwa the event organizer and "Commissioner of Stickball," had declared that the team which scored the most runs would be given a by and automatically enter the finals. The Youngbloods were therefore able to watch from the sidelines as the Brooklyn All Stars defeated the Do Wallops 6-2 (see Do Wallop story). At first things looked good for the local squad as the All Stars took a quick 4 run lead in the first inning. However, the Youngbloods answered with 5 runs of their own. The game went back and forth until the Youngbloods unloaded 9 runs in the 5 inning on their way to a 20-7 route. The Youngbloods victory in Brooklyn ensures that this year's Stickball Classic winner will be a Bronx based team, since each of the finalists are from that borough. |
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