If you are like me, you don't need a good reason to enter an Irish Pub at any time of the day.
But just in case you aren't like me, here is a good reason - The Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame is honoring its latest inductees Tuesday at high noon at Foley's on 33rd Street.
The Dodgers are in town to face the Metsies so why not finally induct Walter O'Malley?
Steve Garvey is also being inducted...and is flying all the way in from California for the honor. Way to go, Steve. Apparently Paul O'Neill is also being enshrined but the ex-Yankee can't be bothered to show up. Therefore I say ban all Yankees from the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame.
You may recall from our complete coverage of last year's festivities that
Tug McGraw and legendary Shea Stadium groundskeeper Pete Flynn were part of the inaugural class of Irish-American baseball heroes at Foley's.
Full disclosure - I am getting paid nothing by Foley's for passing this along but will gladly accept a free round for my efforts.
Press release below:
Irish American
Baseball Hall of Fame to Become the First NYC Organization in Over 50 Years to
Honor Walter O'Malley, The Man Who Moved the Dodgers Out of Brooklyn
Hall Inducts
Longtime Dodgers Owner, Sluggers Steve Garvey and Paul O'Neill,
Broadcaster Vin Scully, Blind Journalist Ed Lucas, and Umpire Jim Joyce
Foley's NY
Pub & Restaurant Recognizes Baseball Players, Execs, Umpires, Journalists
and Entertainers of Irish Descent on Tues, July 7, 2009
New York, NY (July
1, 2009) - Longtime Brooklyn and LA Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, sluggers Steve Garvey and Paul O'Neill, longtime umpire Jim Joyce, veteran sportscaster Vin Scully and Ed Lucas,
a blind reporter who has covered the Yankees and Mets for more than 40 years,
will be inducted into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, July
7, 2009 at Noon.
The Irish American Baseball Hall of
Fame is housed at Foley's NY Pub & Restaurant (18 W. 33rd St.) in Manhattan and, with a blessing from Cooperstown,
recognizes current and former players, managers, executives, journalists and
entertainers of Irish descent.
The game of baseball has welcomed
immigrants from its earliest days -- when an estimated 30 percent of players
claimed Irish heritage -- up to today as major league teams regularly sign
players born in Latin America, Japan,
Canada,
and elsewhere. Honorees are chosen based on a combination of factors:
impact on the game, popularity, contributions to the community, and, of course,
ancestry.
"Our goal is to celebrate the
contributions of Irish Americans to the game of baseball, both on and off the
field," said Shaun Clancy, founder of the Irish American Baseball Hall of
Fame and owner of Foley's NY Pub & Restaurant, where it is
housed. "We're honored that Steve Garvey and Peter
O'Malley, who will represent his father and the O'Malley family,
are flying in to attend the ceremony."
"The Irish American Baseball
Hall of Fame is the first New York
City organization in the past half-century to honor
Walter O'Malley. His Dodger teams won four World Series and 11 N.L.
Pennants during his years of ownership," Clancy continued.
"Significantly, he was co-owner and legal counsel for the Dodgers when
Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947. This part of his resume had as
much impact on the game as any of his other accomplishments, which also include
his team's legendary World Series victory in 1955."
"This is a great honor,"
said former Dodger great Steve Garvey, one of the most popular players of the
1970s and early 80s. "I'm as proud of my Irish roots as I am
my accomplishments on the baseball field."
"My father was most proud of
his Irish heritage and would have loved this honor, particularly since it is in
New York,
where he was born," said Peter O'Malley, son of the longtime
Dodgers owner and a former president and owner of the team.
Many of baseball's biggest
stars at the turn of the 20th century were Irish immigrants or their
descendants, including Michael "King" Kelly, Roger Connor (the home
run king before Babe Ruth), all-time ERA leader Big Ed Walsh and NY Giants
manager John McGraw. In fact, the large 1945 class of inductees enshrined
in the Baseball Hall of Fame included nine Irish Americans: Roger Bresnahan,
Dan Brouthers, Fred Clarke, Jimmy Collins, Ed Delahanty, Hugh Duffy, Hughie
Jennings, King Kelly, and Jim O'Rourke.
Shaun Clancy, an amateur baseball
historian, created the Hall after learning about the rich heritage of Irish
Americans in the sport dating from its infancy - a legacy that has been
overshadowed in recent years by other ethnicities. He decided to
celebrate his roots and those who helped make the game great by creating a
shrine to Irish Americans in baseball in 2008. Inductees include players,
managers, team executives, umpires, journalists, broadcasters,
entertainers. In addition to giving each inductee a copy of his plaque,
Foley's will make a donation to Umps Care and Ed Randall's Bat For
The Cure in their names.
"As an immigrant myself, I am
so proud of the positive response to the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame
from both the inductees and visitors. Learning the game helped me fall in
love with America's
national past time and my adopted homeland," said Shaun Clancy, owner of
Foley's, which features one of the country's most extensive public
displays of baseball memorabilia outside of Cooperstown.
"We're thrilled to host and celebrate the honorees here today and
celebrate their impact on the game and the community."
The 7x9 inch brass plaques feature
the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame logo, an image of each inductee with a
brief list of career and personal accomplishments, as well as Irish roots
and/or connections and the date of induction. The plaques were designed
by engravers Ashburns, Inc.
The "Starting Nine"
inductees last year were: the late Mets and Phillies reliever Tug McGraw, Yankee
announcer John Flaherty, sportswriter Jeff Horrigan, NY Mets groundskeeper Pete
Flynn, retired sluggers Mark McGwire and Sean "The Mayor" Casey,
Kevin Costner, star of Field of Dreams
and Bull Durham, legendary
owner/manager Connie Mack, and longtime official scorer and columnist Red
Foley.
About Foley's
NY Pub & Restaurant
A popular destination among baseball
players, executives, umpires and fans, Foley's NY Pub & Restaurant (www.foleysny.com) is located
on 18 W. 33rd St.,
across the street from the Empire
State Building.
The "Irish bar with a baseball attitude" features walls adorned with
2,000 autographed baseballs, hundreds of bobbleheads, game-worn jerseys,
stadium seats and other artifacts that make Foley's the best baseball bar
in New York and one of the best sports bars in America.
Comments
Everyone should watch the HBO doc about the Brooklyn Dodgers. When viewing the film it is clear that Robert Moses was the true villain. That being said, if it wasn't for Moses, there would never have been a ballpark in Queens.