I am so lucky.  I still have three of my grandparents who are alive, all over 90 years old.  Recently I went with my family to visit my Grandma and Grandpa in West Virginia over Memorial Day Weekend.  First off, not a good idea to drive across the state of PA, it took 7 hours to get from New York City to Wheeling, West Virginia. 

Albert Iannuzzi is my 94 year old Grandpa who is a life-long Yankees fan and huge follower of baseball.  Over the years he has told me many stories of the amazing games he saw and the experiences he had as a New Yorker.  It is amazing, because even at the age of 94 he still remember all of the highlights of his youth.  My brother and I were determined to find out everything we could about my Grandpa and baseball.  Here are just some of the highlights:

- "The Catch"- In 1954 my Grandpa was sitting in the center field seats at the Polo Grounds during Game 1 when Cleveland's Vic Wertz hit a bomb.  In what my Grandpa describes as the greatest catch ever that he never saw, it is amazing to hear his description of the play.  No way did he think he would make it under the ball.  Unfortunately, he actually didn't witness "The Catch", as everyone in his section stood up and blocked his view.  He knew it was caught by the roar of the crowd.  If you watch the You Tube video above, he was sitting in the section to the right of the center field wall.

- "The Perfect Game"- In over 100 years of World Series games there has only ever been one perfect game, and that would be Don Larsen's 1956 Game 5 performance.  My Grandpa had box seats and saw this amazing event, live and in color.  To hear him explain what this looked like in color, to see Yogi jump into Larsen's arms after the 27th batter just brings chills to your body. After watching the You Tube video above, imagine siting in box seats with you suit and gentleman's hat watching this piece of baseball history in living color.

- "The Dodgers"- In all of my Grandpa's years as a New York baseball fan, he only went to see the Dodgers play at Ebbets Field once.  He didn't like the Dodgers at all, in fact, he also said that their fans were quite rowdy and obnoxious. 

- "Bleacher Days"- When my Grandpa was 21 years old in 1935 he would pay 55 cents to watch the Yankees from the bleachers every home day game.  He had just finished school and would catch every day game during the summer he could.  Imagine that, for 55 cents watching Lou Gehrig play every day.

- "Gehrig and Ruth"- In 1934, Babe Ruth's last year with the Yankees, my Grandpa tells an amazing story that I wish I had the opportunity to witness.  Yankees are down by a run in the 9th, Gehrig comes up and hits an absolute bomb to tie the game, next batter up, Babe Ruth, and hits a walk-off home run.  Back-to-back, Gehrig and Ruth.  Amazing.  Grandpa also tells some funny stories of seeing Ruth showing his age in 1934, falling as he tries to run out of the box. 

I hope you enjoyed these stories as much as I did.  Oh, and my Grandpa, can't stand the Mets!