Mid-Sixties
By: Red McGarry
Winter 2010
45 years later, the memories of my four years on the FDU baseball team are still vivid as are my teammates, coaches and support staff. My college career began in 1963-64 under fresh¬man coach Jack Pollitt. We shared the Teaneck locker room and field with the varsity and practiced and played games around the varsity schedule. We had a better than .500 season with Mike Costello being our top hitter and Dick Bauer, Tony Laspada, Chris Wragge and Myles Malman also mak¬ing major contributions both on and off the field. The varsity, coached by Harvey Woods, had a good season in 1964 as they went 12-7 with a 6-0 league record. They were led by three outstanding junior pitchers with two lefties in crafty Dennis O'Brien and Bob "Farmer" Secula and flame throwing righty Jack DeRosa (father of current SL Cardinal Mark DeRosa) along with some solid hitters led by Pat Mariano, Bob Montesano and Big John Porada.
Things really looked good going into 1965 as we had a solid lineup with Mike Ostroff, Mike Costello, Leroy Kirchner, Joe Palestini, Tony Wright, Bob Jensen, Jay Atkins, Ralph Rohloff, Dick Bauer, Jon Fitch and relief spe¬cialist John McGoey. We started by winning 5 of our first 6 games going into a showdown with perennial pow¬erhouse Seton Hall but we lost 7-0 and it was all downhill from there as we finished 11-10 and 3-7 in the newly formed Met Conference where we lost 3-1 to the other strong con¬tender, St John's, who had little Matt Galente as their second baseman who much later became the bench coach of the Mets. We played against LIU’s Terry Crowley who went on to a long career with the Orioles.
Some early memories of that season were warming up in the Rutherford gym in February with MLB pitchers Billy Hands and Bill Kunkle, who both had some great stories. We also had some fun clubhouse guys with Jimmy in Rutherford and Dick in Teaneck and an outstanding score¬keeper in Andy Cislak.
There was not a lot of optimism going into 1966 but we had a good fall sea¬son with a fun trip to West Point and a good exhibition season with a win at Baker Field in March over Columbia. I'm sure there are a few of our readers who cringe when they recall hitting in cold weather with those wooden bats. We had a young team anchored by our catching captain Leroy Kirschner, slick fielding first baseman Joe Palestini and power hitting 3rd base¬man Mike Costello. Having lost our three top starting pitchers, we banked on newcomer Frank Brennan, sopho¬mores Rusty Kree, Dennis Lulo and Tony Florio as well as John McGoey. Our infield was solid with Fred “The Mallard” Gillespie at short and Ralph Rohloff at 2nd and a steady outfield of Dick Bauer in right, Charley Rose in center and Red McGarry in left. Two bespectaled catchers, John Fitch and Billy Decker, backed up hobbled Leroy Kirchner. Butch Lyons also backed up Joe Palestini at first and carried a big lefty stick.
Well, we shocked everyone with a 15¬9 record and 7-2 in the Met Conference including a 1-0 upset over St. John's and a 4-2, 16 inning win at Manhattan where we beat future Cardinal pitcher Bob Chulupsa.
Frank Brennan pitched 91 innings, had 97 strikeouts and a 1.57 ERA as the star of the team which hit .226 and had a team ERA of 2.35 with 228 strikeouts. Mike Costello was our only home run threat but the team got lots of timely hits and made big plays in the field aided by Joe Palestini's big glove at first. The lone run against St. John's was scored in the bottom of the ninth when Fred Gillespie hit a fly ball to center and the Johnnie centerfielder lost it in the sun giving Brennan the win and the shutout.
Back in those days, there wasn't really a closer or pitch counts and Frank pitched 91 of our 229 innings as Coach Woods had Frank on the hill for all the big games. We all loved playing behind Frank and were not surprised when the Pirates signed him. He only played two seasons with RAI but he bad a Major League fastball and an "off the table" curve but he also had the smarts similar to Hall of Famer Dennis O'Brien. In my opinion, Frank should also be in the Athletic Hall of Fame.
In 1966, we had a lot of fun when we took our only overnight trip to the "Deep South" where we played Georgetown and Howard and Leroy introduced us to the DC nightlife. We also invented shower hockey, learned to drink beer and gave Coach Woods some great memories on and off the field.
We really thought that 1967 would be a special year but we lost our first five games and finished 8-12 and 5-4 in the Met Conference under new head coach Jack Pollitt. It's hard to under¬stand what happened as we had some really good sophomores join the team with lefties Kenny Calabrese and Bill McDonnell plus infielders Fred Dixon and Ted Force. Catcher Bill Petrocco and versatile senior Myles Malman.
One highlight that comes to mind was beating St Peter's in Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City where the Dodgers used to play 7 games a year. Captain Dick Bauer hit for the cycle with his only career homer soaring over the centerfield fence.
Yes, the game has changed, as has the MU program. Our field in the 60's was the best in North Jersey. We played an average of 22 games a year during my 4 years while today, the program is enhanced with southern trips, four game weekend conference series and a year end conference tournament.
Went to school in Rutherford, we had to make it up to Teaneck for practice and games every day. On occasion, we were late for practice. One day Coach Woods pulled up aside and said in his southern drawl: "If you don't stop bullshit, you can make it in 8-9 minutes."
He was precious and there is a reason why Dennis O'Brien and others support the I laivey Woods Scholarship Fund.
As I reflect on this time period, it taught us a great deal about life. We learned teamwork, competition, over¬coming adversity and time manage. ment. Most of us carried 16 credits, had girlfriends, belonged to a fraternity, held down part-time jobs and had Family obligations. We also met a steadying influence in Harvey Woods. Years later we realized what a terrific guy we had as a coach and athletic director. He had a great sense of humor, but could be tough in his own way. Since half of the team
Sponsor a Player, 2010
Its time for the 6th Annual Sponsor a Player program.
A tax deductible donation of $200 is enough to sponsor one player and outfit him with Turfs, sneakers, practice shorts, RP tops, travel shirts, batting gloves and an equipment bag.
If $200 is difficult for you at this time, please consider a lesser gift that will be pooled with others to sponsor a player. Send your checks to Sean Morrison, Fairleigh Dickinson University; Department of Athletics, 1000 River Road, nomi-oi, Teaneck, NJ 07666.
Mid-Trial Offer of Probation for Client
