The Art of Russell Pierce

Growing up in Long Island, New York my friends and I loved to play baseball and worship some of the players as heroes. There’s a lot more than just these three but Mickey, Sandy and Willie were at the top of the list for me. When we weren’t playing ball in the sandlot we’d jump on our Stingrays and head downtown to buy a pack of baseball cards that came with a piece of gum that tasted like cardboard. We developed games of skill where we could win cards off of each other. At one point I got so good at these games, my friends refused to play with me so I would head downtown and hustle kids I didn’t know. I’d buy two or three packs of cards and come home with 40 or 50 cards.

 

Mickey Mantle had two nicknames, “The Commerce Comet” and “The Mick” He played for my favorite team, The Yankees and was not only a great center fielder but a real “slugger” and was regarded as the best switch hitter in baseball history. That and he was a real carouser, a man’s man, my friends and I liked that.