Esposito Sausage #50

For those of you who subscribe to Sports Illustrated, you may have noticed in the October 7th issue the brief reference to the advent of the seventh-inning stretch in the rankings of “America’s Best Sports Colleges.” The college receiving credit: Manhattan College in New York City. The reference: “seventh-inning stretch invented by Jaspers baseball coach in 1880’s.” For a more in-depth review of the stretch’s origins, I turned to the official website of Manhattan College Athletics, and the following tale is told: The unique nickname of Manhattan College’s athletic teams, the Jaspers, comes from one of the College’s most memorable figures, Brother Jasper of Mary, F.S.C., who served at the College in the late 19th century. One of the greatest achievements of Brother Jasper was that he brought the then little-known sport of baseball to Manhattan College and became the team’s first coach. Since Brother was also the Prefect of Discipline, he supervised the student fans at Manhattan College baseball games while also directing the team itself. During one particularly warm and humid day when Manhattan College was playing a semi-pro baseball team called the Metropolitans, Brother Jasper noticed the Manhattan students were becoming restless and edgy as Manhattan came to bat in the seventh inning of a close game. To relieve the tension, Brother Jasper called time-out and told the students to stand up and stretch for a few minutes until the game resumed. When the college team played some exhibition games at the Polo Grounds against the New York Giants, the students did their seventh inning stretch, and thus it started to catch on at the major league level. By The way did you know that RGMVM Umpire Steven Adams plays baseball for Manhattan College.... Steven is the son of Richie Adams the Umpire-N-Chief Of RGMVM LL. Fact or fiction? The term “seventh-inning stretch” can be traced back no further than 1920, but the earliest reference actually appears in an 1869 letter from Harry Wright of the Cincinnati Red Stockings to a friend: "The spectators all arise between halves of the seventh inning, extend their legs and arms and sometimes walk about. In so doing they enjoy the relief afforded by relaxation from a long posture upon hard benches." And in some circles the stretch’s beginnings have been credited to President William Howard Taft, who on April 14, 1910 began the tradition of throwing out the presidential first pitch on opening day. While every President except for Jimmy Carter has opened at least one season since, millions of fans have participated in the seventh-inning stretch, although the exact inspiration of that tradition remains as cloudy as the invention of baseball itself.

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The Meeting was called to order at 7:20 PM. Minutes from the last meeting were not available. Al Erdmann made a motion to waive the reading. Cora seconded the motion. Pat commented on the shape of the fields. He said that they are in great shape, even better than during the regular season. RGMVM got a new trailer for the umpires and the equipment. It is going to be fitted with lockers. The new website is up and running. It has many new added features and it constantly being updated bt Pat. He has added schedules, pictures and many links to other sites. Please have everyone take a look and give him some feedback. Pat discussed a Long Ball Club flier that he received. He has spoken to Gary Perrone, head PR person, who is sending additional information. This is a program that offers clinics, manager training, sponsors teams, etc. The offer a 16 week program which includes tutoring, indoor batting cages, etc. Pat Piteo and Rob Hofmann are starting an 8 and under travel team. Try outs will be this weekend and next. This team will most likely play and practice year round. Their schedule will be made so that the players can still play on their regular rookie teams. The next tmeeting is when elections will be held. Some positions are being eliminated. If anyone is interested in running please notify Pat. Meeting adjourned by a motion from Jeff Catalano, seconded by Pat/Cora.