Page 11 - MyAmerica_Gordon_F_Sander

Roger Maris Swings, Yankee Stadium (1966) Demonstration the day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated
Central Park (4/5/68)

I had two temples when I was growing up—Temple Israel, my local synagogue, The spring of 1968 was the most violent spring in American history, with the
and Yankee Stadium, home of the New York Yankees, my favorite baseball back-to-back assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. in April, and Robert
team. I frequently attended services at both. I probably prayed more at Yankee Kennedy Jr. in June. Here a group of shocked New Yorker gather spontaneously
Stadium, especially when the Yanks were in need of a go ahead run, as they in Central Park the day after King was shot. I cut school that day so I could join
often did in the mid-60s, and the Yanks’ champion home run hitter, Roger them.
Maris, the man with the most dangerous swing in baseball, was at bat. In this
photo, taken on Old Timers’ Day in 1966, Maris makes contact—if you look
closely you can see the ball coming off his bat.

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