Nyack Baseball: Rich in History and Tradition

Spring Training has started here in sunny Sarasota where the Baltimore Orioles train. 

With the warmer than usual winter and the coming of spring it will not be long now, and a familiar sound will return to the sandlots and schoolyards of our area. Oh, the sound has been altered a bit with the use of metal bats, but for us “baseball purists” the sound of a wooden bat hitting a fast ball is like no other in sports.

The “Boys of Summer” have returned, baseball is back, and with it memories of a childhood long ago. I was eight when my Dad and Uncle Cookie took me to my first baseball game at Yankee Stadium in the spring of 1953. The Yanks were playing the Boston Red Sox, and two of the greatest players in the history of the game were playing in the outfield. For the hometown Yankees the "Yankee Clipper” Joe DiMaggio was in centerfield, and for the Sox, in leftfield was “The Splendid Splinter” Ted Williams. After watching the game, I was hooked on baseball and it has lasted a lifetime. I never was much of a player, but I sure have been a good watcher.

Nyack has always loved baseball. According to many historians, Nyack was home to one of the first night games in professional baseball back in the 1930s when “Doc” Bernard opened his baseball park in Central Nyack with a stadium that seated 6,000 and was brilliantly illuminated for night games with teams like “The Pennsylvania Redcaps,” “The Cuban Stars” and the “Bearded Boys from the House of David.” These teams played against Bernard’s own semi-pro ball club.

Later in the 1940s, Homer Lydecker Sr. and Bucky VanWyck brought professional baseball to Nyack with a Class D baseball teams playing on the old high school field with “The Rockies.” While I am not quite sure of this fact, I believe the team was sponsored by the Philadelphia Phillies organization through High School coach Frank Nelson who later on became a scout for the Phillies. I also learned Homer
Lydecker Sr. had a friendship with Babe Ruth, and I know now how my father obtained his signed baseball. Ruth would often come up to Rockland on off days,
but I have no evidence that the Rockies were ever tied in any way to the
Yankees. 

The Rockies played their games on the Old Nyack High School Field into the 50s. The light stanchions around the field also allowed for night-baseball and it was not unusual to have crack of the bat heard in the warm summer evenings along Midland Avenue. Admission to the games was a reasonable one-dollar, and two if the team was playing a Sunday afternoon double-header in July or August. The manager was Emil Schwab Sr., and some of the local notables were the D'Auria brothers, Pete, Jerry and Pat.

Local High School English Teacher and later coach Bill Desmond was a pitcher for the Rockies; Bucky's son Bob as played for the team and went on to teach Industrial Arts at the Jr. High.

One of my second cousins from Orange County marred a fellow named Roy Devitt who played shortstop for the team.From the records I have from Roy Devitt, I learned that most of the players were paid $750 for a season of baseball.  I have seen a number of photos of the team and it was only recently that I was given a copy to try and determine who might have been some of the other players. The Rockies only lasted till about 1956 or 57 when there was just not enough revenue coming in to cover the meager salaries paid to the players.    

Nyack Baseball was not always about the “Big Guys,” though, as the Nyack Little League is the oldest youth organization in Rockland County starting back in the 50s. I played Little League ball down in Memorial Park with the Hudson as our backstop.

Besides the Nyack boys who played for the Rockies, Nyack has had its share of great ballplayers over the years—there were great players on the Wilcox & Gibbs Softball teams like Paul Strickle, and Tony Ferra, in the old county industrial league, and of course James “Nose” Brown, who led the Apollo 12 softball team to numerous county championships and had a professional career in the pro-softball
league. 

Fred Hahn, who lived in Nanuet and attended NHS played in 1952 for the St. Louis Cardinals. He pitched in 1 game for a total of 2 innings. Henry Blauvelt played in 1890 for the Rochester Rochesters. He pitched in 2 games. Doc Leitner played in 1887 for the Indianapolis Hoosiers. He was a pitcher and had a record of 2 wins and 6 losses that year. Dale Lydecker from Upper Nyack made it to the minor league  level with the Chicago White Sox farm system. Mark Polhemus from Upper Nyack played a few years with the Boston Braves in the late 1800s.

Leon Harris, NHS class of 1948? Played for the Kansas City Monarchs in the old Negro Leagues along with Sachel Paige, before Afro-Americans blacks were allowed in the big show. He was drafted after a brilliant career with Hampton U.

So, baseball is back in town. Be sure and stop at the “New” NHS and watch a high school game. The “boys” still play a pretty good brand of ball!