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18 / Monday, February 2, 2015
Mohawks
The Recorder, Amsterdam, N.Y.
from page 24
the Mohawks wing as the
organization held its eighth annual induction ceremony.
A three-sport star at Amsterdam
High School in the 1940s,
Lazarou hit .458 as a junior
catcher for AHS in 1944. He
never played his senior season,
having joined the U.S. Navy in
February 1945. After returning
from naval service in World War
II, he played in the New York
State Professional League and in
the Chicago Cubs’ minor league
system, but an injury prevented
him from ascending the professional ranks.
Instead, he became a standout
player in the Schenectady
Twilight League and eventually
became the manager of the
Amsterdam Rugmakers. He was
also a lifelong member at the
Amsterdam Municipal Golf
Course, where Sherlock said the
flag was flown at half staff following his death.
“Growing up, I always heard
from people, ‘You know, you’re
father’s the greatest athlete from
Amsterdam,’ or, ‘I grew up
watching your father play ball,’”
Sherlock said. “Those teams over
the years were important to so
many people. Your competitive
nature is legendary. I never saw
you play baseball, or basketball,
but I witnessed it plenty on the
golf course. You played it like it
was your job, especially around
the greens, and I imagine that’s
how you played baseball.”
Since her father’s passing,
Sherlock said the outpouring of
memories from the community
about Lazarou’s incredible athletic legacy has been incredible. She
shared the story of the night of
Lazarou’s wake, when icy road
conditions had her worrying if
people would be able to make it.
“I said to my husband, Bob,
‘What if no one comes?’ He said,
‘Don’t worry. People will
come,’” she said. “Hundreds of
people came. As people came in,
the stories were flying. Every
person that I greeted had one for
me. You had no idea, dad, how
many people you touched.”
Minch spent 37 seasons from
1972 to 2008 as a coach in
Amsterdam’s youth baseball system, winning 250 games, seven
division titles and three city
championships as coach of the
Wee Men Majors team before
McKeon
SPORTS
Adam Shinder/Recorder staff
Mike Puckli speaks after being inducted into the Mohawks
Baseball Hall of Fame Saturday at St. Mary’s Institute.
Adam Shinder/Recorder staff
Jim Minch speaks after being inducted into the Amsterdam
Baseball Hall of Fame Saturday at St. Mary’s Institute.
moving on to successful stints in
Junior and Senior Babe Ruth
coaching.
“It’s a long time, 37 years,”
Minch said. “A lot of kids. I hope
the young kids that play now
learn the same way I taught my
kids — sportsmanship, learning
how to play the game.”
Pacione, a versatile utility player from Marist College, played
for the Mohawks in both 2008
and 2010. A 48th round draft pick
by the Los Angeles Angels in
2011, he played two years of
minor league baseball before
going into coaching and currently
serves as an assistant coach and
bullpen catcher for the Cleveland
Indians.
Puckli, also a Marist product,
spent three straight summers,
from 2004 to 2006, in
Amsterdam. The sidearm relief
pitcher ranks second in club history with 17 saves and his 1.19
ERA as a Mohawk is third-best in
franchise history.
Both Pacione and Puckli
expressed their gratitude to the
Amsterdam fans, especially the
families that hosted them during
their
summers
with
the
Mohawks.
“You welcomed me in open
arms and made Amsterdam my
home,” Puckli said. “I was never
fortunate enough to play professional baseball, so this was the
closest I got, and I loved every
second of it.”
Adam Shinder/Recorder staff
Contact ADAM SHINDER at
[email protected]
Ricky Pacione speaks after being inducted into the Mohawks
Baseball Hall of Fame Saturday at St. Mary’s Institute.
from page 24
career that stretch all the way back to
Fulton and Montgomery counties — back
to 1950, when he was a 19-year-old minor
league catcher for the Gloversville
Glovers of the Canadian-American
League, a season that saw him play plenty
of games in what was then called Mohawk
Mills Park — now Shuttleworth Park,
home of the Amsterdam Mohawks.
McKeon served as the keynote speaker at
Saturday
night’s
Amsterdam
Baseball/Mohawks Baseball Hall of Fame
Dinner at St. Mary’s Institute and spent
most of his 20-minute speech leaving the
crowd of more than 350 bursting with
laughter from his anecdotes of a life spent
in baseball.
“It’s always nice to come back here,”
McKeon said. “There’s a lot of people that
still remember me. I’ve been in this area
now for the last four years coming back
and speaking or participating in things for
the hall of fame over in Fulton County, and
I’ve always been well received.
“Even when I played here, the people
were so nice and the hospitality they
showed me was great. To come back and
say, ‘Thanks for treating me like you did,’
I’m always happy to come back.”
McKeon also said it was heartening to
see that through the Mohawks, the area
still had a thriving baseball atmosphere.
“It’s exciting. I’m surprised this area
Adam Shinder/Recorder staff
Former Major League manager Jack McKeon speaks during Saturday’s Amsterdam
Baseball/Mohawks Baseball Hall of Fame Dinner at St. Mary’s Institute.
doesn’t have another professional team,”
he said.
In his speech, McKeon shared stories
from a career that spanned from being an
18-year-old minor leaguer in the
Pittsburgh Pirates organization in 1949 to
managing stints with the Oakland
Athletics, Kansas City Royals, San Diego
Padres, Cincinnati Reds and the Marlins.
He had the crowd roaring with laughter
with stories of his encounters with Yogi
Berra and self-deprecating tales of his less-
than-stellar minor league playing career.
“Not many people remember me as a
player around here even though I was one
of the better hitters in the league that year
— I hit, I think, .218,” McKeon said. “But,
I was one of the few guys in the league that
hit three ways. I hit right, left and seldom.”
McKeon also spoke about the importance
of faith and family in his life in the
achievement of the dream he finalized
realized as a 72-year-old in 2003 when his
Marlins won the World Series in Yankee
Stadium, barely an hour from his boyhood
home of South Amboy, N.J.
He closed with a message to the younger
members of the audience, sharing the story
of a former player of his with the Padres,
Alan Wiggins, who died of AIDS in 1991
after drug addiction derailed his career.
“All you young guys, your parents and
coaches and teachers, they spend a lot of
valuable time sacrificing a lot to try and
make you guys better in your regular life
and in athletics,” he said. “Do me a favor.
Go home tonight, make sure you give
them a hug, a kiss and tell them you love
them. Hopefully, all you young guys out
there will be persistent in your desire to
succeed, and maybe some day, your
dreams will come true like mine.”
Contact ADAM SHINDER at
[email protected]