FRIDAYS ARE FOR FRANK: “There Used To Be A Ballpark”

Posted on July 24, 2020 in hMOUTH, hNOW

“And there used to be a ballpark
Where the field was warm and green.
And the people played their crazy game
With a joy I’d never seen.
And the air was such a wonder
From the hot-dogs and the beer.
Yes, there used to be a ballpark right here.”

Baseball is FINALLY back!!!

MLB is under way, as the New York Yankees and New York Mets return to action for this unique shortened season. Of course it’s all of the action, none of the fans—as COVID constraints for the 2020 season have left the ballparks empty.

“There Used to Be a Ballpark” was written by Joe Raposo and recorded by Frank Sinatra for his 1973 album, Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back.

Many speculated that the song was an obvious homage to the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Ebbett’s Field, but Raposo once told Larry King that the song was actually about the Polo Grounds—home of the New York Giants until 1957, as well as the Yankees from 1913-1922 and even the Mets from 1962 through 1964.

Of course we all know Hoboken is the “Birthplace of Baseball” after hosting the first officially recorded, organized “base ball” game played under Alexander Joy Cartwright Jr.’s rules, on June 19, 1846.

According to historical records, the New York Nine defeated Cartwright’s Knickerbockers, 23 to 1, in four innings at Hoboken’s Elysian Fields, which were located near the Hudson River, at about 11th Street.

“Now the children try to find it,
And they can’t believe their eyes
‘Cause the old team just isn’t playing,
And the new team hardly tries.”

Here in Hoboken, a lot of effort was put into keeping the game alive for Little Leaguers. Their season, typically wrapping up in June, is just getting underway.

“And the sky has got so cloudy
When it used to be so clear,
And the summer went so quickly this year.
Yes, there used to be a ballpark right here.”

Tags: Baseball, Frank Sinatra, Sinatra