SUNDAY OCTOBER
18, 2009
Horsham Days Inn
Tribute to our Military Veterans
& book signing
Diana Brissie watches as Lou Brissie signs another
copy of his new book, The Pitcher Was A Corporal. Now available
from the Society's Gift Shoppe.
SECOND WORLD WAR REMEMBRANCES
WITH THE ATHLETICS
By Dave Jordan
The heroics of World War II were very much in the
minds of many in the large crowd which showed up at the Day’s
Inn in Horsham on Sunday, October 18. The headliners were Lou Brissie
and Hall-of-Famer Bob Feller, both distinguished veterans of that
conflict, Brissie in the Army (with which he was severely wounded
in the Italian campaign) and Feller in the Navy. There were many
fans, young and old, who were happy to line up for their autographs
and a chance to talk with the retired hurlers. Along with the two
great pitchers, though, was an amazing collection of memorabilia
belonging to Tony Zanzinger of Huntingdon Valley.
Zanzinger, a staff sergeant in the 101st Airborne Division, was
involved in the division’s parachute jump into Normandy early
on D-Day, the jump into Arnhem for Operation Market Garden, the
defense of Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge, and finally the
capture of Hitler’s retreat at Berchtesgaden. His collection
of items from the times covered more than seven tables and ranged
from the sheet music of popular songs like “Mr. Five By Five”
and “The Trolley Song,” photos of Frank Sinatra and
other matinee idols of the day, post cards and books, to entrenching
tools, medals, maps of the area around Bastogne, seashells from
Omaha Beach, uniforms, old newspapers declaring both the beginning
and the end of the war, and even a piece of the wall pried off of
Hitler’s Reichschancellery in Berlin. Truly a mind-boggling
gathering of items from an historic era now sixty-five years in
the past.
Feller was happy to sign copies of his book, Little Blue Book of
Baseball Wisdom, and Lou Brissie, long one of the favorites of the
A’s Society, signed copies of Ira Berkow’s biography
of him, The Corporal Was A Pitcher. Also signing his book was local
writer Mike Sieleski, whose work, Fading Echoes, tells the story
of two high school football stars from Doylestown, Bryan Buckley
of Central Bucks West and Colby Umbrell of Central Bucks East, whose
football rivalry changed when both found themselves fighting in
Iraq.
With everything else going on around us, though, we were happy to
welcome as always two stalwarts we always enjoy, Spook Jacobs, the
old A’s and Pirates second baseman, and former Phillies infielder
Don Hasenmayer. And our own Max Silberman was outfitted in his veteran’s
regalia, lending another appropriate military touch to the day’s
festivities.
Diana & Lou Brissie at the Days Inn
in Horsham, Pa.
Brissie, Feller with Lamar Gerrard
Joanne Zapata with author/sportswriter Mike
Sieleski
Tony Zanzinger with Bob Feller
JoAnne Zapata with Bob Feller
Cleveland Indians fan Don Thullen with Bob
Feller
Ruth Garrard & Diana Brissie at Otto's.
Bob Feller shown here with Ruth Garrard
& Diana Brissie at Otto's.
Diana Brissie, Linda & Carl Goldberg
at Otto's.
Lamar Garrard, Bob Feller, Lou Brissie and
Diane Brissie taking a break at Otto's Famous
Horsham Restaurant, just across the driveway of the Days Inn, our
host hotel.
The
author, Mike Sielski, is a sports columnist for Calkins Newspapers.
342 page hardcover
Click
here for more about this book and to order your copy today.
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