Childhood Heroes and Memories

The Baseball Story is more than a story about a little girl, Little Honey, who works hard, practices and ends up hitting a home run to win the neighborhood baseball game. There are many different layers. One is keeping your eye on the ball, that we discussed in our March 1, 2023 blog. There’s also the relationship between Little Honey and Daddy, as well as Little Honey and the wider world of the heroes of her childhood. She wants to grow up and be a baseball player just like the one on her favorite team.  She doesn’t personally know the baseball player, but she still wants to emulate him. 
 
Childhood is often filled with heroes, both known and unknown to children.  These may include fathers, mothers, grandparents, and siblings but also, unknown heroes such as firemen, sports figures, or fantasy superheroes like Captain America or Spider-Man. There are heroes and mentors who we know and love dearly and others who we admire from a distance but who still play a huge part in shaping our childhood and childhood memories.
 
In each of our books, we include a dedication. The Baseball Story is dedicated to Brooks Robinson, the phenomenal third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles and to the Baltimore Orioles Baseball team of the 60s and 70s, as those memories shaped our childhood.
 
Recently, Brooks Robinson passed away at 86 years old. While we wish his family heartfelt love and sympathy, his death hit hard and felt like such a personal loss. Like so many Baltimore children who grew up in the 60s and 70s, we loved attending games at Memorial Stadium and sitting in those wooden bleachers, in the hot sweltering night heat with the smell of popcorn and peanuts wafting in the air. And for us, Brooks was a legend. Literally, he was the best player ever - never any doubt – and just so amazing to watch and cheer on. And, as it turns out, he was a good person too. So, that made his life and death personal.
 
As a child, I attended many Orioles games with my father and often with my sisters as well. There are so many Brooks stories but one of my favorites is from the 1970 World Series. Brooks was amazing at third base throughout the entire series which earned him the MVP. In the final game of the series when the Orioles had secured a World Series victory, Brooks came up to bat. He was cheered loudly, but then struck out. Yep, Brooks Robinson struck out, at his last at bat in the 1970 World Series. Then something wonderful happened. The stadium erupted in cheers and stood on their feet giving Brooks a well-deserved standing ovation.
 
Our father, who is the model for Daddy in The Baseball Story, loved Baltimore, baseball, and Brooks. He died over 36 years ago. But with Brooks Robinson’s passing, there is renewed sadness of loss - but love, too - as all those wonderful memories and feelings are intertwined with each other.
 
Did you have a personal hero as a child? Did you have a personal hero who was a member of a sports team or fantasy series such as Superman, Spider-Man or My Little Pony? If so, how did it impact your childhood and your life?