Return to SFowler Home Page Roy Campanella By Dr. Dick Wieder Baseball is one of the great contributions of the American culture, to the joy of living. It is truly an American invention. It exemplifies the heart of the American dream; team effort conquers all and the team is the effort of each individual in concert with the others. In the end, the individual is supreme. This concept built this nation. Baseball is one evidence that the dream works. Watching a baseball game proves we love this dream and believe in it. It refreshes us. It reaffirms our faith in the system. Individual athletes become larger than life. They are role models for the young. We pretended to be our favorite, in those sandlot games of our youth. Yet, many criticize the young for considering "jocks" as heroes. After all, a child should emulate his father, or a great educator, or a scientist. Who are these tobacco-chewing, muscle-bound, stupid jocks to presume that they could provide a positive influence on the young of this country. In my youth, Roy Campanella was my hero. There were others on his team whom I liked, Duke Snider, Gil Hedges, Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Carl Furillo, Preacher Roe, Clem Labine, Joe Black, and Jr. Gilliam, all the old Brooklyn Dodgers. But Roy Campanella stood above them all. | |
|