The Birth of America’s Game in the Hamptons
Yastrzemski & Becker: A Legacy That Endures
by Finn Carey
Baseball has been America’s pastime ever since 1845 when Alexander Cartwright invented the Knickerbocker rules. To this day the sport is loved all over the United States, as well as the world. With the longest history of the four major sports, we often look to the record books to admire, compare, and debate. Even the Hamptons are well represented in the long history of baseball in America.
The first year of organized Little League baseball in the Hamptons was in 1952. There were four teams sponsored by The King’s Club: East Hampton, Bridgehampton, Watermill, and Southampton. These young players laid the groundwork for the league many local kids still play in today. Curt Becker, an East Hampton native, gave us an inside look into what Little League looked like back then, and how it evolved into the scene we know today.
Curt Becker participated in the inaugural season for Little League in the Hamptons. A member of the East Hampton team, Curt played third base and pitched. He loved the game growing up and still does today. Curt would eventually go on to play college ball at Farmingdale Agricultural School, where he would face future pros like Larry Bearnarth and Ken Hubbs. Before everything else, Curt had an impressive youth career in East Hampton that laid the foundation for his love of the game.
In the inaugural little league season, playing across from Curt for Bridgehampton, was Carl Yastrzemski. As many know, Yastrzemski would go on to play for the Boston Red Sox and ultimately be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Curt Becker also got the chance to play alongside Yastrzemski on the 1952 South Fork All-Star team. Comprised of the best players from the four local King’s Club teams; the team would go on to win the Suffolk County Championship as well as the Long Island Championship, something unheard of in an inaugural season. Star players included Joel Edwards, Jiim Buttonow, Joey Utsch, Shrimp Harris, and of course Carl Yastrzemski. The team was a few wins away from Williamsport, only recording one loss on a controversial call at Rockville Center. Curt being 11 years old on a team full of 12 year olds meant that he often would coach the third base line. Down 3-1 vs. Rockville, a ball was hit by South Fork clear over the wall with two runners on. “A meeting between the umpires broke out for fifteen minutes, for whatever reason they ruled it a ground rule double,” Curt told us. The result: the South Fork team lost 3-2 when they should have won 4-3. However, the memories created would last a lifetime. Curt pointed out that “playing with Carl was amazing, while some players may have been physically bigger at that age, Carl was always more fluid, and had the best mind for the game of anyone.” No one had to look far to see where this great baseball mind came from, Becker assured us.
Standing down the third base line at every game was Carl Yastrzemski’s father, Carl Sr.. Carl Yastrzemski Sr. was a great ball player in his own right. Curt Becker told us that Carl Sr. went out for a tryout with the Brooklyn Dodgers. The two people he competed with were Hall of Famers Pee Wee Reese and Phil Rizzuto. (Standing 5’6” Rizzuto was told he would never make the majors. As many know Pee Wee Reese was given the job.) However, Carl Sr. was offered a minor league deal with the Dodgers organization, beating out Rizzuto in the process. With a family at home, and a war breaking out, Carl Sr. decided it was best to head back to the family farm in Bridgehampton. He would eventually go on to play semi-pro ball for the Riverhead Falcons, alongside New York Knick Carl Braun. The Falcons would play teams barnstorming, most notably taking on the Philadelphia Stars led by the legendary Satchel Paige. In two games vs Paige, widely considered the best pitcher of all time, Carl Sr. had two hits per game, including a double in each game. Becker recalled the doubles saying, “They both easily went 400 feet.” Standing in the dugout during all of this, was the bat boy Carl Yastrzemski Jr..
Eventually Carl Sr. would go on to form his own team, The Bridgehampton White Eagles. He would become manager, coach, and star player of The White Eagles. He managed to stick around long enough for his son, Carl Jr. to join the team. For three years the father-son duo played together. Becker recalls Carl Sr. and Jr. hitting back-to-back home runs in a game (sounds like the Griffeys need to tip their caps!). Carl Jr. would go on to Notre Dame on a basketball scholarship, and eventually sign with the Boston Red Sox. However, the mark that he, Curt Becker, and all of their teammates would leave on the local baseball scene was hugely inspiring.
The 1952 King’s Club Little League team paved the road for the Babe Ruth League many kids still compete in today. Baseball in Long Island has always been popular, and we currently have baseball at every level from youth all the way to college (HCBL) and professional (Long Island Ducks). With all these new teams and leagues, we need to stop for a second to tip our caps to all those who paved the way for the game we know and love today.