Today is National Cheeseburger Day. Today I will smile and go to McDonald’s and get a cheeseburger in honor of the great Yankees catcher Thurman Munson.
During my days as a Batboy one of my duties was to listen for when Thurman Munson would scream out Hey Ray… Two Cheeses… this would usually occur right after batting practice.
At that moment I would turn to Assistant clubhouse manager Nick Priore and he would hand me a five dollar bill ( in the 1970s that was a lot of money) I would then run out the door go through the dugout through the center field gate cross the street past Stan’s and the other stores there … cross the other street to the McDonald’s that’s still there to this day.
As I ran in Anthony the manager would know that I was there on a Thurman run. Sometimes he charged me and sometimes he didn’t. Anthony would go on to own several McDonald’s.
As fast as I would get to the McDonalds, I would get back to the locker room even faster because I wanted those cheeses very warm when Thurman ate them. If they ever got cold Thurman would give you a look that you didn’t want to see because you never wanted to let him down.
Don’t forget that in those days we didn’t have microwave ovens.
I have to be honest with you… Thurman always gave me a tip but my reward was to see him enjoy the burgers and it made me feel like I contributed to the team by helping our leader.
This is just another example of a day in my life as a Batboy with the Bronx Zoo Yankees.
Batboys have many duties in the clubhouse. It’s not just fun and games. During the game, it is nice to see the Batboys in uniform doing their thing however when the game is over the work begins and it is not always easy however to this day me and most ex Batboys always say that it’s the greatest job we ever had.
A big reason for that is the fact that some of the players become family to us.
Thurman was family and I miss him every day.
The day that Thurman and Reggie made their peace we were at a restaurant in Detroit and what was the meal? ….. A Cheeseburger!
Happy Cheeseburger Day brother Thurman!
