Regrets 4

Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia, on the block bounded by Lehigh Avenue, 20th Street, Somerset Street and 21st Street.  It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics (until 1954) of the American League (AL) and the Philadelphia Phillies (until 1970) of the National League (NL).

The stadium was named after the Philadelphia icon Connie Mack who was the manager and part owner of the Athletics from 1901 to 1950.  Mack holds records for the most wins (3,731), losses (3,948), ties (76), and games managed (7,755) in Major League Baseball (MLB) history.

As a baseball fan, I took advantage of my opportunity to watch live major league games when I became a student at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1963.  I remember taking the Broad Street subway north to the Lehigh Avenue station and then walking many blocks through a residential neighborhood to Connie Mack Stadium.

In the summer of 1964, one morning I went to Connie Mack Stadium, not to watch a baseball game, but to look for a job.  I had an idea to be a vendor at baseball games.

I made contact with the man in charge and he hired me to, at first, sell programs (for a commission) before and during the early part of the baseball games.  Selling hot dogs (the most remunerative job) went to those with the most seniority.  

After the market for programs was exhausted, he said I could find an empty seat and watch the remainder of the contest.  I could work any games I wanted.  I was not obliged to work all of the games.

I received an ID card that would allow me to enter Connie Mack Stadium before games I wanted to work.  I never used it.

For a reason I am not sure of even sixty years later, I decided not to take advantage of this opportunity.  I think it had something to do with my perception of how my parents would react (negatively) to what I was doing at Connie Mack Stadium.  Who cares what they thought?  It was a good idea.  I should have taken advantage of the opportunity.

This is another of my regrets.  My life could have changed had I followed through with being a vendor at Connie Mack Stadium.  Maybe it could have given me more self-confidence.  Maybe it could have led to a connection to a career in sports.  Who knows?