i want people to see this - have also submitted to the Chronicle.

2707 Magnolia Walk
Spring, TX 77388
The Houston Chronicle

Re: A REAL tribute to Craig Biggio

To Whom It May Concern:

My brothers and I have always been baseball fans. Growing up on Long Island, you could always tell which team another kid routed for by the centerfielder’s baseball card he had pinned to the spokes of his bike to make that great noise. Duke Snider? Dodger fan. Mickey Mantle? Yankee fan. Willie Mays? Giant fan. (Yes, I’m that old. The golden age of baseball in New York. But man, wasn’t Vada Pinson a great player for Cinncinati?) Our father was a Giant fan and therefore so were most of my five brothers (I was number 5 in line) – except for my oldest brother who was a Yankee fan. Some form of protest I guess – he was a pitcher and had decals of Allie Reynolds and Vic Raschi over his bed. I was a first baseman and idolized the great first basemen of the day – Whitey Lockman, Ted Kluzewski, Dale Long. Grudging admiration for Gil Hodges. But I digress.

When the Giants and Dodgers left New York, we were heartbroken. Then, in 1962 came the Mets (and the then Colt 45s incidentally to us). We instantly became fans of the previously hated Casey Stengel, Gil Hodges, Duke Snider, Duke Carmel, Marv Throneberry (a lovely man I had the privilege of meeting years later) and the rookie Ron Hunt. My one younger brother never knew the Giants and Dodgers in NY but loved the Mets – I remember taking him to a Mets came for his birthday when he was about 8 and I was home for the summer from college.) Even my oldest brother, the Yankee fan, loved the Mets. And we stuck with them through all the lean years before Seaver, Koosman, and Texas’ own Nolan Ryan drove them to their 1969 Series win.

Ok – too many stories (a family fault) – now to the point of my letter. Recently my brothers had a reunion – the first time we had gotten together in years. We talked of the old days, and watched The Sandlot commenting on how the kids in the movie reminded us of our kid friends, and how we would play for hours on end without worrying about who won or lost – just to play.

I moved to Houston in 1998 for business reasons and started to watch the Astros. The “Killer Bees” rekindled my affection for the game – Biggio, Bagwell and Berkman – not just for their success, but for how they played the game. (Lance Berkman is a throwback to the first baseman I remember as a kid – not just some slugger they stuck on first base to keep him out of harms way, but someone who PLAYS the position.) The recent announcement about Craig Biggio taking a job as the coach at Santa Fe High School prompted me to write to my brothers about him. How much I enjoyed watching him, how he played the game correctly, how you ran out every ground ball, could steal a base, had pop in his bat, sacrificed when asked, good defense, play anywhere when asked, and spent his entire major league career with one team. A real throw back to the guys we idolized as kids. It resulted in the attached email from my brother Geoff, who coached at Comsewogue HS on Long Island against Biggio, which I never knew. I believe his message is as great a tribute to Biggio as any I’ve seen. I’ve attached it word for word (minus email addresses to protect the innocent). I hope you print it or at least forward it to Mr. Biggio, because it shows that in this era when pro athletes seem so selfish, some of them, and in particular young Mr. Biggio, stuck to the values instilled by his parents and coaches. And expresses the admiration of at least one of his opposing coaches who appreciated him for what he was, and quite apparently, still is.

Regards,

Rick Neilson
Email: prof1614@yahoo.com

The email from my brother Geoff:

Craig Biggio played his high school sports at Kings Park High School in Smithtown Township. He gave us fits coaching against his team. In a typical three game series he would pitch Tuesday, play short on Thursday, and then catch on Friday. He made things happen. He hit around .500 in each of his 5 years playing varsity baseball.
John Rottkamp was his coach. John is a great guy and I loved to play against him both before and long after Biggio was there. There was never any nonsense in those games. It was just straight hard-nosed baseball between two good teams. He loved Biggio not only for his abilities and versatility, but for his lead-by-example attitude. Biggio made it "in” to carry equipment bags and water jugs to and from the field, bus, etc. He was the first to show for practice and the last to leave. He had more hustle than Pete Rose with none of the chest thumping bravado. He was just a great kid. He always made it a point to shake hands with the opposing coach regardless of the outcome of a game. He encouraged his team and would not tolerate anyone getting on the guy who just booted a ball or fanned. You couldn't script a better kid. Everyone on Long Island followed his career with interest and knowing awareness. He was really an infielder. John encouraged him to catch because the college coaches typically give the scholarships to pitchers and catchers. A catcher who could hit and run like a rabbit was a blue chip player. He got the ride to Seton Hall and stayed for two years before signing if memory serves correctly.
His athletic ability was not limited to the baseball diamond. He won the Hanson Trophy as the county's best football player. He played both ways. He was the tailback in an I formation and middle linebacker on defense. I scouted them for Tom Cassese who then planned his game to contain him on offense and avoid him on defense
It is not the least bit surprising that the now multi-millionaire Craig Biggio will coach at the high school or college level. It is the fortunate program indeed that lands him and very fortunate for any kid who might have a little bit of Biggio rub off on him.
Thanks for the info, Rick.

Geoff

best wishes to you doc. i have watched your weather reports for a long time. i could always count on your report being accurate or close to the point. enjoy your family and your golf games.

Don't change the hairstyle, just because you're retired.

Oscar

Dear Dr. Neil Frankit has been a blessing to see you on the news every night and then to learn that you retired I was shocked becuse you were the backbone of KHOU Channel 11 and the Weather team so to see you gone is going to be sad but I hope maybe you will return to the Station and do the weather again I really like the way you prepared us for Rita and all the other storms that came through Texas you will be greatly missed and thought of Happy Retirement

Dear Dr. Neil Frank it has been a blessing to see you on the news every night and then to learn that you retired I was shocked becuse you were the backbone of KHOU Channel 11 and the Weather team so to see you gone is going to be sad but I hope maybe you will return to the Station and do the weather again I really like the way you prepared us for Rita and all the other storms that came through Texas you will be greatly missed and thought of Happy Retirement

Doc where gona miss ya, I used to drive a truck and I never left the house before checking your forcast. Your the most trusted and experienced name in weather. You will be missed, may GOD bless you and keep you.