Scholastic Roundup: Some kind words from the bull

September 30, 2022 Andy Furman

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As a student, Al Ferrara admits he was, “OK in high school.”

The former Lafayette High baseballer who fulfilled his lifelong dream by playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, certainly learned his lessons well.

His social media post on the recent passing of his teammate – and friend – Maury Wills – was, well a tear-jerking read:

“These few precious days I will spend with you September-October, he took our breath away, he stole our hearts away. This mighty mouse who roared – he fought every way possible to achieve his goals. His goals had nothing to do with war, spin rate or exit velocity – they were simple wins and World Series championships. He was the greatest offensive player of the ‘60s. He stood up to those who tried to beat him – he fought racism while doing all of this. In fact, each St. Patrick’s Day, in Vero Beach, Fla. the brass would hold a huge party for themselves. Maury and his ever-ready banjo were always asked to perform. He was compensated for it, yet he was not able to go into town to have breakfast, lunch or dinner. We spoke a few times about this, and the hurt was huge in his eyes each night after another Dodger victory. He would be sitting on this huge square of ice, the blood from his strawberry wounds streaming down. The next day, prior to the game, the same routine. As a teammate this example would fire us up, to win that game that night. The true captain, the leader of the pack, he had a variety of slides which never ceased to amaze me – slide left, slide right and the tag was almost always on the other side – brilliant.

“He also held us as teammates accountable if you did not hit a cut-off man; or who he felt not giving 100 percent. He’d let you know about it. Some teammates thought he was too intense – bull – I personally loved the guy and a couple of times had to stop him from challenging others – and the next day it was completely forgotten because all he wanted to do was win. Here’s my opinion on Maury Wills – from someone who was there, who saw it with my own eyes. Hall of Fame voters, writers for 15 years and Veterans Committee – it seems forever he stole the bases; he also stole Los Angeles’ heart; but you stole him the opportunity to walk up next to the giants and accept his Hall of Fame induction – sorry you got this wrong – shame on you – and the days dwindle down, November, December.”

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Al (The Bull) Ferrara – in Brooklyn he as Ki Ki – attended St. Athanasius grade school, and lived at 1431 East Second Street – and later moved to 1833 18th Avenue – and learned his baseball on the streets of Brooklyn.

Maury Wills, was the National League MVP in 1962, stealing a record 104 bases to break the old modern-era mark of 96 set by Ty Cobb in 1915. He was an All-Star for five seasons and seven All-Star Games, and was the first MLB All-Star Game Most Valuable Player in 1962. He also won Gold Gloves in 1961 and 1962. In a 14-year career, Wills batted .281 with 20 home runs, 458 runs-batted-in, 2,134 hits, 1,067 runs, 177 doubles, 71 triples, 586 stolen bases and 552 bases-on-balls in 1,942 games.

That’s Hall of Fame numbers – The Bull was right.

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Thanks to Mike Saunders, the former trainer for the New York Knicks – and a grad of Newton High – he reminds that in our list of Fordham grads behind the microphone, we omitted the great Ed Randall – the Voice of SXM’s Remember When on Saturday morning on the MLB channel.

“Ed is a passionate baseball fan and historian of our national pastime,” Saunders notes.

Robert “Bobby” Allison is the new director of athletics for Kingsborough Community College, a member of the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC). Most recently, Allison served as athletic director at Oak Ridge Military Academy.

The KCC Lady Wave split their first duel of the season, falling to Monroe Express in straight sets – they bounced back to defeat Bronx Lady Broncos. The Paul Watson coached volleyball team is 2-1 after the first week of the season.

KCC’s first-year head men’s soccer coach DeVon Charles recorded is first win with an 8-1 victory over LaGuardia CC, last Saturday. Andziy Kpshlyak opened the scoring, while Akin Small and Stevens Antoine both had a brace while Daniel Da Silva and David Dubon each scored their first goals of the season.

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Captain Stefania Arida led Xaverian’s tennis team to a win over Saint Joseph Hill last week. They followed with a win over Notre Dame Academy, 3-2. Senior Claudia Bayard earned a win in second singles and the first doubles team of freshmen Aimy Kapllani and sophomore Scarlett Markel collected a third-match win.

Sophomore Mia Castaneda and freshman Katherine Barrios scored three goals each as the St. Joseph University women’s soccer team rolled to a 9-0 Skyline Conference win over Yeshiva University, Thursday at Randall’s Island.

Andy Furman is a Fox Sports Radio national talk show host. Previously, he was a scholastic sports columnist for the Brooklyn Eagle. He may be reached at: [email protected] Twitter: @AndyFurmanFSR