Collections Item Detail

2005.023

Calligy, Thomas P.

Gift

Gift of Thomas P. Calligy

2005 - 2005

Date(s) Created: 2005 Date(s): 2005 Level of Description: Item

Display Value: Fair Notes: [Complete text of three-page document with regularized spelling.] Comments on 150 Years of Hoboken made most respectfully; In addition to John Roman; Leo Kiely and John Kucks Hoboken had two other major league baseball players. Billy Kunkel played with Kansas City and for a short time I believe with the Yankees as a relief pitcher and Tommy Carey played for the Saint Louis Browns and as a utility infielder with the Boston Red Sox. I believe there was also another ball player by the name of Neubauer who pitched in only one game for the New York Giants but he too was from Hoboken. On Joe DiMaggio's first game in Yankee stadium Di Maggio had three hits against the St. Louis Browns and Tom Carey from Hoboken also had three hits for the Browns in the same game. (See box score enclosed) A High School team mate of Bill Kunkel and John Romano was John (Jackie) McMullen who played football with Notre Dame and then shortly with the New York Giants and the NY Titans. Bill Kunkel also was an umpire in the American League and a referee in the old American Basket ball league. By the way Bobby Cheeks the first Black fire Captain was a great athlete who starred in basket ball and base ball at St.. Michael's High in Union City and also was a baseball player in the professional Negro Leagues. There were also many college basketball players from Hoboken through the years not referred in the article. The Baskeball team pictured on page 69 with OLG log on the uniforms was the OLG Columbus Cadet Basket Ball team. The players are Front row from left to right Jim Radigan; Joe Grogan; Ken Earley; Tom Fitzpatrick; and Jackie Phillips: Rear row: Frank Lanzetti; Andy Persich; coach Teddy Nashman; Gerard Fennel!; Al Drexel and Joe Persich; Frank Lanzetti played in the Brooklyn Dodger farm system for a number of years and Joe Grogan played with a farm team of the Boston red Sox The picture of George Burns and Gracie Allen on page 64 has a picture of a famous Umpire Bill Klem (not Kiern). Hoboken history of immigrants was not as stark as the history in this magazine suggests. My father came from Ireland and like many of his country men of his time wound up in Hoboken; Fourth ward or St. Joseph's parish. In those days Hoboken had two main parishes S. Josephs Church on Monroe and Our Lady of Grace on Willow Avenue both known for their Irish Parishioners. Later there were three missions churches erected STS Peter and Paul that was a German mission Church and Sts Francis and St. Ann's which were both Italian mission churches. German and Italian were spoken in their respective churches. Around the turn of the century Hoboken also had a large Jewish community and at one time had at least two Synagogues. The suggestion that there was a DMZ zone is just bad folklore. Most Italians lived down town and the fish up town. To suggest there was a line that neither group could cross over was just not true or that if you crossed that line you were in trouble. That was a myth that made great story telling along with that the Catholic school kids were beaten by nuns. The end of mayor McFeely's career had to do with several main items. In the 1940 a group of Hoboken Policemen became Rebel Cops and defied MeFeely's iron hand rule. (his brother was also the Chief of Police and his other brother a Police Inspector) Another brother had the garbage contract was still in existence even until McFeely's defeat in 1946 and the trucks for the pick up was by horse drawn trucks. The rebels led by George Fitzpatrick started the ball rolling to introduce Civil Service in Hoboken which Mc Feeley opposed. The question was adopted by ballot in 1946 and was the precursor to McFeely's's downfall. Then immediately after (1946) the boys came home from world war II and defied McFeely's iron rule and voted as they wished not as they were told. He finally put a veteran on his ticket but it was too little and too late. He was soundly defeated in 1947. There was also another uprising in Hoboken at the time from Italian Americans who felt they were poorly represented in local government. The McFeely loss set the sights for the opponents of Mayor Frank Hague of Jersey City who lost his rule in 1949. Despite the fact that George Fitzpatrick and John Grogan were the high vote getters in that election the other three newly elected commissions Fred DeSapio. Stephen Mongiello and Michael Borelli elected Fred DeSapio Mayor. This seemed to create a lot of political unrest. Four years later these same three commissioners voted to strip their fellow two commissioner John Grogan and Edward Barrone of any duties (at their first commission meeting) which led to a serious out cry and ultimately to a change in the form of government to the Mayor Council form and the defeat of Mayor DeSapio.Grogan was then elected Mayor in 1953 under the new form of government defeating Mayor Fred DeSapio. Incidentally Frank Romano never was a councilman in Hoboken but did serve under McFeely as a City Commissioner. And at one time was a Hoboken Recorder (municipal court judge). Enclosed herewith is a picture of the 1931 graduation class of David E. Rue junior highs school class which included Frank Sinatra. The progression from that point would be to Hoboken High School for three years more of schooling. Sinatra might have been enrolled in High School but certainly not for long and there is not history of him ever being active there at all. A photo op was taken in the mid or early forties when he was being noticed with a group the Demarest High School glee club but it was a staged picture with current high school students with Sinatra who was small and thin enough to make the picture look real but he was at that time almost ten years older that the students. Public schools in Hoboken started out being numbered rather than named except for the High School which was originally Hoboken High and then changed to A.J. Demarest High Shool. No. one school became David E. Rue Juinior High; No 2 became Joseph F. Brandt Junior High School No. Three became Keeley grammar school; No. 4 eventually became the Board of Education building and then S. Yoke Calabro; No 5 went out of the school business; No. 6 became Wallace grammar school after World War II veterans of the Wallace all who lost their lives during the war. (3 men). No. School eventually became Connors School after Thomas G. Connors. No. 8 School became Sadie Leinkauf Grammar School. These schools and name changes should be doubled checked out for further accuracy. Hoboken public schools operated for years with a six year grammar school program and then a three year junior high program and then three years at the High School. It now functions with a middle school program. No. 1 junior high was an all boys three year program and No. 2 was a junior high all girls three year program. It was not uncommon for students to end their educational career after finishing junior high school. ==== ==== Status: OK Status By: dw Status Date: 2005-05-27