Marty Lurie Talks San Francisco Giants Baseball
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Fernando Floyd Colon

My father, Vicente Antonio Colon was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1911 and played baseball with Pancho Coimbre and the Ponce Leones. My father used to tell me stories about his days playing in the Puerto Rican League and how good Pancho really was.
I had the pleasure of meeting Senor Coimbre when I visited Puerto Rico with my father in 1967. My father was visting his father (my grandfather) Vicente who was ill at the time. Incidently, my grandfather was the first first baseman on a baseball team in Puerto Rico.
My father passed away in 1996, at the age of 85, and I certainly miss his wonderful stories of baseball on the island.

0 comments

1 marty { 02.21.06 at 9:49 am }

Hola Fernando, My husband, Marty, shared your story with me and we are both moved. I am a lover of history as well, but my focus, in particular, is Puerto Rico, the birthplace of my father and where I have visited since early childhood. We hail from Barceloneta, across the island from your folk but we Boricuas are all baseball lovers. How fortunate you are to have such a beautiful memory, among many, I’m sure , of your grandfather’s achievements. It is one for the records. My father passed away in 1993 and I recall he and his cousins playing ball when they were over 60! How excited I was to visit Roberto Clemente Stadium in Arecibo! Thank you for sharing this beautiful story of your grandfather’s moment in Puerto Rican baseball history. You keep it alive for all of us who appreciate our families’ accomplishments and our ethnic pride. Cristina Medina-Machado Lurie

2 Anonymous { 02.26.06 at 6:54 pm }

Hola Cristina-Thank you so much for your comments regarding my father and grandfather. My family has a strong love for baseball. As I previously indicated, my father loved the game so much that after we moved to the states from Puerto Rico, he played semi-pro baseball all over Nebraska (where I live now). He was inducted into the Nebraska Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994. An honor he treasured until his death. On the chance that I will totally alienate you, my father was a New York Yankees fan. So of course, I grew up the same way. In fact, I named both of my sons after Mickey Charles Mantle. I named one Mickey and the other Charles. But the best part of this is yet to come. My oldest son Charlie had his first son 3 years ago and he took his first name and his brother’s first name for his son’s middle names. Okay, here goes…….he named his son (and it is on all his legal papers) Cooperstown Michael Charles. As you can see, we are baseball “nuts.” Both my sons and I have played baseball all our lives and both my sons had college scholarships in baseball. Charlie played for the University of Nebraska and Mickey played at a Division II school, Nebraska Wesleyan University. I am sure by now you are bored. I apologize. They are aware of their grandfather’s love of the game and they have already begun passing the stories on to their children.
Again thank you Cristina, I am so pleased that a family such as yours will keep the legacy of Puerto Rican baseball alive, as well. My spanish is not so good anymore but when I tell someone buena suerte I really mean it. So, I wish you and your loved ones buena suerte and all my very best.
Fernando Floyd Colon

3 Anonymous { 03.22.11 at 7:55 pm }

Found on a door in the MSU music building:
All’s well that ends.

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