by Dave Mesrey
I’ve seen Cobb and Ruth
roaming below
Shoeless Joe
DiMaggio
Goslin, Cochrane
and Schoolboy Rowe
Dizzy and Medwick
and Murderers Row
I’ve seen Gehrig and Greenberg
the Bomber, the Bull
The Kid and Jackie Robinson
and a house that was full
Jimmy Brown
and Bobby Layne
Old Lem Barney
and Night Train Lane
Yogi and Mickey
Gator and Cash
Don Wert’s single
Kaline’s mad dash
Lolich and Denny
Ozzie and Jake
Old Frank Feneck
at the All-Star break
Seen Marvin
Sing the anthem
Feliciano in blue
It changed the game
and America, too
Saw Horton nail Brock
Dock Ellis in shock
Saw Chuck Hughes fall
Where Butkus stood tall
Saw The Bird in his roost
Saw Gibby and Goose
Sparky and Rozey
Trammell and Lou
Mandela and Rosa
Little Stevie, too
Then Fick hit the roof
and the lights went out
And the ballpark crumbled
and the weeds did sprout
I watched as the diamond
Grew riven with trash
The basepaths and outfield
Scattered with ash
But the weeds were cut
and the field restored
And the heavens opened
and the rains, they poured
Navin Field
Our bond is true
Through the years
No matter the hue
I was lean
I was green
I grew rusty and blue
Like Harvey Kuenn
and Rod Carew
I am tall
I am frail
I am old
and I am grey
I am the flagpole
And I am all that remains
This poem first appeared in the blog for the Navin Field Grounds Crew.