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NEXT MEETING
NEW MEETING PLACE
Hampton Lanes
326 Main Street,
Northampton
2023 Meeting Dates
October 3rd
November 7th
December 16th (Christmas Party)
Click here for directions
Visit Freddy Sez
Read Keith Grollers
article about Freddy Sez
2010 World Series Trophy
Click here to view our
pictures
Click here to view schedule |
FREDDY SEZ
My story on Freddy "Sez"
About 15 years ago I visited Yankee Stadium quite frequently
and became familiar with the stadium and the surrounding
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area. I noticed what appeared to be an elderly man that
walked around the upper deck area.
He was always carrying a sign attached to a stick and this
was attached to a frying pan. He would offer a spoon to
fans, young and old, who would then bang it on the pan.
Again and again I would watch as he climbed up and down the
steep steps game after game. I wondered if he was a homeless
person who was soliciting fans for money. I was also amazed
at how this older gentleman was agile enough to do this game
after game in the heat, rain and cold as though he were a
younger man. After years of observing this man, I became
more curious and finally approached him for an opportunity
to perform the spoon-hitting-the-pan ritual as I had seen
many fans do before. He graciously handed me the spoon and
watched as I hit the pan. He then gave me a newsletter from
a pouch he carried over his shoulder. I was amazed that he
would tote all this with him as he traveled up and down the
stairs through the stands.
It was then that I was able to speak to him and took
advantage of this opportunity to find out more about this
man. My first question was about his attendance at Yankee
home games. He told me he is present at every home game but
missed two games the year before and one game during the
current season. I quickly did the math and determined that
there are 81 home games and missing only two meant that he
had attended 79 games the year before. I thought WOW this
guy goes through the spring when the temperatures can be
very cold right through the summer when heat and humidity
has to be a real problem for a gent his age. I also learned
that he always wears slacks - not shorts - to the games.
I realized that this was one really dedicated Yankee Fan! He
also told me that he makes two new signs for each game, one
stapled on each side of the stick.
On my numerous trips to Yankee Stadium, I found that I would
look for Freddy to greet him before the games. He told me
that he lived in an apartment in Manhattan and would travel
by subway to and from the stadium. He has a regular routine
beginning with his arrival about 1 ½ hours before game
time. He walks around the outside of the stadium to pump up
fans arriving for the game by encouraging them to take a few
clangs on the pan. He also routinely hands out the
newsletters which he writes with the help of his companion
Suzie. He told me that it is possible to print these due to
the generosity of his sponsors who purchase ad space in the
publication. Although I realized that advertising in his
newsletter for my trophy and plaque business in Northampton,
Pennsylvania would not result in new customers, I thought it
would be a great way to help this Yankee fan continue his
mission to promote the New York Yankees.
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As a Yankee fan myself, I founded a fan club known as the
Lehigh Valley Yankee Fan Club which currently has 430
members comprised of people from the area who meet regularly
one time a month. To the best of my knowledge, we are the
largest organized New York Yankee fan club in the country
and oddly enough, we are |
located in the heart of
Philadelphia Phillies area. My goal was to meet with other
Yankee fans to talk about the team during the year, exchange
thoughts about trades or other news regarding the team and
to attend home or away games as a group. We are an
incorporated nonprofit organization with members ranging
from newborns to the oldest female member who is 86 years of
age. We invite former baseball players, news reporters,
writers and other persons of interest to speak at our
meetings. The group also raises money for charities and
regularly contributes needed items for our local food bank
and a shelter for victims of domestic abuse. Our mission was
to promote baseball through charitable projects and chose to
support the American Cancer Society, Dream Come True (a
local organization that grants wishes to seriously or
terminally ill children) and the Northampton Area Food Bank,
Lehigh Valley Miracle League. We have had the pleasure to
meet three families who have a child with a serious medical
issue and have arranged for them to accompany our group on a
bus trip to a game and receive an opportunity to meet with
New York Yankee players. Our members are especially grateful
to the New York Yankees and Jason Zillo for their
assistance. We also support Big Brothers and Big Sisters,
Special Olympics of both the Lehigh Valley and Bethlehem and
Turning Point of the Lehigh Valley (support for victims of
domestic violence). Along with financial support, we also
take families of these groups along on our bus trips to
games.
Freddy Sez learned about our fundraising events and
volunteered to attend an autograph signing at a card show in
an area mall to help raise funds for one of our seriously
ill children. I picked Freddy up at his apartment and drove
him to our event in Phillipsburg, NJ for the day. I even had
baseball cards printed for Freddy to autograph. He was quite
a draw to the sports fans attending the card show. He amused
our members by telling us stories and also gave some dance
lessons to the ladies...he is quite a dancer leading them in
the fox trot, the lindy, ballroom dancing and a few more.
I invited Freddy to accompany us to a game at Camden Yards
in Baltimore. I picked him up on a Friday and brought him to
stay with my wife and I in Northampton, PA. He was so
excited about the opportunity to see a Yankee away game, but
was even more excited when I arranged for him to visit the
Babe Ruth Museum where they declared the day "Freddy
Sez" Day and gave him the special VIP tour of the
non-public area of the museum. As a thank you, Freddy gave
them one of his special signs. From the moment our bus
arrived at Inner Harbor in the morning to the departure
after the night game, Freddy was quite a hit. People who
recognized him stopped to talk to him, bang the frying pan,
get autographs and have photos taken with him. Some even
used their cell phones to call family and friends with a
"You won't believe who's here in Baltimore" and
asked him to bang his frying pan to prove it to the people
on the other end of the phone! People even walked up to him
while he was eating in restaurants to greet him and hit the
pan. As he walked along the harbor fans would shout out to
him from bars, stores, boats and just about everywhere. It
certainly proved he has quite a following and he really
enjoyed the attention. He had quite a weekend and was still
excited when I drove him home on Sunday.
Freddy and I had a conversation about his signs one day and
he confessed that he would like to donate his Lucky Frying
Pan, sign and spoon to a baseball museum. I promised him
that I would look intoit and began my quest to fulfill his
dream. The members of the club have given him an |
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honorary lifetime membership to the club and were all in favor of
helping me with my mission.
I wrote a letter to National
Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY as well as to the
Yogi Berra Museum with my request that this donation be
considered as a tribute to the enthusiasm of this
one-of-a-kind dedicated baseball fan. I was extremely happy
to hear from both museums that his donation would be
accepted. I was very proud to accompany Freddy along with
some of our fan club members on a bus trip to Yogi's in
May 2004 where one of his donations was accepted. It was
truly a special moment when he met Yogi Berra and he even
commented "Chuck, I had trouble breathing when I met
Yogi".
He volunteers at a senior center teaching dance lessons and
playing cards with those in attendance. He loves telling
stories about how he attended game seven of the 2000 World
Series as a guest of former New York Mayor, Rudy Giuliani at
the request of Mr. Giuliani's son. He will amuse you with
the details of his unexpected trip. He also attended game
five of the 2003 World Series in Florida as the guest of
Modell's. You can just feel the excitement as he
reminisces about his adventures following his New York
Yankees. Freddy is quick to tell you stories that make him
happy but he has also endured some problems with people who
have not been kind to him. He also endured a major medical
crisis a few years ago which resulted in heart surgery. It
was a thrill for Freddy who was visited by Joe Torre, Derek
Jeter, and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani while he was
hospitalized. They brought along the World Series trophy for
him to see in the hospital. And again in 2009 he road on a
float sponsored by Modell's during the World Series
celebration in New York.
I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was to tell Freddy
that I received a letter from Sue MacKay that confirmed that
the National Baseball Hall of Fame would be accepting his
donation of the Lucky Frying Pan for the museum. There was a
quiver in his voice as he thanked me for helping him realize
his dream. The entire fan club is thrilled about this
opportunity for Freddy. Please accept my heartfelt
appreciation to the National Baseball Hall of Fame
organization for not only considering my request but for
helping me fulfill the dream of a lifetime for this avid
Yankee fan.
Sincerely,
Chuck Frantz
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The Sommer Frieze 
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