The Newtown Sandy Hooks showed what they were really made of over the weekend as club members converged from far and wide on the hallowed grounds of Old Bethpage Village, the home of vintage base ball, to join fifteen other clubs from Boston, Baltimore, Bridgeport, Brooklyn, Elizabeth, Hartford, New York City, Providence, Waterbury and beyond to showcase the best the sport has to offer.

The Sandy Hook did not disappoint their loyal supporters or avid cranks as they played sparkling ball and proved that when all the stars are aligned they can be a force to be reckoned with.

In the first game of the day on Saturday, the Sandy Hooks announced their intentions to all in attendance as their powerful bats slammed their way to a 15 to 3 shellacking of the Gotham club of New York City.

In the early innings the formidable line-up of the brothers Pendergist, Paes, Margolus, Snyder, Wheat, Quinn, Toomey and Keane manufactured ten aces before a stunned New York nine could hardly catch their collective breathes. At the same time '90' Keane, hurling for the first time in a number of occasions, and his supporting cast gobbled-up nearly every Gotham hit that entered their domains.

The highlight of the match was a massive home run struck by Tristan Toomey that helped to reinforce Newtown's intentions for the day. As the gargantuan skyball sailed out of the Hewlett Grounds, on its way to partial moon orbit, the Newtown nine cruised to a decisive and well-earned victory.

To put this victory into perspective, the Gothams came back in their second match of the day to hammer the always-powerful Waterbury Connor by an impressive score of 15 to 10. The Sandy Hooks had awakened the slumbering giant and were involved in other things when the Gothams finally got their engine firing on all cylinders.

In the afternoon match the Sandy Hooks played the upstart Chesapeake & Potomac club out of the eastern shore of Maryland in a lightning charged rain-shortened affair. '90' Keane again hurled for the Sandy Hooks as Dean 'The Dream' Emma from the Brooklyn club stood-in at shortstop for Quinn. The Sandy Hooks owned a 6 to 3 advantage when the umpire finally called the game after a second stoppage and both clubs retired to the sidelines to consider Sunday's schedule.

Sunday broke crystal clear as the Sandy Hooks took on their local adversaries the Bridgeport Orators in another 1864 affair at the old Nassau County Fairgrounds racetrack. A different look nine of Brandt, Silkowski, Zulli and Miklich (an unpaid professional from the New York Mutuals club) joined the Pendergists, Snyder, Wheat and Quinn in what would be another dazzling show of hitting and fielding prowess.

The Sandy Hooks teed-off early and often in this match while Miklich displayed his remarkable hurling mastery to all in attendance. To say Miklich was the difference in the match would be unfair as the collective bats of all the Sandy Hooks punished the Orator pitching, and the baserunning talents of the Pendergists and others kept the shell-shocked Bridgeport fielders on tinder hooks throughout the match.

On one occasion, 'Muhl' Snyder rung the bell with a monumental smash to the deep swamp that languished in the skunk cabbage long enough to enabled 'Muhl' to lumber home unscathed. Later in the match 'Pud' Quinn uncorked a 'Big Dawg' Ayotte pitch that nearly landed in the Suffolk County before coming to rest to remind all that the Sandy Hooks possess an arsenal that is second to none.

As Umpire 'Big Bat' Fesolowich announced the final tally 16 to 4 for the Sandy Hooks, the local nine closed the book on a truly incredible weekend unchallenged in the annals of Newtown Sandy Hook base ball history.

Hearty huzzahs go to the organizers of the event and all who took part and especially to the Newtown Sandy Hook ballists and family members who made the effort to travel to Long Island for a most exciting and memorable weekend.

Click on one of these links to see photos from most of the matches...

'Shutta' Shaw's Photos

'90' Keane's Photos

Brian Sullivan's Photos