My father, Doug McWeeny Jr. is the namesake of his father, Doug "Buzz" McWeeny, the baseball player.

I wanted to share a memory of my grandfather.

I was working for a computer distribution company in 1999, when IBM was giving out commemorative baseballs for the All Stars. Working at the IBM desk, I was given an All Star baseball, inside of a very smart display box, which I exhibited proudly in my cube. One of my associates walked by one day and noticed the ball. He said "My father collects baseballs, I would be happy to pay you for this one."

I explained that my grandfather had been a pitcher in the early 1920's. He said, "Well if he played through that time period, he must have pitched to Babe Ruth. You should ask your father if he has any stories." I ended up giving the baseball to my associate for his father -- it was a Dad thing, and our fathers are precious people.

I felt foolish, at 40, that I had not asked my father to share stories with me. I knew that my grandfather was a pitcher and the teams he played for, but nothing in the way of memories or stories. My father loves to tell stories of his family, as do my uncles, wonderful Irish men and storytellers all. When I asked my father if Granddad had pitched to Babe Ruth, a smile came over his face, ready to share a great story of his father, indeed he did.

With tremendous pride, he shared that his father had pitched to Babe Ruth as a Rookie for the White Sox in Comiskey Park on the south side of Chicago. Not only had he pitched to Babe Ruth, but there was a single pitch, from his father's hand, which became the longest home run ever hit throughout his father's baseball career. The ball went over the Comiskey wall and into the neighborhood. This is commonplace for Wrigley Field, but Comiskey Park, this could only have come from the likes of Babe Ruth.

This memory gave way to another. He shared that his father Doug (Buzz) McWeeny, had come up from the minors as a replacement pitcher for the White Sox just after the Black Sox Scandal. What a bittersweet induction into Major League Baseball.

I am certain that the pride his sons feel for their father; Doug Jr., Jack and Ray will continue to be passed down to our generation and again to our children, his great-grandchildren. We have tremendous pride in the McWeeny name.

» Trisha McWeeny: Grandaughter of Douglas (Buzz) McWeeny. Daughter of Douglas McWeeny Jr. Future Journalist and Irish Story Teller.

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