Amsterdam mourned city official in 1953

Alex Isabel was a champion of area sports

By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History

Amsterdam was shocked one Sunday morning in January, 1953 when city recreation superintendent Alex H. Isabel, 53, died suddenly of a heart attack at his Forest Avenue home. 

Isabel was also a Brooklyn Dodgers scout and basketball and baseball coach at St. Mary’s Institute at the time of his death.  Three years later, a Little League baseball field was dedicated in his honor, a field that still bears the family name on Upper Locust Avenue.

        “He was never sick a day in his life,” recalled Isabel’s son, Gerard, known as “Pup,” a nickname his father gave him.  The night before his death, Alex Isabel spoke at a dinner of the St. Agnello Club, an Italian-American organization in the West End where he spent much of his life.

        As were many West Enders, Isabel was born in Pisciotta, Italy.  He came to New York City at age six where he lived on Little Italy’s Cherry Street before his family settled in Amsterdam.        

Isabel’s athletic skills became apparent when he played baseball for Amsterdam High before World War I, getting an offer from the New York Giants.  Instead, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and suffered hearing loss while on board the battleship Michigan. 

After the war, Isabel finished high school and played baseball at St. Mary’s Institute.  He married Ann Murphy in 1923 and they had three children. 

Isabel played and coach baseball in the popular semi-professional leagues of the day.  He pitched for the Gloversville-Johnstown Twin Cities and played and managed the Ticonderoga team in the Northern League in 1925 and 1926.  He played baseball for teams including the Mohawk Mills Karnaks, Tonquas Tribe and the West End Athletic Club of Albany.

In 1940, Alex Isabel began coaching baseball at St. Mary’s, adding basketball duties a year later. 

He became acting recreation superintendent for the city in 1944 when superintendent S. Joseph Golden was serving in the Navy.  Golden returned but resigned shortly after the war.  Isabel became superintendent from 1946 until his death.

He spearheaded improvements at city playgrounds and led local baseball teams into national tournaments.  He made college possible for many youngsters and was lauded for his efforts in fighting juvenile delinquency by keeping youth busy with productive pursuits.  He brought in drama teacher Bert DeRose to begin a popular series of summer musicals.

As a scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Isabel scoured Upstate New York and parts of New England and Canada.  His best-known find was Johnny Podres of Witherbee, New York, who pitched for the Dodgers in the World Series in 1953.  

Brothers Guy, Hector and Alex were all involved in operation of Isabel’s Restaurant on West Main Street, although Guy and his wife Ida were the principal restaurateurs.  “Pup” Isabel, who was a waiter at Isabel’s, recalled that across from the restaurant on West Main Street in the old days was a public bath, next to a three-chair barbershop, candy store and a poolroom.  “Pup” said his father Alex was good at pool, too.  He was also a high scoring bowler. 

The week that Alex Isabel died, recreation activities halted in Amsterdam.  His funeral mass at St. Mary’s Church attracted a huge crowd of state and local dignitaries, a Brooklyn Dodgers delegation, St. Mary’s students and 115 boys from the Little League and Little-Bigger League. 

At the 1956 dedication of Alex Isabel Memorial Field, committee chairman Nicholas DeCross stated:  “It is hoped that the boys who play on this field will pattern themselves after Alex and attempt to pass on to their boys what he tried to instill in those who played for him.” 

Tomorrow on The Historians

Phyllis Chapman of Friends of the Bennington Battlefield describes the battle and its impact on the Battle of Saratoga.

https://townofhoosick.org/benningtonbattlefield.php?content=benningtonbattlefield

May 19, 2023-Episode 475-The Battle of Bennington preceded the 1777 Battle of Saratoga during the American Revolution.  It was fought in the hamlet of Walloomsac in the Town of Hoosick New York on August 16 1777—about ten miles from Bennington, Vermont.  

Bob Cudmore "Stories from The Historians Archives"

Jerry Snyder was one of the founders of Historic Amsterdam League, which focuses on the history of Amsterdam, N.Y.

Episode #500 this November 2023

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33 degrees at 6AM in The City of Amsterdam

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