STAY THE COURSE

Len Aronson was raised in the Mattapan section of Boston during the 1930s and ’40s, where riding the street car along Blue Hill Avenue and playing hockey were parts of his early education. He has fond memories of sailing off Nantasket Beach, rooting for the Boston Braves, and working summers in the local resort town of Magnolia. Although he eventually left the old neighborhood, it never left him.

Always knowing where he came from has served Len well over the decades. The many lessons he learned as a child helped him navigate the world as the winds of life often moved in unintended directions. Along the way, he has met politicians and prime ministers, a legendary gangster, a Nicaraguan general, a self-made billionaire, and at least one king. He also met his beloved wife Sara, started a family, and became a grandfather.

Len may have traveled to far off places but he always returned home to Boston, guided by his father’s moral compass. A lifelong sailor, Len knows that one must “stay the course” to reach the destination safe and sound.

In my day, Boston had two baseball teams: the Red Sox and the Braves. In different leagues, they never played each other. My father preferred the Braves, probably because they were the underdogs. We would go to games whenever he could get away from his business. He always insisted on sitting in the box seats, usually half-empty because the Braves were not as popular as the Red Sox.

In the 1940s, I got the lucky job of working the manual turnstiles at Fenway Park and Braves Field during the first three innings, then was allowed to go inside for free. I did the same at the Boston Garden. They chose kids who wouldn’t cheat the turnstiles for their friends.

In late September 1948, the Boston Braves finally won the National League pennant by beating the St. Louis Cardinals. Unfortunately, they lost to the Cleveland Indians in the World Series. I can still recite the entire Braves lineup—guys like outfielder Tommy Holmes; infielders Sibby Sisti, Bob Elliot, and Eddie Stanky; and catcher Phil Masi. The star pitchers were Warren Spahn, Johnny Sain, and Vernon Bickford. Spahn’s and Sain’s dominance on the mound prompted one Boston sportswriter to pen the famous poem called “Spahn and Sain and Pray for Rain”:

First we’ll use Spahn / then we’ll use Sain /
Then an off day /followed by rain.
Back will come Spahn / followed by Sain /
And followed / we hope /by two days of rain.

No one remembers Bickford, who was also a fantastic pitcher! In 1953, the Braves left Boston. They went first to Milwaukee before settling in Atlanta. It was the end of an era. Boston University bought Braves Field and still use it for sporting events. Today it is known as Nickerson Field.