ABSTRACT-
Canton— If you did not know better, you’d swear you were in the middle of the Yankee clubhouse of 1978 as friendly barbs are tossed across the room. As in all championship clubhouses, there is an undeniable chemistry. The one-liners are built on a foundation of respect, love and competitive ness, just the way Thurman Munson would have wanted. ….
…
ican Legion game. Two years ago, Mike played in his hometown at Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium for the Frontier League Canton Crocodiles. There on the blue centerfield wall is painted the number 15 in white letters. Before every game Mike would touch the number to be one with his dad. The circle of baseball complete between father and son.
Surprisingly, Thurman’s only real hero was singer Neil Diamond. Diana will occasionally find a tape of the artist at Thurman’s grave or a baseball left by a caring fan. The site is a peaceful monument in town under the shade of four maple trees – first, second, third and home. Thurman’s favorite song? I Am … I Said. “Did you ever read about a frog who dreamed of being a king and then became one.”
Munson was that frog who became a king during his tremendous 11-year career.
“He always said he taught me to be tough and I taught him to be gentle,” Diana says.
While living in New Jersey, Diane and Thurman would often ride through the suburbs, eating ice cream, looking at homes and dreaming of their future back here in the town where they grew up. One day in 1977, Thurman came across the perfect house, stopped the car, and as Diana protested, dashed to the front door, saying, “I want that house in Ohio.”
Recalls Diana, “He never used his name for anything, but he knocked on the door and said, ‘Hi, I’m Thurman Munson, I play for the Yankees and I admire your house greatly. I’m not a stalker. I was wondering if I could buy the plans to the house.'”
The woman’s young son grabbed his mother’s leg and shouted, “Mom, it really is Thurman Munson!”
Munson was graciously given the plans and had the exact same house reproduced in his hometown on hill on a beautiful five-acre lot and filled it with love. Less than a year after it was built, he died, “During the tough times, this house became our fortress,” Diana says.
Diana admits she wallowed in depression and dark thoughts passed through her mind soon after Thurman’s death but she persevered. Her parents, who are now deceased, helped her get through those difficult days. She knew she had a family to raise. She had to be strong. Like her husband. The kids were strong, too. Like their dad.
“I think Thurman would be real pleased with where we are and how we’ve handled ourselves,” Diana adds. “We’ve had some dignity about ourselves. He’d be proud. People wondered if we would survive and we did. We had our tough times, but we bonded. This is the good part of my life now.”
Through it all, the Munsons have handled themselves like champions, like Yankees. So like Thurman.
