The year was 1981. Ronald Reagan was President of the United States. Robert Redford won the Academy Award for Best Director for “Ordinary People,” which was also the Best Picture. “Physical” by Olivia Newton John was a No. 1 song. MTV made its debut. During the course of the year, Reagan and Pope John Paul II survived assassination attempts after being shot, but Egyptian President Anwar Sadat did not. The first known case of AIDS was identified. Pac-Man fever gripped the nation.
And a 12-year-old All-Star team from Hoboken South Little League captured the District 7 tournament championship.
Tom Mullane remembers that team very well, because 25 years ago, Mullane was a 12-year-old second baseman for the Hoboken North Little League team that lost a cross-town battle with Hoboken South for the District title. “We were in the winners’ bracket and they had to come back and beat us twice,” Mullane recalled. “That’s what I remember most.”
Turn the clock ahead to 2006. Mullane, now 37, is the manager of the Hoboken South 12-year-old All-Star team. Although Mullane has his playing roots with the rival league, the security officer at St. Mary’s Hospital has been coaching youngsters in the Hoboken South Little League for the last 18 years.
“Coaching the All-Star team is like a reward for me,” said Mullane, who has been fortunate enough to coach eight different All-Star teams over the years.”
But none of them ever won a District 7 title. In fact, Hoboken South had gone without a District 7 crown since Mullane’s playing days in 1981.
Sure, Hoboken North has won its fair share of tourney titles, but the rival league never earned another banner since Reagan’s first year in the Oval Office. Needless to say, it had been a long time.
In fact, Hoboken South had only won two District titles, in 1976, which was 30 years ago, and 1981, which took place a quarter century ago.
There were a handful of close calls and good chances, but no championship glory.
However, when the District 7 tourney began earlier this month, Mullane, once again the manager of the Hoboken South All-Stars, thought he might have the makings of a championship squad.
“I knew we had some great athletes,” Mullane said. “I knew that we had some good pitching. I just told them to give me two hours of focus every day and that we could do some great things.”
However, things didn’t look so great when the kids from Hoboken South took the field fort the first time. They trailed West New York National, 5-2, heading into the fifth inning. But they caught a little bit of late-inning magic, capped by Danny Grossi’s two-run homer, giving Hoboken South a 7-6 victory.
It was a telling victory.
“Once we came back and got that one, I knew that this was a team that would never give up,” Mullane said. “I told them after that first game that we could win it all.” The flair for the dramatic didn’t end with the first win. In the second game of the tourney, Hoboken South had to take on the other rivals from the Mile Square City, namely Hoboken North. Once again, Hoboken South fell behind, this time trailing, 2-0. But Grossi belted another homer and Kenny Roder provided the pitching for a 4-2 Hoboken South win.
The next game, the kids from Hoboken South displayed even more dramatics and late-inning heroics. Facing Roberto Clemente Little League of Jersey City, the game headed into extra innings, deadlocked at 2-2. But in the seventh inning, Abe Groomes reached on a walk, stole second and third base and came home with the winning run in a 3-2 victory, a game that Groomes earned the victory with two innings of solid relief pitching.
The next game would pit Hoboken South against Elmora of Elizabeth, a newcomer to District 7 after some redistricting by the Little League headquarters in Williamsport, Pa.
Once again, the left-handed Roder was brilliant, firing a two-hitter, and delivering an RBI single in Hoboken South’s 2-0 victory.
Incredibly, when he wasn’t dominating on the mound, Roder would play shortstop – a complete rarity for someone who is a left-handed thrower.
“I always just put him there,” Mullane said of Roder playing shortstop. “I didn’t have any hesitation, not one bit. He’s so quick and gets to every ball. He’s a great athlete. I knew he could handle it. There aren’t many kids out there like him.”
So Grossi played short when Roder was on the mound – and vice versa.
After Elmora eliminated Hoboken North from the tourney, the newcomers from Elizabeth would have to defeat Hoboken South to win the District 7 title in its first year. That wasn’t going to happen to a program that had waited 25 long years for its date with destiny.
Grossi pitched a gem against Elmora, winning 4-2 and handing that proud championship banner to Hoboken South after all that time. Groomes, who is only 11 years old and has a brilliant future ahead of him, smacked a two-run homer to key the win in the title game.
“I’m very proud of them,” Mullane said. “It’s phenomenal that these kids have won it. I think they’re also very excited and proud.”
The victory was sealed when Roder made a brilliant play, going across the middle of the infield to snare a grounder up the middle, then spun and threw to first baseman Fabian Quinones for the final out.
“I don’t think a right-handed shortstop could have made that play,” Mullane said. “It was a great play and he proved me right for putting him there.”
It’s been a great year for the Roder family. Older brother Tom was a key member of the Hoboken High School team that captured the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group I and HCIAA Seglio Division championships this year. Older sister Raquel was a standout softball pitcher for the Academy of St. Aloysius.
Apparently, there’s another Roder waiting in the wings. Nine-year-old Ricky is also a fine baseball player and will carry on in the tradition.
The team’s catcher is Ciaran Finnegan, who bats No. 3 in the order and played every single inning behind the plate.
First baseman Fabian Quinones is the younger brother of former Hoboken High and current St. Peter’s College pitcher John Quinones. Fabian is a good power hitter and solid defender.
Second base is handled by Julian Ognissanti, who is a good contact hitter and slick fielder.
While shortstop is handled by the right/lefty combo of Grossi and Roder, third base is in good hands with Anthony Bianchi. The solid fielding Bianchi is one of the more dedicated players around and has a bright future.
The starting outfield consists of Hector Rodriguez in left field, with the talented Groomes in center and Jonathan Journette in right. The reserves include outfielders Manny Matos, Dylan Lucyk and Karl Manhardt and infielder Andrew Walker, who provides a big bat off the bench.
Other than Mullane as manager, the team is assisted by coaches Massimo Forte and Alan Roder. Many of these players were members of the 10-year-old All-Star team that captured the District 7 10-year-old title in 2004, so they had some experience playing in pressure situations.
“I think that helped,” Mullane said. “We also got some great support from the town and the league’s officials. We’re so thankful for the support. I know that it means a lot to the kids and gives them confidence going into the next round.”
The team now moves on to the Section 2 tournament, with four other district champions participating in the double-elimination event in Edgewater. Hoboken South was slated to play Lyndhurst in the opening round, with teams from Livingston and Ridgefield also participating.
“I really think we can keep moving forward,” Mullane said. “I know that there are a lot of people in Hoboken who are excited about our chances. We just want to keep going.”
After all, when something is 25 years in the making, you want to be able to savor it for as long as possible.