Growing up in the Southwest part of Baltimore, Sports was a major part of my life. Most of my friends were Protestant, and we spent many days playing baseball and football at the elementary school, when school was not in session. The Catholic kids in the neighborhood had the C.Y.O., also known as the Catholic Youth league, which consisted of teams based out of various Catholic schools in the area.
Although both groups were rather clanish, we did get together to play sports at our elementary school. The teams were largely segregated among Catholics and Protestants. There were a few crossovers who would play for either side, but they were the exception. Usually it was a player who felt comfortable with either group, or the player was extremely talented, and either side would be happy to have them on their team, since that player oftentimes meant the difference between winning or losing. I sometimes noticed an air of superiority among some of the Catholic youths, but that may have been because of my childhood inferiority complex.
In any event, it seemed that sports allowed us to get to know the other kids a bit, and sometimes led to friendship among the different groups.
A Real Sports Hero
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