www.taylorstreetarchives.com
Vince Romano
1524 So. Sangamon #803
Chicago, IL 60608
312-443-6241 (Business) 312-218-4044 (Cell)
Idols, Heroes and Role Models
Luke Capuano: Growing up in Taylor Street’s Little Italy:
As reported by: Vince Romano
“A child’s life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a
mark.”
The following are some of the early boyhood memories of one of our
Taylor Street bred figures. Luke Capuano became a professional
fighter and climaxed his career with two memorable fights with Mike
Rossman, former light heavyweight champion of the world. A hotly
disputed split decision over Luke kept alive Rossman’s hopes of
regaining his light heavyweight title. Luke’s career as a professional
fist fighter included an exhibition with Cassius Clay, also know as
Muhammad Ali.
I have embellished upon Luke’s input. My qualifications for doing so
are as follows: As I grew up on Taylor Street, some of my early
boyhood companions included Luke’s uncle, Mike “Crazy Migee”
Capuano. For the record, my childhood nickname was “Vincenzo
Pazzo (meaning “Crazy Vincent” in Italian).” Luke’s generation
(second generation Italian-Americans) mirrored those experiences we,
as first generation Italian-Americans, encountered during our boyhood
days. The difference perhaps was in what each of us gleaned from
those experiences. Luke attributes much of what he had become to the
people who comprised his neighborhood…his world. Because of his
magnificent fighting skills, Luke has etched his name in the sports
chronicles for all time. His thoughts, his words and his actions,
however, reveal a deeper dimension. It can be best summarized in the
following quote from Isiah Thomas, “If all I’m remembered for is
being a good basketball player, then I’ve done a bad job with the rest
of my life.”
My mother, Josie, was an employee at Sheridan Park during the time
that Luke was exploring his athletic abilities and ultimately honed his
boxing skills. Later, Luke also became an employee of Sheridan Park,
working alongside my mother until her retirement.
In addition to the above mentioned qualifications, I have exercised my
literary license to explore, explain and embellish Luke’s story for its
historic value for future readers of the Taylor Street Archives.
And now, the first installment of Luke Capuano:
My memories of growing up on Taylor Street are absolutely fantastic! I
was blessed to grow up with the greatest bunch of athletes. More
importantly, I was surrounded, during my most formative years, with
the kindest and most generous men a neighborhood could have.
I was born on Halsted and DeKoven in 1953. We lived there until 1957,
when we moved to 1025 South Aberdeen. (Just down the street from
Sheridan Park where Luke is currently employed). It was on Aberdeen
that I met those childhood friends whose memories I carry with me
today. Most were of Italian ancestry; some were Mexican-Americans;
and a few were African-Americans. At that time, most African-
American families lived within a cluster of homes within our Italian
community which were known locally as “the projects.” From my back
porch on Aberdeen and Taylor I could see their houses as well as the
back porches of my neighbors who lived on Carpenter Street across the
alley from me. Our neighborhood, which harbored Sheridan Park, was
wall-to-wall kids. It wasn’t until our pre-teens that we began extending
ourselves beyond our immediate street and explored the larger
community and its other inhabitants. There were a heck-of-a-lot of
kids, ages 8-12, who sought each other out for the sheer joy of the
camaraderie.
Growing up was just one laugh after another. The games had no color
barriers. We were just kids seeking each other out for no other reason
than to lose ourselves in a game of
marbles, kick the can, tag, hide and seek, higher than the ground, red
rover, fly and bounce, etc., etc., etc. In a neighborhood where everyone
was ethnically defined, there were no biases or prejudices. The stature
and respect each of us achieved in those games was earned and
ethnicity was not a factor when choosing up sides. The games taught
us that no group was better or worse than any other. The variety of
games kept us entertained and helped to fill the long hours when there
was no school. The games kept us sharp too--both physically and
mentally. In addition to the games that occupied us, we all carry
memories of hanging around the “big guys.”---that group of guys who
were just ahead of us in age. I will write about my peers in future
stories. For now I would like to tell you about the six guys, several
years my senior, who I came to idolize when I was a young boy
growing up on Taylor Street.
Every Saturday and Sunday this group of six (3 on a team) played out a
seven game World Series on the black top of Holy Family School, on
Roosevelt and Peoria streets. The Mango brothers, Anthony and Mike,
evenly matched in athletic ability, were part of this group that
simulated the World Series every spare moment they had. Although
brothers, they never wanted to be on the same team. They would play
on opposite teams. The competition pitted Anthony “Leebro” Milano
and Bobby “the Bear” Pezzuto (along with one of the Mango brothers)
against Michael “Joey” Esposito, Pete “the bear” Molaro and the
remaining Mango brother.
The six competitors (3 on each team) would chip in and buy a dozen
rubber balls (2 inches in diameter). They would pace off 20 yards (the
equivalent distance of a pitchers mound) from a brick wall with a 2 ½ X
2 ½ foot strike zone drawn on it. The reward for winning the World
Series each day was, besides “bragging rights,” a hot dog and a KO
drink (chocolate pop) to wash down the hot dog. The treat, bought at
Nate’s at a cost of 37 cents, was paid for by the losing team.
I soon learned, as I watched my idols play, that they had their idols, as
well. During the hotly contested simulated World Series games,
Anthony Mango became Joe DiMaggio…Espo would become Rocky
Colavito…Libro was Rocky Marciano (Leeb was Marciano, the
undefeated heavyweight champion of the world, regardless of what
sport he was playing)…Pete would be Mickey Mantle…Mike Mango
would always be himself (I suspect he had enough confidence in his
own ability not to want to take on the persona of someone else)…and
Bobby Bear would become Willie Mays. It was not uncommon,
growing up in Taylor Street’s Little Italy, that our sports heroes were
mostly of Italian ancestry. It was an ethnic neighborhood and we grew
up during ethnic times. You had to be really special to become one of
our sports idols if you were not of Italian heritage—visa vis Mickey
Mantle and Willie Mays.
The games were always close. Name calling was positively allowed.
When a batter got beaned by the pitcher, the din of the laughter dulled
the impact of the choice words being hurled back at the pitcher.
Competitive, entertaining and memorable were my friends—my role
models--my idols. Later, as my idols moved on in response to higher
and more mature life challenges to be faced, my age group filled the
void they left. I was no longer a spectator…I was a player. We
entered that stage of our lives with the same gusto and extracted the
same joy as my idols had earlier. The only difference, perhaps, was
that the Mickey Mantles and the Rocky Marcianos were replaced with
the likes of Ron Santo and Muhammad Ali.
Organized baseball, soccer, day camps, sports camps, etc. have
replaced those glory days when our minds and our bodies were free to
test the frontiers of what and who we valued. Yes, for a while back
there we had a chance to find and ultimately become ourselves. Today,
there are no batter’s boxes to be found on the walls of our buildings.
Pity!
From this first installment, it is apparent that Luke basks in the belief that
all that he had become was, in part, attributed to what his neighborhood and
its people had contributed to his development…both physically and
emotionally. Later installments will confirm his belief that his childhood
experiences impacted heavily upon how he responded to the later challenges
he faced…challenges that included becoming a professional boxer, husband,
father and respected community member.
This site, the Taylor Street Archives, is dedicated to the memory of all of
those Taylor Street mothers who nurtured their Taylor Street children
through a time and place unmatched by any other. The Profiles of those
strong willed mothers who nurtured us through the great depression (and
other, not so visible obstacles of similar magnitude will be found in these
archives … Vince Romano
