THE FOOTNOTES

includes John "Mickey" Noonan. He was called Mickey, Mike, or even John, but he will be called a member of the New Britain Sports Hall of Fame as long as that group is remembered. You can see his name on the list of all the recipients if you visit the stadium in New Britain which currently is home to the New Britain Rock Cats, class A farm team of the Minnesota Twins. In his time, Mickey was among the most recognized athletes in the city. His name seemed to be in the New Britain Herald all the time. He still played on a top semi-pro team in a state league while in his late forties. His team was sponsored by a New Britain brewery, the Cremo Brewery, which played its home games at East End Park. They were called the Cremos, and were well known, and regarded.

In the '30's, and '40's, it was customary for the umpire to to go to the center of the infield prior to the start of the game to call out the "Batteries for today's game." which were the pitchers and catchers. Later on, when some announcer called out the names of the players, and their ages, when it came to Mickey, they would announce he is "over 21." Actually, he was over 41, while ther other players, the best in th state on these teams, were young guys.