The Jackie Robinson House, 5224 Tilden, where he lived rookie year
The decision of Deron Williams to buy a place in Manhattan instead of Brooklyn is a lost opportunity. The Brooklyn Dodgers were beloved in part because they were neighbors.
Michael Shapiro of the Columbia Journalism School wrote:
The Dodgers were built around a familiar core – [Pee Wee] Reese, [Jackie] Robinson, [Roy] Campanella, [Clem] Labine, [Duke] Snider, [Carl] Erskine, [Gil] Hodges – most of whom lived not only in Brooklyn, but in one neighborhood, Bay Ridge, where there sons played in the local little league and their wives shopped at Rossi the butcher. The players carpooled to the ballpark. Kids rang their doorbell for autographs. They were great and they were neighbors.
For what it’s worth; at least Deron Williams lives in NYC. Many of the Nets live in NJ.
