Albion, Michigan - The Hub of Detroit Sports
Over the past month or so, I have struck up a “twitter”-ship with the Queen of Spain, Erin Kotecki Vest, who along with being a highly read mommy blogger, an evangelist for PhoTrade–a photo sharing site, an active leader with BlogHer, and the Huffington Post (whew!), Erin is also a rabid Michigan sports fan. Specifically, a Detroit Red Wings fan.
So, with the budding rivalry between my home town team of the San Jose Sharks being put to the test last night, I bet Erin on the game. The prize? The loser had to write a blog post about how great the opposing team is. The final? Well, perhaps this might be a hint: RedWings 6 - Sharks 3.
What Erin may not have remembered is that my father grew up in the town of Albion, MI, playing pond hockey and attending Albion College, where there is still a Baldwin Hall named after some relative (at least thats what my grandfather told me, but he also told me we were descended from one of the Knights of the Round Table).
Erin, I will be writing about the greatness of Steve Yzerman and the Detriot RedWings, but I am not sure if it will be quite what you expected…which, most anyone can call you, might be the only consistent thing about me…but I think you will appreciate this, because its about moms and family.
I was born September 25, 1971, in Fort Collins, CO, to a 21 year old recent transplant from Israel and a 23 year old Philadelphia man. Both were children of the ’60s, and had their own beliefs about life and raising a child. Unfortunately, those didnt mesh, and when I was about a year and half, my mom, newly divorced, decided to move to Oregon by way of California. When stopping in California to visit friends, my mom realized that she had found a good place to raise me, and we settled in East Palo Alto.
As my mom started back into the dating scene, she began dating a neighbor, who had a roommate who had recently moved out to California from Albion, MI with his grandfather. One thing lead to another, and at the age of 5, after about 2 years of dating, Richard Baldwin asked me at our tiny wooden dining room table in our dimly lit kitchen if he could marry my mom, Dafna. Given that all the positive memories I have prior to age of 5, and that my parents have now been married for more than 30 years, Im guessing I said it was ok with me.
After a quick weekend trip to Reno–where the story is that my mom lost everything at the slots and my dad won everything back at the blackjack table (this would be their pattern for the next 30 years)–I had a complete family. What I didnt know, what that Rich was the second oldest of five kids, and there was an entire family to meet in Albion. So, we took a trip.
My first memories of Michigan were standing in the foyer of this gigantic 100 year old house holding my mom’s hand, standing next to my father and seeing my new grandmother (Rich’s mother) smiling at me. Soon, as I was to learn later was also the norm, it seemed like a million new relatives came pouring out of the kitchen area to greet us.
My grandfather was (is) a gregarious man, World War II Vet, and still practices law in Albion (of course he doesnt have a website. He still communicates via fax). A good midwestern guy, Grandpa Baldwin has a quick wit and smile I have always admired, and as a University of Michigan Law alum, he taught me a healthy respect for the Maize and Blue and a friendly hatred for MSU (and of course, Da Ohio State).
My grandmother, who was beginning her fight against breast cancer that she would lose when I was in high school, was one of the most loving and genuine people I have ever met. She never considered me anything other than her grandson, and treated me as such.
Its no surprise that her father, Grandpa Hub would be as loving and accepting. And, it was from Grandpa Hub, that my love for Michigan sports (and cherry cordials) began. We would sit in his room and watch the Tiger and Lions lose, or the RedWings win (often enough). We talked about players I had never heard of like Bobby Layne and Gordie Howe. I remember getting him a book about baseball pitchers, and when we turned to a page on pitchers from 1906, he remarked about the first game he saw that year.
Over the years as I grew older and began to move around the country, I became more and more of a “homer,” following my home town San Francisco Giants (they had a minor league team in San Jose, which was my actual home town), the Golden State Warriors, and in 1991, the only real professional team in my home town, the San Jose Sharks.
It took a long time for the Sharks to become a decent team, and during that time the Red Wings have won 3 Stanley Cups and 8 Division Titles. The Sharks? 2 Division Titles and ZERO Stanley Cups. The Red Wings have won 708 games during the Sharks existence, the Sharks themselves have won 467.
Erin’s love for the Red Wings is well placed, having also seen its roots in family, and the Red Wings are clearly the better team. But, quietly, and without much fanfare, I will continue to honor the memory of Grandpa Hub and Grandma Baldwin, with a smile and a twinkle after every Tigers, Lions, Big Blue, Red Wing, and Pistons win.
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