Our love for sports began in the tiny village of Razlog, Bulgaria, more than 100 years ago, where my father fell in love with football (what we call soccer). When he immigrated to the US at 17, he played semi-pro ball in Chicago as part of a vibrant Bulgarian community. In 1955, on a family road trip, my uncle took my sister and me to see the Binghamton Triplets lose a doubleheader. I'd never heard of the team — but I cried anyway. A year later, we sat in the bleachers at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles and watched Steve Bilko put together one of the greatest seasons in minor league history: 55 home runs, 164 RBIs, a .360 average, and the Pacific Coast League Triple Crown. I was so taken with "Big Steve" I wrote him a fan letter. He never wrote back — I remember being crushed. Looking back, even that disappointment was part of falling in love with the game. That love has stayed with our family ever since — through Candlestick Park, through World Series wins, through Barry Bonds' historic
Our love for sports began in the tiny village of Razlog, Bulgaria, more than 100 years ago, where my father fell in love with football (what we call soccer). When he immigrated to the US at 17, he played semi-pro ball in Chicago as part of a vibrant Bulgarian community. In 1955, on a family road trip, my uncle took my sister and me to see the Binghamton Triplets lose a doubleheader. I'd never heard of the team — but I cried anyway. A year later, we sat in the bleachers at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles and watched Steve Bilko put together one of the greatest seasons in minor league history: 55 home runs, 164 RBIs, a .360 average, and the Pacific Coast League Triple Crown. I was so taken with "Big Steve" I wrote him a fan letter. He never wrote back — I remember being crushed. Looking back, even that disappointment was part of falling in love with the game. That love has stayed with our family ever since — through Candlestick Park, through World Series wins, through Barry Bonds' historic
Our love for sports began in the tiny village of Razlog, Bulgaria, more than 100 years ago, where my father fell in love with football (what we call soccer). When he immigrated to the US at 17, he played semi-pro ball in Chicago as part of a vibrant Bulgarian community. In 1955, on a family road trip, my uncle took my sister and me to see the Binghamton Triplets lose a doubleheader. I'd never heard of the team — but I cried anyway. A year later, we sat in the bleachers at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles and watched Steve Bilko put together one of the greatest seasons in minor league history: 55 home runs, 164 RBIs, a .360 average, and the Pacific Coast League Triple Crown. I was so taken with "Big Steve" I wrote him a fan letter. He never wrote back — I remember being crushed. Looking back, even that disappointment was part of falling in love with the game. That love has stayed with our family ever since — through Candlestick Park, through World Series wins, through Barry Bonds' historic