"As far back as I can remember, baseball has been the passion of my life. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that in the last 75 years hardly a day has gone by when my thoughts haven't turned to baseball at some time or other. Of course, when I was a youngster I never thought I'd actually get to play in the Big Leagues myself. That was beyond my wildest dreams. I was just a skinny kid with eyeglasses, most of the time the last to be picked when we used to choose up sides. That I eventually played seven and a half years in the majors is still a source of great wonderment to me." - Specs Toporcer (Lawrence S. Ritter, The Glory of Their Times, 1966)