P&G Playing Field

Plymouth Street, coal piles and the Proctor and Gamble factory with six Rugby players in the foreground. — A view of young players and their ‘coach,’ with telephone poles along Plymouth Street just visible between piles of coal (left) and the Proctor and Gamble Company factory (right). (Courtesy of Linda Fabiani (Cowman) and <em>Brightside Memories</em> FaceBook page)

Two boys in their football gear 1951. — With jerseys and a helmet, these boys are ready for a football game in 1951. (Courtesy of Mike and Mary Zivolak and <em>Brightside Memories</em> FaceBook page)

Seventeen young Brightside baseball players 1955. — A happy and proud group of baseball players pose for a team photo with just enough gloves and bats to cover a game. (Courtesy of Ian Ramsay and <em>Brightside Memories</em> FaceBook page)

John Michaluk wearing jersey number 46 for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. — Brightsider John Michaluk played for Hamilton’s Tiger-Cats from 1966-9, including their 1967 Grey Cup Winning team. A 22-year freelance broadcaster and colour analyst for the Tiger-Cats on AM900 CHML, he was also the President and CEO of the Tiger-Cats Football Club from 1992 to 94. (Courtesy of John Michaluk and JOGO Inc., 2021)

The Nine Kids and Parents of the Palango Family, one of the most storied and athletic families in the neighbourhood. (Courtesy of the Palango Family)

Vince Palango, wearing Nat’s Nine jersey. — Vince Palango, a versatile and capable Brightside athlete, one of Nat’s Nine. (Photo by and Courtesy of Simon Orpana)

There were many places to play sport in Brightside, but football and baseball players typically used the field below the Hamilton By-Products Coke Company of Canada Ltd.’s Gasometer, a place where Proctor and Gamble spread its soap-making bi-products, which made for one of the most lush, green playing fields in the city.

Listen: Proctor And Gamble's Soapworks Field. Click the play circle below.

Listen: P&G PlayingField Football. Click the play circle below.

Speaker 1:

Everybody played football. We were all good football players. They are all tough.

Speaker 2:

Yes.

Speaker 3:

How come, why do you think so many people on Brightside - so many guys on Brightside – played football? What was it, like?

Speaker 1:

Well. It seemed like Brightside was the toughest area around. And we were to have competition like with Sherman Avenue. And we beat the a__ off of them.

[Laughter]

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Listen: P&G Playing FieldLeagues Of Their Own. Click the play circle below.

Speaker 1:

You had the Brightside AC of the 1930s. You had the Brightside Bowling League in late 1959.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

But there’s another Brightside organization; it’s called the BFL, AKA the Brightside Football League.

The Brightside Football League originated in our generation around 1961, like we played there on that field as we were growing up because it was good grass there. But in 1960 Central high School won the city championship for senior football.

Speaker 2:

Yep.

Speaker 1:

And we

Speaker 3:

Just left high school.

Speaker 1:

And we were out, and they had a lot of big stars playing on that 1960 team.

Speaker 3:

They did.

Speaker 1:

So, we decided to challenge them.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

So, we played them in a game at Gage Park in 1961 and incorporated …

Speaker 3:

True story.

Speaker 1:

…the BFL.

Which BFL is going to play whatever year it is from 1961; it’s gonna play in 2017 again at the Westdale high school field where they’ve been playing for - I quit the league because I was not happy with the financial arrangements -

Speaker 3:

[laughter] the gate wasn’t up

Speaker 1:

and so, I’ve had a long record of quitting football teams

[laughter]

Listen: P&G Playing Field Brightsiders And The North End. Click the play circle below.

Speaker 1:

As a test of machinery, they used that property to test the machinery. And it was just perfect for playing football.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah. John Deere.

Speaker 1:

We used to play football on there.

Speaker 2:

It was nice and soft. Yeah, they disked it and everything, eh.

Speaker 1:

We used to play against Eastwood.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah.

Speaker 3:

Ahh.

Speaker 1:

Those guys from Eastwood were tough, eh?

Speaker 3:

Oh yeah. North End.

Speaker 1:

They didn’t know how tough we were.

Speaker 3:

Ahh.

Who was tougher?

Speaker 1:

Come all the way from Eastwood Park, eh, to play against us.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, from the North End.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, the North End. North End guys.

Speaker 3:

So, what would you call - if they were North End guys - what did you call yourselves; what did people call you? Were you guys North End? Or what did North and call you?

Speaker 1:

No, no. We weren’t North Enders.

North Enders were the guys from Eastwood Park.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

We were called Brightsiders.

Speaker 2:

We were east End, actually.

Speaker 3:

Yeah. But people like John Michaluk insists that Brightside was not in the east end.

Speaker 1:

The middle.

Was what?

Speaker 3:

John Michaluk says that Brightside was the North End.

Speaker 1:

The northeast. Gotcha.

Speaker 2:

But you couldn’t go any more north because the bay was there.

Speaker 1:

It was situated in the North End, but we weren’t called North Enders

North Enders were the ones from Eastwood Park.

Speaker 2:

Exactly.

Speaker 1:

We were called Brightsiders. That’s what we were called.

Speaker 2:

Yep.

Speaker 1:

As we played a lot of sports against these guys.

We never had organized sports in those days.

So, we used to play them hockey.

Speaker 2:

Looked like the border at Sherman.

Speaker 1:

Those North Enders were tough b—‘s, boy.

Oh yeah.

There were a lot of Irish guys there.

Speaker 3:

Yeah?

Speaker 1:

Tough.

Yeah.

Listen: P&G Playing Field Homemade Equipment. Click the play circle below.

Speaker 1:

So, tell us the story Vince, about Nat’s Nine.

Speaker 2:

What do you want to know? I don’t know.

Speaker 1:

Oh well tell the story.

Speaker 2:

How it started?

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

We had a ball team, me and Ernie and Dave…

Speaker 3:

A football team?

Baseball team slow pitch. Slow pitch.

Speaker 2:

So, we, eh, decided well, why don’t we form our own team? Everybody was playing other places, eh. So, what we played we developed this team and we got uniforms and we played in tournaments.

Every weekend we were at different tournaments. I’ll tell you one story in Niagara Falls and I was one of the guys that had to take up the lineup to the umpires.

Hm.

So, the umpire looked at our lineup and he looked at it; Dave Palango, Vince Palango… Palango…

[laughter]

…and he says, you’re pulling my leg! I said I’m not pulling your leg! This was all family - they’re all related - I says. They’re not all brothers, but they’re cousins.

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

He couldn’t believe it! The umpire couldn’t believe it.

[Chatter]

Speaker 3:

Who was going to believe that?

Speaker 4:

Who was the star on that team?

Speaker 1:

Who was the star? !

Speaker 4:

That’s like the question: Who made it big on Brightside? The answer - Everybody!

Speaker 5:

That’s a good one.

Listen: Laura's Baseball Exploits - P&G PlayingField. Click the play circle below.

Speaker 1:

So Nello, tell us a little about, you know there, you are looking at the Stoney Creek. Tell us a bit about your baseball exploits.

Let’s fill in a couple of blanks.

Speaker 2:

Well [chatter] we all played ball. Lots of it.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

[chatter] ladies here.

Ladies team. I played catcher. The only reason I took a catcher was because I could wear a glove; the others couldn’t wear a glove.

[chatter]

It was a city team. The Royals it was called.

Speaker 2:

What [where] would you play baseball?

Speaker 3:

Scott Park. We played all over, but mostly Scott Park. We went out of town.

[chatter]

Speaker 1:

Who else was on that team?

Speaker 3:

Delores Delcol, Clare Marotti, not too many Brightsiders.

[chatter]

…did she play on this team?

Speaker 4:

After that different in age.

[chatter]

Yeah, on Rosefield; on Rosefield’s furniture.

Speaker 3:

Oh, they had a different team, yeah.

Speaker 4:

And the ladies team. That’s how I met my wife.

Speaker 2:

That’s right.

Speaker 3:

Right.

We played with Vic Copps’ wife too. Against Vic Copps’ wife. She was quite a ballplayer too.

Listen: A Nat's Nine Sweater - P&G_PlayingField. Click the play circle below.

Speaker 1:

Nobody liked Joey McLachlan, and because nobody liked him, I thought well I’m gonna start liking him.

[laughter]

So, I had number 50 put on my uniform, like Joey McLachlan.

That’s a Nat’s Nine sweater.

Speaker 2:

That’s amazing.

Speaker 3:

That is classic!

I had no idea.

Speaker 1:

Those are the hats.

Speaker 3:

That’s a good one for the archives, that one there Simon.

Speaker 1:

Nat’s Nine team, eh?

Palango, Palango, Palango, Palango, Palango, Palango…

[laughter]

We had one import. One import.

This guy right there.

Speaker 2:

Who was the import?

Speaker 1:

Ted Pritchard.

Listen: Baseball's Best - P&G_PlayingField. Click the play circle below.

Speaker 1:

Three of the best baseball pitchers came out of Brightside.

Speaker 2:

Who?

Speaker 1:

Dino Carlone, ‘Peggy’ DiMascio…

Speaker 2:

Who is number three?

Speaker 1:

And, I can’t remember, but there was three that came out of there…

But ‘Peggy’ was the best. Dave Palango.

Speaker 2:

You think ‘Peggy’ was the best?

Speaker 1:

I think, Dino was very good…

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Dino was very good.

Speaker 2:

How did ‘Peggy’ lose his leg?

Speaker 1:

Got run over by a train.

Speaker 2:

Naw.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

On the mainline train track?

Speaker 1:

I can’t remember. But he got run over by a train.

P&G Playing Field

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