WNYC's Richard Hake and his Dad, Richard Hake, Reflect on Steinbrenner

Fans and sports writers all over New York City have been weighing in on the passing of former Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. In his reflections on Steinbrenner, WNYC's Richard Hake turns to one very special Yankees fan, his father, former Bronx NYPD detective Richard Hake.

To get a feel for what it was like when George Steinbrenner started in the Bronx in 1973, let's bring in an expert. Someone who was born in the shadow of Yankee stadium and eventually worked in the 44th precinct as an N.Y.P.D detective. He's also a huge Yankees fan, and that's Richard Hake. Hi, Dad.

Hey Richard, how are you today?

I'm well. Thanks for coming on. So, when you started working in the 44th precinct in the 1970s, that was a pretty rough area. Crime was high, some pretty unsavory things happened in and around it. Now, you worked in anti-crime. Tell us what that is.

Anti-crime is where, actually, you're a patrolman, and you worked in plain clothes trying to fit into the community. And at that time, heroin addiction was rampant in the Bronx. And there were robberies and muggings all over the neighborhood of Yankee Stadium, so we were trying to prevent that at the time.

Now, around the early '70s, you told me a story once about something that happened right outside of Yankee stadium while you were actually in a taxi cab, pretending to be a taxi driver.

Exactly. What happened was there was a line of workers lining up to clean the stadium. And them days, that's what they did. And I actually witnessed two guys fighting, at which time one pulled out a knife and stabbed the other fella in the stomach, at which time I jumped out and chased him. And he ran into the stadium, and I chased him across the stadium from center field, actually, to first base, which is where I apprehended him.

You caught him at first base. And you talk about this story, but it never made it into the newspapers. You think it would, though?

No, there's a couple of reasons. My own opinion was I don't think the Yankee organization wanted the press at that time because it was only maybe tops, 10,000 people, attending the games at that time. So, I don't think the organization needed that bad press.

We've heard a lot of criticism of George Steinbrenner. But you also had some good experiences in terms of relationships that he had with the police force.

George always felt he owed the 44th precinct some kind of acknowledgement because they would take care of the stadium in the off-season and on-season. So he started to have a picnic for the men of the 44th precinct, at which time we could bring our family, our kids, our neighbor's kids. It was a big thing for the kids to actually play in Yankee Stadium.

And I have to say I was one of those kids who did play in Yankee stadium. I also clearly remember you would bring police horses into Yankee Stadium, and the kids would get rides around the track as the dads were playing actually on the field.

Oh, yeah, it was a big thing. You know, I actually fantasized that I was Graig Nettles when I was playing at third base.

That's Richard Hake, retired detective. Thanks a lot, Dad.