Atlantic Tug of War Corps Tee
By 1971, Asbury Park, NJ, once a finalist for a Tree City USA distinction by the DEA, had succumbed to despair, laissez-faire and general malaise…putting a weighty lid on a city that once cooked up world changing talent. Enter Lee ‘Fort’ Lee. Already a living legend for his work at the Garden State Parkway’s Exit 102 toll booth; Lee channeled his talents for horse rustling, mountaineering and sailboat rigging into forming and coaching Asbury’s first tug of war club. Aiming to keep the kids off the streets, out of gangs and in the school house via the centuries old sport of tug of war. Lee, along with 1966 TWIF bronze medalist Nutley Jackson, forged a sporting society from which young Asbury men and women corkscrewing downward could ride the tug of war groove onwards and upwards.
By 1971, Asbury Park, NJ, once a finalist for a Tree City USA distinction by the DEA, had succumbed to despair, laissez-faire and general malaise…putting a weighty lid on a city that once cooked up world changing talent. Enter Lee ‘Fort’ Lee. Already a living legend for his work at the Garden State Parkway’s Exit 102 toll booth; Lee channeled his talents for horse rustling, mountaineering and sailboat rigging into forming and coaching Asbury’s first tug of war club. Aiming to keep the kids off the streets, out of gangs and in the school house via the centuries old sport of tug of war. Lee, along with 1966 TWIF bronze medalist Nutley Jackson, forged a sporting society from which young Asbury men and women corkscrewing downward could ride the tug of war groove onwards and upwards.
Bangs Boxing Institute Tee
While the US halted the printing of the $10,000 bill and feet were mired in the mud of Woodstock, boxing mania swept through the West Side of Asbury. The son of a prominent Nicaraguan lawn service manager, Jose ‘Joey Blades’ Jardena was an obvious target when Sandinista rebels hijacked a San Carlos bound flight from Teterboro, NJ in April of 1969, ultimately putting numerous rounds through the budding boxing impresario’s body. After several years and as many surgeries, he would break ground in founding and forming Asbury Park’s first boxing institute. These (mostly) child pugilists, whether fastidiously trained or shockingly green, included 10-year-old Institute member Irv Abramson, who, fighting under the moniker ‘Kid Moskovitz’ earned a shot for the Super Mini Flyweight belt at the 1973 Parve Championships held at the Red Bank Armory in July of that year.
While the US halted the printing of the $10,000 bill and feet were mired in the mud of Woodstock, boxing mania swept through the West Side of Asbury. The son of a prominent Nicaraguan lawn service manager, Jose ‘Joey Blades’ Jardena was an obvious target when Sandinista rebels hijacked a San Carlos bound flight from Teterboro, NJ in April of 1969, ultimately putting numerous rounds through the budding boxing impresario’s body. After several years and as many surgeries, he would break ground in founding and forming Asbury Park’s first boxing institute. These (mostly) child pugilists, whether fastidiously trained or shockingly green, included 10-year-old Institute member Irv Abramson, who, fighting under the moniker ‘Kid Moskovitz’ earned a shot for the Super Mini Flyweight belt at the 1973 Parve Championships held at the Red Bank Armory in July of that year.
Bond Street Boxcar Racers Tee
Having been rejected from both the Long Branch Speedway and Wall Stadium, this fruity blend of Monte Carlo pool boys, Deal Lake lifeguards, second deck cruise ship karaoke contestants, armchair drag racers and double-dutch runner ups were led by Akron, OH transplant and 1935 Soap Box Derby champion Maurice Bale Jr. With the team assembled at the intersection of Bond and Main Streets in Asbury Park, Bale declared it the gravity racing capital of the nation, even though there was less than a 2% gradient rise. The Bond St. Boxcar Racers were a fusion of its captain’s engineering genius and their limited economic means; utilizing left over balsa from the high school wood shop, stolen rod collars and borrowed steering wheels.
Having been rejected from both the Long Branch Speedway and Wall Stadium, this fruity blend of Monte Carlo pool boys, Deal Lake lifeguards, second deck cruise ship karaoke contestants, armchair drag racers and double-dutch runner ups were led by Akron, OH transplant and 1935 Soap Box Derby champion Maurice Bale Jr. With the team assembled at the intersection of Bond and Main Streets in Asbury Park, Bale declared it the gravity racing capital of the nation, even though there was less than a 2% gradient rise. The Bond St. Boxcar Racers were a fusion of its captain’s engineering genius and their limited economic means; utilizing left over balsa from the high school wood shop, stolen rod collars and borrowed steering wheels.
Cookman Kickball Club Tee
Fueled by the financial drippings of Neptune number runners and boosted by the next door neighbors of Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, The Cookman Ave Kickball Club offered athletic asylum for a rising crop of rogue soul men, Pine Barrens vocal ensembles and federal witness protection program members. Helmed by a friendly consortium of hustlers, parole officers and former pee wee gridiron giants – this club, led by Dr. Jerry Allen, the godfather of the South Side of Toms River kickball scene, grabbed the Asbury kickball city title for three years running circa ’68-’70.
Fueled by the financial drippings of Neptune number runners and boosted by the next door neighbors of Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, The Cookman Ave Kickball Club offered athletic asylum for a rising crop of rogue soul men, Pine Barrens vocal ensembles and federal witness protection program members. Helmed by a friendly consortium of hustlers, parole officers and former pee wee gridiron giants – this club, led by Dr. Jerry Allen, the godfather of the South Side of Toms River kickball scene, grabbed the Asbury kickball city title for three years running circa ’68-’70.
Fifth Avenue Archery Alliance Tee
Paved by Beverly ‘Bev’ Bender and Denise ‘Double D’ DeVito; they led a younger, more introspective generation of archers out of the Ramapo Mountains and into Asbury city. While the ethos was forged in those Northeastern Jersey weather beaten hills, they were tempered and reborn on the streets of Asbury Park as something like a precursor to Katniss Everdeen. Where the bowling and kung fu obsessed Bender and DeVito were aiming is anyone’s guess, perhaps part put on and part hustle. The alliance was sustained by their compensation as freelance sonic alchemists, sneaking into the Howard Johnson Panorama room to utilize as their after-hours laboratory. Past members included 1971 Via Copa Merengue Championship hopefuls Vernetta Bryant and Cass Cooney.
Paved by Beverly ‘Bev’ Bender and Denise ‘Double D’ DeVito; they led a younger, more introspective generation of archers out of the Ramapo Mountains and into Asbury city. While the ethos was forged in those Northeastern Jersey weather beaten hills, they were tempered and reborn on the streets of Asbury Park as something like a precursor to Katniss Everdeen. Where the bowling and kung fu obsessed Bender and DeVito were aiming is anyone’s guess, perhaps part put on and part hustle. The alliance was sustained by their compensation as freelance sonic alchemists, sneaking into the Howard Johnson Panorama room to utilize as their after-hours laboratory. Past members included 1971 Via Copa Merengue Championship hopefuls Vernetta Bryant and Cass Cooney.
Kingsley Fencing Academy Tee
Warsaw, Poland 1968: The former au pair for Robert ‘Kool’ Bell of Jersey City’s Kool & The Gang and two of her teenage friends are at the doorstep of Egon Franke, Olympic fencing gold medalist, Tokyo, 1964. They sign up for a year’s worth of lessons even though Franke is incarcerated and presently serving out a three-year jaywalking sentence inside the Podgorze Detention Center on the outskirts of Krakow. Having relocated to Asbury Park upon Franke’s release and living on busking wages and shoplifted sandwiches, their efforts result in a three-way tie for seventh place at 1972’s Munich Olympiad.
Warsaw, Poland 1968: The former au pair for Robert ‘Kool’ Bell of Jersey City’s Kool & The Gang and two of her teenage friends are at the doorstep of Egon Franke, Olympic fencing gold medalist, Tokyo, 1964. They sign up for a year’s worth of lessons even though Franke is incarcerated and presently serving out a three-year jaywalking sentence inside the Podgorze Detention Center on the outskirts of Krakow. Having relocated to Asbury Park upon Franke’s release and living on busking wages and shoplifted sandwiches, their efforts result in a three-way tie for seventh place at 1972’s Munich Olympiad.
Music Just Sounds Better In Asbury Park Tee Shirt
“It’s not too far back off the highway, not so long a ride…” – Chuck Berry
Asbury Park. From glory days to lost city to present day renaissance; music is embedded in its DNA. Whether straight up rock, big band, ethno groove, punk, primitive percussion or 80’s library music. It surrounds Asbury in its sleep; inspiring those who create & perform here to translate those dreams & make them a reality. There’s always swingin, swaying & records playing. A place where loneliness & frustrations can melt away. Legendary since its inception. As will be this tee.
“It’s not too far back off the highway, not so long a ride…” – Chuck Berry
Asbury Park. From glory days to lost city to present day renaissance; music is embedded in its DNA. Whether straight up rock, big band, ethno groove, punk, primitive percussion or 80’s library music. It surrounds Asbury in its sleep; inspiring those who create & perform here to translate those dreams & make them a reality. There’s always swingin, swaying & records playing. A place where loneliness & frustrations can melt away. Legendary since its inception. As will be this tee.
Ocean Ave Skee Ball Society Tee
The skee ball universe of Asbury Park circa 1972 was one of strangeness and disrepute. Enter sisters Gussie Solomon and Jean Kabatchnick. Leaving thriving careers; Solomon as a coat check girl at the renowned West Orange, NJ discotheque, The Mushroom Farm and Kabatchnick as one of Columbia Records most in-demand session drummers; they stitched together a skee ball sisterhood whose power was rarely eclipsed during its day. Born of beauty school rendezvous and squalid apartment circumstance; the society was the most exhaustive attempt thus far to unite and document the Asbury Park skee ball sphere and developed Jayne ‘Triple X’ Essex, who fashioned an exploding slice of skee ball boogie that unfortunately never found an audience outside the Palace Amusements mirror maze. Get reintroduced to the Ocean Ave Skee Ball Society; a boardwalk creation that clawed and threatened its way to Asbury crossover glory.
The skee ball universe of Asbury Park circa 1972 was one of strangeness and disrepute. Enter sisters Gussie Solomon and Jean Kabatchnick. Leaving thriving careers; Solomon as a coat check girl at the renowned West Orange, NJ discotheque, The Mushroom Farm and Kabatchnick as one of Columbia Records most in-demand session drummers; they stitched together a skee ball sisterhood whose power was rarely eclipsed during its day. Born of beauty school rendezvous and squalid apartment circumstance; the society was the most exhaustive attempt thus far to unite and document the Asbury Park skee ball sphere and developed Jayne ‘Triple X’ Essex, who fashioned an exploding slice of skee ball boogie that unfortunately never found an audience outside the Palace Amusements mirror maze. Get reintroduced to the Ocean Ave Skee Ball Society; a boardwalk creation that clawed and threatened its way to Asbury crossover glory.
Springwood Equestrian League Tee
The formula was simple: Merge stolen horses from Monmouth Park and a jockey who might have been a fifth grader at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School – cross your fingers and pray for hay. Throw in a publicist, three disgruntled OTB operators, a salsa dance instructor and two race fixers and you’ve got the makings of a first rate equestrian team. The league producing Cleopatra Whyte, warrior horse woman of Asbury Park legend, who, aboard the chimerical steed, Ethiopian Flicka, rode to a fourth place finish at the 1970 FEI European Show Jumping Championships.
The formula was simple: Merge stolen horses from Monmouth Park and a jockey who might have been a fifth grader at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School – cross your fingers and pray for hay. Throw in a publicist, three disgruntled OTB operators, a salsa dance instructor and two race fixers and you’ve got the makings of a first rate equestrian team. The league producing Cleopatra Whyte, warrior horse woman of Asbury Park legend, who, aboard the chimerical steed, Ethiopian Flicka, rode to a fourth place finish at the 1970 FEI European Show Jumping Championships.
Summerfield Cycling Coalition Tee
Sometime between 1959 and 1963, a group of American ex-pats led by Dave Stoller brought the European native sport of road bicycle racing across the Atlantic, settling in Asbury Park for its level terrain and proximity to salt water. With 1933 Tour de Suisse program director Max Bulla on board, Stoller instilled the team with the credo of the Black Hebrew culture emanating from St. Kitts and declared the corner of Summerfield Ave and Main St, the center of the cycling spiritual universe. The famed SCC program producing 1969 Union Cycliste Internationale co-rookies of the year, twins Bumpy & Black Belt Jones. The Asbury biking gospel pedals on and their message endures – peace, salvation, love…and 100% kosher soul cycling.
Sometime between 1959 and 1963, a group of American ex-pats led by Dave Stoller brought the European native sport of road bicycle racing across the Atlantic, settling in Asbury Park for its level terrain and proximity to salt water. With 1933 Tour de Suisse program director Max Bulla on board, Stoller instilled the team with the credo of the Black Hebrew culture emanating from St. Kitts and declared the corner of Summerfield Ave and Main St, the center of the cycling spiritual universe. The famed SCC program producing 1969 Union Cycliste Internationale co-rookies of the year, twins Bumpy & Black Belt Jones. The Asbury biking gospel pedals on and their message endures – peace, salvation, love…and 100% kosher soul cycling.
Sunset Table Tennis Association Tee
Mix ex-Rolling Stones road manager Jo ‘Joe’ Times, Don King prison chauffeur Wentworth Otha Adams, former Con Funk Shun drummer Louis A. McCall Sr and a one-time steward of a coveted Jet Magazine delivery route. Combined they made for an Asbury Park late 60’s North Side table tennis success story. Coached by Bell Labs engineer EJ Ackerman and fueled with insurance money from a recently overturned Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, the team participated in high stakes winner-take-all unsanctioned matches in international waters against teams from Cuba and Algeria. Rumanian General Secretary and noted ping pong enthusiast Nicolae Ceausescu was said to have attended in disguise.
Mix ex-Rolling Stones road manager Jo ‘Joe’ Times, Don King prison chauffeur Wentworth Otha Adams, former Con Funk Shun drummer Louis A. McCall Sr and a one-time steward of a coveted Jet Magazine delivery route. Combined they made for an Asbury Park late 60’s North Side table tennis success story. Coached by Bell Labs engineer EJ Ackerman and fueled with insurance money from a recently overturned Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, the team participated in high stakes winner-take-all unsanctioned matches in international waters against teams from Cuba and Algeria. Rumanian General Secretary and noted ping pong enthusiast Nicolae Ceausescu was said to have attended in disguise.
