The Colby Echo

Issue date: 4/16/08 Section: Sports

While excavating the site for a new office building in New York City in the winter of 1982, workers were stunned to find a boat helm buried in the earth upon which a high rise was set to go up. Turns out the diggers hadn't just hit a dinghy in the soil, but rather an 18th-century British merchant frigate larger than the Mayflower-and entirely intact. The ship, found at 175 Water Street and known as the "Water Street Wreck," was one of many frigates purposefully sunk near the shore by colonists who could then use the wrecks as foundations for extending Manhattan. Four years after the discovery at Water Street, another frigate was found underneath the South Street Seaport Museum. Indeed, among the many historical ships kept by the museum at the East River docks, perhaps its most interesting piece is buried beneath the museum itself.

Thus, it was in an extension of this Big Apple buried artifacts tradition that Bronx native Gino Castignoli planted a baseball jersey in one of the concrete slabs soon to be part of the new Yankee Stadium, set to open next year. The trouble was, Castignoli is a die-hard Red Sox fan and the jersey was that of Boston's own David Ortiz, the Yankee-killer himself. When news of the jinx-plot surfaced on April 11 (the jersey was apparently buried in August), the Yankees initially denied the story. "It never happened," said team spokesman Howard Rubenstein, "It sounds like a tall tale, and it would take more than a Red Sox T-shirt to put a curse on the Yankees." However, within days the Bronx Bomber organization was singing a decidedly different tune, and looking to dig up the profane wool. In true CSI: New York fashion, the team received anonymous tips to the fugitive uniform's whereabouts, and acted quickly to locate the enemy garb. After pinpointing a service corridor behind what will be a restaurant along the third-base side, the jackhammers took to fresh concrete on the afternoon April 12. Five hours later and two feet down, the word "Red" appeared under the mechanistic drills. By the next day, the job was complete and Ortiz's No. 34 was exhumed from the rubble, somewhat shredded yet still defiantly legible.

In reaction, CSI: New York has become Law and Order: Criminal Intent as Yankees CEO Lonn Trost has discussed possible criminal charges against Castignoli with the district attorney's office. "We will take appropriate action since fortunately we do know the name of the individual," he said. In response, a spokesman for Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson added that he did not know whether any criminal charges might apply. Either way, it would certainly make for an interesting accusation. Mens rea: intention to harm. Weapon of choice: Red Sox uniform. True, this case has probably been seen countless times in Bronx and Boston courthouses following particularly heated series between the hated rivals, yet this instance is different. In this case, the intent to jinx was purely supernatural, itself a strategy that has been played out several times in the construction of athletic forums.

Continued...

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