Walter “Red” Conry had this idea to create Metro back in the early 80’s because he felt that New York could be a dominant force in the softball arena. I am not even sure Red could have imagined that this ride would last this long. His teams stressed winning and commitment. A burning desire to not only win, but to play with class and dignity. We would not allow ourselves to let injury or ego get in our way. We picked each other up even when the stakes at times were stacked against us. When Metro did lose, we could see the excitement in the others teams eyes that even if they lost in the tournament, somehow they won because they beat New York Metro. We always shook their hands and offered them a congratulations, and best of luck.

There are many past and present players that contributed along the way but way too many to mention. If I may, I would like to mention the names of Hall of Famers who wore a Metro Uniform at some point in time. Sammy, Hank, Red, Donnie, Richie Carter, Flip, Mr. Wilson, Kevin Naylor, Dickie, Jerry, B-Mac, Dan Spinelli, Glen Formica and Coco.

We have seen unpolished players become all stars. We have seen early day failures become expected success. We have grown as men and seen each others families grow and children become wonderful adults. The smiles that we see on the kids faces that we knew as babies, are priceless.

There have been sponsors along the way, but not nearly enough, this is why we slept six to a room most of the time. LOL. But Richie Alfaro from the early days should be mentioned as well as Roger Akiki. Thanks for your support throughout the years.

There is however, a foundation though that was built on friendship and family. Richie Carter, Donnie Meyer and Red are the reasons why Metro has been the team they are. Although there were times when we didn’t always agree and tempers flared, this team remained together much like a marriage. Through thick and thin we always had each other’s back. Our fondest memories will be drinking beers after battling together in a tournament and saying “winning never gets old”.

I would like to mention that there was another softball team that recently retired; The Jacksonville Police Softball Club. What a great team they were with many great people. To all of the other teams we played throughout the years, it was always a pleasure. We will miss you.

Yes Metro is moving on but you will still see most us on other teams and at different levels. I know it’s been mentioned that Metro was a respected group on this circuit. We appreciated the accolades and hope we lived up to that reputation. We were proud to represent Police Softball in what is the best brotherhood in the world