In the obituaries of yesterday's Houston Chronicle- Larry Miggins. Born in 1925 in the Bronx (one of two in the paper), he was a three letter athlete and Valedictorian from Fordham Prep Class of 1943. Playing football at the University of Pittsburgh, he met Honus Wagner who gets him into baseball. After the war he signs with the New York Giants. While playing for the Giant's farm team in Jersey City, he plays against Jackie Robinson in Jackie's first professional game
He ends up in the majors playing for the St. Louis Cardinals. He hit his first home run at Ebbets Field off Preacher Roe. The radio broadcast of this was made by his classmate at Fordham Prep- Vin Scully. He left baseball in 1954 and at the time of his death was the third oldest MLB player.
He had 12 children and spent the rest of his career in government jobs in Houston. In 1990, sculptor David Adickes used him as the model for the 67 foot tall statue of General Sam Houston which resides along Interstate 45 in Huntsville, north of Houston.
Larry's father John was an Irish immigrant and "An NYFD firefighter who was cited for bravery and heroic rescues". Larry also had an older brother John who was briefly on the FDNY before he left to become an FBI agent.