The Mariquit Family on the Spotlight
I have been a baseball fan
for as long as I can remember. The sports page is the homepage on my news
browser and looking back 50 years I can still remember reading about the
legendary New York Yankees playing the local baseball All-Stars in Manila. The
Filipino ace pitchers of the 1950's were Lefty Briones, Viray, and right-handed
Mariquit of the Manila Bay Baseball League (MBBL). I never saw them play since
I was grown up deep in the northern boondocks of the Philippines. Box scores,
as they were, the name Mariquit always stuck in my mind. It is as Filipino a
name as Agbayani and our fans are
zealous and die hard fanatics. I left the Philippines without watching any of
my newspaper heroes in person. I followed and cheered in my own ways when they
played foreign teams. Those were the golden years when Filipinos played
baseball in its peak, back when they were the Asia's best.
I started watching Major
League Baseball in the US and ran across prolific names like Sandy Koufax,
Whitey Ford, and Frank Lary. In the middle of the 70's we moved to Jersey City
from Brooklyn. Among in my in-laws was the Mariquit family living near the
present day Manila Avenue area. I could hardly believe it but this was as close
as I could be to the pitcher I only read about. Tragedy struck the Mariquit
family however years before I met them. Manuel Mariquit died suddenly the age
of 41 of Asphyxia in Lake Tomahawk, Sussex, New Jersey at Newton Hospital. It
was a devastating loss for his wife, Maura (Auring) and his six young sons,
Gerardo, Manolito, Reynaldo, Manuel,jr,Alexander, and Anthony. Baseball game
changed then and this was the era of great relief pitchers, Auring dedicated
her life to raise the husky sons, the youngest barely out of the crib, by
herself.
Manuel in his first week
boarded the Path train to New York looking for his first job in America. The
following dialogue could have been repeated thousand times among the new
immigrants in the Metropolitan New York networking in the area, before the era
of the Internet.
"Kamusta kabayan?"
(How are you my fellow countryman?) greeted by a complete stranger to Manuel
just because he looks like a Pinoy. I am sure that the stranger (Danny Waga who
happened to be living in a neighbor's apartment) did not know that he was
addressing one of the finest baseball players from the Philippines.
"Ok, lang, naghahanap
ng trabaho, " (OK, I'm just looking for a job) Manuel replied.
Luckily, on one of the days,
someone responded. "Ha! May opening sa amin sa Merrill Lynch." (Hey,
there's an opening at Merrill Lynch)
The next day, Manuel applied
and got a job at the Auditing Department at of one of the largest stockbrokers
in the country armed with his Auditing experience at the Far Eastern University
(FEU). The family was set to start a good life but he only worked for three
years when he died. He must have worked as hard as he played that after the
tragic accident, his wife was offered a position in the company. To ease the grief,
she was not assigned to the Audit Department, but placed in the firms'
International Operations just a month after. She did a good job and whatever
energy left at the end of the day was spent on raising the family.
It might have been the
finest relief performance by a mother.
The young Mariquits, except Manuel Jr. who receive a full athletic
scholarship at St Michael High School, completed high school at the prestigious
St Peter's Prep in Jersey City and went on to college. Like their father, they
were an athletic, scholarly and scrappy bunch. The brothers played basketball
in the Filipino league. The family could have been their own team, as they were
all sport minded boys. Manolito
played baseball at St Peter Prep. Manuel Jr lettered in basketball and
baseball at St Michael’s HS. Even today the Mariquit sons posses a love for
sports-baseball, basketball and golf. Manuel Jr regularly plays in community
league and Rey frequents golf courses on the weekends. Three of the boys-
Gerry, Manolito, and Rey- work for prestigious Wall Street firms. Alex was
fashion designer for 15 years and recently made a career change into the computer
technology field. Alex works as systems coordinator for a Health Industry firm
and teaches for a well known computer Technology School. Anthony, the youngest son, left his
career with a Wall Street firm and
currently pursuing opportunities in the music industry.. The mother is now also retired,
spending time with her grandchildren, Atlantic City, and her favorite
organization, the Queen Mary
Philippine-American Association of Jersey City. Following in their father's footsteps,
almost all of them ended up at Merrill Lynch, but from their eyes I can tell
that they would just as soon become Mets pitchers to fulfill their father's
dream to win a game against the Yankees in the tradition of Frank Lary.
I met all the children but
never got to see Manny Mariquit. I wish that in during the family weekends we
had in the sands of New Jersey, I could have asked him to pitch me a fastball
that I probably couldn't see. Japanese Crown Prince shaking Mariquit’s hand
honoring the Filipino All-Star Team
Kathleen, d’ apo w/ "striking" resemblance
Bituin
Marikit da Superstar
Mariquit
Sons, Gerry, Manny, Rey, Manny Jr, Alex, Anthony, and Auring
Lola
and grandchildren,(upper)Melanie, Brighid,Brandon, Nolan (lower)Michaela,
Pierce, Siobhan, Lola, Kathleen,Loren.
Group picture of the whole Mariquit Famil. Maneng
, Auring, family depart from
Manila International Airport, Philippines to Kennedy Airport, New York, USAt
footnotes:
1. Baseball popularity in the Philippines reached it peak in the 1950's with
the Manila Bay Baseball League (MBBL). The teams were the Canlubang Sugar
Baron, Far Easter University Tamaraws, National University, and the teams from
US Naval Forces (Sangley Point Blue Jays) and Clark Air Base (CAFB). The boys
of summer could play the great American past time all year in the
islands. Several players immigrated to the United States when their
playing days were over, Lefty Viray came to Chicago and there is another great
player who call his Jersey City his home. I met him but just can't
place his name. The famous and notorious little league team that won the World
Series from the Philippines was coached by a member of this MBBL
league.
2. Among the famous giant Yankee Killers was Frank Lary of the
Detroit Tigers of the 50's. His phenomenal winning record against the
Yankee Dynasty is the David and Goliath of baseball. Also before the late
60's the games were left for the starting pitcher to win or loss. Great relief
pitchers changed the game where success is measured not only by winning,
saving and game completed. A human lifetime award to Maura
Cristobal Mariquit.
Pierce Cristobal Mariquit-
Pierce, the only son of Manny, was born on February 2, 1997 (Ground Hog’s Day). Pierce first word was “um, ball” and that what his life has revolved around so far. By age 2-1/2 , he was at the baseball field with his bat from Cooperstown. The day Pierce had for came in spring 2002 when he joined a Little League Team. He was a crowd pleaser immediately with his constant smile Pierce appears to be following in his Lolo’s footsteps in his passion and great love of the game.
Maura, Patti,
Marilou, Susan, and Mhel.
Coming to America
https://members.tripod.com/MANILAJC
Filipinos in the Jersey