The Wisdom Of Sam Nader
Emerging From Depression, World War II, Ex-Mayor’s
Generation Focused On Family, Hard Work, Community
By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
At the time Sam Nader’s Oneonta Athletic Association was affiliated with the Detroit Tigers, the MLB team allocated a certain number of baseballs per season to its Minor League teams.
Anything over was a local team’s responsibility.
At the end of the Oneonta Tigers first season, Sam Nader tallied baseballs used, and mailed a check.
The phone rang. It was Detroit. “What’s this for?” he was asked.
“That’s our share for the baseballs,” Sam replied.
“I’m sending the check back,” said the nonplussed accountant. “None of our teams ever paid anything like that.”
Honesty.
That, according to his son John, was one of the cornerstones of the Wisdom of Sam Nader, the former mayor and Oneonta Yankees owner who passed away Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 101, in his home at 96 River St. in his beloved Sixth Ward.
