Some stories are just worth passing along — even if the subject of the tale can no longer do so.

Former Butler resident Sam Scarnato is in that category.

Now in his middle 80’s and battling health issues in Louisiana, Scarnato told this story to a New Orleans Times-Picayune reporter nearly four and a half years ago. Scarnato was 8 years old when he and a buddy skipped school on May 16, 1938, to go to Pullman Park.

It’s not that they were bad kids. It’s that this was a special day.

The fabled New York Yankees were coming to town to play the Class D Butler Yankees — who called Pullman Park home — in an exhibition game.

Scarnato and his friends squeezed their way through a concealed crack in the fence at Pullman well before the game was scheduled to be played. The New York Yankees arrived for a light workout when the kids were inside the ballpark.

This article states that the boys shagged fly balls with the Yankees in the outfield during this workout. Nobody chased the kids away.

In fact, eventual Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig took time after the workout to give Scarnato some batting tips. He showed him a new batting stance and adjusted the way he gripped the bat.

Scarnato went on to play amateur baseball for a number of years. Despite suggestions from coaches, he never stopped holding the bat or using the stance that Gehrig had shown him.

Gehrig entered his 16th and final season in the major leagues that year of 1938. He died three years later.

He left an impression on a Butler kid that lasted decades beyond his death.

Scarnato’s daughter, Joni Kobrock, said Gehrig took the time to play ball with the local kids after several of his Yankee teammates left. He organized a game and served as a coach for the kids — even though they were cutting school.

Scarnato spent a lot of time at Pullman Park. He organized leagues during his teen-age years that included some semi-pro players.

Scarnato claims in that Times-Picayune article that he stood in the batter’s box against the legendary Satchel Paige, whose team was in town either representing the Negro Leagues or on a barnstorming tour.

Whether Scarnato actually did face Paige cannot be verified. He said he either struck out or walked, but definitely didn’t hit the ball off him.

Years later, Scarnato met another baseball legend in longtime Pirate shortstop and Hall of Famer Honus Wagner. Wagner was retired when the two happened to meet, Kobrock said in relating the story, but she said he devoted time and attention to Scarnato and other youths.

Those memories meant enough to Scarnato that he shared them with his own kids years later.

All professional athletes should realize they have the power to make such an impact.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle