they'd had trouble conceiving. and so his arrival was like a gift from heaven. they lived on hawthorne street. it was a blue-collar italian neighborhood. they were a little trinity. on the kitchen wall, there was some kind of decoration with all three of their names. and i think that rudy was the star of the family. a theme that runs through his life is that he's got to be at the center of the action. he's got to be the guy. and i think it started on hawthorne street with mom and dad where he was the star. - i was born and i grew up one mile from ebbets field. - ebbets field, the home of the dodgers, a brooklyn institution. - the signs tell the story of brooklyn's love for its own bums, as they fondly call their team.