# Mike the Winger



## Guest (Feb 26, 2012)

This has absolutely nothing to do with anything law enforcement related, nor is it a news story of any national value, but it brought back such great memories of my childhood, I just had to share it, in case anyone else here grew-up in Quincy in the 60's and 70's, because they will surely remember "Mike the Winger".

He used to ride his bicycle into Quincy Center with a basket on the front, loaded with stereo records. He would set-up shop on the sidewalk at various locations on Hancock Street, would select a record from his basket, and then offer his opinion on the artist/band. His speech would always end with the same thing..."It's gotta go. WING IT!!". He would then toss the record like a Frisbee across Hancock Street, often striking passing cars, pedestrians, dogs, and storefronts, while we wildly cheered him on.

It didn't matter who the artists were, it could be the Beatles or some obscure local band, they all got winged. I once brought him some crappy John Denver albums that my father bought for himself, and I was sick of listening to. They crossed Hancock Street unfettered, and crashed against the storefront of Child World. He was a cult hero to me and all my friends.

I often wondered what happened to him....he died in 1977 at age 31.

RIP Mike, and thanks for the hilarious childhood memories.

*35 years later, "Mike The Winger" still remembered in Quincy*

QUINCY - It was his routine, uniquely his. It's why they knew him, and still know him, as Mike the Winger.

Michael Zadrozny would mount his bike, pedal disjointedly into Quincy Square and gather a crowd. He'd then soliloquize on the merits of a popular music act, concluding that everyone from The Beatles to Glen Campbell to Connie Stevens "gotta go."

Read more: http://www.patriotledger.com/features/x1730213944/35-years-later-Mike-The-Winger-still-remembered-in-Quincy#ixzz1nTN1rdc9

*Readers reminisce: Memories of Quincy's 'Mike the Winger'*

Every so often, a story hits a chord with folks. That happened with our piece last Saturday about Michael Zadrozny, "Mike the Winger," the Quincy resident known for riding his bike into Quincy Square, where a crowd would gather to hear him soliloquize on the music of the day before winging the records like Frisbees. Here are some readers' memories about him:

"I am from Dorchester originally, but knew Mike from Marshfield, where we both had summer cottages.
​Read more: http://www.patriotledger.com/features/x1481610034/Readers-reminisce-Memories-of-Mike-the-Winger#ixzz1nTN7TzNX​


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## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

I remember him also, he could draw a crowd.


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## Guest (Feb 26, 2012)

I am kind of ashamed to admit that I was one of the people that would egg him on.


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## CJIS (Mar 12, 2005)

Sounds sort of neat.


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## HuskyH-2 (Nov 16, 2008)

Hahaha thats a funny story, was he crazy? Did he ever get arrested?


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## cc3915 (Mar 26, 2004)

Hahaha. Love these street people stories. When I was kid growing up in the Lowell area, I used to hitchhike into to downtown and was treated to circus folk such as "Depot Annie", "Ding Ding" and "Sherlock Holmes". Good times.


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2012)

OCKS said:


> I am kind of ashamed to admit that I was one of the people that would egg him on.


You and I both....he was the main reason my friends and I would venture down to Quincy Center on Saturday afternoons.



HuskyH-2 said:


> Hahaha thats a funny story, was he crazy? Did he ever get arrested?


I never saw him get arrested, and the old-timers who were still on QPD when I got on said he was more of a nuisance than anything, so he never got locked-up,,,,they would just shoo him away when they got complaints of people or their cars getting hit with flying records,


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## lofu (Feb 25, 2006)

From Mike The Winger to Cheryl and Arthur A.

Sorry for the inside joke, QPD guys know who I'm talking about.


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2012)

lofu said:


> From Mike The Winger to Cheryl and Arthur A.
> 
> Sorry for the inside joke, QPD guys know who I'm talking about.


The last 2 don't have nearly the entertainment value as Mike the Winger did.

Speaking of which, I think I hold the QPD distance record for the Franklin Street purse-toss when dealing with Cheryl.


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## lofu (Feb 25, 2006)

That's what I meant. It's indicative of the decline in Quincy as a whole.


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2012)

lofu said:


> That's what I meant. It's indicative of the decline in Quincy as a whole.


It's not the city I grew up in.


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