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Post by Hiram on Apr 17, 2010 10:00:09 GMT -5
That first big league game you attend is typically a memorable experience. For me, that game was June 6, 1968, at the Astrodome. When it opened in 1965, it was billed (as have been many other things including King Kong) as "the 8th wonder of the world." As an 8-year-old kid, I was simply wondering why anyone would want to play baseball indoors.
Being a Cardinals fan, I wanted to see my team play and oh yeah, visit the Astroworld theme park too. I was really excited when we got to the Dome and I saw my favorite Cardinal, Bob Gibson, warming up in bullpen. Gibson ended up with a 22-9 record that year, a Cy Young award, and a modern-record ERA of 1.12.
On that day, Gibson shutout the Astros 4-0, pitching a complete game (naturally in those days). Some guy named Tim McCarver hit the first HR I ever saw, and then Orlando Cepeda hit one later. It was a memorable experience in many ways. To actually see in person all those great players, to absorb all the sights and sounds and smells of a big league game, and yes, even seeing that monstrosity of a building trying its best to a baseball facility was quite the experience.
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Post by Herb on Apr 17, 2010 10:25:06 GMT -5
That was quite a team. I can still name the starting 8 and the 4 starting pitchers. They had a no name outfield - Lou Brock, Curt Flood, and Roger Maris ;D. Gibson and Brock were my two favorite players.
I got a couple of years on you and my first game was about 6 years earlier and Stan Musial was still in the outfield.
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Post by Hiram on Apr 17, 2010 11:15:31 GMT -5
I got a couple of years on you and my first game was about 6 years earlier and Stan Musial was still in the outfield.
I asked my grandfather about that name "Gashouse", I figured it was just another name for a gas station. He explained it was where they manufactured "town gas." Typically, the place had a foul smell emanating from it, and was usually located near the railroad tracks in a poor section of town. The rough and tumble characters that made up that ball club were aptly named by most accounts.
I still follow baseball closely, but like many fans, the labor disputes, astronomical salaries and player movement have taken something away from the game for me. Few things are as they used to be, and baseball is no different I suppose. But when the game starts, its still "the game" in my book. |
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paul
Full Member
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Post by paul on Apr 17, 2010 14:16:59 GMT -5
Mine was in September 1960 -- I was six -- at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Phillies and my Pirates.
Vernon Law and Elroy Face pitched for the Bucs that day. Somewhere, my dad's old home movies show parts of this . . .
My dad was lucky. He saw Bob Feller pitch when the latter first came up. And my granddad saw Walter Johnson, Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth.
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Post by Allen Wiener on Apr 17, 2010 15:51:52 GMT -5
1952 or 1953; Ebbets Field, Dodgers vs. Reds; night game. I don't recall who won, but I was in a daze for days afterward; I could not get over how bright and green the field was; the uniforms. I had only seen baseball on b&w TV up to then and hadn't even begun collecting baseball cards yet, so it was all intoxicating to a 9 or 10-year-old. I was hooked for life.
Allen
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Post by TRK on Apr 17, 2010 16:59:35 GMT -5
Summer of 1963, Boise, Idaho...a minor-league game. I was ten and deeply enamored of the game. This was bush league stuff: low bleachers, spectators guzzling beer and yelling, and the balmy, dry air of a Boise night. There were no Mickey Mantles or Don Drysdales, but you could hear the players talking to each other, the whoosh of the pitched balls, and the crack when the batters hit them, and that was good enough.
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Post by jesswald on Apr 19, 2010 20:53:47 GMT -5
June 15, 1957, Ebbets Field. St. Louis 6, Brooklyn 5. Musial and Snider both homered. This was the year the Dodgers declined a bit, finishing fourth, with Campy having broken his neck and Robinson having retired rather than play for the Giants (to whom he was traded). I sat in the bleachers. It was Ladies' Day, I think, with tickets going for 50 cents. The Cardinals scored 3 in the first and the Bums, scoring one run in each of five innings, could never catch up. I don't remember who pitched. My mind is like a sieve.
Jesse
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Post by Allen Wiener on Apr 19, 2010 22:52:07 GMT -5
I don't know about that, Jesse; you can still remember the score and who homered! Before the Dodgers left for L.A., they played some games at the old Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City; my dad took me to one of those games and I remember that fairly clearly. There was talk of the Dodgers moving to New Jersey, but no one took it seriously. I think it was a ploy to coax NY into building them a new stadium.
Allen
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Post by Hiram on Apr 19, 2010 23:32:03 GMT -5
June 15, 1957, Ebbets Field. St. Louis 6, Brooklyn 5. Musial and Snider both homered. This was the year the Dodgers declined a bit, finishing fourth, with Campy having broken his neck and Robinson having retired rather than play for the Giants (to whom he was traded). I sat in the bleachers. It was Ladies' Day, I think, with tickets going for 50 cents. The Cardinals scored 3 in the first and the Bums, scoring one run in each of five innings, could never catch up. I don't remember who pitched. My mind is like a sieve. Jesse
If anyone would like to see the box score and sometimes even a play-by-play of a particular game, here's the link.www.retrosheet.org/ |
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Post by bobdurham on Apr 20, 2010 9:55:42 GMT -5
You guys have some great memories. The first game I ever saw was in 1958 at Forbes Field -- Pirates vs. Dodgers -- but I don't remember much about it except the great hot dogs. I guess I wasn't enough of a fan.
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