TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

It was a routine Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium — a three-game series finale between Los Angeles and Chicago, the Bicentennial season barely three weeks old. The Cubs' Rick Monday collected three hits, scored twice, and drove in a run. None of that is what anyone remembered.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Monday noticed two men jump the fence and sprint onto the field toward shallow left. He assumed they were heading toward Cubs left fielder José Cardenal for a handshake. As Monday edged closer, he saw the older one spread an American flag on the grass like a picnic blanket. Then came the smell of lighter fluid.

Monday didn't hesitate. When the wind blew out the first match, he sprinted in and snatched the soaked flag before a second match could be lit. The would-be flag burner feebly tossed an empty can at Monday and missed. Monday handed the flag to Dodgers pitcher Doug Rau. The stadium organist began playing "God Bless America." Twenty-five thousand Dodger fans — the opposing team's fans — rose and sang along.

When play resumed, the scoreboard simply read: "Rick Monday… you made a great play."

The Cubs lost the game 5-4 in ten innings, but that was an afterthought. Monday, a six-year Marine reservist, was unapologetic about his feelings. "If he's going to burn a flag, he better do it in front of somebody who doesn't appreciate it," he said afterward. "I've visited enough veterans hospitals and seen enough guys with their legs blown off defending the flag."

The identities and motivations of the two intruders — a father and his young son — were never fully established. Basic facts conflicted across news accounts: their names, ages, and home state all varied depending on the source. Years later a journalist tracked both down, but neither would discuss it. The protest's cause was never officially confirmed, though speculation included the Vietnam War and the treatment of Indigenous people.

Los Angeles Herald-Examiner photographer James Roark captured the moment in a single frame that became one of baseball's most iconic images. It received a Pulitzer Prize nomination. In 2006 the Baseball Hall of Fame named Monday's flag rescue among the 100 classic moments in baseball history.

The Dodgers never forgot. General manager Al Campanis gave Monday the original flag and had long coveted him as a player. In January 1977 he finally landed Monday in a trade. Monday went on to spend eight seasons in Los Angeles, contributing to four division titles, three pennants, and a World Series championship. His most famous hit as a Dodger came in the 1981 NLCS — a tie-breaking ninth-inning home run against Montreal that sent Los Angeles to the World Series. Expos fans still call it Blue Monday.

His teammate Cardenal summed it up best: "Now we've got three great patriots. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Rick Monday."

Features over 85 games, including the 1981 Championship run by the Dodgers.

His interview vault includes:

The 1976 Flag Game

April 25, 1901, At Bennet Park, in Detroit, the Detroit Tigers made their American League Debut facing the Milwaukee Brewers, the Tigers staged an incredible comeback. Down 13-4 in the bottom of the ninth, they had rallied to within 4 runs of the lead, panicked Brewers Player Manager and Future Hall of Famer Hugh Duffy, decides to bring in Pete Husting, except he never had a chance to warm up to get the final two outs. Hustings was not faring well allowing 4 of 5 Tigers to reach base, Frank Dillon stepped to the plate and with two on and two outs Dillon lined Husting offering over outfielder Bill Hallmans head, allowing Doc Casey to score the tying run and Kid Gleason to score the winning run for the Tigers, giving the new franchise the most incredible walk off debut in baseball history as they scored 10 runs in their last at-bat to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers, 14-13.

April 25 1958, In front of 60,635 fans at the Los Angeles Coliseum, the Dodgers, who beat St. Louis, 5-2, set a National League record for the largest crowd to attend a night game during the regular season. The mark will be broken next season when 61,552 fans show up on Opening Night at the Coliseum to watch their team defeat the Cardinal’s again.

April 25, 1957, the major leagues adopt a new rule that prohibits baserunners from interfering with batted balls in the field of play. The rule is adopted in reaction to recent actions by several Cincinnati Reds baserunners. Earlier in the week, Don Hoak and Johnny Temple had intentionally interfered with batted balls as a way of preventing double plays.

April 25 1961, Two weeks after the Boston Celtics win the NBA championship, their reserve center, Gene Conley, pitching for the Boston Red Sox, gets his first American League victory, a 6 – 1 win over the visiting Washington Senators.

April 25 1970, For the 7th time in his career (and the second time this week), Willie Stargell homers over Forbes Field’s right field roof, a two-out, two-run blast which erases a one-run deficit off future hall of famers Hoyt Wilhelm and provides the final margin of victory as the Bucs beat Atlanta, 8 – 7, in a barn-burner featuring 8 doubles, one triple and 2 tape measure home runs, the other being Rico Carty’s bases-empty blast over the Barney Dreyfuss monument in straight-away centerfield. Six future hall of famers played in the game including Roberto Clemente who collected 3 hits and 4 RBI’s.

April 25 1970, Earl Wilson nearly scores after he strikes out when Minnesota catcher Paul Ratliff, trapping a third strike, inadvertently rolls the ball to the mound instead off tagging the batter or throwing to first base. With the Twins heading to the dugout believing the inning is over, the Detroit hurler begins running the bases and is heading home when outfielder Brant Alyea retrieves the ball and throws it to shortstop Leo Cardenas covering the plate, making the right-hander go back to third, resulting in a unique 7-6-7 run-down play.

April 25, 1972 – Phillies lefty Steve Carlton allows only a leadoff single to Chris Speier in beating the Giants‚ 3-0‚ for his 2nd shutout in a row. Carlton strikes out 14 to tie the club record for lefties. Juan Marichal (1-2) takes the loss.The Cubs’ 30 year-old fly chaser, who served six years in the Marine Reserves, will be presented the flag a month later in a pregame ceremony at Wrigley Field by L.A. executive Al Campanis as a gesture of patriotic thanks.

April 25, 1976, At Dodger Stadium Chicago Cubs center fielder Rick Monday becomes a national hero when he saves an American flag from being burned by two fans (a father and son) at Dodger Stadium. During the fourth inning of the game, two fans race onto the field and head for the outfield, where they prepare to ignite an American flag. Monday runs in from center field and snatches the flag, prompting an ovation from the fans at Dodger Stadium. Although the Cubs lost 5 – 4, 10-inning loss to Los Angeles Monday was the clear winner.

April 25 1984, In a 2-1 victory over Montreal at Olympic Stadium, Mets right-hander Dwight Gooden becomes the first teenager to strike out ten batters in a major league game since Bert Blyleven accomplished the feat with the Twins in 1970. The 19 year-old rookie will lead the National League with 276 strikeouts this season.

April 25 1997, Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Seattle Mariners hits three home runs in a 13 – 8 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. The three homers give Griffey a major league-leading 13 on the year, and a major-league record for the month of April. The first two dingers come off Roger Clemens and the third, hit off Mike Timlin, is the 250th of Griffey’s career. He also had a three-homer game in May of last year.

April 25 1999, The fifth monument unveiled in Yankee Stadium history pays tribute to Joe DiMaggio, who died last month at the age of 84. “Joltin’ Joe” becomes the fifth Bronx Bomber to be accorded this honor, joining Miller Huggins (1931), Lou Gehrig (1942), Babe Ruth (1949), and Mickey Mantle (1996). During the ceromony life-long Yankee fan Paul Simon, standing in centerfield, performs his 1968 classic Mrs. Robinson. The singer-songwriter’s iconic lyrics “Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you” brings cheers from the enthusiastic sell-out crowd at the Bronx ballpark.

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TRIVIA

TRIVIA: Who has the most nineteen^th-century pitching wins for any pitcher not in the Hall of Fame?

Hint: #1 He was the first pitcher to lose more than twenty-five games in a season for the Cincinnati Reds.

Hint: #2  He is the only pitcher to pitch ambidextrously in more than one major league game in the nineteenth century.

IF you think you know the answer and bonus points for how many respond with details and if you are right I will give you a shut out! No Googling!

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 ANSWER TO YESTERDAY’S TRIVIA

YESTERDAY'S TRIVIA:  Which one-time Minnesota Twins hurler led the majors in pitching losses the year after he had led his league with a sub-2.0 ERA?

Hint: #1 He was the last pitcher to get a hit for the Red Sox before the advent of the DH?

Hint: #2 In the Modern Era, only he and Walter Johnson have two scoreless-innings streaks of forty or more innings.

LUIS TIANT [SABR Bio]

- Ans. Tiant was on the losing end of 20 games in 1969, the year after he posted a sterling 1.60 ERA which was better than all others save Bob Gibson’s historical 1.12.

- #1 On 03-Oct-1972, in his final game of the season, Tiant singled in the 7^th off the Tigers’ Woodie Fryman.

- #2 In 1968, between 28-Apr & 17-May, Tiant didn’t allow a run. Four years later, between 19-Aug & 08-Sep-1972 , he put together a 40-inning streak. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only Tiant & Walter Johnson are the only pitchers since 1900 to record multiple scoreless streaks of 40 or more innings.

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