Posted on 04/28/2008 6:22:19 AM PDT by .cnI redruM
It was April of 1976; Rick Monday hadn’t played his first inning yet as an LA Dodger. At the time, he was a Center Fielder for the visiting Chicago Cubs and was in town to do as much damage to the opposing team as possible. He wasn’t planning on being serenaded by the fans in sunny Southern California.
However, two rowdy fans had brought a US flag to the ballpark, and were planning on celebrating the bicentennial in as obnoxious a manner as possible. Monday describes what happened next.
When these two guys ran on the field, something wasn't right. And it wasn't right from the standpoint that one of them had something cradled under his arm. It turned out to be an American flag. They came from the left-field corner, went past Cardenal to shallow left-center field.
"That's when I saw the flag. They unfurled it as if it was a picnic blanket. They knelt beside it, not to pay homage but to harm it as one of the guys was pulling out of his pocket somewhere a big can of lighter fluid. He began to douse it.
Normally, professional athletes exercise caution when idiots run onto the field. They have prima face evidence that the individuals have a tendency to behave abnormally. A professional athlete has a very short career in which he can earn several hundred dollars for every minute he stays healthy, and in the line-up. Tackling a crazy guy with a can of lighter fluid, doesn’t help the team win, and could curtail an otherwise glorious career.
However, not everyone in a professional uniform thinks only about the dollar signs. Monday knew people who were injured and killed in Vietnam. He had friends who and fought and died for the flag now being desecrated in the outfield grass at Chavez Ravine.
His sense of deep, patriotic pride also came also from his six years in the USMC Reserves. Defending Old Glory became second nature to the man. The flag would not burn. Not if Rick Monday could save the day. In an interview, years later, Monday describes the play of the year in 1976 MLB…
"So I started to run after them. To this day, I couldn't tell you what was running through my mind except I was mad, I was angry and it was wrong for a lot of reasons.
"Then the wind blew the first match out. There was hardly ever any wind at Dodger Stadium. The second match was lit, just as I got there. I did think that if I could bowl them over, they can't do what they're trying to do.
"I saw them go and put the match down to the flag. It's soaked in lighter fluid at this time. Well, they can't light it if they don't have it. So I just scooped it up.
"My first thought was, 'Is this on fire?' Well, fortunately, it was not. I continue to run. One of the men threw the can of lighter fluid at me. We found out he was not a prospect. He did not have a good arm. Thank goodness.
Perhaps it was no accident that the LA Dodgers would trade the Chicago Cubs five of their players for Rick Monday and another roster member. Monday had an exceptional power stroke, but he also established something more. He may not have played for the team, but he already had won the hearts of 40,000 screaming Dodger Fans.
"After the guys left, there was a buzz in the stands, people being aghast with what had taken place. Without being prompted, and I don't know where it started, but people began to sing 'God Bless America.' When I reflect back upon it now, I still get goose bumps."
Baseball purists may argue that his home run on Oct 19, 1981 which propelled the Dodgers to a pennant and a trip to the 1981 World Series was his finest moment in a Dodger uniform. Both remaining Montreal Expos fans refer to this occasion as Blue Monday. To these embittered individuals, he embodies everything that the name “Bucky F’ing Dent!” used to represent to the citizens of Boston.
Most American baseball fans still prefer one of the first great plays he ever made in the outfield at Dodger Stadium. If only everyone who represented The Great City of Chicago in the public forum would show as much reverence and respect for our nation’s flag as Rick Monday did on April 25, 1976.
Cross-Posted at:THE MINORITY REPORT
I came across the b/w of this just yesterday. It was a good copy, also (the largest I’ve seen). Now I regret not saving it to my hard drive.
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| Outfielder Rick Monday of the Chicago Cubs dashes between two men in the Dodger Stadium outfield in Los Angeles, in this April 25, 1976 photo, snatching an American flag the men were about to burn. In honor of the 30th anniversary of his saving the American flag, Monday will be honored Tuesday with a video tribute at Minute Maid Park in Houston. By Jim Roark, Los Angeles Herald Examiner via AP |
Hmmm. I wonder who he's referring to here?
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