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My first game was a St Louis Cardinals game on May 25th, 1972 against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Old Busch Stafium. Bob Gibson and Doc Ellis pitched. The Cardinals won 4-2. Had my first bratwurst that day. Hooked for life :/
There seems to be a division of either Cardinals or Reds fans here. Who was your first game?
1966 vs the Cubs in old Busch Stadium of course. Gibson pitched the game and the Cards won I do not remember the specific date nor the score.
I remembered the score, consulted with dad on the date as he still has the ticket stubs. A whopping $3.00 per ticket...
Joe Torre, Lou Brock, Ted Simmons played that night. The only time I was able to see Gibson play, I saw Brock several other times before his retirement, including games against the Reds in Riverfront. Reds fans were poo about Cardinal hats :/
Cards versus Milwaukee in a double header sometime in the mid 1950's, double header, Spahn and Burdette pitched for the Braves...yes Braves...and Musial hit one out in right field a few rows below us and just missed the screen that was out there. Down on Grand Avenue. WEnt with my cousin Denny who is 5 yrs older than I am and he took me to several games when we were kids.
When I grew up in Florissant before moving to Ky early in my youth, we used to ride our bikes to players houses...they lived like everyone else back then...and got autographs and whatever they would give us. Curt Flood gave me a bat once, he had broke it the night before so I took it home and put nails in it so I could use it on the playgrounds, couldn't at a game as it was way too big. :)
I never went to one until I was nearly grown, probably a senior in HS.
My first was a Reds game. No idea who they were playing, whether they won, or anything like that. The reason I remember going and who I was with is that some guy with too much beer in him sitting in front of us got it into his head that we were making comments about his 12 year old daughter during the national anthem (which we happened not to be doing in this case, though I wouldn't have put it past us at that time of life) and he turned around yelling and punched me. I went and got security, and we all had a big time.
I finally figured out how to watch baseball taking my boys to Braves games when they were playing DYB.
My first game was a Reds game versus the Cubs in September of 1999. Slammin Sammy Sosa was sitting on 59 homers and was about to become the first player to have two 60 home run seasons. He hit the ball so deep on one at bat that he did that little hop-step thing he used to do. Unfortunately it was about five feet short from going over the wall in old Riverfront Stadium. He didn't hit 60 that night, but it was good times. This was the first MLB game for me and my dad that we shared together. I have never been to another, and neither has he.
Then we all found out about the steroid scandal. Baseball makes me sad :-(
1974, Reds/Padres at Riverfront Stadium.
So many amazing things: the hugeness of Riverfront as we were driving toward it, the impossibly green astroturf, plus it was Camera Day where we actually got to go down on the field and take pics of the players. So being allowed to actually go down there, walk on the same turf my heroes walked on and be just 10 feet away as I took their pictures. It was just about the best thing a 10-year old Reds fan could ask for!
Oh, and seeing Willie McCovey, all 6-6 240 of him. He was the biggest man I'd ever seen, just impressive.
And the Reds won 14-1, Joe Morgan hitting a homer just 2 rows below me in the yellow seats down the right field line. Yeah, it was an amazing day.
EDIT: Wow, the Internet is an amazing thing: found the boxscore and exact date (7/28/74) here: link
Cool on the box score. Like you, that day the Busch stadium was so big to a 5 y/o me.
Same price Cincinnati Reds NLDS tickets are going for today on StubHub. I kid you not.Quote:
Originally Posted by Catonahottinroof
Man.
I'm so bummed I cannot remember. It was at Busch Stadium, and MAY have been the Pirates as the opponent. Could have been the Reds. I remember those two as two of the early ones. My parents tried to take us on a promotion day, so it may have been bat night, or camera day (BEvans reminded me of those days...that was THE coolest thing ever).
I don't even remember who may have been pitching. Saw Gibson pitch, but I don't remember if he was the first. I would ask my Dad, but he remembers less than I do.
Day games are an easy ticket, but it's a playoff game. Is be calling in *cough* *sneeze* sick lol
My first MLB game was in July, 1957. The shortstop of the Brooklyn Dodgers gave my dad 4 players tix to the game in St. Louis. This was one of two vacations we took when I was a child. We took the old terminal raliroad bridge to New Albany and headed up old US 150 to Vincinnes. After the mindless travel through Illinois we arrived in downtown St. Louis. We spend the next day at the St. Louis Zoo and then headed for the Grand Avenue streetcar and the short trip to old, old Busch Stadium, the one where both the Browns and Cardinals used to play. We were there for BP and I remember sitting on top of the Dodgers dugout while the players played pepper. It's the first time I ever saw anyone play it.
While I remember so many details of the trip, I can't remember for sure who won but I believe it was the Dodgers. I just remember being so happy. The next morning we drove home. The original Busch Stadium was a fabulous place with the old outfield pavillion. Duke Snider did hit a HR ball there that night.
My first game was either 1961 or 1962, also in "old, old Busch Stadium". I was 5 or 6 and don't remember who the Cardinals played. I do however, remember being at this one from 2-3 years later http://retrosimba.com/2012/02/17/han...-vs-cardinals/
My first GAME was in the early 80's to old Riverfront Stadium to see the Reds play my Dodger Blue. I remember we bought the old "top 6 row" tix for $4, and quickly maneuvered our way downward!! I seen my Dodgers win that day, and have been back to Cincy to see the L.A. series very year, if homelike permits. I've only seen my boys lose once!!
The first time I truly enjoyed a baseball experience was in 1994 when I went with 4 buddies to Chicago to see the Cubs play. Wrigley Field IS baseball!! I got to go back in 1995 to see a 3 game series with the Cubs and Dodgers. Nothing will ever top that weekend in baseball lore for me!!
My first game was in the mid-80's at Riverfront. Either '84 or '85. At the time I was a Reds fan (though that would change along about '87 or so). The Reds played the Pirates and lost 6-0. I don't remember a lot about the game itself (I remember more about the trip), but I remember Pete Rose got a base hit, Andy Van Slyke played RF for the Pirates, and Eddie Milner played in the game (which I remember because his "picture" on the old dot matrix light board made him look like an actual clown).
Andy Van Slyke, what great memories. I met him a couple of times when he played for the Redbirds in Louisville. He's about 9 or 10 years younger than me, but we were all running around town about the same time and he was very visible at the popular spots of the day. He played there one year but it was a fun year of minor league baseball.Quote:
Originally Posted by BarristerCat
Mick, I'm convinced that you know literally everyone. That's a great story.Quote:
Originally Posted by MickintheHam
Wasn't it Sportsman's Park?
Quote:
Originally Posted by MickintheHam
I really don' know that many people. I was lucky to have a dad who was a real people person and a great athlete. Those genes skipped my generation. But, through him I met a lot of people who had ties to Louisville. He played amateur baseball until he was 34 and there weren't a lot of baseball people in or from Louisville that he didn't know. I met Van Slyke, however, through a priest who was a friend of his.Quote:
Originally Posted by BarristerCat
August 1975 vs Pirates, what are at team to see, arguably the best.