Posted by gbakker on 4/8/2016 5:05:00 PM (view original):
July 1961, I was 10. My Tigers beat the Red Sox 4-2 in Detroit. We were in the left field upper deck, Charlie Maxwell played left for Detroit; Yaz, in his second season, for Boston. The most exciting play was an RBI triple by Billy Bruton. Russ Nixon homered for the hated Red Sox.

Was it this game?

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1961/B06140DET1961.htm

Detroit did not play a home game against Boston in July, but the did win 4-2 in June...and Bruton did triple.

No homer for Nixon though.

I just looked it up... June 14, 1961, not July. And Russ Nixon didn't hit a home run, there were none in the game, but he did have an RBI. Frank Lary pitched a complete game to go 10-3 on the season (!), giving up two runs in the eighth. Billy Muffett took the loss to go 2-6.

Thanks contrarian, a step ahead of me all the way

Now I have to look another one up...I think I saw a double header around 1972 where Lolich and Coleman beat Palmer and McNally......

Sunday, July 1, 1973. Tiger Stadium. Game 1, Coleman beats Palmer 5-3, John Hiller gets a save. Game 2, Lolich beats McNally 1-0 on a 6th inning Mickey Stanley home run. Both lefthanders pitched complete games, Lolich gave up 4 hits and walked one. Maybe the best pitching I ever saw before 2012 when I was in Seattle and saw Félix twirl a 3 hitter, striking out 16. Mariners won that one 1-0 in the bottom of the 9th.

In the home run thread here, earlier this afternoon by coincidence, I described an impressive Boog Powell homer. That was in game one of the doubleheader above, and it was off Joe Coleman.

Billy Martin and Earl Weaver........ thank you for starting this thread contrarian.

Last game at Connie Mack Stadium. I was just a little kid. October 1970 Philadelphia. Scariest moments of my life. By the 7th inning two-thirds of the wooden seats were already ripped out. The noise was deafening. Fans looking like savages held souvenier urinals at their seats as tools were permitted into the stadium. I remember a little boy running out and obstructIng the right fielder wood in hand. Guy asked for my Fathers seat. I mean THE SEAT!! People kept running out to steal 3rd base. Oscar Gamble singled in Tim McCarver as Tim rounded Third, he had to beat his way past wood wielding, shirt snatching fans to score a walk-off win. I asked my dad, "are all the games like this?"

No wonder the mascot is named the Fanatic. Crazy *** fans in Brotherly Love. Known to chuck a battery or two. Hell even the talk radio is scary. Is Conklin still on the air?

Last season at the old Met. I was finishing up second grade. My best buddy invited me to come along with his church youth group. Saw the game from the lower level bleachers in left. The aproximate space is currently occupied by a checkout counter at the Abercrombie and FItch at the Mall of America.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN198105160.shtml

Speaking of the Met... in 1975 a buddy and I drove his grandfather from Seattle to Minneapolis and we caught the Twins vs Brewers on August 11. Sat way up from home plate drinking Grain Belt bottled beer and had the pleasure of seeing Hank Aaron go deep in a DH role for the Brew Crew.

The first game I attended was at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. My family was returning to VT from a trip to Disney in FL. On the return home, my Dad planned to stop in Baltimore to see a game vs. the Royals. It was 1980 and it turned out to be a cold windy night after a pretty pleasantly warm day. There were not many fans in attendance. Our seats were on the third base side behind the dugout perhaps 20 rows up, which wasn't too bad. I remember being very excited about the game. My Dad bought a program and I remember keeping score.

Steve Stone started for the Orioles and he ended up winning the Cy Young that season. I don't remember who started for KC. But I do remember seeing players like Bumbry, Brett, Wilson, and Murray. Bumbry had a great game and I remember Brett popping up to the infield and slamming his bat do the ground and yelling in disgust. The fans that were there booed him pretty good.

When the 7th inning came around, the PA announce started calling out the winning numbers of the lucky numbers found in the program. Low and behold we won the damn thing!! I think if my Dad had it to do over again he would not have told me or my brother that he won. Lol

My parents both worked for the government and were the type of people to put work first. The winning numbers were going to give us tickets to all the games for the weekend home stand coming up and would have put us up in a 5-star hotel with meals at nice restaurants. I always thought that the series was going to be against the Yankees, which is my favorite team. In fact, I think this is what my Dad told me. But in looking up the box score it appears it was actually against the White Sox with the Orioles traveling to NY to meet the Yankees early the next week. So I'll need to double check with my Dad...perhaps the prize was a visit to NY for that series. It very well could have been. And I'm guessing that is what the prize indeed was...it makes sense. Some lucky "Orioles" fan would get to spend some time in the Big Apple seeing their team play the Yanks.

Anyway, he ended up asking the people in charge of verifying the numbers if he could get two autographed baseballs from the Orioles of the whole team in lieu of the package. I remember the guy telling my Dad that he had to be crazy. Lol!!!! In fact I remember him telling my Dad he should call his work and extend his vacation. The hotel and the restaurants alone were a superb prize not to mention great seats for like 3 games.

Needless to say my brother and I have never let my Dad forget this! We ended up receiving one ball in the mail but it wasn't a real autographed ball; it was one of those "printed" autographed balls if that makes sense. The Orioles must have autographed a ball early in the season and then they reproduced that ball. A clone ball if you will!!!!

Years later, when I had a decent job and was making a decent living, I bought tickets 3 rows behind home plate for a game between the Yankees and the Orioles at Camden Yards. I paid for the flight to Baltimore, the hotel, and the tickets as a gift to my little brother. We saw CC Sabathia curve and slider MOVE as he shut down the O's. We got to meet Boog Powell and listen to him recount the greatest game of his life where he hit multiple HRs in a game in the playoffs. It took a little while, but we got to see our bonus game between the Yanks and O's!!!

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL198004170.shtml

Best that I can figure this was my 1st game. I was 6 years old, It matches the things that I remember, Angels/Tigers, Lolich pitched, night game, Dodger stadium, Rocky Colavito (my favorite player at the time). Funny thing is I don't remember much of the actual game itself. Yet, what I do remember was that they played a celebrity game prior to the real game. The highlight of the game was when Bob Hope came up to bat, the defense all sat down or laid down in the field. Bob Hope then strokes a line drive into the outfield driving in a couple of runs.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAA/LAA196308160.shtml

Can't remember my first game, but my dad would buy tickets to a doubleheader and we would always leave after the first game, to avoid the traffic, I would always get mad, but now it makes sense.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS199004140.shtml

A BoSox win 4-3 over the Brewers, in April of '90. If you asked, I would have said the score was 3-1. Clemens was my hero (2nd only to the Hulkster at the time) and could do no wrong. I thought Bill Jo Robideaux would be a star. Because, of course, he was starting 1b for the Sox for the first 10 or so games of the season. He had to be good, no? We had good seats, 15 or so rows behind home plate, I think they cost around $25 or so each, and my Dad was ****** at paying that much.....have to put a 1 in front of that number now-a-days for the same seat....