Forty years ago the nation still was reeling from President Richard Nixon’s resignation, there were anti-war protests everywhere and the notion of being patriotic to a country, or a flag, had become anathema to a small, but very vocal, segment of American society.
But not to those engaged in baseball, known then, as now, as America’s national pastime. For the community of baseball, the flag waves high, the national anthem stirs the blood and “play ball” is awaited joyfully.
The two ideologies clashed on April 26, 1976, at Dodger Stadium.
In fact, it is the National Pastime website that still highlights the event featuring then-Cubs flychaser Rick Monday as the “Greatest Play in Baseball” – and the biggest event on that day in 1976.
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“During the fourth inning of the game being played at Dodger Stadium, Rick Monday becomes a national hero when he takes away an American flag about to be set on fire by the two trespassers (a father and son) in the outfield. The Cubs’ 30-year-old flychaser, who served six years in the Marine Reserves, will be presented the flag a month alter in a pre-game ceremony at Wrigley Field at L.A. executive Al Campanis as a gesture of patriotic thanks.”
In response to a request from WND for a comment on the 40th anniversary, Monday said, “Over the 40 years since taking the flag away from two individuals attempting to set fire to the American Flag on the that Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, I have been asked many, many times what was going throught my mind at that moment and what prompted me to get involved in stopping them.
“The answer has always been a very simple one, what they were attempting to do was wrong in my mind. To me, trying to desecrate the very symbol that represents the rights and freedoms afforded to us in this great country of ours, is a slap in the face to everyone who has ever served proudly in our military. As a former Marine and proud citizen of the greatest country in the world, God Bless America!”
Ten years ago, on the 30th anniversary of probably one of the most stunning failures of a protest ever, Monday made a video about what he did:
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“What they were doing was wrong,” he said then. “As far as I’m concerned it was wrong in 1976. It’s wrong today, what they were trying to do.”
He described seeing the two protesters move onto the field, and spread out the flag like a beach blanket.
They poured lighter fluid on, but the first match that was struck died in the wind in the stadium that – usually doesn’t get windy.
Monday considered bowling the protesters over.
But he realized he could snatch it away.
So he did.
The stunned crowd took little time to respond, with cheers.
Then from one part of the stadium, the melody and words began: “God Bless America…”
Then from everywhere.
And the then-new electronic scoreboard posted the sign: “RICK MONDAY … YOU MADE A GREAT PLAY.”
Baseball icon Tommy Lasorda, then a third-base coach for the Dodgers, said Monday beat him to the protesters.
“Tommy ran past me, yelling about every expletive a longshoreman has ever uttered in trying to get to the guys,” Monday said on that anniversary interview.
Lasorda recalled, “When I got there, I see these two guys and I told them, ‘Why don’t one of you guys take a swing at me?’ because there were 50-something thousand people in the ballpark and I only wanted them to swing at me, so I could defend myself and do a job on them.”
According to Major League Baseball, Monday was that day “playing in front of his friends and family.”
The “protest” had been staged for the break between the top and bottom of the fourth inning.
Monday said in the report, “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.”
He continued, “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.”
Monday soon was playing for the Dodgers, and then became one of the team’s broadcasters, a job he still holds.
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