On April 25, 1976, Chicago Cubs center fielder Rick Monday saves an American flag from being burned by two fans 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.
On April 24, 1976, Bert Campaneris of the Oakland Aâs steals five bases in an 8-7 victory over the Cleveland Indians. The Oakland shortstop will steal 54 bases in 1976. As a team, the Aâs will pile up a record 341 stolen bases on the year.
It takes two days to accomplish the feat, but Tim Foli becomes the first Expo to hit for the cycle when he homers in the eighth inning of a suspended game. Before the Wrigley Field contest was halted yesterday because of darkness, the Montreal shortstop had stroked a single, double, and triple in the clubâs eventual 12-6 victory over Chicago, in that order, for a rare ânatural cycleâ.
1976 â Ken Forsch has to save the Astros twice. Leading San Diego, 5-4 in the ninth, and the tying runner aboard, Forsch gets Ted Kubiak to ground to second for an apparent finish but catcher Cliff Johnson is ruled for interference. Kubiak is awarded first and Forsch must retire Merv Rettenmund, which he does on a fly to Greg Gross in right to seal the victory.Â
On April 17, 1976, At Wrigley Field, Mike Schmidt leads a Philadelphia Phillies assault with a single, four home runs in consecutive at-bats, and eight RBI to overcome a 12 â 1 deficit after three innings and beat the Chicago Cubs in 10 innings, 18 â 16. Chicago ties the game in the 9th after the Phillies have taken a 15 ââŠ
At Yankee ownerâs George Steinbrennerâs insistence, Thurman Munson is named the team captain. The reluctant backstop is the first player to assume the role since the Bronx Bombers honored Lou Gehrig with the position in 1935.
On April 15, 1976, the New York Yankees defeat the Minnesota Twins, 11-4, in the first game at the newly renovated Yankee Stadium. Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, and the widows of Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth take part in pre-game ceremonies at the Stadium, which had been closed for the 1974 and â75âŠ
1976 â In the 6th inning of todayâs 6 â 5 loss to Chicago, the Metsâ Dave Kingman hits what will become widely regarded as the longest home run ever hit in Wrigley Field, estimated at 600 feet in many of the next dayâs press accounts, with the putative âpaper of recordâ going as high as 630. Some cold water is applied to these claims by longtime Cubsâ broadcaster Jack Brickhouse, speaking in 1982 with Paul Susman of Baseball Digest: âBrickhouse revealed that the ball was greatly helped by a strong wind of about 35 miles per hour. Brickhouse estimated Kingmanâs blast in reality went about 500 feet.â To be fair to Kingman, the Cubsâ own scoresheet for this game estimates â530 to 550 feet,â which in conjunction with researcher Bill Jenkinsonâs assertion of 530 feet as the distance between home plate and the point of obstruction, would suggest a typo or simple misreading as the culprit in the inflated Times estimate.
On April 12, 1976 Los Angeles Dodger first baseman Steve Garvey uses umbrella as he watches rain fall at Dodger Stadium. After a wait of 75 minutes the scheduled home opener with the San Diego Padres was postponed. âThe rainout was the first for a regular-season game at Dodger Stadium since April 21, 1967, whenâŠ
4/10/1976: On the second day of the season in Milwaukee, Don Money batted with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth and the Brewers behind the Yankees 9-6. Before Dave Pagan delivered his second pitch to Money, New York manager Billy Martin yelled to first baseman Chris Chambliss to call time. Chambliss asked umpire Jim McKean. Money hit the pitch and circled the bases. The Brewers celebrated and went into the clubhouse thinking they had won for the second time in two games. However, before Money crossed the plate Martin was on the field arguing with McKean. After a couple of minutes of Martinâs tirade, the umpires sent for the Brewers to come back on the field. The Brewers were obviously upset about the call. First base coach Harvey Keunn said that the pitcher was already in his motion when Chambliss yelled for time. Some Brewers went so far as to say that Martin intimidated McKean into reversing the homer. The Yankees won the game, 9-7, and the Brewers protested the outcome to no avail.
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