Where were you 30 years ago today?
I woke up this morning and after grabbing a cup of coffee was excited to spend a Sunday morning enjoying some RnR and leisure time reading the Sunday NY times...one of the great weekly moments in life! Even better than that was the headline article in today's Sports section!!! It was 30 years ago today that the Cubs played an epic game vs. the Philadelphia Phillies. I remember the day well; after coming home from school I did as I usually did which was to turn on the television and catch the afternoon game being played out at Wrigley (do those memories make you miss "day" baseball"? I remember the game playing out over many hours! Massive homerun after massive homerun. If memory is correct, the game lasted until somewhere between 5 & 6pm? Truly a baseball gem of a game. The only problem was in the end it was a Cubs loss...but a truly courageous attempted comeback. Enjoy the article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/sports/baseball/17game.html?_r=1&ref=sports
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.
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I was in the right field bleachers...
…here is my story
by 08 Cubs on May 17, 2009 11:27 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
great story
"They say we don't look good on paper. Well, we don't play on paper." Joe McCarthy (1926)
by Bricks and Ivy on May 17, 2009 11:41 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Great story seconded!!!
This was what I was looking for when I made the post!! Thanks for sharing it with us, I am going to pass a link along to my baseball team I coach; 13 boys ages 11. I want them to read it and learn never to give up. Also great to see how we as kids always kept score at the game…nice job! You were busy that day.
by thisisitflyfishing on May 17, 2009 4:38 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
probably watching a Yankees game.
"I don’t really play baseball, I feel it." -- Milton Bradley
by drewishdrewid on May 17, 2009 11:28 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
We had a troubled childhood.
I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.
by dat cubfan daver on May 18, 2009 10:39 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I was
watching that game. Michael Jack Schmidt. Ugh.
by Not Bruce Froemming on May 17, 2009 11:33 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Let me clarify
I was watching it on TV. WGN re-ran this game several times over the years, usually in the middle of winter.
by Not Bruce Froemming on May 17, 2009 11:54 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I was in my father's balls rooting for the Cubs.
"They say we don't look good on paper. Well, we don't play on paper." Joe McCarthy (1926)
by Bricks and Ivy on May 17, 2009 11:39 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
gross
what if said balls werent Cubs fans?
Okay, just so I understand it... in your wildest fantasy, you are in hell. And you are co-running a bed and breakfast with the devil.
by bren on May 17, 2009 7:45 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
They were.
"They say we don't look good on paper. Well, we don't play on paper." Joe McCarthy (1926)
by Bricks and Ivy on May 17, 2009 9:57 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
that brought a tear to my eye
Well, Next Year is here .. and Jack's century's gotta end some time .. GO CUBBIES!
by cubnational on May 17, 2009 11:48 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I always bristled when that was called the "most exciting game"...
Since I think the July 28, 1977 game was not only at least as exciting, it was a game the Cubs won. They tied it in the bottom of the 9th, and the bottom of the 12th, and won in the bottom of the 13th. They had been trailing 6-0, 10-7, and 14-10, and ended up winning 16-15. By comparison, a 10 inning loss just doesn’t do it for me.
by ChipSet on May 17, 2009 11:41 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I remember this game well, too
Rick Reuschel won it in relief. Funny, my current boss actually was at this game — Cub Scout trip or some such thing.
by Not Bruce Froemming on May 17, 2009 11:45 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
there are probably 200,000 who claim to be at that game.
Not saying your boss wasn’t.
"They say we don't look good on paper. Well, we don't play on paper." Joe McCarthy (1926)
by Bricks and Ivy on May 17, 2009 11:50 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I know what you're saying
I have no reason to doubt his sincerity. And there was, for that era, a pretty good crowd there for a weekday (32,000-plus).
by Not Bruce Froemming on May 17, 2009 11:52 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
What made it exciting for me...
…was wiping out a 12 run deficit. Win or lose, when you are down by twelve and make it to extra innings, that is exciting. I remember the 16-15 game too (was on a family day trip to the Indiana dunes and listened to the game on the beach). It was most definitely an exciting game, but the Cubs had to rally from only six down. We could also talk about the game against Houston in 1989 when they rallied from a 9-0 deficit. That too was a great game.
by 08 Cubs on May 17, 2009 1:15 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
That game vs. Houston in '89 was a great game as well...
I clearly remember how excited I was when they came back and won that game… Lloyd McClendon scoring the winning run! Memories.
I'm a truth teller, I'm a risk taker, I'm like Johnny Cash - I walk the line...
by Jimmyeatworld on May 18, 2009 8:22 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I remember that game
I was in labor with my son, Rob, named after Bobby Murcer.
by mlern on May 17, 2009 3:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
The 23-22 was a great game
but I’ll always consider the “Sandberg” game my favorite ever. Two home runs off one of the pre-eminent relief pitchers of the time. No contest.
"Any old kind of a run wins it!"--Jack Brickhouse
by mattvegas on May 17, 2009 7:22 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I also always wondered about that declaration -- "most exciting"
I was at school, didn’t see the game in real time.
But, I watched the winter ’replays." I always wondered why a game the Cubs lost…had to be constantly replayed. Other teams had World Series games to enjoy, we had an “entertaining” – loss to see year, after year.
Talk about your negative affirmations. Maybe this is how the concept “loveable losers” came about.
by San Diego Smooth Jazz Man on May 18, 2009 7:07 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
That's a really good point, SDSJM
I’ve always advocated Cubbie Culture has to change if this franchise ever is going to win regularly.
by Not Bruce Froemming on May 19, 2009 2:42 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think it has, at least from that era, don't you?
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
by Al on May 19, 2009 4:14 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
11 years old
11 years old in the class with the teacher from you know where the satanic Miss Olechowski (she was truly evil. Satan probably fears her) I remember running home from school every day to watch the day games and I remember watching the last part of this game. I also remember the day because it was the day my Mom and stepdad told me they were expecting my brother.
Jay is our Quarterback. I REPEAT JAY IS OUR QUARTERBACK. Did I mention we have a Quarterback who happens to be named Jay?.
by cubstoseriesby100 on May 17, 2009 11:57 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I wasn't even a though yet
considering I’m 20 years old lol
"One time I went to a social gathering, I brought a bottle of Tanqueray and a shotgun and showed those motherf@ers the best time they ever had!"- Kenny Powers (Eastbound and Down)
"Why give 100% when 35 can still get you paid and laid."- Kenny Powers
by gridiron_assassin on May 17, 2009 12:16 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I was 3
so probably was too busy shitting my pants
baseball is a game of outs......pop out, ground out, line out, pitch out, strike out, fly out, and Fox and Bud's favorite black out
by Cubbie-Tim on May 17, 2009 12:17 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
The more things change the more they stay the same.
Certainly you weren’t still crapping yourself at 3? I couldn’t resist disagreeing with you after our earlier discussion. Your set up was too perfect. No offense. ;)
by Acapulco Taco Pie on May 17, 2009 9:41 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Listening at work.
I was in my darkroom at the long-gone Douglas Film Industries on Kinzie just west of State, listening incredulously and running out now and then to either drop printed jobs or yakk with the shipper about the game.
by MN exile on May 17, 2009 12:24 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Great Post!
I got home from school that day and was surprised to see that the game was still in the third inning. I thought that WGN replayed this game during the Blizzard of 79, but the blizzard would have happened first? Maybe they replayed it during some other bad weather event?
by DudeVf11 on May 17, 2009 2:51 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
They used to replay a game every winter in January back in those days.
Jay is our Quarterback. I REPEAT JAY IS OUR QUARTERBACK. Did I mention we have a Quarterback who happens to be named Jay?.
by cubstoseriesby100 on May 17, 2009 6:17 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Wish I had been at that game.
Had a daytime job in those days. Watched the end of it on TV, wishing I had been there.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
by Al on May 17, 2009 5:44 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Working. Probably running camera on one of our TV productions.
And being grateful that I finally had a job in television after being unemployed for the first year out of college…
Go Green! Go White! GO STATE!
King Leonidas: Spartans! What is your profession?
Spartans: HA-OOH! HA-OOH! HA-OOH!
by Zeke on May 17, 2009 7:08 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
was 4 years
It would be a couple years before I’d be a Cubs fan
"That's what you live for. You live for the opportunity and when that day comes, you better be ready," Soto said. "I tried to make sure that whenever they gave me a chance, I was ready and I knew I had to take advantage of the opportunity."
by Madison Cub Fan on May 17, 2009 7:17 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I was a sophmore in high school at Notre Dame in Niles...
I vividly remember being in study hall and a friend telling me that the Phillies had scored seven runs in the first inning. At that point, I think most of us had given that game up.
By the time my brother and I had gotten on the bus home, word was spreading that the Cubs had started an imporobable, epic comeback.
I still remember running home from the bus stop to find my dad taking an extra long lunch (he worked nearby) to watch the game. If memory serves, Buckner hit a grand slam that day and Kingman got hold of one that, according to Lou Boudreau, “Landed in Milwaukee”.
A very tough game to lose but, at the same time, a classic Cubs memory.
by bluekoolaide on May 17, 2009 8:48 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I was 14 years old listeing on the radio In Indy
The weird thing is I remember the game. I was listening sometimes through static from Indianapolis a lot when I was 14. No cable TV.
It was one of those games that sticks with you. I was a big fan then and a big fan now. I watched today’s game at home, my 10 yr old son sat in the LF bleachers today, some of our friends took him.
Thirty years flies by, I can’t believe I have been a real fan that long!
I love watching the Cubs during the season and dread watching them in the playoffs.
by Cub Fan Mike on May 17, 2009 10:03 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I try to forget where I was
Just like I try to forget where I was for the 18-12 and 22-0 games. I grant you this one was much more exciting but
I try to black it out.
"I daydream just like everybody else, I just do it with my body facing the field, so everybody thinks I'm paying attention."- Greg Maddux
by Doggie Stalker on May 17, 2009 10:18 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
NOT AT THE GAME.....
But yes I saw the re-run on WGN the superstation…..What a game ..
by cubs north on May 17, 2009 11:00 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I watched the whole thing on WGN
as I helped nurse my injured mother after an accident that almost killed her.
We had a blast watching what was certainly the wildest, wooliest and weirdest Cubs game I’ve ever seen in my life.
I ain’t never seen the winds blow in Chicago quite like then until that huge blow in 1993 that took out windows in the Loop and destroyed a chunk of the Taste.
I am still willing to pay good money (or swap whatever Cub stuff I have) for a copy of that game. Un.Be.Lieve.Able ..
Well, Next Year is here .. and Jack's century's gotta end some time .. GO CUBBIES!
by cubnational on May 17, 2009 11:47 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Just another day at Maine South
I went to school early that day for a science club project, went my normal 7 periods of classes then out to the diamond for baseball practice on the field of cinders (p/o of the school property was previously a garbage dump; insert joke here).
I had virtually no idea what was to happen that day or what was happening as it did. I got home a little while after the game ended only to have my Mom tell me the Cubs game was a real “pitchers dual”.
Sweet Lou for Mayor in '11.
by blackhawk24 on May 18, 2009 6:53 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
any game where the nine slot
for both teams
+
+
+
+
triple
+
+
+
+
in the first inning
is truly fun. i might hafta bust out the video on that one.
by tim815 on May 18, 2009 7:49 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
ok, so lersch homered
but donnie moore tripled.
by tim815 on May 18, 2009 8:30 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I, like the poster, came home from school & watched the rest of the game...
Thank God for WGN. I watched with two of my older brothers. Both Cub fans. In fact the whole family was, and are still Cub fans. I’ll never forget that game. Thanks for bringing back the memories. I just e-mailed one of my brothers about it. GO CUBS!
I'm a truth teller, I'm a risk taker, I'm like Johnny Cash - I walk the line...
by Jimmyeatworld on May 18, 2009 8:20 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I was nine years old...
…and, for some reason, my only memory of that game is the huge headline about it in the newspaper sitting on my friend’s kitchen table the next day.
I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.
by dat cubfan daver on May 18, 2009 10:42 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I wasn't born...
"Check the magic of a winning season and there are always reasons beyond the talent." Ned Colleti
by wrigleyrocker12 on May 18, 2009 4:40 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Oh, man. You should've been.
You missed a great game.
"I'll never forget how I felt last October." ~Kosuke Fukudome
by Goodie1969 on May 18, 2009 7:48 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, geez...what were you thinkin' not being born? Get with it.
I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.
by dat cubfan daver on May 19, 2009 11:02 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs





















