What was your first ballpark experience

[rockondlouie]

7 yrs old

Out Little League team sitting in the RF upper deck w/our gloves.

[MIDMOBIRDTWO]

The old man was never much a drinker, but boy he loved him some women, especially in the early days. I was about 8 in the 80s and I remember Busty Hart dropping her knocks on this guys head and taking pictures. My dad took a long stare and said lucky guy my mom pushed him to keep walking.

Hey you asked.

Now that is a memory we can all appreciate. AR!

[tgharris]

My dad may have brought me to ballgames at old Comiskey earlier, but my earliest remembrances there were during their 1959 pennant race. The whole city of Chicago was enthralled. Box scores and game summaries were printed on the front pages!

I’d say filling out a box score was an act of growing up. Question to the board- who here can fill out a box score to standard. It’s an art.

In the early ‘70’s my buddy and I would make scorecards from loose leaf paper and keep score while listening to Cardinal games (we moved from NJ to STL in 1970). Once we were old enough to attend games regularly we always bought a scorecard and pencil immediately after entering Busch II.

For some reason keeping a box score was empowering. You had to be able to paint the perfect picture thru symbols lines and numbers.

I was probably around 8 when I learned how to keep score. A friend of my brother's taught me using an old stand up sandwich sign blackboard (like the kind you'd see on the sidewalk in front of a deli). I can remember when the scorecards sold at the ballpark had the night's lineup (except for the pitcher) already printed on the card.

[sikeston bulldog2]

My dad may have brought me to ballgames at old Comiskey earlier, but my earliest remembrances there were during their 1959 pennant race. The whole city of Chicago was enthralled. Box scores and game summaries were printed on the front pages!

I’d say filling out a box score was an act of growing up. Question to the board- who here can fill out a box score to standard. It’s an art.

In the early ‘70’s my buddy and I would make scorecards from loose leaf paper and keep score while listening to Cardinal games (we moved from NJ to STL in 1970). Once we were old enough to attend games regularly we always bought a scorecard and pencil immediately after entering Busch II.

For some reason keeping a box score was empowering. You had to be able to paint the perfect picture thru symbols lines and numbers.

I was probably around 8 when I learned how to keep score. A friend of my brother's taught me using an old stand up sandwich sign blackboard (like the kind you'd see on the sidewalk in front of a deli). I can remember when the scorecards sold at the ballpark had the night's lineup (except for the pitcher) already printed on the card.

Rite of passage. A true work of art numerous times daily. Some score cards could live in infinity.. .

[Pura Vida]

Sportsman Park....around 1960 sitting on the 1st base side on the infield. My dad leaned over and told me the current batter is going to hit a HR. Sure enough, Bill White crushed one over the right field fence. Thought my dad was a genius. I also saw Musial hit a double off the RF fence....think I was with my cub scout troop.

[Ike Hammett]

Just for hot stove discussion:

Mine was going to a Browns game sitting in the left field bleachers with my dad who was a Browns fan. But my main experience was seeing Stan Musial hitting.

What was yours?

Went to a Dodgers and Cards game in the mid 80s. Tito Landurm threw me a ball, I felt like a million bucks as everyone else was jealous! When I was a kid those dudes all seemed like super heroes to olme on TV. I got a souvenir and thought I was special. Tito will always be my favorite!!!!

[Ike Hammett]

Just for hot stove discussion:

Mine was going to a Browns game sitting in the left field bleachers with my dad who was a Browns fan. But my main experience was seeing Stan Musial hitting.

What was yours?

Went to a Dodgers and Cards game in the mid 80s. Tito Landurm threw me a ball, I felt like a million bucks as everyone else was jealous! When I was a kid those dudes all seemed like super heroes to me on TV. I got a souvenir and thought I was special. Tito will always be my favorite!!!!

[mjg]

Probably sometime around the mid to late 80s at Busch Stadium II - don't remember a specific game, and I'm largely here to be told to quit being soft and to move out of my parents' basement - but memories from that era include an Ozzie Smith foul ball that bounced off my hand and the guy behind me grabbed (he didn't give it to me) and a foul ball that Milt Thompson dug out of the corner that I did end up getting. And then some bad baseball in the 90s.

[Calendal]

I got to see the Royals beat the Yankees in KC in July 1980. It was an FFA trip of some kind, I wasn't a member (I was 11), but my Dad was an advisor. It also included some time at Worlds of Fun. I wasn't a big baseball fan until 1982 when I got into SSI's computer baseball on my Apple IIe. I don't recall our cable having a Cardinals network, but having a Braves game on TBS every evening during dinner also helped increase exposure to the sport.

The first unchaperoned trip to STL with my friends which we drove ourselves was during the 1985 season. Oddly, I don't remember the opponent or outcome, just seeing the Arch and Busch was fun regardless. Probably a win over the Cubs, I tend to remember disappointing losses more than expected victories, heh. That year was a good time to live in Columbia, obviously the World Series ending could have been better, but good baseball to watch all season from both sides of Missouri.

[dj101]

August 1963. Sportsmans park. Friday afternoon game (true) VS Phillies. I was 9. Cards win 3-2 and I can't figure why stl didn't bat in bottom of the 9th. Only player not to play: Musial.

[Ramtastic]

Royals Stadium in August 1973.
Steve Busby beat Bill Lee......ex-Cardinal Orlando Cepeda was the Red Sox DH that day (this was the first year for the DH)

Future Cardinal, Reggie Smith, also played in that game and it was the only time I got to see Carl Yastrzemski play in person.
As a Royals fan, it was my first time seeing Fred Patek, Cookie Rojas, Amos Otis, John Mayberry, Lou Pinella and Hal McRae in person.

My Dad and Uncle taught me how to keep score, and I've been doing it ever since.
I used to take my glove to the games and write the attendance on it, but stopped after I ran out of room

[Bomber1]

My dad may have brought me to ballgames at old Comiskey earlier, but my earliest remembrances there were during their 1959 pennant race. The whole city of Chicago was enthralled. Box scores and game summaries were printed on the front pages!

I’d say filling out a box score was an act of growing up. Question to the board- who here can fill out a box score to standard. It’s an art.

In the early ‘70’s my buddy and I would make scorecards from loose leaf paper and keep score while listening to Cardinal games (we moved from NJ to STL in 1970). Once we were old enough to attend games regularly we always bought a scorecard and pencil immediately after entering Busch II.

For some reason keeping a box score was empowering. You had to be able to paint the perfect picture thru symbols lines and numbers.

I was probably around 8 when I learned how to keep score. A friend of my brother's taught me using an old stand up sandwich sign blackboard (like the kind you'd see on the sidewalk in front of a deli). I can remember when the scorecards sold at the ballpark had the night's lineup (except for the pitcher) already printed on the card.

I remember that too. Not sure when they stopped doing that.

[Absolut]

Dear ct,
I never thought it would happen to me. There I was sitting in the cheap seats when…


Ooos. Wrong forum.

I cannot recall my first game.

[ScotchMIrish]

1968 Cardinals vs Phillies.

[TraveledLessRoad]

I was born in Vero Beach, Fl. Remember my old man taking my brothers and I to see the Vero Beach Dodgers minor league squad.

[Frank Barone]

My first game was on bat day in 1967. I went with the cub scouts and there were a lot of scouts from other packs in the right field upper deck. I got a Lou Brock bat which was awesome since Lou was my favorite player, although Ed Spezio started in LF. All the scouts would pound their bats on the concrete between their feet to try to start rallies.

One of the scouts made a paper airplane out of a scorecard and threw it in the air. It caught a miraculous updraft and flew very high and very slowly over the seats to the field where it landed near second base. The umpire picked it up, folded it up and put it in his pocket. All of the scouts including me went berserk over this.