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What Is Your Earliest Sports Memory?

Re: What Is Your Earliest Sports Memory?

Met stadium, 1962, Vikings/Rams. I was a regional PP&K winner, so 4 other kids and I did our thing at halftime after getting to prowl around the dressing room pregame. I didn't have a pen for autographs so I went up to a man in a suit standing there and asked him if I could borrow his pen. He kindly said yes then signed his name to a piece of paper he was holding and gave it to me: Norm Van Brocklin. I was pure hayseed and didn't know the head coach from the janitor.

On the field, I remember thinking how shytty the turf was compared to how fabulous it looked from up in the stands. First train ride (pullman car) on the trip to Mpls and first airplane ride on the return home. But I was 9 and thought the coolest thing about the whole deal was riding up and down the elevator at the hotel with the guy dressed in the red jacket with gold buttons and white gloves.
 
Re: What Is Your Earliest Sports Memory?

burd said:
I didn't have a pen for autographs so I went up to a man in a suit standing there and asked him if I could borrow his pen. He kindly said yes then signed his name to a piece of paper he was holding and gave it to me: Norm Van Brocklin. I was pure hayseed and didn't know the head coach from the janitor.
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Today he might have added, "Trump 2016" :D ;)
 
Re: What Is Your Earliest Sports Memory?

In general, watching NFL games on Sunday at my paternal grandparents' place. I had no idea what was going on except for it was football. Learning the game, learning the players. This was probably when I was around 5.

In specific, a North Stars/Blackhawks game, where Dino Ciccarelli absolutely leveled a guy in front of the net, no call (ref didn't see it). I stared in awe: you can do that?! I fell in love with the game immediately. That was about 2-3 years after the aforementioned.

For me personally, it was Little League. Somehow got it arranged where all my childhood friends at the time were put on one team (carpool excuse or something). We weren't the best, but we were up there. Great times. I can't believe there was a tighter team those years. Half the team were best friends before the team was even formed.
 
Re: What Is Your Earliest Sports Memory?

My first memory of a sporting event is the 1981 baseball strike. I didn't really follow sports yet but the players were in a union and my dad was in a union so I found it interesting.

My first in-person memory would be September 22, 1983 at Fenway Park. I was so psyched because it was one of Yaz's last games but he sat it out. Dave Winfield put two in the net above the Green Monster and the Yankees won 6-2.
 
Re: What Is Your Earliest Sports Memory?

manurespreader said:
Roger Maris, 61 Home runs. All season long I hoped he wouldn't get it. I think mantle had 51 that year as well. It's a travesty Maris is not in the hall of fame.
The first sporting event I ever went to was the Washington Senators. Camillo Pascual Pitched, the Senators lost, but I can't remember the year. Maybe 1960.Other members of the team included Bob Allison, Harmon Killebrew, Clint Courtney.
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Mantle had 54.
 
Re: What Is Your Earliest Sports Memory?

As a participant: my first little league at bat. I was terrified. Faced the first 8 year old who could throw at 100 mph. ;) Got an RBI -- a walk (too scared to get the bat off my shoulder) with the bases loaded. :D

As a spectator: a little league game with my dad. A foul ball came toward us. I ducked, he tried to catch it, but it got deflected by another person trying to catch it, and broke my dad's wristwatch.
 
Re: What Is Your Earliest Sports Memory?

Participating: 1977, 5-yr-old soccer. I still remember Jason Herr playing every single game in leather sandals, and mostly just playing in the dirt.

TV: That's easy. We didn't have one, but my parents did set up a tiny black and white one so we could watch the 1980 Winter Olympics. I distinctly remember watching hockey, but sadly I can't say for sure that we watched the final.

In person: Growing up in east TN, there really were no pro or major college sports, so my earliest in-person memory would not have been until June 1980 in Yankee stadium. I have no idea who the other team was, but it was definitely my first pro game of any kind. Mainly memorable because my sister, about to turn 5 a week later and thoroughly bored with he whole proceedings, learned to tie her shoes - and my dad gave her a penny as a reward. :)
 
Re: What Is Your Earliest Sports Memory?

CLS said:
As a participant: my first little league at bat. I was terrified. Faced the first 8 year old who could throw at 100 mph. ;) Got an RBI -- a walk (too scared to get the bat off my shoulder) with the bases loaded. :D

As a spectator: a little league game with my dad. A foul ball came toward us. I ducked, he tried to catch it, but it got deflected by another person trying to catch it, and broke my dad's wristwatch.
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I remember in Jr High when I saw my first curveball. I hit the deck so fast it was sick. :o
 
Re: What Is Your Earliest Sports Memory?

Brenthoven said:
I remember in Jr High when I saw my first curveball. I hit the deck so fast it was sick. :o
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Yep. I also remember going from 8th to 9th grade in baseball and playing on my first team that fed from the poorer part of town. My nice well-scrubbed baseball career ended the day I faced a pitcher who had been in rock fights in the projects. F-ck that.
 
Re: What Is Your Earliest Sports Memory?

Kepler said:
Yep. I also remember going from 8th to 9th grade in baseball and playing on my first team that fed from the poorer part of town. My nice well-scrubbed baseball career ended the day I faced a pitcher who had been in rock fights in the projects. F-ck that.
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LOL. My basketball trek ended after my freshman year in HS. Public school, and there were some transfers on the team. A couple of them would throw up "C" hand signs for "Cooper High School." Um, yeah, that was the reason they told the coaches and such. ;) /cripsmuch?
 
Re: What Is Your Earliest Sports Memory?

Ralph Baer said:
Mantle had 54.
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Every team the Yankees faced was petrified of facing them. The overall league batting average those years was very low, like maybe .230 and for those two guys to come to town with the numbers they had, it struck fear in the whole team. and they came to town a lot because there were only 8 team in the AL at that time.
 
Re: What Is Your Earliest Sports Memory?

manurespreader said:
Every team the Yankees faced was petrified of facing them. The overall league batting average those years was very low, like maybe .230 and for those two guys to come to town with the numbers they had, it struck fear in the whole team. and they came to town a lot because there were only 8 team in the AL at that time.
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Small nit, there were 10 teams in the AL that season. The expansion Los Angeles Angels and the 2nd Washington Senators (the original franchise relocated to Minnesota for 1961) began play that season.
 
Re: What Is Your Earliest Sports Memory?

My LL claim to fame came with our all-star team for East Tonka which has traditionally been a very strong group. I made the team at 12 although it was clear I was going to mostly be a backup. We won our first few state regional games, then lost our first in the double-elimination format. The next game I got a start at 3rd base and had an error and a strikeout by the third inning andI knew I'd be replaced for the fourth. However our starting pitcher was tossed for arguing balls/strikes and my replacement was used to pitch so I stayed in the game. My next 4 at bats (yep in three innings) I went single, home run, triple, double for the cycle, started one double play and had 3 more put outs. I still have the press clipping from the local paper. :) I started at P the next game for the state championship which we won and sent us to nationals. That team got to within 1 win of the LLWS. :( Our league did send a team to the LLWS a few years later and included Jim Brower who I believe is still the pitching coach for the Royals.
 
Re: What Is Your Earliest Sports Memory?

WeAreNDHockey said:
Small nit, there were 10 teams in the AL that season. The expansion Los Angeles Angels and the 2nd Washington Senators (the original franchise relocated to Minnesota for 1961) began play that season.
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You're right and I think they had Frank Howard as the first baseman for at least a few of those years, but also Clint Courtney did not play for the senators after 1959 so it had to be 1959 or earlier. fwiw.
 
Slap Shot said:
My LL claim to fame came with our all-star team for East Tonka which has traditionally been a very strong group. I made the team at 12 although it was clear I was going to mostly be a backup. We won our first few state regional games, then lost our first in the double-elimination format. The next game I got a start at 3rd base and had an error and a strikeout by the third inning andI knew I'd be replaced for the fourth. However our starting pitcher was tossed for arguing balls/strikes and my replacement was used to pitch so I stayed in the game. My next 4 at bats (yep in three innings) I went single, home run, triple, double for the cycle, started one double play and had 3 more put outs. I still have the press clipping from the local paper. :) I started at P the next game for the state championship which we won and sent us to nationals. That team got to within 1 win of the LLWS. :( Our league did send a team to the LLWS a few years later and included Jim Brower who I believe is still the pitching coach for the Royals.
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And now you're riding buses in the Philippine leagues. :)
 
Re: What Is Your Earliest Sports Memory?

SteveP said:
I was 18 when the Expos told me "Good glove kid, but you can't hit a curve. Thanks for coming." :o
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Had a softball teammate, 6'8" 260 or so, could play left field with ease. He was a lefty. Total Cerrano from Major League. Could not hit the curve. Got the minor league tryout, same story as yours.

Funniest thing I ever saw: puking from a hangover each day during a tourney, since we all drank during those things, he still went 17-18. His only out? He accidentally hit a HR after we hit our max limit, so it was an auto-out. :eek:
 
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