Today the Cleveland Indians open their season against the Toronto Blue Jays. It's a fairly typical Cleveland early spring day (except for the incredible sunshine): the temperature is in the low 40's, and a chill wind blows in from cold Lake Erie. My son-in-law, Ed Kleppel, will be at the game rooting the Tribe on. There's a possibility that 45-year-old Omar Vizquel will make an appearance at shortstop for the Blue Jays--the oldest shortstop (and the best!) in baseball history. We fondly remember Omar's 11 years with the Indians.
Today I especially remember some opening games, both in Cleveland and Cincinnati. I remember the 1966 home opener when my friend Terry Laurie and I skipped out of St. Joe's High School and sold hotdogs at Cleveland Stadium. Our plan was to watch the game for free. It turned out that 80,000 people showed up and we didn't have a free minute to watch the game. We were gone from early morning until evening, took 2 CTS buses to the game and 2 buses home--and we made $8.00 for our day's work (subtract from that the bus fare). But it was a great day, and worth the 5 demerits Brother Boekermann dished out!
I also fondly remember an opening day in Cincinnati (1977) when about 6 inches of snow fell. A snowball fight broke out, of course, and amazingly the game proceeded as tons of snow melted in Riverfront Stadium. Cincinnati is one of the greatest towns for opening day, with the Findley Market parade and all the wonderful events of the day.
On April 4, 1974, opening day, I watched the Cincinnati Reds play the Atlanta Braves. Hank Aaron hit his 714th home run in the first inning, tying Babe Ruth's all-time record--one of the great moments in baseball history, and I was there.
In the late 1990's Linda and I worked the concession stand opening day at Jacobs Field, where the Tribe opened their season. The soccer parents worked the stand and a good amount of money was earned for my daughters' soccer teams and the Euclid Youth Soccer Organization. What I remember is working non-stop, and freezing my rear end off! Opening Day is normally very very cold in Cleveland.
Cold or not, sun or snow, opening day is a wonderful big deal in Cleveland and Cincinnati.
Go Tribe!
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