grandpadude

The things we remember best are the things that we don't expect. If we expect something to happen and it happens we call that normal, and we forget about it. I remember a day very well when something I did not expect happened. It was July 15, 1973 and it was a very nice day, not too hot, just right, sunny, good day to enjoy the outdoors. My plan did not involve enjoyment, it was to cut the lawn. Every Saturday I had a date with my grass and my wife made sure I kept it. This day I went out to the lawn and found my neighbor Bob at work on his own lawn. Bob had a odd way of working with one hand. He would have a tool in the one hand and a cold bottle of Stroh's beer in the other. If anything required two hands he put down the tool, and went to get more beer. We had just decided that grass grew too fast, when my wife came and told me I had a phone call from my friend Chuck."He wants you to go to the Tigers game" she said. I started a list of reasons why I could not go, interrupted by Bob "Are you nuts? The grass will be here tommrow, the ballgame won't" he said. Ok, I would talk to Chuck. He had two box seat tickets, front row, upper deck, third base side, above the Tigers dugout. Chuck would drive and pay for the parking, he just wanted to go to the game, and he did not want to go alone. Well you know I could not pass that up, I went with Chuck. The Tigers were playing the Angles and although the teams were not all that good in 1973, Nolan Ryan would pitch for the Angles. The Angles got the lead early and the Tigers were not doing well at all, all 0's on the scoreboard. Innings went by the Angles led 4-0. The 7th. inning strech came and all 0's for the Tigers on the scoreboard. No one said "no hitter" but Nolan Ryan was on his way to one. When Ryan got someone out the crowd would cheer, everyone was on his side. As he started the 9th. inning everyone was standing and applauding. Norm Cash came up to bat. When Cash got his bat on one he could hit it a mile (I saw him put one over the roof of the third deck of Tiger stadium one night.) Cash got to the plate and he had a big long fungo practice bat in his hand, and he tried to look like he was going to hit something with it. Everyone laughed, the preasure was off. Ryan got Cash out, and got his no hitter. Everyone was cheering for him. Angles won 6-0. It was the best game I have ever been to, and I am a fan of Nolan Ryan for sure. I never expected what happened that day, that's why I remember it so well.