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 “Memorable Opening Day Festivites” Photo Gallery!
Click on any image below to see photos in full size and to start Photo Gallery:

 

We made it!! Happy Opening Day!!

 

“You always get a special kick on Opening Day, no matter how many you go through. You look forward to it like a birthday party when you’re a kid.” –Joe DiMaggio

For old-time baseball fans like us, if there’s a better day of the year than Opening Day, I’m not sure what it is!

In the featured photo above, we see a scene from Opening Day, 1911 at Hilltop Park in New York, beautifully colorized by our resident baseball artist, Don Stokes. 

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Click on link to see a nice photo montage I’m calling “Memorable Opening Day Festivities!” It features scenes from various Opening Days over the decades. I think you’ll enjoy it!

Just to put you in the right frame of mind on this wonderful day, here’s a few words about Opening Day I found on Wikipedia. I think we can all agree with the sentiment:

“For baseball fans, Opening Day serves as a symbol of rebirth. Writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book titled, “Why Time Begins on Opening Day.” Many feel that the occasion represents a newness or a chance to forget last season, in that all 30 of the major league clubs and their millions of fans begin with 0–0 records.”

Here’s a little bit of Opening Day trivia:

• In 1907, the New York Giants forfeited their game at the Polo Grounds to the Philadelphia Phillies, 9–0, after rowdy fans threw snowballs.
• Twelve U.S. Presidents have thrown the first ball of the season. On April 14, 1910, William Howard Taft became the first U.S president to do so.
• In 1940, Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller threw a no-hitter to open the season against the White Sox. It remains the only no-hitter in Opening Day history.
• Harry S. Truman threw Opening Day first pitches with both his right and left arm in 1950.
• Ted Williams was a .449 hitter in openers, with three home runs and fourteen RBI during 14 games and had at least one hit in each game.
• On April 4, 1974, Hank Aaron hit his 714th career home run on Opening Day at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium.
• In 14 season openers for the Washington Senators, Walter Johnson pitched a record nine shutouts.
• The  Louis Cardinals were the first major league team to open their home season with a night game, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 4–2 at Sportsman’s Park on April 18, 1950.
• Hall of Famer Tom Seaver has been a starting pitcher for the most Opening Day games in major league history, doing the honors 16 times.
• The longest Opening Day game was played on April 5, 2012 between the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays. The game, played at Cleveland’s Progressive Field, ended with the Blue Jays beating the Indians, 7–4, in 16 innings.

Let’s get it on! Good Luck to all baseball fans! Let’s hope your favorite team does better than expected!

Gary Livacari 

Photo Credits: All from Google search

Countdown until Opening Day, March 28, 2019:  4 hours…and counting!

Check out my two books, both now available on Amazon in e-book and paperback:  “Paul Pryor in His Own Words: The Life and TImes of a 20-Year Major League Umpire”and “Memorable World Series Moments.” All profits go to the Illinois Veterans Foundation

Add your name to the petition to help get Gil Hodges elected to the Hall of Fame: https://wp.me/p7a04E-5gu