Twenty five years ago today my father took me to my first baseball game. By the time I first set foot inside Old Comiskey Park I was already a baseball junkie. The great finish by the 1983 White Sox helped get me started. Seeing the team at the winter caravan which came to my town that off season really started me loving this team. I even won one of the door prizes which was an autographed ball by Minnie Minoso, Mike Squires, Ron Kittle, The Hawk, and Ribbie and Rubarb. 1984 was the first year that I started collecting baseball cards as well. Of course all of the cards that I really wanted had White Sox players on them. My summer was spent watching the White Sox on a small black and white TV that got WFLD in good enough to watch. This was in the days of rabbit ears and dials helping you fine tune a station. If you would have asked my nine year old self what the term HD I would have told you heavy duty. Just a couple of days before I turned nine though my father took me to see Comiskey Park which was in its 75th year. I normally will not post pictures that are not my own, but since I did not have a camera that day I had to make due with other peoples. Things will be back to normal tomorrow though. Continue reading
Category Archives: This day is csd history
This Day In CSD History: 6/6/2003 Red Sox at Brewers
Six years ago today I made my first journey to Miller Park. I 
would be going next weekend to see the Sox play there, but it was added to this year’s roadtrip in July. That day in 2003 was memorable. It was for one reason because I was listening to Roger Clemens pitch against the Cubs at Wrigley the entire way up to Milwaukee. Another reason that it was memorable was that it was raining cats and dogs most of the trip. One great thing about Miller Park though is that they can close the roof, and you still have a game to see. The one regret that I have about my visit to Miller Park was the fact that it was raining so hard that I really did not tour the outside very much. I basically parked, and then ran inside. This year’s trip will let me see the stadium like I should have seen it a few years ago.
The game itself was a great one to watch. Tim Wakefield got the start for the Red Sox. He only pitched two innings, striking out four before leaving the game due to injury. The Brewers went ahead 3-0 in the second on homers by Wes Helms and Royce Clayton. In the fifth the Red Sox scored two runs, and then tied the game in the sixth on a Manny Ramirez home run. The Brewers put the game away in the bottom of the inning scoring five runs. The highlight of that inning was Richie Sexson hitting a bomb off of the centerfield scoreboard to provide what would be the game winning run. That may be the longest home run I have ever seen in person. The next inning Scott Podsednik (yes, the very same one) reached on a single (his only time on base all day), and then scored on a Geoff Jenkins double. The Brewers won the game, and sent the many Red Sox fans who made the trip home unhappy.
Today in csd History
February 19th, 2006
On this day last year I attended two women’s basketball games on two different campuses. Purdue played Indiana at Mackey, and the Notre Dame women played UConn in South Bend. Both games looked to be good, and when I couldn’t make up my mind I decided to attend both. In the first game the #10 Boilermakers fell to the Hoosiers 63-61 in overtime. Katie Gearlds scored 32 for Purdue in the losing effort. Purdue had the game in regulation, but a desperation three at the buzzer for IU sent the game to overtime. Cindy Valentin took over in overtime to give the Hoosiers the victory on senior day at Mackey Arena. Valentin ended up with 25 points on the day.
The second game featured the #8 UConn Huskies at Notre Dame in the Joyce Center. Ann Strother scored 19 as the Huskies rolled to a 79-65 win over the Irish. Notre Dame kept the game close for a while, but in the end the Huskies depth and Strother were too much to overcome.
This Day in csd History
February 14th, 1998
On this date nine years ago I attended my first Supercross race in Indianapolis. The race was held in the RCA Dome, and as was usually the case back then Jeremy McGrath won the race easily. We took the short drive from Lafayette to Indy to see the event, and we stayed at a friends house in Indy because none of us were in any sort of shape to drive. I will always remember this weekend both for the good time that we had in Indy, and also for the fact that on Sunday we all watched Dale Earnhardt win his first Daytona 500 from the apartment down at Purdue. It was a good all around time.
This Day in csd History
2/4/2006 – This was a basketball day for me. In the afternoon I saw the Irish women’s team beat Providence 66-48 at the Joyce Center. That night I was in West Lafayette to see Purdue knock off Wisconsin 70-62. Today I will be back at Notre Dame to see the Irish women play West Virginia. I figured that I would brave the cold since it is a slow day for sports. The game is at 4:30 Central time, and nothing is really going on tonight that this will interrupt.
This Day in csd History
January 28th, 1995
Ohio State comes to Bloomington to face the Hoosiers. I actually know very little about this game except for the fact that I was there because I still have my ticket stub. What it does bring to mind though is the fact that both Purdue teams welcome Ohio State teams to West Lafayette this week. The #12 Lady Boilers will face the #5 Buckeyes tommorrow night with the Big Ten lead on the line. Last year the Boilers took care of the Buckeyes in Mackey early in the Big Ten season, but then fell to Ohio State twice more before the season was over. With a short bench it will take a great effort to pull off the upset tommorrow night. Jessica Davenport is a force in teh middle for Ohio State, and the game will rest on her shoulders. If we can limit her, we have a chance to pull off the upset. A win would be very big tommorrow, and could help propel the team through the rest of the Big Ten season.
On Wednesday night the Boilers will face the #5 men’s team from Ohio State. The Buckeyes were almost upset at home yesterday by the Spartans, and that may have served as a wake up call to them. They have the super freshman Greg Oden on their side, and he will be a tough matchup all day. As with the women’s game, the outcome may hinge on the way the Boilers take care of the big guy. The Boilers are coming off another win at home yesterday against the Illini. They are undefeated in Mackey this year, and hopefully I can still say that on Thursday. The road is another story.
After the big win against Illinois yesterday this could be a week to remember for Purdue basketball, or it could just be another week.
Confessions of a Sports Junkie 