American baseball player (born 1945)
Baseball player
Robert James
"
Rick
"
Monday Jr.
(born November 20, 1945) is an American former
professional baseball
player who now serves as a broadcaster. He played in
Major League Baseball
(MLB) as a
center fielder
from 1966 to 1984, most notably as a member of the
Chicago Cubs
and the
Los Angeles Dodgers
with whom he won a
World Series
championship in
1981
.
A two-time
All-Star
, Monday played 19 seasons for the
Kansas City/Oakland Athletics
(1966?71),
Chicago Cubs
(1972?76) and
Los Angeles Dodgers
(1977?84). He was the first player selected in the inaugural
1965 Major League Baseball draft
. He also received attention for a 1976 incident in which he prevented the American flag from being burned on the field at Dodger Stadium.
[1]
After his playing career, he went on to serve as a Dodgers broadcaster on television and radio.
Amateur career
[
edit
]
High school
[
edit
]
Born in
Batesville, Arkansas
, Monday starred in baseball at
Santa Monica High School
in
Southern California
and earned league honors.
[2]
After graduating from high school, Monday considered whether to accept a scholarship to play college baseball or to play professional baseball. He was offered a $20,000 signing bonus by
Tommy Lasorda
, who was a
scout
for the Los Angeles Dodgers at the time; however, he was convinced to accept a scholarship to play for
Arizona State University
, after Sun Devils coach
Bobby Winkles
, an Arkansas native himself, drew upon their shared roots and promised Monday's Arkansas-born mother that he would take care of her son.
[2]
[3]
College
[
edit
]
Monday joined the
Arizona State Sun Devils
team that included future major league players
Sal Bando
and
Duffy Dyer
.
Reggie Jackson
was allowed to practice with the team, but could not join the squad because the NCAA had a rule forbidding the use of freshman players. During his sophomore year, Monday became the team leader, posting a .359
batting average
along with 34 extra-base hits to earn
All-American
honors.
[3]
He led the Sun Devils to the
1965 College World Series
championship (over
Ohio State
) and earned College Player of the Year honors.
[2]
Minor leagues
[
edit
]
Monday was the
first overall selection
in the inaugural
Major League First-Year Player Draft
in
1965
by the
Kansas City Athletics
.
[3]
Monday signed with the A's for a $104,000 bonus on June 15.
[4]
[5]
He began his professional career in the Single-A
Northwest League
with the
Lewiston Broncs
in
Lewiston, Idaho
. He singled in his professional debut on June 29 at Bethel Park in
Eugene, Oregon
,
[6]
and played his first home game two nights later at
Bengal Field
in Lewiston.
[7]
After the season, he and Bronc teammate
Dave Duncan
entered
boot camp
with the
U.S. Marine Corps
in
San Diego
in September, serving actively in the Reserve for six months before the beginning of spring training.
[8]
[9]
Monday played the 1966 season with the
Mobile As
of the
Double-A
Southern League
in
Mobile, Alabama
. Mobile won the league title and five of its players were called up to the major league club in early September, including Monday,
Sal Bando
, and
Rene Lachemann
.
[10]
Major leagues
[
edit
]
Following his major league debut in September
1966
, Monday began the
next season
in the majors, the A's last year in
Kansas City
. The team moved west to
Oakland
prior to the
1968 season
, his first as an
All-Star
. Monday was with the A's through
1971
, their first as American League West champions. He was traded for pitcher
Ken Holtzman
that November,
[11]
and spent five productive seasons with the Chicago Cubs. In January
1977
, Monday was traded in a five-player deal to the Los Angeles Dodgers for
Bill Buckner
and
Ivan DeJesus
.
[12]
[13]
The Dodgers won the
National League
pennant in
1977
and
1978
.
Monday's best season in the major leagues came in
1976
, his last with the Cubs. Batting in the
leadoff
position, he hit .272, establishing career highs in home runs (32), runs (107), RBI (77), total bases (271), slugging percentage (.507), and OPS (.853). He also finished 18th in the
Most Valuable Player
voting.
On May 16, 1972, Monday hit three home runs as a member of the Cubs against the Phillies in an 8?1 victory at
Veterans Stadium
.
Perhaps the most outstanding accomplishment in his playing career was his domination over pitcher
Tom Seaver
, arguably the best of his generation. Monday hit eleven home runs against Seaver, more than any other player, and batted .349 (30 hits in 86
at bats
).
American flag incident
[
edit
]
At
Dodger Stadium
in Los Angeles on April 25, 1976, two protesters from
Eldon, Missouri
, ran into left-center field and tried to
set fire
to an
American flag
after the start of the bottom of the 4th inning.
[14]
[15]
Monday, the
Cubs
center fielder, had been tossing a practice ball with left fielder
Jose Cardenal
before the incident happened. After
Ken Crosby
of the Cubs threw a pitch that made
Ted Sizemore
pop out, Monday dashed over and grabbed the flag to thunderous cheers. Monday ran through the outfield with the flag and while walking towards the
Dodgers
dugout, met and handed the flag over to Dodgers pitcher
Doug Rau
. When Monday came to bat in the top half of the 5th inning, he got a standing ovation from the crowd and the scoreboard behind the left-field bleachers in the stadium flashed the message, "
Rick Monday... You Made A Great Play...
" He later said, "If you're going to burn the flag, don't do it around me. I've been to too many veterans' hospitals and seen too many broken bodies of guys who tried to protect it."
[16]
Monday had served, while playing Major League Baseball, a six-year commitment with the
United States Marine Corps Reserve
as part of his
ROTC
obligation after leaving Arizona State. He received a congratulatory phone call from
President
Gerald Ford
after the game, and was later invited to the
White House
.
[17]
On August 25, 2008, Monday was presented with an American flag flown over Valley Forge National Historical Park in honor of his 1976 bicentennial flag rescue.
[18]
During a game at Dodger Stadium on September 2, 2008, Monday was presented with a Peace On Earth Medallion and a medallion lapel pin by Patricia Kennedy, founder of the non-profit organization Step Up 4 Vets, for his actions.
[19]
[20]
Blue Monday
[
edit
]
In the deciding Game 5 of the
1981 NLCS
at
Olympic Stadium
in
Montreal
, Monday hit a two-out ninth-inning home run off the
Expos
'
Steve Rogers
. The Dodgers won 2?1. Heartbroken Expos fans have referred to the day as "Blue Monday."
[21]
[22]
Monday and
Steve Yeager
were asked to leave a restaurant in Montreal in 1982 because, according to the manager, six of the patrons wanted to fight with Monday.
[23]
Broadcasting career
[
edit
]
Soon after his retirement as a player, Monday became a broadcaster for the Dodgers. He began in 1985 by hosting the pre-game show and calling play-by-play on cable TV. From 1989 to 1992, Monday moved farther south to call
San Diego Padres
games alongside
Jerry Coleman
, replacing outgoing announcer
Dave Campbell
. He was also a sports anchor at
KTTV
for a time in the 1980s. In addition, he served as a color commentator for
CBS-TV
at the
College World Series
championship game in 1988. Monday rejoined the Dodgers in 1993, replacing
Don Drysdale
who died from a heart attack in his hotel room on a Dodger road trip in Montreal.
[24]
[25]
From 2005 to 2008, Monday mostly handled the analyst role, with
Charley Steiner
handling most of the play-by-play, except during road trips outside of the National League West division, during which Steiner broadcast the games on television (because until Vin Scully's retirement at the end of the 2016 season
Vin Scully
limited his broadcasting to all home games and road games involving either the NL West or AL West,
[26]
) and Monday handled the radio play-by-play, usually with
Jerry Reuss
as his analyst.
[
citation needed
]
In 2009, Steiner (play-by-play) and Monday (analysis) began covering all games on radio, with Eric Collins doing TV play-by-play for games not covered by Scully.
[27]
When Steiner replaced Collins on the road TV broadcasts in 2014, Monday switched over to the play-by-play duties alongside
Nomar Garciaparra
.
[28]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Rick Monday Saved the Flag 30 years Ago"
.
Washington Post
. April 22, 2006
. Retrieved
May 9,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Rick Monday at the Encyclopedia of Arkansas"
. encyclopediaofarkansas.net
. Retrieved
July 3,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
Metcalfe, Jeff (June 16, 2005). ? "Winkles' Devils Reflect on Title Run". ?
The Arizona Republic
.
- ^
"Rick Monday signs $104,000 Bronc pact"
.
Lewiston Morning Tribune
. Idaho. Associated Press. June 16, 1965. p. 10.
- ^
"A's sign Monday: $104,000"
.
Spokesman-Review
. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. June 16, 1965. p. 15.
- ^
"Gems blank Broncs again as Pollard hurls 4-hitter"
.
Lewiston Morning Tribune
. Oregon. June 30, 1965. p. 14.
- ^
"Broncs batter Wenatchee 15?1 as second half opens"
.
Lewiston Morning Tribune
. Idaho. July 2, 1965. p. 12.
- ^
"Rick Monday, bonus baby, joins Marines"
.
Spartanburg
. South Carolina. Associated Press. September 24, 1965. p. 22.
- ^
"Rick Monday in Marines"
.
Prescott Evening Courier
. Arizona. Associated Press. September 14, 1965. p. 9.
- ^
"Athletics call up five players from Mobile"
.
Florence Times
. Alabama. Associated Press. September 3, 1966. p. 3.
- ^
Rappoport, Ken (November 30, 1971).
"Cubs trade Holtzman for A's Rick Monday"
.
The Day
. New London, Connecticut. Associated Press. p. 18.
- ^
"Rick Monday traded to Dodgers"
.
Times-News
. Hendersonville, North Carolina. Associated Press. January 12, 1977. p. 8.
- ^
"Dodgers ship Buckner, get Cubs' Monday"
.
St. Petersburg Times
. Florida. UPI. January 12, 1977. p. 1C.
- ^
"He's Still Best Known for Having Spirit of '76"
.
Los Angeles Times
. April 26, 1996
. Retrieved
April 25,
2024
.
- ^
YouTube video,
Best Baseball Play Ever ? Rick Monday Saves the US Flag
Retrieved May 9, 2015
- ^
Platt, Ben (April 25, 2006).
"Monday's act heroic after 30 years"
. Cubs at MLB.com. Archived from
the original
on February 4, 2007.
- ^
"Veteran's Day Events"
.
aetn.org
. Arkansas Citizens Access Network. November 9, 2018
. Retrieved
May 25,
2019
.
Baseball legend Rick Monday, who served six years in the United States Marine Corps Reserves while playing Major League Baseball, will share his story of stopping two would-be protesters from setting an American flag on fire during a game at Dodger Stadium in April 1976 while playing for the Chicago Cubs.
- ^
Boccella, Kathy (August 26, 2008).
"Player who saved flag from desecration honored"
.
Philadelphia Inquirer
. Archived from
the original
on October 9, 2008
. Retrieved
August 26,
2008
.
- ^
Bernstein, Daniel (September 5, 2008).
"Peace One Earth Founder Patricia Kennedy Throws Out First Pitch at Dodgers' Game"
. PR.com
. Retrieved
September 5,
2008
.
- ^
YouTube video, Patricia Kennedy honors Rick Monday at Dodgers Game
; retrieved May 9, 2015.
- ^
Dion, Jean (June 4, 2014).
≪L'element fatigue≫.
Le Devoir
(Montreal, Canada).
- ^
Au revoir, Expos: Top 10 Moments
. ? Canadian Broadcasting Corporation / CBC.ca.
- ^
Keri, Jonah (March 23, 2014).
"Blue Monday: The Day That Haunts Montreal"
.
Grantland
. Retrieved
May 15,
2023
.
- ^
"Ex-Dodger Drysdale is dead"
.
The Washington Post
. July 3, 1993.
- ^
"Drysdale's death stuns Dodgers"
.
The Washington Post
. July 4, 1993.
- ^
Gernick, Ken (September 6, 2008)
"Scully will return for 60th season"
, dodgers.mlb.com; retrieved October 12, 2008.
- ^
Hoffarth, Tom (March 21, 2009). ?
"Dodgers decide on Eric Collins as its new play-by-play fill-in"
, InsideSoCal.com; accessed September 11, 2017.
- ^
https://archive.vcstar.com/entertainment/tv-radio-notebook-steiner-welcome-addition-to-dodgers-tv-team-ep-292049840-351482931.html/
External links
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