Post up your Memorial Stadium experiences.

[Nigel Tufnel]

The music, for better and for worse:

America - You Can Do Magic

Chicago - Saturday in the Park

Yesterday (they alternated -- sometimes the Beatles and Stevie Wonder) while showing highlights from around the league on the "DiamondVision" scoreboard

Steeley Dan - Do it Again

I also remember them playing "The Night Before" by the Beatles when showing highlights from the previous game.

[russ snyder]

I also remember them playing "The Night Before" by the Beatles when showing highlights from the previous game.

Right. I forgot about that one.

I remember them playing "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" from the Buthc Cassidy & The Sundance Kid Soundtrack during rain delays. ( probably early to mid 1970's) Further, they played Eurhymics " Here Come the Rain Again" during rain delays in the

1980's.

[Boy Howdy]

Not good for the Birds, but Memorial Stadium also hosted the only no-hitter I attended in person. Rookie southpaw Wilson Alvarez's sloppy no-no for the Chisox in the summer of 1991.

Pat Santarone's tomato patches also deserve a mention. He and Earl had a quite a competition...the contracts ushers handed out to fans who caught fouls (just following Rex Barney's instructions)...I loved Rex, but still remember him botching the introduction of R.E.M. signing the national anthem by calling them Rem (rhymes with them)...

Rex's player intros like "Batting third...the right fielder...number 29...Ken...Singleton"

There was a guy named Presley always hanging around who knew all the players and seemed to get a bat or cap from someone every night during BP...

Both Dennis & Tippy Martinez never seemed to wear their caps during warmups...the way Eddie Murray always threw the ball back into the dugout (same spot on one perfect hop) between innings...

One personal highlight was attending a tryout (I think for the Reds) during my teens. Due to rain, the tarp never came off, but I still remember playing catch along the third base line.

[weams]

Not good for the Birds, but Memorial Stadium also hosted the only no-hitter I attended in person. Rookie southpaw Wilson Alvarez's sloppy no-no for the Chisox in the summer of 1991.

Pat Santarone's tomato patches also deserve a mention. He and Earl had a quite a competition...the contracts ushers handed out to fans who caught fouls (just following Rex Barney's instructions)...I loved Rex, but still remember him botching the introduction of R.E.M. signing the national anthem by calling them Rem (rhymes with them)...

Rex's player intros like "Batting third...the right fielder...number 29...Ken...Singleton"

There was a guy named Presley always hanging around who knew all the players and seemed to get a bat or cap from someone every night during BP...

Both Dennis & Tippy Martinez never seemed to wear their caps during warmups...the way Eddie Murray always threw the ball back into the dugout (same spot on one perfect hop) between innings...

One personal highlight was attending a tryout (I think for the Reds) during my teens. Due to rain, the tarp never came off, but I still remember playing catch along the third base line.

Thanks for sharing.

[FR500]

Hey, maybe we are on to something! Phoebus no-hitter, Bertaina 1-hitter. Maybe if the O's have school safety patrol day every home game, our pitching would be better! :laughlol:

Actually, not all Safety Patrol Days went well. I attended the other 1964 Safety Patrol Day - May 12 - and my sister and I, along with a couple classmates, were injured in the "escalator accident". It's hard to believe that it will be 50 years. Fortunately, having grown up just a couple miles from the stadium, we went to lots of games (usually in the bleacher seats with the popcorn megaphones) and have many, many great memories.

[Number5]

Actually, not all Safety Patrol Days went well. I attended the other 1964 Safety Patrol Day - May 12 - and my sister and I, along with a couple classmates, were injured in the "escalator accident". It's hard to believe that it will be 50 years. Fortunately, having grown up just a couple miles from the stadium, we went to lots of games (usually in the bleacher seats with the popcorn megaphones) and have many, many great memories.

Oh man, sorry that happened to you. I do remember that.

[Carllamy]

I saw Brooks Robinson's last home run. Everyone says they were there (the place was almost empty that night) but I really was there.

Eating popcorn out of the cone-shaped cardboard containers that you could turn into a megaphone after the popcorn was eaten.

Taking a French girl to a baseball game and explaining the game to her while I watched Cal Ripken Jr. play against George Brett.

Getting tacos sold to me by Tippy Martinez from the stand he ran during Stallions games.

Watching the entire New England Patriots team hang their heads and collectively give up after Joe Washington ran for a touchdown late in a game while sitting on the 50-yard-line, which were blue aluminum bench seats without backs.

Listening to them play "Southern Nights" by Glen Campbell and "Moonlight Feels Right" by Starbuck through that giant mound of speakers that didn't let you hear anything.

Eddie Murray rolling a ball to me after infield practice while I stood in the stands along the first base line.

Watching a woman strip her pants off and stick her naked butt out of the window of a moving car while riding home from a soccer match in which the great Pele played.

Attending games in the 1979 playoffs and World Series, and the 1983 playoffs and World Series. I went to the only game we lost in the 1983 World Series.

Going to an Opening Day Game during which it snowed - not the 2003 one where Jay Gibbons lost the ball in the heavy snow. This was just the occasional flake, but it was snow, and it was cold.

[UMDTerrapins]

I saw some pretty great games. Game 2 of the ALCS and WS in 1983. The double header on the final weekend against the Brewers in 1982. I can't recall dates, but I saw Murray win a handful games in the 9th. A few observations about the stadium. The speaker stack in center field had strange wind-altered acoustics, when heard from the seating bowl. Made it seem very far away. The wooden bleachers behind left field (where we sat in the '83 offseason) were in ridiculously bad shape. I remember a lady jumping on the hood of our car and directing us to a side street for a parking space (clearly she asked for a finder fee). We were thrilled that we weren't getting robbed. I remember feeling spoiled rotten when we got the big jumbotron in RF...could have never imagined Camden Yards someday. I remember a localized commotion from upstairs (we had season tickets on 1B side lower level) when Wild Bill would start rallying his section for the chant. I also remember the upper deck being disturbingly steep to walk down.

[weams]

. I remember a localized commotion from upstairs (we had season tickets on 1B side lower level) when Wild Bill would start rallying his section for the chant. I also remember the upper deck being disturbingly steep to walk down.

Especially if you had been hanging out with WB and the Gang. Disturbingly steep.

[brianod]

First game was the 7th game of the world series against the Pirates in 1971. Ouch.

Bert Jones and the Colts had some great teams. You could walk up and buy playoff tickets against Stabler's Raiders or the great Pittsburgh teams. Never got over the hump but those games were truly fun to watch.

1979 begun Orioles magic. It was a special time in the O's history because the genesis of Orioles magic was desperation over the prospect of losing the team to Washington. The community came out and just may have saved the team. Many have remarked how 25,000 at Memorial Stadium made more noise then 45,000 at Camden Yards and that is true. Those 25,000 were at Memorial stadium on a crusade. We didn't want to O's to leave and fueled by cheap 32 oz beers, we partied and cheered hard.

The early eighties were full of drunken road trips from the University of Delaware to the stadium, most memorable was a trip to the Milwaukee game on Saturday where we won our third in a row to tie them for the division, only to lose to them on Sunday.

As I transitioned from partying teenager into fatherhood, I remember walking to the car, holding the hand of my first son when he was five. The chief goal of those games was to keep him away from the souvenir stand as long as possible because he would lose interest in the game after he got his souvenir:)

When the Ravens came to Baltimore, I bought season tickets and enjoyed going to the stadium. I probably annoyed my sons to no end with stories of the way things used to be and the various games and various characters that I had watched and interacted with.

Ravens last game, I risked a night in jail, stealing a seat. I felt I earned it. That is debatable but the seat now belongs to my oldest boy and I have never regretted taking it.

What do you say about a place you first went to at 10 years old with your father and left many years later with your ten year old son? Memorial stadium wasn't just a stadium. It was a symbol of community pride. It was a gathering place for those of us proud of our community, proud of our teams. Add to that, it was a hell of a lot of fun.

I went to the second game of the Yankees playoff series and was very gratified to finally see Camden Yards approach Memorial Stadium as an awesome place to watch a game. It's a beautiful stadium and we are lucky to have it. Time marches on and while I will always celebrate and fondly remember Memorial Stadium, I'm looking forward to taking my grand kids to Camden Yards.

[jabba72]

Fog game in '89 vs the Yankees, my Birthday. Also remember a game, the team awarded Cal a MiniVan after being the All Star MVP in '90, and he hit a HR that game too. Also remember that game some creepy guy grabbed me and forced me to stop while his friend shot a rubber band at me. They were both bearded and in their 20's if not older. Also seen Chris Hoiles first ever HR, a 3 run shot in the 10th inning that won the game.

[Frobby]

Cool. Tippy was interviewed about this game, after his career was over and he said the ball park was pretty empty that game.

25,882 attended, but some may have left by the time the 10th inning rolled around and all the fun stuff happened. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL198308240.shtml

[mdbdotcom]

25,882 attended, but some may have left by the time the 10th inning rolled around and all the fun stuff happened. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL198308240.shtml

A 10-inning game in under three hours. They can't even get nine innings in under three hours these days.

[PeteU]

In terms of on the field action, my favorite memory would have to be June 17, 1991 when the Orioles faced off against the Twins. The Twins--on their way to the World Series that year--were riding a 15 game winning streak. My friend got tickets for the game in the Upper Deck behind home plate. This being Cal's career MVP year, we were treated to a homer on his part. But going into the bottom of the 9th, the Twins were up 5-3 with Rick Aguilera trying to close it out. A Joe Orsalak sac fly brought it to 5-4 and with Brady on second with two outs, Cal came to the plate with a chance to be hero. He of course was intentionally walked, leaving it up to Randy Milligan. Aguilera drew two strikes on Moose....right before Moose deposited the ball in the left center field gap. Brady scored easily, and Cal came right ahead of the throw, winning the game and snapping the Twins' streak. The entire house erupted in deep chants of "Moooooooooooose!" The Diamondvision showed a picture of a moose in an Orioles uniform sporting a number 39.

For all you movie buffs out there, that hit was memorialized forever, briefly, in a scene in A Few Good Men where Tom Cruise's character is seen watching that game on television.

And then less noteworthy in terms of on the field action but even more personal to me was the first Orioles game I had a conscious memory of attending: June 10, 1989. Nothing of consequence happened on the field that night--the O's were blanked 6-0. But it will forever be the night I embraced the sport of baseball. Traffic was crazy around the stadium, and we didn't find a parking spot until the 2nd inning. Our seats were at the very top row of the upper deck on the first base side, and I remember the combination of fear and excitement sitting with only that little cheap wire fence between me and the parking lot over a hundred feet below. All the intangibles of baseball lured me in that night---the bright stadium lights, the huge green field, the smells, etc. That was the night I became an Orioles fan.

The thing about Memorial Stadium was, it felt like home. You felt like the players were playing the game in your backyard, like a wiffle ball game during a summer barbeque. I remember watching games on television, and whenever they'd show the shot from behind homeplate--with those trees and rowhouses beyond the fence, it truly epitomized the national pastime. I don't know if there was any other stadium that gave you such a feel.

[luismatos4prez]

I'm a lot younger than most of this board. I went to a Ravens game in Memorial Stadium but was too young to remember it now.

My most lasting memory came after the stadium was already closed with PSInet and OPACY having been built in the 90s. I was in middle school I think, when they announced that they would let people come into the stadium and walk around the field for a bit before they tore it down.

I went with my dad, a lifelong Baltimoron and Os/B-more Colts/Ravens fan. We walked around the OF a bit, which was overgrown with weeds at this point. He told me stories about Johnny U, Frank and Brooks Robinson, etc. We got our picture taken with an old Orioles WS trophy and the Ravens' newly won Lombardi Trophy. They were selling bricks of the old stadium and he bought one that still sits in his office and one for his own father who supported the Orioles since they first came to town.

Pretty cool memory. That's why, even if they don't spend a dime and the team doesn't win a game this year, my support of the team wouldn't fade. They're a connection to the past. My great-grandfather stood and cheered when the Orioles hit a home run and so will my son.

Sorry for the tangent.