Loading ...A reader has a question:
I looked at the Wikipedia article (real reliable, I know), and came across this: “In Cincinnati, one fan paid for a plane to fly over Riverfront Stadium that dragged a sign reading ‘Owners & Players: To hell with all of you!’” Unfortunately, Wikipedia is not a credible source at all and whoever wrote that in the article did not cite any type of source. I’d like to use this tidbit as an example of fan backlash (for a senior thesis in college), but I’ve searched the Internet/newspapers and cannot find anything that backs up that this event actually occurred.
Therefore, I’d like to request your help, if at all possible. From what I’ve read on the blog, you’ve attended numerous Opening Days. Were you, by chance, at the Opening Day in 1995? If not, do you know anyone who was at the game and could substantiate this occurrence for me (and, of course, allow me to identify them by name)? Like I said, I’d really like to use this as an example in my thesis, but I obviously cannot without some sort of validation. Any help with this would be GREATLY appreciated.
Can anyone help? I wasn’t at that game, and I don’t remember any reporting of an incident like this.
I don’t recall hearing anything about that – but it’d certainly be an interesting example for a paper if it turns out to be true.
I’ve never heard of it either.
here’s a NY Times article with a similar blurb, and a Marge Schott smoking ban violation to boot:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE7D91531F934A15757C0A963958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all
hope this helps.
You might e-mail the beat writers (McCoy from Dayton and Fay from the Cincinnati Enquirer) and see if either of them recalls it. Though, I don’t know if Fay was the beat writer back then.
It looks like Hal had an article that might have mentioned it, but I’m not willing to pay $3 to see the archive version on the DDN. as the person above mentioned, I’d email him about it. Or wait until the next rain delay and call the banana phone because I guarantee Marty remembers it if it happened.
You’d probably want Tim Sullivan, formerly of the Cincinnati media and now circling in San Diego circles:
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/staff/tim-sullivan/
It wouldn’t surprise me. that was right after the big strike that ended the ‘94 season while the Reds were in 1st place. That strike really hit fans badly and it wasn’t until the steroid aided HR barrages by Big Mac and Sosa when fans started coming back to baseball. It seem like I remember something like this happening but I can not verify it.
I can help, although I was there I can’t recall this specific incident. But I found the article in a Sports Illustrated Vault from 1995.. Here it is http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1006552/index.htm
Wow, great find, C.J. I don’t remember that happening either.
By the way… ahhh, 1995. That’s the last year the Reds made the playoffs, right? The only time since the World Championship in ‘90? Wow…
I love that 1995 SI cover.
That article brings the pain back. I cried when the strike happened. A lot. I know it’s just a game, but it wasn’t. Not then. It was greed and more greed and being a senior in high school it was probably the first time the big bad real world really affected me. Quite honestly I didn’t get back into baseball, really into it, until the trade for Junior. There were two seasons I didn’t even go to games. (98 and 99, although I had playoff tickets for 99).
I’m sure there have to be some pictures of that banner. I’d love to see it.
Thanks for those links, Andy and Jason; they are more than sufficient. I’m not sure how or why I couldn’t find those myself when researching, but I guess I should have expanded my research from only the Cincinnati and other local papers.
And thank you for putting this up for me, Chad. I really appreciate it.
Oh, and CJ, too, thank you! I almost forgot you. The power of Redleg Nation – I love it. If anyone does happen to have a picture of the event, that would be a fantastic supplement to my thesis as well.
The plane wasn’t throwing out live turkeys was it?
“As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”