The Beginning

My earliest Dodger memory is from Game 3 of the 1981 World Series.  According to my dad, we went to a few games during the 1981 season but I truly don't have any recollection.  I was 7 years old ready to turn 8 in October of that year.  That season, I remember seeing Fernando Valenzuela on T.V. and I remember Steve Garvey being someone I liked watching.  My dad was able to purchase two tickets to the World Series and he was hoping the Dodgers could beat the hated Yankees.  Luckily our tickets turned out to be for Game 3, which happened to be the Dodgers first home game of the Series and the way the rotation was set up, it was Fernando Valenzuela's turn in the rotation.  Here is where the story gets interesting.  Once the tickets arrived in the mail, my dad gave the tickets to my mom for safe keeping.  The day before the game, my dad asks my mom for the tickets and after a few minutes she can't remember where she hid them!  All night they both frantically tore apart the house looking for the tickets but come time for us to head to Chavez Ravine, the tickets were still nowhere to be found.  Luckily, or so he hoped, my dad still had the invoice for the tickets.  So we made the trek to Dodger Stadium walked up to one of the ticket windows and my dad explained our situation.  After what seemed like forever to an 8-year old, we were finally escorted into the stadium and to our seats.  By this time, it was the top of the 3rd inning.  We were told they had to verify that nobody was actually sitting in our seats.  All these years later, I personallly remember listening and watching my dad explain the situation at the ticket window and I remember the energy that was running through the stadium. We all know the Dodgers won Game 3 and went on to win the 1981 World Series in six games.  To make the story complete, a few days after Game 3 my mom was cleaning and found the book she had put the tickets in!! This story has been repeated many times at family parties and during the holidays and I always point to this day as the day I fell in love with the Dodgers.

There were 56,236 people in attendance for Game 3 but besides me, I wonder how many of them have two unused game tickets?!?  As much grief as my mom has received over the years I'm grateful to her that I have these two great pieces of memorabilia!!

I'm sure you all have that moment when you fell in love with the Dodgers.  Thanks for checking out my blog and reading about my moment.

truetotheblue!