The Heart Of Patriotism - Happy Independence Day Staff Article

34 years ago on a late April afternoon under a clear Los Angeles sky, the Dodgers hosted the Cubs in what seemed to be just another typical Major League baseball game. 

By the end of the 4th inning the game proved to be anything but typical for Chicago Cub’s center fielder Rick Monday and the heart of American Patriotism that would be forever touched by what he did that day.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Dodgers second baseman Ted Sizemore was standing at bat and waiting for the next pitch form Cubs left-hander Ken Crosby.

Without warning, a man and a young boy jumped out of the stands and raced toward center field stopping only after running past Cubs left fielder Jose Cardenal.

After reaching a spot just left of center field, the man, William Errol Thomas and his 11 year old son, produced an American Flag, spread it out on the ground, and to the complete shock and astonishment of everyone watching, they squirted lighter fluid on it and proceeded to try and set it on fire. 

“Everyone thought the two were just a couple pranksters,” Cardenal recounted as he described the event.  “We had no idea what was going on.  I thought they were just a couple fans trying to get a cheap thrill from being on television for a few minutes,” he continued.

Cub’s center fielder Rick Monday watched the whole bizarre event unfold.  As the closest player to the two strangers on the field, he saw the lighter fluid as soon as Thomas pulled it out of his pocket, and when he saw the matches, Monday put his glove into his left hand and bolted in a full sprint towards the pair. 

As Monday neared the two intruders, they had already managed to light one match which fortunately went out right after igniting and they were lighting a second match which burst into a pool of flame at the edge of the striker.  Just as the two readied the flag for full ignition, Monday bent over and scooped up the flag with his right hand without breaking stride.  The man hurled the can of lighter fluid at Monday, but the Cub’s center fielder continued to run toward the home team dugout, where he handed the flag to Dodgers pitcher Doug Rau.

Patriotism is a selfless act of pride and defense of our country and our way of life.  Rick Monday didn’t throw his body on a grenade to protect fellow combatant, lead a charge of D-day during the landing at Omaha beach, or single handedly capture a hundred enemy prisoners.  However, what Monday did represents something just as important.

On this July 4th as we celebrate our independence, everyone at whatshottampabay.com would like to thank Rick and all the patriots of this great nation.