Your First Reds Game

[Moosie52]

My Dad took us to Riverfront to see the Reds and Cubs in the early 70's. We sat in the next to top row on the third base line. Those seats were way up there, and the pitch was scary steep. The third baseman looked like a little dot on the green carpet. Don Gullett pitched for the Reds, and I'm not sure who started for the Cubbies, but it was an amazing game, 1-0. It was probably a Saturday night. Wish I could remember who won.

[90reds]

I couldn't tell you the exact date, but it was sometime in Fall 1996 against the Padres. Baseball Reference says the series took place from August 13-15, which would make sense since we moved to Cincy that August. We had just moved from Baltimore, where Camden Yards was just a couple years old and Cal Ripken was still God, so we were pleasantly surprised when we could take a break from unpacking and get affordable seats for the whole family minutes before game time! I also remember it was free lunch box day

[XU Lou]

My first game was in April of 1970, 9 years old at the time. It was against the SF Giants. Our seats at Crosley were along the first base line, right behind the coach's box, in the second or third row.

I vividly remember a pop foul caught by Willie McCovey over the head of another kid in the first row. He was the biggest man I had ever seen in my life up to that point! Or so it seemed to me.

I also remember the pitcher who held the Giants to one hit that day, Wayne Simpson. Always makes me sad when I think of him and what a talent he was for such a short period of time.

[New York Red]

I participated in the older thread, but will again, briefly. My first game was either 1968 or 1969. It was at Crosley Field against the Giants. That's all I remember, and I only know that much because I always remembered my dad telling me at the time, "That's Willie Mays right there, son". I never forgot him saying that.

Some of you guys have incredible memories, to be able to recall dates and scores of your first game so many years later. I realize baseball-reference is a huge help, but how do you know the date to look up? Did you keep ticket stubs, game programs and/or scorecards? I'd give almost anything to have some kind of souvenir from my first game, but unfortunately I don't.

[tomnuetten]

first reds game was 2006 (in fact I never saw a complete baseball game before), on september 13 against the padres...
That was my first time I went to the US and visited my family in Cincinnati (and Dayton). They took me to the ballgame (it was a Hot dog for 1 $ day) and it was amazing...

My english was worse than today (yes, today my english is bad, but 2006 I had problems to understand anything..) and I didn´t know the rules of baseball, so it was hard to understand the game... The Reds lost 10-0 But after my trip I started to watch ball games, tried to learn the rules and started to fall in love with baseball (and the reds)

My second trip to the US was in 2011 with my girlfriend and I planned the trip that I can see the Reds play at Citifield while we were in New York. The Reds won (9.27.2011) 6-5 ..

and "now" I stay awake at night to see the Reds play (every 7pm ET game is in Germany at 1 am...)

[OneEyedJack]

I went to a lot of games when I was very young.... including a lot of the 1976 games in utero (thanks Mom)!

The first game I remember well is 8/29/85. Rose was close to breaking the record and he got a hit that night. The place was electric.

[mth123]

1965 DH against the Mets. I was in the bleachers at Crosley Field with my dad and brothers. Art Shamsky homered. I really didn't understand much for a couple more years though.

[Captain13]

I was six-years old and had just moved into the heart of Reds Country, Fairfield, OH from Fort Wayne, IN in August. Dad took me to see Jerry Reuss and the Dodgers take on Mario Soto and the Reds on Friday, Sept 11. I don't remember a lot of the details, but I remember seeing some of the BRM (Bench, Concepcion, Griffey and Foster were all starters), and how can a kid forget a walkoff (before we used that term) HR in his first Reds game? Thank you, Ron Oester. I was probably your biggest fan for the next 10 years.

That ride home up I-75 and Route 4 listening to Marty and Joe describe what I had already seen was one of the coolest things ever.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/bo...98109110.shtml

[cumberlandreds]

Here's mine in the link. August 21, 1971. Myself,my dad and my oldest brother went. Maybe my other brother did too. I don't remember now. I was eight. We sat in the yellow seats down the 1st base line. The first time I saw the field I remember thinking how green it was. Of couse it was plastic but it looked real to me. Plenty of HOF players in that game. Mazeroski and Stargell for the Pirates. I don't know why Clemente didn't play. But I did get to see him play the next season when we made our annual trek to watch a game. Bench,Rose and Perez were the HOFer's with the Reds. (I know Rose isn't in the HOF) At that time Bench was my favorite player. So it thrilled me to no end when he hit a HR. A little known player at that time,George Foster,had the key hit,a triple,that was the eventual game winner. Also Jim Merritt won his only game that season in relief.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1...210CIN1971.htm

[redsmetz]

[QOTE=SWIndRed;2799036]What was the first Reds game you attended? What do you remember about it?

I was very fortunate as my first game was the last game at Crosley Field. I was just 9 years old at the time, but I'll never forget the Reds hitting back to back home runs in the 8th inning to defeat the Giants. Following the win, I got to witness the helicopter flying in to take home plate over to that new stadium, Riverfront.

Two families packed into an old red station wagon to make the 3 hour trip from SW Indiana for my first big league game...what a great memory.[/QUOTE]

I was at that game, although it wasn't my first. I remember the sky looking threatening and it darkening, but knew it become night. Funny. I would have been 15.

My 1st game game was a few years earlier. A kid on the other end of our street took my next younger brother and I with him & his dad. We were dropping baseball cards down on folks below & we got yelled at by the usher.

We also went to games with a priest who taught my dad in high school who was related to the Joseph Automotive family - box seats at Crosley. Very, very nice. Would have been around 1966 or so.

[Red Raindog]

Originally Posted by New York Red

I participated in the older thread, but will again, briefly. My first game was either 1968 or 1969. It was at Crosley Field against the Giants. That's all I remember, and I only know that much because I always remembered my dad telling me at the time, "That's Willie Mays right there, son". I never forgot him saying that.

Some of you guys have incredible memories, to be able to recall dates and scores of your first game so many years later. I realize baseball-reference is a huge help, but how do you know the date to look up? Did you keep ticket stubs, game programs and/or scorecards? I'd give almost anything to have some kind of souvenir from my first game, but unfortunately I don't.

I had to look up the date thru boxscores but I knew the teams - the score & the month & year

If mom had kept my scorecard after I left for college ---- or my baseball cards -- or my comic books -- or my slot cars -- or my -- well you get the idea

[Beatlessp]

I can't remember if it was '86 or '87...I had just started getting into baseball. only a few things I remember: Played the Astros; there was a pretty long rain delay (my brother and I were both pretty young, i was 6/7 he was 10/11) and we left early. I remember they replayed the video of Rose breaking the record, but I had no idea what was going on. I remember Dad listening to the end of the game on the radio at the hotel, but I can't remember who won. Second trip to Riverfront was more memorable...I was older, it was 1991, and we were at the Phillies game that Lenny Dykstra ran into the outfield wall and broke his collarbone..heard it snap from the second tier third base seats we were in.

[DGullett35]

The early 90's. I was 4 or 5 years old. It was the Ohio Cup and it was played in Columbus. I do remember the Reds getting beat. They use to play those games right before the regular season started.

[Josh]

May 28 2010 Sam LeCures first start against the Astros and had an Astros fan in front of us all decked out in the retro gear. He was not cheering for long though we spanked them 15-6. And to make the day better BP hit a HR the first inning and we was setting in the lucky row of the game so we won free pizza lol.

[Captain13]

Originally Posted by New York Red

I participated in the older thread, but will again, briefly. My first game was either 1968 or 1969. It was at Crosley Field against the Giants. That's all I remember, and I only know that much because I always remembered my dad telling me at the time, "That's Willie Mays right there, son". I never forgot him saying that.

Some of you guys have incredible memories, to be able to recall dates and scores of your first game so many years later. I realize baseball-reference is a huge help, but how do you know the date to look up? Did you keep ticket stubs, game programs and/or scorecards? I'd give almost anything to have some kind of souvenir from my first game, but unfortunately I don't.

I knew we played the Dodgers. I knew I moved to the area in August of '81. I looked up boxscores and I knew I saw an extra inning game where Oester hit the walkoff (Dad had said "if the Reds don't score in the 10th we are going home"). So when found that boxscore, I put 2 and 2 together and came up with 1, Game 1 of many.