My First Baseball Victory Was Colored In Rose Red

I was 5 years old when I discovered the Cincinnati Reds. That special summer day in 1966 at Dodgers stadium in Los Angeles, I didn't even know how to pronounce Cincinnati, but sitting high atop the upper deck stands, I saw a very active group of red "circles" constantly moving from base to base, much to the disappointment of so many people seated around me dressed in blue. I didn't know the names of the players, but my dad and uncle seated on either side of me provided all of the narration I needed. I naively called the more active team the Reds, solely because of the color I saw on the tops of their caps. I remember asking my dad why the people around us didn't cheer when the red "circles" ran around the bases. He smiled and said "that's because they want the "Blues" to win. But on that 16th day of August, not even the great Sandy Koufax could stop the red "circles" from recording a 5 to 1 win.


And while my uncle was excited to see Koufax in the game, he and Dad beamed with pride when Cuban countrymen Leo "Chico" Cardenas hit a bases-loaded double off the Hall of Fame Dodgers lefty. "That's Cardenas" they would both excitedly tell me in Spanish. "He's from Cuba." And there was another player wearing red that did most of the running around the bases that day. He wasn't from Cuba, but my Dad and uncle would always shake their head in amazement every time he ran from base to base. "Rose es un caballo" they'd say. Translation - "That's Rose, he plays with the prowess of a horse." Rose gave me plenty to smile and cheer about that day as he went 4-for-5 and was one of the red "circles" I kept seeing run the bases. In 1966, the Reds weren't one of the better teams in the Major Leagues, but eagerly sitting there between my Dad and uncle at my first ever professional baseball game, the Reds were my champions and the best I'd ever seen.



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