During a game between Chicago and Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium, two protesters run onto the field and attempt to set a U.S. flag on fire. Cubs centerfielder and former American Legion Baseball player Rick Monday rushes to rescue the flag and prevents it from being burned. ESPN later describes Monday’s act that day as one of the top 100 plays in Major League Baseball history.
Monday, who played 19 seasons of Major League Baseball, would in 2006 join The American Legion and the Citizens Flag Alliance to testify on Capitol Hill in support of a constitutional amendment to protect the flag from deliberate desecration.
Monday played American Legion Baseball for Santa Monica Bay Cities Post 123 in California. He is named American Legion Baseball’s Graduate of the Year in 1976 and in 2007 receives The American Legion’s James V. Day “Good Guy” Award.
See a video about the play and Monday’s reflection on it:
Watch video on YouTube
