Rick Monday grabbing the American flag away from two protesters.
Today, I have little doubt that Rick Monday would be portrayed as the criminal. Denying these miscreants their constitutionally protected right to free speech. Those idiots are lucky they weren't stomped into the ground. I'll bet if Lasorda's fat behind got to them first, it might have been a happier ending for the two offenders.
HAPPY 35TH ANNIVERSARY, RICK MONDAY!!
Rick Monday - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American flag incident
Rick Monday grabbing the American flag away from two protesters.
The two most famous moments of Monday's career were both associated with the Dodgers. In the first, on April 25, 1976, during a game at Dodger Stadium, two protesters, William Thomas and his 11-year-old son, ran into the outfield and tried to set fire to an American flag they had brought with them. Monday, then playing with the Cubs, noticed they had placed the flag on the ground and were fumbling with matches and lighter fluid; he then dashed over and grabbed the flag from the ground to thunderous cheers. He handed the flag to Los Angeles pitcher Doug Rau, after which the ballpark police officers arrested the two intruders. When he came up to bat in the next half-inning, he got a standing ovation from the crowd and the big message board behind the left-field bleachers in the stadium flashed the message, "RICK MONDAY... YOU MADE A GREAT PLAY..." He later said, "If you're going to burn the flag, don't do it around me. I've been to too many veterans' hospitals and seen too many broken bodies of guys who tried to protect it."
[2] On August 25, 2008, Monday was presented with an American flag flown over Valley Forge National Historical Park in honor of his 1976 rescue.[3]
At the end of the season, the Cubs traded Monday to the Dodgers in a five-player deal with two players (one of whom was Bill Buckner) going to the Cubs.
At the September 2nd, 2008 Los Angeles Dodgers game, Rick Monday was presented with a Peace One Earth medallion by Patricia Kennedy, founder of the non-profit organization Step Up 4 Vets, for his actions on April 25, 1976 and his military service with the Marine Corps.[4]
The Greatest Play In Baseball - Rick Monday Saves U.S. Flag
Uploaded by giramino on Jun 10, 2008
On April 25, 1976 at Dodger Stadium, Rick Monday of the Chicago Cubs, grabbed and secured the American flag from two individuals as they were attempting to burn our flag in the middle of the playing field. It was an outstanding display of American Patriotism. Due to the numerous references to 'allah' and insistence that their chairs be faced in a certain direction while being questioned, the two, a father and his son, were described to be muslims by several security personnel including an off duty police officer in attendance at the game who went down to the security room soon after the incident. Others claim that the two, William Errol Thomas and his brother, later corrected to be Thomas and his 11 year old son (not identified due to his age) were war protesters. Others claimed Thomas escaped from a mental institution, others said that his wife was being held illegally and against her will in a mental institution and various other claims. Regardless, it's probably safe to say that what they attempted to do was a disgrace to our American Flag and every American citizen. Aside from public ridicule, Thomas incurred minimal legal actions for his actions. He was fined $60 for trespassing and placed on probation for a year. No formal charges were filed against his 11 year old son who was treated as a juvenile offender. Something that was also confusing was obtaining the flag burner's real name. Security personnel at the stadium said that his name was William Errol Morris. However, the police report and court records all list him as William Errol Thomas, Aka William Errol Morris (Criminal courts building record Case# 31-543367 Thomas, William Errol, Jr. Violation Sec. 602, P.C. one year probation and ordered not to enter Dodger Stadium during probationary period.) His attorney in the public-defender's office said that Thomas was American Indian, a transient living out of the back of his car. DMV yielded no information nor did the registrar of voters or Veterans Administration. The Bureau of Indian Affairs in Phoenix had no information nor were there any military records.
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