Dodgers honor Rick Monday’s dramatic 1976 flag rescue on its 50th anniversary

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers marked the 50th anniversary of Rick Monday rescuing the American flag from being burned in a 1976 game against the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.

Monday and his wife, Barbaralee, held up the preserved flag on the field to a standing ovation.

Monday was playing center field for the Cubs on April 25, 1976, against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. In the fourth inning, two men came on the field, spread the flag on the left-center field grass and doused it with lighter fluid.

Monday ran over and snatched the flag with his right hand and sprinted away before giving it to Dodgers pitcher Doug Rau. The crowd responded with a standing ovation.

When Monday came to bat an inning later, the stadium message board read: “Rick Monday...You made a great play.”

A six-year veteran of the Marine Corps reserves, Monday received a bronze sculpture of him running with the flag from Marine Corps members Saturday.

“I had no idea they were going to be here or present me with an honor. Very humbled,” Monday said later on the radio broadcast of the game.

The Cubs and the Dodgers lined up on each baseline for the national anthem, sung by “Phantom of the Opera” star Davis Gaines.

Monday joined the Dodgers the following year, when Tommy Lasorda began his long run as manager. Monday was part of the team's 1981 World Series championship. He has worked as a Dodgers broadcaster on and off since 1985.

The rescued flag will be on exhibit at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, beginning Memorial Day weekend. Monday has preserved the flag and is loaning it to the museum.

“What’s very nice is that flag they were trying to desecrate still has a life,” Monday said.

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