Sweet Memory

Sweet Memory

I was making my way through the box scores this morning when something in “On This Date” caught my eye: the Pirates routed the Cubs 22-0.  That glorious pasting took place on September 16, 1975, and I was among the 4,932 fans in attendance.

Four or five of us went, South Siders embarking on North Side adventure; we took my 1967 Impala convertible, if I remember correctly.  (Trust me, the Chevette was a real letdown after the Impala.)  I probably kept score, which had to be hard, considering that Rennie Stennett went seven for seven with five runs scored.  As for the other 17 Pirate hits, they must be deeply, if happily, buried in my subconscious.

Both the White Sox and Cubs won 75 games that year.  The second coming of Bill Veeck would come the next year and the South Side Hitmen the year after that (featuring Richie Zisk, who went 2 for 5 while batting sixth for the Pirates that day).  All in all, it wasn’t the best or the worst of times, just average.

And so long ago.