Where were you when Buckner became infamous?

[Runscott]

Regarding horrible moments, other than Kennedy's assassination and John Lennon's assassination, this infamous moment is probably more ingrained in my memory than any other. Well, okay - Bart Starr sneaking over on the final play of the '67 NFL championship game. That one was so horrid I've almost forgotten it.

Where were you in '86 when you saw the Red Sox blow it? I was in Boulder, Colorado, and had just watched Colorado stun Nebraska's top 10 football team using trick plays, from great seats given to me by a friend of coach Osborn. I got to meet Osborn before the game, then we visited the Nebraska players in the locker room afterward. What should have been great fun ended up being very somber.

But the important thing was to haul butt over to a sports bar and catch the end of the game. I still remember everything about that moment - looking up over the bar and watching Buckner pretend like his legs were wickets, and the bar-wide groan.

[barrysloate]

I was actually at the game, and what is most interesting is we were sitting a bit into right field facing Buckner's back. So when the ball went through his legs, I saw it happen from behind, an angle that does not exist on any footage. So my memory is unlike anyone else who saw it on television.

And a sidenote about November 22, 1963. All of the people roughly my age remember that schools closed early that afternoon and everyone was sent home. But by pure chance I woke up that morning with a cold and my mother had me stay home. I remember watching TV in the late morning, turning it off to have lunch, and then turned it back on after eating and realized that something was very wrong. The first thing I heard was Governor Connally was shot...I had absolutely no idea who that was. Then a moment later I heard Kennedy was shot, and I knew something terrible had happened.

[vintagechris]

I was a High school SR and watching on TV at home. I was pulling hard against the Mets as I was an Expos fan and in 1986 you either loved the Mets or you hated them.

The '86 Mets were a "confident" bunch. I was on the side of not liking them and really wanted the Red Sox to win.

[Runscott]

I was actually at the game, and what is most interesting is we were sitting a bit into right field facing Buckner's back. So when the ball went through his legs, I saw it happen from behind, an angle that does not exist on any footage. So my memory is unlike anyone else who saw it on television.

And a sidenote about November 22, 1963. All of the people roughly my age remember that schools closed early that afternoon and everyone was sent home. But by pure chance I woke up that morning with a cold and my mother had me stay home. I remember watching TV in the late morning, turning it off to have lunch, and then turned it back on after eating and realized that something was very wrong. The first thing I heard was Governor Connally was shot...I had absolutely no idea who that was. Then a moment later I heard Kennedy was shot, and I knew something terrible had happened.

That's some game to have been at - you probably heard the hugest collective live groan in history.

Regarding Kennedy, the thing I remember clearest was Johnson taking the oath near the airplane. It was pretty weird as a child, to think that we were going to have a new President - kids think of them more like kings who will always be there.

[barrysloate]

Scott- it was really a shriek. It won the game for the Mets and extended the series to a 7th game. I remember walking down the ramps and out of the stadium a few minutes later and fans were still screaming and jumping up and down in the parking lot. I knew I would never see another game like that for the rest of my life.

[WhenItWasAHobby]

I remember where I was when that game occurred quite well. I was on a date and the game was on TV in a restaurant in Houston where we were having dinner. The woman I was with wasn't into baseball at all and I could tell she was irritated with me paying more attention to the game than her - and that was even before the Buckner play. When the Buckner play occurred and the rest of the collapse, I was just trying to maintain my composure but doing a really bad job of it. Needless to say that was our last date upon mutual consent. I can't recall exactly what she said to me, but I recall telling her that this game will last in baseball infamy for ages to come if you can't appreciate that then there's no future for us.

[Runscott]

I remember where I was when that game occurred quite well. I was on a date and the game was on TV in a restaurant in Houston where we were having dinner. The woman I was with wasn't into baseball at all and I could tell she was irritated with me paying more attention to the game than her - and that was even before the Buckner play. When the Buckner play occurred and the rest of the collapse, I was just trying to maintain my composure but doing a really bad job of it. Needless to say that was our last date upon mutual consent. I can't recall exactly what she said to me, but I recall telling her that this game will last in baseball infamy for ages to come if you can't appreciate that then there's no future for us.

Haha! that's great. Too bad more men can't understand the importance of such events until it is too late...and they're in the middle of a divorce.

[tiger8mush]

I must admit, at 8 yrs old I don't have any memories of the '86 World Series live. But of course watching the replays over and over it seems like I remember haha.

My earliest World Series memory is 1988. Oakland was a fun team to watch even though I was a Yankees fan, so I was rooting for them. So I had a bet with a friend. We each started plucking a half dozen baseball cards from the other's collection and placing them into an envelope, and the winner of game 1 would win the contents of the envelope. I took the A's and he took the Dodgers. I distinctly remember the A's have a 1-run lead in the 9th with Eck on the mound, and I got out my card album and began to transfer the cards from the envelope into my album. One out! muaaahaha. Two outs! muaahaha. Somewhere in between a runner had gotten on base, but no doubt thats all that Eck would give up. And now they are bringing out 98 year old Kirk Gibson! YES! Surely the A's would win! I think Eckersly even got 2 strikes on him. Then of course he hit the HR and I couldn't believe what had happened. My friend had a big $hit-eatin grin on his face and I had to pull the cards from my album and hand them over. I think I lost an '85 Donruss Puckett, '87 Donruss Canseco, and a few other cards that meant a lot to me at the time. DOH! So I didn't bet any more the rest of the series and of course the A's win the next 4 in a row.

I wasn't born yet for the Kennedy assassination, but as far as dramatic "world" events, probably the 9/11/01 attacks are most memorable for me. I was already at my new full-time job and news hit that a plane hit a building in NYC. Most figured it was an accident, a handful of people died, and work would continue as usual. But then a 2nd plane hit and we found out it was the WTC and it was intentional. Many people left work, the rest of us tried to find out what was happening online but the internet was so bogged down w/traffic that it was almost impossible to read a news report. So we tuned in to radios to get the latest and then went home and watched the tv reports.

[Runscott]

I must admit, at 8 yrs old I don't have any memories of the '86 World Series live. But of course watching the replays over and over it seems like I remember haha.

My earliest World Series memory is 1988.

That would be an interesting topic in and of itself. Mine was '68 - ran home every day from school because the games started in the afternoons. This year's series is shaping up to be a bunch of tight games as well. And, unfortunately, this world series ALSO HAS THAT TIM McCARVER GUY!!!! :(

I was watching the game last night, my girlfriend had her head turned away. At some point she remarks about McCarver, "that guy sure is pedantic." I had to ask her what 'pedantic' meant, but I had a pretty good idea.

[scooter729]

So I didn't bet any more the rest of the series and of course the A's win the next 4 in a row.

I think not betting would've been a smart bet - the A's only won one game in the '88 Series, as the Dodgers won the Series in 5 games...