Most famous game you attended

Game 4, 1993 World Series. A 14-8 lead in the 8th inning not enough for Mitch Williams. Attended the inaugural Marlins game that same year.

Most famous game I had tickets to but did not attend: 1999 Fiesta Bowl. Sold them for $500.

 

Ripken's 2130th and 2131st games:

 

Had I not googled this, I would have thought one of our legendary posters finally got to cover a game.

 

-- Hank Gathers dies during a basketball game at Loyola Marymount.
-- LMU 149, Michigan 115, NCAA Tournament at Long Beach Arena.
-- Komeback on Katella, Ducks trail Oilers 3-0 with less than 4 minutes to go in NHL playoff game, rally to tie and win in double OT.
-- Miracle on Manchester, Kings trail Oilers 5-0 going into to the third of NHL playoff game, rally to tie and win in OT (I'm trying to think of who might have been at both of these games besides me and Wayne Gretzky. Probably Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun. Maybe some other longtime Oilers staff).
-- Texas-USC Rose Bowl; Penn State-USC Rose Bowl; USC 55, Notre Dame 24; USC's Anthony Davis scores 6 TDs vs. ND.
-- Dodgers pitcher Bob Welch fans Reggie Jackson in the World Series.
-- Rick Monday's homer beats the Expos and the Dodgers go on to beat the Yankees in the 1981 World Series.

 

The 1977 AFC Championship game where the Broncos, in their first trip in franchise history to the playoffs, beat the Raiders to go to the Super Bowl. The husband of my mother's boss moved in with his next door neighbor shortly before the game. The couple could not agree on who got one of the tickets and I emerged as a compromise candidate.

 

Game, man. Singular. Jk, that’s a sweet list.

 

I jokingly mentioned a playoff game that isn't really famous outside of Pittsburgh and Cleveland, but I was also there for Palmer's last round at the Masters. I've never much cared for golf, but the atmosphere for that was really something.

 

A pretty good trifecta:

* The Immaculate Reception. I'm clearly visible in the TV video taken from the press box location. I stood in line at Three Rivers Stadium a week before, in what I remember as freezing temperatures (but I'd have to go back and research how cold it really was) to buy tickets.

* First row, upper level at the 1978 Belmont Stakes between Affirmed and Alydar, probably one of the three greatest horse races of all time.

* The 1986 Masters, though I left on Saturday to fly home because I knew you couldn't see anything out of a Sunday crowd at Augusta National.

 

Baseball: Personal, saw Phillies win Game Six 1980 World Series for first title in franchise history. Professional, Ripken's record-breaker, Sox win 2004 Series, 1999 All-Star Game when Ted Williams came on the field.
Football: Out of a long list, Tuck Rule game and Super Bowl XXIII, Joe Montana's drive to beat the Bengals.
Basketball: Michael Jordan lays 63 on the Celtics in a 1986 playoff loss. 76ers beat Celtics in Game 7 of the 1982 Eastern Conference finals. Ten-year old me, running back to his seat at the end of halftime at an Eagles game, runs into the kneecap of Wilt Chamberlain.
Golf: 1999 Ryder Cup, Tiger Woods at 2000 US Open
Auto racing: Parnelli Jones' turbine car dies on the last lap of the '67 Indy 500 it had led all the way.
Hockey: 1990 NCAA final: Northern Michigan 8-7 in triple OT

 

1, I was on the sideline during the Raiders-Bengals playoff game when Bo's career ended.

2, I photographed Mexico at Jamaica in a World Cup qualifier; ended in a 0-0 tie and Jamaica clinched a berth.

3, Covered the Mt. SAC Relays and interviewed Carl Lewis. The Compton High sprinter I covered told me to tell Lewis he could beat him in a race; I did and Lewis looked at Carrigan about 40 yards away and laughed.

Might be a few more once I jog the memory.

Edit: I was at Nats Park when Randy Johnson was scheduled to go for 300 but it rained out. He got it the next day.

 

May 8, 1973 game 4 of NBA Championship Knicks beat Lakers 103-98

 

Although our seats were on the other end and blocked by the Miami bench, so we had no idea what happened til it was shown on the JumboTron.

I was also at the Texas Rangers game in 2011 when Josh Hamilton threw a ball to a guy in the stands and he fell over the rail and later died.