Can't be sixty years, but it is, and it probably is THE moment of my childhood.
First game of the doubleheader between the Mets and Cardinals at the Polo Grounds. Top of the third, Curt Flood is at bat and he hits a foul ball back behind the plate. It glances off my dad's hand and falls to the ground where I scoop it up and hold it under the edge of my seat as some big dude comes from a few rows back to try to wrest the prize from my hand. I never heard (prior to that moment, and never again) my dad let into the guy with with a big, "GET OUTTA HERE".
It's 1963 and my dad's wearing the baggy trousers (khaki color) with he big pockets. I probably asked him thirty times that day if he sill had he ball.
I found a baseball website with historical game coverage with pitch by pitch detail and IIRC, it was Carlton Willey who was the last human being to touch that ball before we claimed the treasure. Yes, the ball is sill in my possession.
I have made sure to remember important dates in my wife's life. It is the only way I am allowed to remember the vivid details of June 9th, 1963.
June 9, 1963
Re: June 9, 1963
Cool story harbo. June 9 happened to be my father's birthday as well. Curt Flood was an excellent player
Time to Win
Re: June 9, 1963
Great memory, harbo! 
Speaking of important days in one's life, my bar mitzvah was 8 days earlier.
Speaking of important days in one's life, my bar mitzvah was 8 days earlier.
Last edited by LS71 on Mon Jul 24, 2023 1:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Win without boasting, lose without crying." -- Julius Erving
Re: June 9, 1963
Just seeing this post for the first time. I can also lay claim to catching a foul ball at an MLB game. Childhood? Not exactly, I was a young pup of 41.
https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/200 ... RI2007.htm
The D-Backs' Dustin Nippert threw it, the Brewers' Bill Hall (later with the Red Sox) hit it, and I caught it in Section 313, Row 1, Seat 9. First-base side, upper deck.
This was the top of the seventh inning, with Hall leading off, and Milwaukee already ahead 9-0, the eventual final score.
Time and circumstances have kind of brought a halt to my summer baseball road trips. That year featured San Diego, Phoenix and Denver, including a Broncos preseason game.
https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/200 ... RI2007.htm
The D-Backs' Dustin Nippert threw it, the Brewers' Bill Hall (later with the Red Sox) hit it, and I caught it in Section 313, Row 1, Seat 9. First-base side, upper deck.
This was the top of the seventh inning, with Hall leading off, and Milwaukee already ahead 9-0, the eventual final score.
Time and circumstances have kind of brought a halt to my summer baseball road trips. That year featured San Diego, Phoenix and Denver, including a Broncos preseason game.