My First Phillies Game – John watches Robin Roberts

My very first game was in 1958. I was 5 years old and my dad took me to see Robin Roberts pitch.

I had never seen the inside of Connie Mack Stadium before. I can vividly remember the smells as we got closer to the park: peanuts and cigar smoke. Then we went in right under the dome on the corner of 21st and Lehigh, up the steps, and there was the most beautiful patch of grass I had ever seen. We were surrounded by seats of different colors. I saw that incredible scoreboard, all lit up and the lights shining down. I was hooked.

I don’t remember who the Phillies played that night. I just remember the roar of the crowd and the Phillies uniforms, red pinstripes and red hats, with the white “P”. I remember yelling “Go Phillies” about a thousand times, and my dad getting a kick out of me enjoying it so much.

We went to many games together, and later even my mom came along. I loved that ballpark and those teams, through good and bad. I’ll never forget my first, and my dad telling me Robin Roberts was going to be a Hall Of Famer. He was right.

(John McGarry)

How many of the five senses do you remember experiencing at your first Phillies game?

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