On April 25, 1976 — exactly 50 years ago today — Chicago Cubs center fielder Rick Monday made a play that had nothing to do with a batted ball, a double play, or the score. Yet it remains one of the most unforgettable moments in Major League Baseball history. While playing at Dodger Stadium during the nation’s Bicentennial year, Monday sprinted across the outfield grass, snatched an American flag from two protesters attempting to set it ablaze, and dashed away to thunderous applause. It was a spontaneous act of patriotism that transcended the game — and it was powered by the values he learned during six years of service in the United States Marine Corps Reserve.
Monday was in his 11th big-league season, patrolling center field for the Cubs against the Dodgers on a hazy Sunday afternoon. In the bottom of the fourth inning, with the Cubs leading 3-2, two trespassers — William Errol Thomas Jr., 37, and his 11-year-old son — ran onto the field in shallow left-center. They unfurled a full-sized American flag, laid it on the grass, and doused it with lighter fluid. One struck a match.
Vin Scully, calling the game for the Dodgers, captured the surreal moment perfectly: “I’m not sure what he’s doing out there. It looks like he’s going to burn a flag… And Rick Monday runs in and takes it away from him!”
Monday didn’t hesitate. From his position in center, he charged, leaned down without breaking stride, and scooped up the flag with his gloved right hand. He kept running, the soaked Stars and Stripes trailing behind him like a cape, and handed it off to Dodgers pitcher Doug Rau near the dugout. The crowd of 25,167 erupted. When Monday came to bat in the fifth inning, Dodger Stadium gave him a standing ovation, and the scoreboard flashed: “Rick Monday… You Made A Great Play.”
Monday later reflected on the moment with characteristic humility and steel. “If you’re going to burn the flag, don’t do it around me,” he said. “I’ve been to too many veterans’ hospitals and seen too many broken bodies of guys who tried to protect it.” In another interview, he joked that he couldn’t let the flag burn because he didn’t want his former Marine drill instructors confronting him: “Hey Marine! Why did you just stand there while they set the American flag on fire?”
That Marine connection was no coincidence. After being selected first overall in the inaugural 1965 MLB Draft out of Arizona State University, Monday fulfilled a six-year commitment in the Marine Corps Reserve — including boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego alongside fellow players Dave Duncan and Tommie Agee. He balanced his baseball career with weekend drills and summer training, all while becoming a two-time All-Star, a Gold Glove finalist, and a respected leader in the clubhouse. His service shaped him long after he left the reserves.
The protesters were arrested, fined $80 each, and placed on probation. Monday asked for — and eventually received — the flag after the legal proceedings ended. He has kept it ever since, occasionally displaying it for charitable events supporting veterans and their families. The iconic black-and-white photograph by Los Angeles Herald-Examiner photographer James Roark, showing Monday mid-stride with the flag in hand and the would-be burners on their knees, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and has been compared to the flag-raising at Iwo Jima.
In the days that followed, Monday received a congratulatory call from President Gerald Ford and was later invited to the White House. The moment resonated far beyond baseball because it happened at a time when the country was still healing from Vietnam and deeply divided. Monday’s quiet heroism reminded Americans what the flag represented: sacrifice, unity, and the freedoms worth defending.
Today, as the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday in 2026, the flag Monday saved is on exhibit at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. And on this exact 50th anniversary, the story feels as relevant as ever — a reminder that sometimes the most important plays in baseball have nothing to do with the final score.
Rick Monday didn’t just save a flag that day. He reminded a nation what it stands for.
