Today is Opening Day for 22 Major League Baseball teams, including my Texas Rangers, who opened against Philadelphia this afternoon. Opening Day has always been one of my favorite days of the year, because it means the long Winter is finally over and there is the promise of new life, even for my favorite team.
And a long ago Opening Day is one of those special days where I know exactly where I was.
And I’m not talking about the baseball.
The year was 1983. The setting was the now departed Arlington Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The game was the season opener between the Rangers and the Chicago White Sox.
I looked it up, and it was a Monday night game . Only 13,140 fans showed up with few expectations for the Rangers that season.
I was in that crowd along with Eric Brooks, a fellow sportswriter at the Southwest Times Record newspaper in Fort Smith, Ark.. We drove to Arlington to catch the 1983 season opener because I was a Rangers fan and Eric was a fan of MLB in general.
It was my first — and only — MLB Opening Day game. And what a memory it became.
Here’s what I remember from the night: virtually nothing about the baseball game itself.
But it turned out to also be a night that many American sports fans recall because of an historic upset. North Carolina State beat Houston to claim the NCAA men’s basketball championship.
It was also special to me because Eric and I got to watch the incredible finish to that game while we were at Arlington Stadium with the Rangers game still in progress. You might remember that the Jim Valvano-coached Wolfpack scored one of college basketball’s greatest upsets when Lorenzo Charles scored the game winner at the final buzzer.
So, how were we able to watch that from the stands at Arlington Stadium?
While the NCAA game certainly wasn’t broadcast on the Rangers scoreboard, a fan seated in our section held a small, portable black-and-white television in his lap.
When we saw several people gather around the guy with the TV, Eric and I got up and joined the crowd. We could see the screen pretty well and knew that it was late in the NCAA championship game.
So, we stayed put to watch the frantic finish with that small crowd of college basketball crazies.
As for the Rangers game, Texas defeated Chicago starting pitcher Lamarr Hoyt that night, 5-3, in two hours and 25 minutes. I found the box score.
After the game, Eric and I headed over to the local Bennigan’s Restaurant for a late dinner. Eric spotted White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf seated at a table with team GM Roland Hemond.
I would not have known who they were, but Eric was a big MLB fan who recognized the baseball executives. He wanted to rush over and strike up a conversation, although I talked him into waiting until they were finished eating.
Fast forward 43 years.
Today was another season opening day for the Rangers, who will play their 2026 home opener on April 3. The expectations are certainly higher than they were in 1983, but I won’t be in Arlington next week when the Rangers open at home against the Cincinnati Reds.
No big deal. I’ll always have my memories of that long ago season opener and watching the NCAA finals on a tiny black-and-white portable TV in the Arlington Stadium stands.
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