On April 20, 1916, it was opening day at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
It was the Chicago Cubs vs. the Cincinnati Reds.
This was the first time these two teams had ever met at Wrigley Field, which was very new at the time.
Wade “Red” Killefer, playing for the Reds, was first at bat.
He singled. Then someone drove him in.
So, on opening day 1916, Red Killefer was the first at bat, the first batter to get a hit and the first base runner to score.
That was 100 years ago.
On April 11, 2016 — 100 years later — 23 Killefers from all around the country gathered in Chicago to attend opening day at Wrigley Field and celebrate the memory of Red Killefer.
One attendee, Wade Killefer — Wade “Red” Killefer’s namesake and grandson — is from Santa Monica.
And here history repeats.
Once again, it was the Cubs against the Cincinnati Reds in Wrigley Field.
Once again, the first batter — a guy with red hair playing for the Reds — got a single and eventually scored.
Members of the Killefer clan enjoyed several days of museum tours, zoo tours, deep dish pizza, architectural boat tours, restaurants and bars — and, of course, baseball.
The night before the game, Killefers from all over the country described their memories of Red Killefer.
Attendees came from the Westside of LA, Annapolis, Boston, Berkeley, Petaluma in Northern California, North Carolina, Albuquerque, Oregon and Seattle.
Traveling from LA were Wade Killefer and Barbara Flammang of Santa Monica; Dan, Jude and Wade Clement of Pacific Palisades; Nancy Brandel from West LA; and Gail Killefer and yours truly of Brentwood.
Though this was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience — none of us will be attending opening day at Wrigley 100 years from now — the LA contingency was particularly happy to get home to sunny Southern California.
Chicago has much to offer, but it gets chilly. It was in the low 30s the night of the opening game. But the memories are fresh — and very, very warm.
