Biography of Rick Monday

Rick Monday, former major league baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers and other teams, continued to work with the Dodgers as a team broadcaster and web announcer at the time of publication. Monday moved smoothly from his playing career into a new one as a television personality at KTTV in Los Angeles. The former center fielder also penned a book, "Tales from the Dodger Dugout," about the 1981 World Series championship-winning team on which he played.

Early Life

Robert James Monday, nicknamed Rick, was born in Batesville, Arkansas in 1945. After his family moved to southern California, he played baseball at Santa Monica High School. His play impressed Los Angeles Dodger scout Tommy Lasorda so much that Lasorda made Monday an offer to play on a pro contract after high school. Colleges also competed for Monday's talents, and Monday made the commitment to play for Arizona State University instead of going pro.

Early Baseball Career

Rick Monday started playing serious baseball with the Sun Devils of Arizona State University in the mid-1960s. The left-hander earned Player of the Year honors on his team and College Player of the Year in 1965, as well as an All-American team nod and an eventual spot in the ASU Hall of Fame in 1975. Monday attracted immediate attention from the Kansas City Athletics, who selected him in the draft. In his first year with the Athletics, Monday played on the American League Rookie All-Star Team. He continued to play for the Athletics until 1971, when he was traded to the Chicago Cubs, for whom he played for five years.

Later Baseball Career

After five years playing in Chicago, Monday was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1977 in a trade. Monday spent eight seasons as a Dodger, contributing to the winning of National League pennants in 1977, 1978 and 1981, as well as the 1981 World Championship. After 19 years in major league baseball, Monday retired with a career batting average of .264 along with 241 home runs and 775 runs batted in.

Broadcasting Career

After retiring from baseball in 1984, Monday immediately began a second career as a baseball broadcaster. While Vin Scully served as the play-by-play voice of Dodger baseball, Monday served as host for a radio pregame show and also did play-by-play on Dodgers cable television broadcasts from 1989 through 1992. Monday next joined Jerry Coleman as co-announcer for the San Diego Padres. He rejoined the Dodger announcer team in 1993 after the death of broadcaster and former playing legend Don Drysdale. Since that time, Monday has contributed game analysis for both radio and television games, partnering with announcers Charley Steiner, Eric Collins and Vin Scully.

Flag Incident

Before his career as a regular broadcast personality, Rick Monday made the national news for an event unrelated to his baseball prowess. While playing center field for the Cubs in 1976, he observed two fans climbing over the Wrigley Field outfield fence onto the playing field and attempting to burn an American flag. Monday ran to the scene and intervened to save the flag from damage. This action earned him several later awards, including the Step Up 4 Vets and the gift of a flag that once flew over Valley Forge National Historic Park.