Good evening. This is Dead Legends. The baseball newsletter that’s made in America.

Happy Independence Day to everyone!

Let’s dive in.

Today’s story is about one of the most patriotic things to ever happen on a baseball field.

You’ve probably heard the name Rick Monday.

He played 19 years in the big leagues, won a World Series in ’81, and made the All-Star team in two different decades.

But mostly, he’s known for one moment.

On April 25, 1976 the Cubs were in Los Angeles playing the Dodgers.

During the fourth inning, two protesters, William Thomas and his 11-year-old son, ran onto the field and tried to set an American flag on fire.

No one knows the exact reason for the protest, but it’s been speculated that it had something to do with the treatment of Indigenous people, the Vietnam War, or the personal experience of Thomas’ wife in a mental institution.

Maybe a mix of all three.

They laid the flag on the field and soaked it with lighter fluid, but before Thomas could ignite his match, Monday swooped in like a superhero and saved the flag.

Thomas and his son were arrested and escorted out of the stadium.

Almost immediately, the crowd burst out into singing “God Bless America.”

The Dodgers thanked Rick with a special message on the scoreboard.

Of course, this was a huge deal and got a ton of press.

A former Marine, Monday was super humble about the whole situation - simply stating that he did what he believed anyone would’ve done in that circumstance.

It was a simple act, but a powerful display of patriotism.

47 years later, it’s still inspiring us.

THE GREATEST PLAY IN BASEBALL

In the spirit of this email, it was only right to feature this beautiful shirt.

The Rick Monday tee is $10 off to celebrate the fourth.

STRANGE NAMES

If you're just joining us, we play this game every day where we try to find the weirdest names throughout baseball history.

Why? Don't ask us, it's just something we like to do.

If you've been rocking with us for awhile now, you know what time it is.

Today's winner is:

Billy Eagle played four games in the big leagues back in 1898.

Not much is known about him, but he played both corners of the outfield and hit pretty well in his 13 major-league AB’s.

But after only four games, the Senators released him.

THE DEAD LEGENDS ARCHIVE

If you like this story, check out some of our past favorites:

• The Backstop: Johnny Bench cheats death twice

• The Bank Robbers: Youth coach has a dark side

• The Ultimate Sacrifice: Curt Flood goes to war with MLB