RICHMOND, Va. -- There are a few things you always expect to see on opening day … the first green grass in months, some patriotic bunting and maybe, if you’re lucky, some sunshine.
Chances are, the internment of a primate is not among them.
That’s exactly what happened -- allegedly, at least -- in April of 1887, prior to the Pittsburgh Baseball Club’s first game as a member of the National League, a 6-2 win over the visiting Chicago White Stockings. Few photos exist, either of the team or the venue, Recreation Park, and the event itself may well be a tall tale. But when you find a story about a catcher holding a funeral for his monkey, and burying it under home plate, you share it.
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