Curt Blefary

She came from Florida, carrying her late husband's remains and determined to grant him his final wish. When Lana Blefary learned yesterday that Memorial Stadium has been all but torn to the ground, it changed nothing. If Curt Blefary wanted his ashes to be sprinkled at home plate, then she would see it done - even if the old ballpark on 33rd Street has become a fenced-off demolition zone. "I'm going to get in there one way or another," she said yesterday, biding her time at a campground in Anne Arundel County.

Sept. 10, 2000: Down by 17 points, the Ravens storm back to defeat visiting Jacksonville, 39-36 - their first victory over the Jaguars in the team's five-year history. Tony Banks' 29-yard touchdown pass to Shannon Sharpe in the final minute gives Baltimore its second straight victory. Sept. 11, 1976 : Twelfth-ranked Maryland rolls over Richmond, 31-7, in its football opener - the first of 11 straight victories for the Cotton Bowl-bound Terps . Led by quarterback Mark Manges and tailback Steve Atkins, Maryland's offense gains 421 yards.

September 10, 1965 : Brooks Robinson, Curt Blefary and Jerry Adair hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in a win over the Royals.

Ask him for the highlight of his Hall of Fame career and Frank Robinson jumps on it like a high fastball. "The '66 season," he told The Baltimore Sun last month. "I couldn't have scripted the first year [with the Orioles] any better. That's winning the pennant, that's sweeping the Dodgers [in the World Series], that's winning the Triple Crown and the Most Valuable Player. That's Hollywood stuff. " None of that happens without Robinson, the headstrong 30-year-old outfielder obtained from the Cincinnati Reds.

More than three decades after playing his last game as an Oriole and nearly four months after succumbing to illness, Curt Blefary made it safely to home yesterday at Memorial Stadium. Sports fans, construction workers, a former teammate and the late slugger's widow watched as Blefary's ashes were scattered in the dirt at what's left of the old ballpark on 33rd Street, the site of his greatest athletic triumphs. For Lana Blefary, it didn't matter that the stadium is dying its own slow death, ravaged by a demolition crew.

TO FULLY comprehend the relevance of Opening Day in Baltimore, one needs to understand the emotional connection between a brilliant fall afternoon in a jammed-packed stadium and a quiet overcast spring day 35 years later, when a few souls gathered on the defunct field in what was left of that same ballpark. It was the top of the first in the first World Series game played in Baltimore. The Orioles had returned from the West Coast with an improbable 2-0 lead in the Series over the heavily favored Los Angeles Dodgers.

More than three decades after playing his last game as an Oriole and nearly four months after succumbing to illness, Curt Blefary made it safely to home yesterday at Memorial Stadium. Sports fans, construction workers, a former teammate and the late slugger's widow watched as Blefary's ashes were scattered in the dirt at what's left of the old ballpark on 33rd Street, the site of his greatest athletic triumphs. For Lana Blefary, it didn't matter that the stadium is dying its own slow death, ravaged by a demolition crew.

In Baltimore City Memorial Stadium service for Blefary closed to the public A service at which former Oriole Curt Blefary's ashes are to be scattered at Memorial Stadium will not be open to the public, an official with the contractor that is demolishing the stadium said last night. Lana Blefary had said that she wanted her late husband's fans to be able to attend the service, scheduled for this morning. But an official at Potts & Callahan said that the site is potentially dangerous, and that after consulting with its insurance company, it decided the public would not be allowed to attend.

Mark Belanger considers it his good fortune that he invariably was with the right team at the right time during his 18 years in the big leagues.Most of those teams, of course, were the Orioles.Only twice was he with teams that finished lower than third, the Orioles of 1967 (tied for sixth) and 1978 (fourth). His only other non-Orioles team, the 1982 Los Angeles Dodgers, was second. Even when he was progressing through the Orioles' minor-league system, Belanger's teams were either first, second third.

Sept. 10, 2000: Down by 17 points, the Ravens storm back to defeat visiting Jacksonville, 39-36 - their first victory over the Jaguars in the team's five-year history. Tony Banks' 29-yard touchdown pass to Shannon Sharpe in the final minute gives Baltimore its second straight victory. Sept. 11, 1976 : Twelfth-ranked Maryland rolls over Richmond, 31-7, in its football opener - the first of 11 straight victories for the Cotton Bowl-bound Terps . Led by quarterback Mark Manges and tailback Steve Atkins, Maryland's offense gains 421 yards.

September 10, 1965 : Brooks Robinson, Curt Blefary and Jerry Adair hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in a win over the Royals.

TO FULLY comprehend the relevance of Opening Day in Baltimore, one needs to understand the emotional connection between a brilliant fall afternoon in a jammed-packed stadium and a quiet overcast spring day 35 years later, when a few souls gathered on the defunct field in what was left of that same ballpark. It was the top of the first in the first World Series game played in Baltimore. The Orioles had returned from the West Coast with an improbable 2-0 lead in the Series over the heavily favored Los Angeles Dodgers.

More than three decades after playing his last game as an Oriole and nearly four months after succumbing to illness, Curt Blefary made it safely to home yesterday at Memorial Stadium. Sports fans, construction workers, a former teammate and the late slugger's widow watched as Blefary's ashes were scattered in the dirt at what's left of the old ballpark on 33rd Street, the site of his greatest athletic triumphs. For Lana Blefary, it didn't matter that the stadium is dying its own slow death, ravaged by a demolition crew.

More than three decades after playing his last game as an Oriole and nearly four months after succumbing to illness, Curt Blefary made it safely to home yesterday at Memorial Stadium. Sports fans, construction workers, a former teammate and the late slugger's widow watched as Blefary's ashes were scattered in the dirt at what's left of the old ballpark on 33rd Street, the site of his greatest athletic triumphs. For Lana Blefary, it didn't matter that the stadium is dying its own slow death, ravaged by a demolition crew.

In Baltimore City Memorial Stadium service for Blefary closed to the public A service at which former Oriole Curt Blefary's ashes are to be scattered at Memorial Stadium will not be open to the public, an official with the contractor that is demolishing the stadium said last night. Lana Blefary had said that she wanted her late husband's fans to be able to attend the service, scheduled for this morning. But an official at Potts & Callahan said that the site is potentially dangerous, and that after consulting with its insurance company, it decided the public would not be allowed to attend.

She came from Florida, carrying her late husband's remains and determined to grant him his final wish. When Lana Blefary learned yesterday that Memorial Stadium has been all but torn to the ground, it changed nothing. If Curt Blefary wanted his ashes to be sprinkled at home plate, then she would see it done - even if the old ballpark on 33rd Street has become a fenced-off demolition zone. "I'm going to get in there one way or another," she said yesterday, biding her time at a campground in Anne Arundel County.

Ask him for the highlight of his Hall of Fame career and Frank Robinson jumps on it like a high fastball. "The '66 season," he told The Baltimore Sun last month. "I couldn't have scripted the first year [with the Orioles] any better. That's winning the pennant, that's sweeping the Dodgers [in the World Series], that's winning the Triple Crown and the Most Valuable Player. That's Hollywood stuff. " None of that happens without Robinson, the headstrong 30-year-old outfielder obtained from the Cincinnati Reds.

PITTSBURGH -- After struggling for the early part of this season and dealing with an oblique injury, Chris Davis has now hit four home runs in his past 13 at-bats. As I'm sure you know by now, three came in his final three at-bats Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. A three-homer game by an Orioles player has happened 20 times in modern-day club history (and four times by the St. Louis Browns), according to home run historian David Vincent. An Orioles player has never hit four in one game.

Mark Belanger considers it his good fortune that he invariably was with the right team at the right time during his 18 years in the big leagues.Most of those teams, of course, were the Orioles.Only twice was he with teams that finished lower than third, the Orioles of 1967 (tied for sixth) and 1978 (fourth). His only other non-Orioles team, the 1982 Los Angeles Dodgers, was second. Even when he was progressing through the Orioles' minor-league system, Belanger's teams were either first, second third.