(Dramatic atmospheric music fades in) AL BUMBRY: I've always wanted to play ball.

Basketball.

Now, that may sound strange coming from this old Oriole here at Camden Yards, but yep, when I was a kid, the hardwood was where I wanted to be.

Little did I know that my story would be written playing baseball, positioned right here, on green grass under open skies.

And, for 14 years, this is where you'd find me, center field.

From exhibition games all the way to the World Series, I watched it all unfold right from this spot.

ANNOUNCER: ...Bumbry.

Going, going.

Hear the crack.

Reaches high and pulls it down.

Only Bumbry's speed kept it from going against the (unclear).

It's a right centerfield base hit.

(Unclear) had to hold up for a moment.

It's onto second base for Romero... (Dramatic music crescendos and fades) AL: My name's Al Bumbry.

Uh, I played for the Baltimore Orioles for 12 years.

I enjoyed playing for the Orioles.

But I enjoyed playing baseball, but I was fortunate enough to spend most of my time in the major leagues with the Orioles.

For a young Al Bumbry, sports meant that, uh, you know, I kept active.

It was something I loved to do, and obviously I was pretty good at it.

Basketball was my first love.

We used to play basketball off of the wall in front of the garage.

Baseball, I played it like every little kid played, we played stick ball, rag ball, backyard ball, whatever.

I never played Little League, I missed that.

But I played basketball well enough where I got a scholarship, Virginia State University in Petersburg.

I played basketball there for four years, and I didn't play baseball there until my senior year because we didn't have a baseball program there.

BILL STETKA: Al had played for Dick Bowie, one of our scouts during the summers, but he was really just a basketball player at Virginia State.

His senior year he played baseball and Bowie convinced him that he had a future in baseball.

Al was actually reluctant to sign.

But when he did, the Orioles drafted him in the 11th round in 1968.

In 1969, because he had been in the ROTC program at Virginia State, he was destined to go into the Army uh as a second lieutenant and head to Vietnam.

AL: When I got ordered to go to Vietnam, and when I finally landed there, you know, I became a platoon leader.

And I had 40-some men that I was responsible for.

And my, uh, captain told myself and three other lieutenants, "This war was going on before you got here.

This war will be going on when you leave.

So, your main objective should be to do your job, but at the same time, keep in mind, you and your men get back home safely."

Then I come out, I hit .340, .340, .345, whatever, at three different levels.

In a year-and-a-half, I'm in the big leagues.

And people ask me that question, "What happened?"

And all I said was, "I matured."

When you're responsible for lives, you know, all of a sudden this baseball thing doesn't seem to be so damn tough.

KEN SINGLETON: I can recall the first time I ever saw Al Bumbry play.

It was in the spring of 1974.

I was playing for the Montreal Expos at the time.

And we were playing the Orioles exhibition game and he hit a triple.

And, uh, I forgot who I was sitting next to on the bench, but I turned to him and I said, "That's the fastest guy I have ever seen."

AL: I- I never sat down and dreamed about being a Major League player.

I never dreamed about playing in a World Series.

My motivation was I hated to fail at any damn thing I did.

You know, I hated to get thrown out when I tried to steal a base.

I never wanted to get thrown out on a base or at a base.

If you can run like I could run, you're not supposed to be getting thrown out on a regular basis.

KEN: Al was the first Oriole ever to get 200 hits in a season and that was in uh 1980.

And the reason I remember that is because he seemed to be on base every time I came up.

I never saw anybody hit from day one to the end consistently as he did.

SCOTT GARCEAU: I mean, covering B, watching him play, once you were around him and got to know him, he was the kind of guy you pulled for.

He was just a good guy.

Who wouldn't pull for Al Bumbry, who Earl Weaver used to say, "the hardest working player I ever managed"?

Hard work, a smile on his face, what wasn't to like about Al Bumbry?

AL: When people ask me, "What's your most memorable moment as an Oriole?"

I tell them, it was the parade after we lost the World Series in '79.

These fans were unbelievable.

They were stopping the routes of the cars, they're all in the streets and everybody jumping up and down and screaming and...

I never got my arm jerked so much that day.

Then, in '83, we won, and those fans were back out there again.

SCOTT: You know, after baseball and baseball was extended for B he...he coached here with the Orioles, the Red Sox, a couple other stops but uh, he's always been around the game, teaching the game to kids, mentoring players, mentoring current players, too.

They get to know him.

Al Bumbry, he's always going to be part- part of the baseball fabric in Baltimore.

AL: My legacy would be whatever the fans thought, you know, about me and the things I did, you know.

And I try to keep my nose clean, and so far, I think I've done a pretty good job of that.

And the fans have welcomed me, and they recognize me, and they still appreciate the way I play.

So, as long as the fans feel that way about me, I- I can't, ask for anything else other than that.

KEN: You know, I played with a lot of people over the years, and I'll admit, as I said, the Orioles are a very special team.

But within a special team, there are special guys, even more special.

And, uh, my best friend over the years and still is, uh, #1, Al Bumbry.

And he's number one in my book.