The Cubs home opener on April 14, 1978, is famous for its massive crowd, which topped out at 45,777 — a record for a home opener. According to the Chicago Baseball Museum, people were already waiting in two-block lines along Waveland and Sheffield avenues for the bleachers to open as early as 6:30 a.m.

The Chicago Cubs were in Arizona for spring training, began the regular season in Japan, went back to Phoenix to face the Diamondbacks in a four-game set and then traveled to Northern California to take on the Athletics.