The Dick Selma incident that’s referenced throughout the game is documented in a Hardball Times article of December 13, 2013. Lindsey Nelson’s account at 2:18:30 is quite entertaining. Of course, Lindsey was ALWAYS entertaining.
This was a tough game travel wise for both teams. They had played a day game(1 PM PT) the day before due to a Tuesday night rainout and had to fly across three time zones to play a 1 PM ET game on Saturday
I know I'm late with this comment, but it's intended only nobly. To the person or folks who post this, I do appreciate your effort; *however* , you chronically have audio that is just pitched too low and too slow. I know what Mel Allen's voice sounded like. I also know, intimately, what Rizzuto's voice sounded like. Your audio is not pitched high enough or you're getting original recordings that are played too slowly. With the audio correction available to most people who care enough to post this kind of thing, I wish you'd fix it.
Around the time there is a pinch hitter 3/4 in, a loud fan can be heard (on good headphones) heckling Phil Rizzuto! He says a few times “Rizzuto: you’re a ‘huckleberry’!”
There is a game on youtube where Nuxhall was pitching, forget who it was against. Interesting that I think even in this season when the Dodgers were off to the World Series to lose to Frank Robinson and the Orioles, and the Reds were trying to recover from the loss of Frank - there was still a healthy rivalry with the Dodgers, and Claude mentions that Koufax had lost to the Red several times. The day after this one, Koufax got his 22nd win and Nux lost, nearing the end of his pitching career. The Reds turned over quite a bit but... two guys on this 66 team were on the BRM championship teams of 75-76, Pete Rose and Tony Perez. I got to meet Lou Johnson many years later - he was working for the Dodgers front office then - and he and I talked about the rivalry between the Reds and Dodgers, probably second only to the Giants and Dodgers. Messing up the divisions in 94 broke up that rivalry. Too bad, because the Cincinnati crowds would come out to see the Dodgers. I went to several midsummer doubleheaders at Riverfront. Even if neither team was in contention - although almost always both were in the 1970s - the crowds would still come out. Lou was a really nice guy and it was a real honor to meet him and talk about those days. He was actually from Lexington KY and I found out later that we had both been on the same flight from CVG-LAX that morning! I have his Sports Illustrated cover, I think he drove in the winning run that cinched the 1965 Series victory for the Dodgers.
I was there that night. I was in the left-field stands, about 10-12 rows up. A fight started in the second inning in the section to the right of us and lasted until the ninth. Upper deck contributed with beer showers. In the seventh or eighth, a fan ran on to the field from the third-base side. Went out to Roy While in left for a handshake. Denied. Tried it with Paul Blair in center. Again, denied. Not so with Reggie out in right. Greeted the guy by putting his arm around his shoulder and waved to the crowd, giving security (such as it was) time to get out there and corral the poor soul. Reggie and Thurman both had three hits, Saw Guidry start. Gossage relieved in the seventh and pitched five scoreless after Guidry gave up two in the sixth and two in the seventh to make it 4-4-. Sparky Lyle came on in the 12th for three scoreless frames, and got the win when Nettles hit a two-run homer to right in the bottom of the 14th. Yanks were 8.5 back at this point. Yeah. A memorable night in a memorable season.
If Mickey Mantle had immediately retired after this 1967 game, he would have had a lifetime .300 batting average and 500 lifetime home runs as well. Instead, he put his need for money ahead of his legacy as his average slipped to .298 by the end of the 1968 season when Mick at long last called it quits. Mantle later said that not ending up as a lifetime .300 hitter was his greatest regret in baseball.
1 Time All Star 1970 Journey Man Catcher Jerry Moses from the Red Sox was one of only two players who Earl Weaver would not play. Till the day he died, Jerry swears Pete Rose would have been out at the plate it were he catching and not Ray Fosee, who Earl Weaver stuck with. Jerry's reasoning being was that he played football in college and Fosee did not, also claiming superior blocking ability.
I had 50 years to get over this loss, and it still stings today. Why couldn't Tom Seaver pitch game 7 instead of game 6? George Stone was 12-3 with a 2.80 ERA, and he had some nasty pitches. He could have pitched game 6. I don't understand.
They Yankees are 96-57 and have clinched the pennant. The Red Sox are 65-88 and in 7th place. But this would prove to be an exciting close game, ending with a walk-off home run. You have to honor the game by playing to win right to the end.
Super exciting game! Thanks so much for posting this. The Yankee trio of Messer/White/Rizzuto never fails to deliver great entertainment. (Even though I’m a lifelong Bosox fan.) 😊
