It was great to have a sports fan teaching afternoon classes. My geometry teacher got the AV squad to roll in a TV on a stand for this series, and we were in the Yankees market. Awesome.
Same here. My teacher was Mrs. Dunham, and though she hated the Tigers being a Cleveland native, she let us watch anyway because they were our team. Teachers wouldn't dream of doing that in today's wretched, woke education system.
I was 10-11 yrs old. The 68 series was the start of my love of baseball. I was able to play until I was 40. In 7th grade woodshop I took a Bob Gibson pic and a Mickey Lolich pic cut from a sports mag, Glued them to a piece of wood after staining it and woodburning in Cardinal and Tiger logos. I displayed that on my walls for decades. I don't know where it is now but I can see it as I speak about it. Baseball. Love it.
Loved Stormin Norman Cash, Willie The Wonder Horton, Jim Northrup, Bill Freehan, Mickey Stanley, Al Kaline, Dick McAuliffe, Dennis Dale McClain, Mickey Lolich, Earl Wilson and The Gator..Gates Brown!! 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂👍👍👍👍👍
@@TheTussman I think Frank Robinson did that once too, hit two slams in one game for the Orioles. I do miss Curt Gowdy calling Saturday afternoon baseball games.
When it was Baseball!.....When it was a game!!!!.....even though I was 1 yr old when this game took place.....I love it more than today's baseball.....My favorite player was Mr. CLemente, and just knowing he played during this time gives me so much happiness! Tim Mcarver, Bob Gibson, Bill Freham.....all of this guys were true to the game......old Shool baseball....The Best......
@K Maxx hey bro...I was born in 1966...In fact I dont remember him playing....but I've seen plenty of videos! Baseball was better than ever!!!! Hater! Go do your HOMEWORK....
kyokogodai ....A decent and humble man...may God bless his soul. He used to always give a shout-out to Gates Brown in local interviews with, "..Say hello to the Gator for me.." He and Gates Brown were tight..
- Is it Freddie?? Did you watch any of the Red Sox-Yankees last night? Did you see any of the 9th inning? I'm TIRED of people whining about how baseball today is "unwatchable". Newsflash: baseball 50 years ago ISN'T applicable to today's society. Baseball has to adjust to the times like everything else. Unless you wanted everything from 50 years ago to stay EXACTLY the same and not have even one thing change at all.
illinoizrichy1 Sorry but 1968 was a horrible year for baseball. Pitchers dominated way too much. Every game was 1-0, 2-1, 3-1, etc. Attendance was way down. Hell, the AL batting champion was Yastremski, w/a .301 BA. Lack of offense was why MLB lowered the mound the next year. Time magazine ran an article that year, entitled "Baseball is dead". People, especially sports fans think everything was better 40-50 years ago, but that's not always the case.
I remember these games like it was yesterday. Denny McClain had been pitching against Gibson in the previous games where he lost. So they did a switch and Mickey Lolich pitched against Gibson after McClain had won game six. It was my first summer back from Vietnam so I always felt the won this series for me!
That's not why they "switched". They didn't want to rely on Earl Wilson, who hadn't had a particularly good year, or Joe Sparma. So, both McLain and Lolich pitched on 2 days rest . That put each of them a day ahead in the rotation.
Marc...I listened to the game in a foxhole in Vietnam at something like 3am on Armed Forces radio with an earphone in one ear. Being a Tiger fan, it was amazing.
I was in school at the time. To allow the kids to watch the game at home Detroit Schools switched a teacher's conference up a day so we got out early to be able to watch the whole game. Pretty nice.
When they won we were on the freeway driving through Detroit traffic on the way to see my grandparents in Flint before flying overseas to our next duty station. My dad, just back from his first tour in Vietnam, started screaming at the top of his lungs and the entire freeway erupted with horns honking. That night the news showed the airport tarmac overrun with fans CHASING PLANES as they landed trying to find the team. I was nine and I’ll never forget it. ❤
Jim Northrup had a knack for hitting grand slams...In fact, June 24, 1968,In a game against the Cleveland Indians, Northrup hit grand slams in consecutive at bats in the 5th and 6th innings. This made him one of only 13 players to have hit 2 grand slams in one game and the second to do so in consecutive at-bats.
I saw games 6 and 7 live. My grandparents lived in St Louis and my gramps had gotten 2 tickets for each game. They let me out of school, my parents flew me to St Louis from Detroit and I got to see my two favorite teams going head-to-head in one of the most epic world series ever. I was truly blessed.
I live in SW Lower Michigan, and it’s more Cubs/Chisox country than Tigers. While I’m 10 Toes Down for the Tigers, I loved listening to Harry Carey and Jimmy Piersall broadcasting the Chisox in the late 70’s! I grew up on Harwell and Paul Carey, and I think that they are the GOAT as radio broadcasters...but Harry and Jimmy were good AND fun!
That sounded like Jim Simpson to me...although with the sound quality from that old a broadcast, it was hard to tell. Gowdy did the Game of the Week for NBC, but he was also their #1 play-by-play announcer for the AFL games (this was pre-merger), and Jim Simpson did a lot of post-season baseball.
I watched this game on live television and was rooting for the Tigers. Gibson had a great year but Lolich came out on top when it mattered most: the Series. And don't forget that Game # 7 was played in St. Louis. The Tigers were the better team and deserved their Series victory. Thanks for great memories.
Flood makes that catch like he should have tigers score 0 completely different game Cards defending champs were the better team done in by few bad plays were up 3-1 in that series they blew it.
@@eugeneelar2231 The beauty of baseball is that Flood didn't make that catch, and the defending Champs aren't guaranteed a repeat. The Tigers were the better overall team and proved it when it mattered.
@@richardgriffith1241 many times in sports the better team doesn't win.Some players don't play well unlucky breaks like flood tripping.There were 2outs he makes the catch tigers lose,all their runs came from that inning right?Shannon's hr in ninth wins it.
@@eugeneelar2231 Wrong. The Tigers scored another run, final was 4-1. Had the Tigers been up only 1-0 in the ninth, no way Shannon hits that meaningless two-out homer.
Detroit had 4 outfielders in Northrup, Horton, Karine, and Stanley. The Tigers manager got all 4 in each game by benching shortstop Ray Oyler and putting Mickey Stanley in that position. Mayo Smith was called genius for that move, but all it did was strengthen the lineup.
This happened just one year after the Detroit riots it brought the city back together.I was in 5th grade,Wade Fast elementary, Mt,Clemens Mi. Cash was my favorite player probably because he was a lefty first baseman the position I played all my life. Our teacher Mrs. Emerick who was retiring that year brought in a 13 inch black n white TV and set with bunny ears,with tin foil on em. up in class and we skipped our work and watched the games . Back then World series games were always played during the day.Great memories. Side note the great Denny Mclain barely showed up for the series the very underrated Mickey Lolich carried the team on his back by getting 3 wins with the 3rd one over Bob Gibson and the Cards in game 7. The Tigers were down 3 games to one and came back to win it! While McClain and Gibson got all the press Lolich was in the trenches winning ballgames. But, I will never forget how dominate Gibson was in game 1 breaking a record by fanning 17 Tigers in that game.
I got to see Denny McLain speak at a local theater a couple of years ago. Still funny AF. We were in the second row. At one point, he couldn’t remember the name of the first Black umpire. I softly said, “Emmett Ashford”? He looked at me, amazed, and said “How the hell do you know THAT?” My long suffering wife just shook her head and said, “This is what I live with”. He laughed.
And I too loved Stormin’ Norman. A sad ending for a great guy. The story of him bringing a table leg up to bat against Nolan Ryan as he was throwing a no-no is one of my all time favorite stories.
Cash was great, saw him clear the right field rooftop with a blast at Old Tiger Stadium. Went to our church at St. James Methodist off of Southfield freeway in Detroit!
I remember this series fondly. My school wouldn't allow any radios, so I skipped school and ended up listening to the game in an empty field near my house. Game one was a cold and rainy day here and I came down with a cold and had to stay home for the rest of the series, even though I was sick I never enjoyed myself more until 1984
Had to walk home from school with radio in hand, but got home in time to see the win. Same small radio in shirt pocket in history class. Earphone in, Tigers score, let out a whoop! Teacher asks, “What’s the score,”
I as well was 10. This was the first world series I ever followed but I ran home to see and root for the tigers. Remember that all world series games were played in the afternoon back then.
I was 8, and was with my Dad in St Louis on this day, and we had to head back home to the Illinois side. As we drove past Busch Stadium on the way to the bridge, there was a banner that said "Standing Room Available" and I'll never forget the pain in my Dad's face because he had to go back and work, and we couldn't stop. Sad that the Cards lost that day, but I vowed never to pass up an opportunity like that again. Thanks for posting this clip.
I distinctly remember our 6th grade teachers letting us listen to the games. When one of the fourth grade teachers Bryon a small, portable tv we crowded in for the last game. I remember most of the players and the positions they played. What a wonderful memory. Thanks for this post.
I know that this is "old " video, but I remember Denny McLain. I was collecting the 7/11 slurpee cups on MLB. He was the last cup I needed. Was so happy when I got it! ☺️
That’s one thing I appreciate about modern technology. You don’t really get a feel for how exciting this must have been for local fans. But man, baseball has always been the best.
I really liked Bill Freehan back then. He was a hell of an athlete and the best catcher in the American League for years. He looked like he could have played in the NFL as a linebacker
@Harry Browneigh he should be in the hall, has the same stats that Carter has, one world title for both. But freehan did something no other player did and that was he played all 15 innings of a All-Star game 1967. you can look it up.
@@jerardnorgren3411 teacher took my radio in the 73 playoffs. I had it in my desk and had earplugs running up my sleeve, but I started yelling, and that gave it away 😂. Third grade, Jefferson Elementary, Royal Oak, Mich.
Northrup passed away 1/8/11 at age of 71, from a seizure following years of declining health. This Tiger team had so many regulars who stayed with the club for years. C Bill Freehan played all 15 seaons with the Tigers, 1B Norm Cash played from 1960-74, OF Al Kaline all 22 years ('53-74), OF Willie Horton ('63-77), OF Jim Northrup ('64-74), 2B Dick McAuliffe ('60-74), OF Mickey Stanley all 15 years ('64-78), and 3B Don Wert ('63-70). Gates Brown played all 15 years ('63-75)
those were the days, when players stayed with their team their entire career, unless traded. Tigers were very good from early 60s through early 70s, though this was their only title until 84.
@@scottodonnell7121 Freehan's back up at catcher was Jim Price. On any other team he would have been the starting catcher, but being trapped behind Bill, he was lucky to see 15-20 starts a season at catcher. He may have actually logged more playing time at First Base.
@@Diogenes-ty9yy You're correct that Cash started out wiht the White Sox. They traded him to the Cleveland Indians one year later. It was a multi-player trade, but the most significant player obtained by the WSox was Minnie Minoso. Minoso actually led the league in hits in his first year with the WSox. And Cash never played for the Indians, who immediately traded him to the Tigers for Steve Demeter. That was not one of Cleveland's better trades. Demeter played a total of 4 games for Cleveland, was sent to the minors, and never returned to the majors. (He did have a great career in the minors for what that's worth, hitting 272 minor league HR's.)
Great to see these old highlights,thanks for posting! I was a young kid in a Detroit suburb, it was a nostalgic time. Remember that play at the plate,pivotal.
Me too Kim ,Don Wert single walk off I heard Ernies call.I remember manager Smith going to outfielder Mickey Stanley to play Short Stop for the weak hitting Ray Oiler.
God, I could watch this all day. I was 7 years old, Wayne Michigan. Our elementary school brought a TV into our classroom so we could watch these WS games and root for the Tigers (all WS games were day games back then). What a glorious Team our '68 Tigers were!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Many players in those days wore what is known as a cap "liner", worn inside the cap when batting. It provided some protection, but certainly not as much as an actual helmet.
So, old man, you don’t approve of helmets, gloves, pads, and guards. Ah, an ancient armchair warrior! You must be a pleasure to be around. 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦♂️
The safety concerns in baseball then were secondary to tradition and we really don’t know how much players of those eras of baseball paid the price. But… I’m sure they did.
I only remember some of the scores,because I was 19,years old,and with the 1st Cavalry,in Viet Nam,at 75 years old this is the first time I have seen these great games!Duty CalledThomas A.Filipiak
Keep in mind, this is the guy who came to the plate with a table leg against Nolan Ryan and told the ump it didn't matter what he went up there with because no one was going to get a hit off Ryan that night anyway. One of the true characters of the game. Dad used to get company box seats in the upper deck, front row right over Cash playing down at first. RIP Norm, we still remember.
@@itinerantpatriot1196 The first game I ever got to see at Tiger Stadium was pretty much in that very same area watching my favorite player Norm Cash and his counterpart Joe Pepitone of the Yankees in 1964. And at 12 years old I was pretty much in awe of both teams and the place as well. My only regret was that Yogi Berra wasn't playing anymore... he was managing. The Tigers eeked out a really close 14 to 2 loss to a very good Yankee team that went on to lose the World Series to the Cardinals.
Interesting to note the lack of white chalk outlining the batters box etc..,, the was the first series of baseball that i ever watched sparking my interest in baseball. Northrup became my baseball hero at that point
@@JohnSmith-kz8yo Those commercial breaks are definitely annoying, but doesn't even begin to explain the huge difference of time the game is played. It used to be 2 1/2 hours instead of the eternity it takes for today's game.
Games today are slower because the strike zone is much smaller then back in the 60s if you threw 100 pitches back then you would be in the ninth inning. if you throw 100 pitches today you're probably in the sixth or seventh inning. so it's not fair to say that nobody comes close to Gibson because guys like Ryan, Clemens, Johnson are pitching to a smaller strike zone.
@@michaelguadiana4756 We had a lot more complete games for the starting pitchers, none of this pitch count and seven innings for the starter and one pitcher for the 8th and another for the 9th. Some starters less than that. We had relief pitchers that could pitch more than one inning. The manager and catcher could tell when the pitcher was losing his stuff. I remember when the umpires decided on their own to narrow the strike zone by not calling pitches above the belt a strike even if it was a strike by the rules. That was miserable as hell, but the owners finally convinced the umpires to go back to calling the letter high strike. It's still the same strike zone. They just work slower and even slower than that if the team scores a couple of runs. Baseball has changed so radically that I can't stand to watch it. Wild cards and multiple divisions have really ruined it for me. It used to be if you finished 2nd, you wait till next year. Then there are those boring 3 1/2 hour games and I have seen some go past 4 hours. It was my favorite sport growing up. Now I can't stand it. It's for the sports junkies who are addicted to it and a lot of other sports going on at the same time.
My dad, who was a Cardinal fan, pulled me out of school to watch this game. He named me after Stan Musial but unfortunately for my dad I became a Tigers fan. This was a great moment for me but not for him.
@@rascal211 The Tigers games were shown on TV where I lived when I was a kid and the Cardinals games weren't. I was a big Al Kaline fan so there was no way I was changing.
I can still remember watching this game in my 8th grade class room. The teacher rolled in the TV on a big stand, pugged it in and let us watch for an hour.
This was a GREAT WS. I just finished reading "Summer of 68" by Tim Wendel. (good read) I like Norm Cash at bat with no helmet (just a cap). Lolich was the hero of the series!!!
Back then, ALL World Series games were played during the day!! You had to SNEAK a transitor radio , with an earpiece to school to listen to it and it was YOUR ASS if you got caught too. Anybody else remember doing that??
@@frederickrapp5396 But I did stay awake for 2016 World Series when the Cubs won! It ended between 1130 and 1200 in Chicago, an hour later in Cleveland and the East. The game went 10 innings and had a short rain delay at end of 9th.
Of course that game, obviously game 7, likely would have been over much earlier, and before the delay, if Joe Maddon, Cubs manager, hadn't over managed the game in regard to his pitching.
what i remember most about Gibson was how fast he worked; mccarver would throw the ball back to him, and he'd be into his windup already. I never thought the Tigers would beat him after that Game 1 when he struck out 17, but their hitters made the adjustment
Not just Gibson working efficiently. That was how the game was played then. We need to get back to rules outlawing stepping out of the box every pitch & adjusting helmet, glove & crotch. Play ball!
unfortunately for Flood, he challenged the reserve clause that bound a player to a team, but lost in court. Attempted to come back after a year or 2 off but was through. Free agency started in mid 70s, with Catfish Hunter getting out of his contract on technicality and an arbitrator's ruling. Flood never saw any of the benefits but all athletes owe him a tremendous amount of gratitude. RIP Curt
Actually, free agency came about for all MLB players in the 1975 Andy Messersmith arbitration decision. Catfish Hunter won free agency a year earlier under unique circumstances that did not apply to other players. Hunter's contract with Charlie Finley of the A's required Finley to make contributions to a life insurance fund. When the IRS informed Finley that these contributions were not deductible for federal tax purposes, Finley refused to make the contributions required under the contract. The arbiter Peter Seitz then gave him free agency.
@loyaldude10 and @Thomas Wolf - both of you are extremely accurate on the history of free agency. Certainly it was Curt Flood who had the guts to complain and sue the owners’ grip on its employees (the players themselves).
I’ve been a Tiger for life and I was in Vietnam when they finally won the World Series. I remember hearing it from someone. Never new any details until I got home.
Flood might not have caught up to the ball anyway. It was hit pretty well and at a difficult angle and didn't remain in the air long. But we will never know.
He misjudged it. He stated after the game that he lost the ball in the white-shirted crowd. On a ball off the bat of Northrup, who had power to all fields, he should have started back. He took the wrong angle and could not recover in time. It was for him probably a catchable ball if he had respected Northrup's power on a ball that he temporarily lost in the crowd.
And that 2 out, World Series clinching rally was started by my all time favorite player, Stormin' Norman Cash!! The heroes of my youth.....Go Get 'em Tigers!!!!! R.I.P. Jim
I met Bob Gibson at a autograph signing in Plymouth,Michigan in the late 80s. He was still pissed that the Cardinals blew that world series after being up 3 games to 1... Sorry Bob....lololol
in his book, Stranger to the Game, he admitted that Lolich outpitched him in game 7. Unfortunately I think he was out of gas, as he only allowed 1 hit until Cash's single in 7th
It was a great series for Lolich, Gibson, and to a lesser extent, McClain. McClains' third game was his only outstanding start. As I recall, his shoulder was ailing him during his first two starts (after 336 innings pitched, and 28 complete games, I'll give him a pass on that), and got a cortisone shot before his third start which enabled him to pitch more like the McClain we'd seen all season. I can remember McClain not being very effective during the close of that regular season, dropping 2 of his last 3 decisions. An additional note on that game six; Cardinal starter Ray Washburn was chased after only two innings, and a young pitcher by the name of Steve Carlton would come in later in the game and pitched 3 solid innings in relief. The only run he gave up was on a HR by Al Kaline, one of my baseball heroes as a kid.
I was 2 yrs old at the time and our family lived in Detroit. As my dad told the story….he said that after the Tigers won he went to the airport to welcome the team back but the crowd was so large that the Tigers diverted their plane to another airport nearby and left the huge crowd standing alone. Not sure if the team was supposed to land at Detroit Metro and diverted to Willow Run Airport, or the other way around, but for years my dad talked about how disappointed everybody was. The ‘68 Tigers were an amazing team though. What a comeback.
This brings back memories. 7th grade, P.S. #55, Indianapolis, Indiana. This was back in the pre-night games day when you'd run home from school, turn on the telly and the series was usually circa the bottom of the 4th. Oh, and you'd keep a transistor radio in your pocket at school to catch occasion updates.
I could have written this exact same thing except to change the grade to 5th and the city to Chicago. Plus I had to hide my radio in a Catholic school under 1968 rules.Talk about daring!
I lived in Indianapolis at the time. It might be recalled the slogan of Esso for their gas was "Put A Tiger In Your Tank". After the series, the Indianapolis News did a cartoon of a tiger in a baseball cap with a couple of feathers hanging out of his mouth captioned "A Cardinal In His Tank".
+William Stenberg Believe it or not, our 7th grade English teacher was a big sports fan and actually turned on the TV and allowed us to watch the game!
1968 I was a 4th grader in Detroit at Our Lady of Precious Blood @ 6 mile and Schaefer, Sister Diana rolled a TV set on a stand into the classroom and we watched the Tigers in the World Series. Was unbelievable!
One of the best world Series I ever saw. Gibson had all theK's but Lolich pitched just as well. On watching this Triple by Northrup, I think Flood misjudged the ball. Al Kaline was an all time great and this was a good Tigers team.
Wow brings back great memories I was a ten year old boy in 1968 the best summer of my youth all games were played in the afternoon Mickey Lolich 3 COMPLETE game victory's one on 2 days rest is a record that will never be broken The Cardinals were clearly the better team had a 3 games to one lead with Gibson going in game 7 at home I'm sure there are still Cardinals fans who talk about that series
I attended this game. I talked to Tony Kubek before the game. He was very nice to me. It rained before game 7 causing the grass to be wet and Curt Flood to loose his footing when he broke wrong on the ball hit by Northrup. Northrup also had a grand slam during game 6. Mike Shannon had a home run during the 9th inning of game 7 to make it closer.
What though the radiance which was once so bright Be now for ever taken from my sight, Though nothing can bring back the hour Of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower; We will grieve not, rather find Strength in what remains behind...
Great Series - Great Comeback by the Tigers! Talk about a difference in what players earned back then vs now: After he retired from baseball, Mickey Lolich owned and operated a little donut shop in Lake Orion, MI. We used to stop in after church to buy donuts, and he would be there working, making donuts and pastries. Met him several times.
Lost in the excitement of Northrup's hit was Bill Freehan handling that Gibson curveball to drive in Northrup. That pitch wasn't a great curve but it still had pretty decent break--it probably gets most of today's free swinging hitters out.
Crisp action packed game. Pitcher stays on rubber, batter stays in box. WS games were 2.5 hours back then. Today, it's 4.5 hours for the same 9 innings. That's why I haven't watched baseball in 2 years now and don't miss it. I just see some clips here or watch Jomboy.
When you watch this unfold in its entirety you can see that Flood really did muck that play up. Man, after Freehan's subsequent double you know the air just came out of the balloon. Cardinal fans had to have figured at this point they were done even if it was only the seventh inning, considering that the Cardinals had a feeble offense and Lolich was totally on his game.
Have you noticed something else in this video? I don't know what age group you are in, but take a look at the uniforms in those days compared to what they wear now. Now days, they dress like bums. Their pants are down over the tops of their shows where they almost step on them. They just don't look sharp like they used to. They need to bring back the old days of wearing uniforms.
David Gee I was in jr. high school during this period. In those days, they could put what they called a "helmet liner" that fit under their caps. How much actual protection it gave them I don't know. I don't recall what year they made actual helmets mandatory, but that wouldn't be that hard to research. I remember this actual game. The Tigers were down 3 games to 1 in the '68 series, then won 3 straight to take the series. That was the same year that Denny McClain won 31 games. That is not the major league record, but no one has came close to that since that time.
Remember that the shot was taken with a telephoto lens, which shortens perspective. That ball is a lot farther past Flood than it appears. Yes, it looks like he could have, barely, caught it without the stumble, but that's not reality.
Brad Kay That's an interesting perspective. Flood did still make a bad read, though. Gibson didn't fault Flood, however, he said "The thing to remember is that Northrup hit the ball 400 feet".
I’m 65, grew up in Detroit and this still my favorite World Series! Instead of MVP Denny McClain, beer-belly Mickey Lolich turned out to be the hero of the Series.
After Gibson's tremendous season in 1968, MLB lowered the pitcher's mound the following year. It wasn't just because of Gibson's individual performance either. In 1968, the National League's ERA was 2.99 and the American League's ERA was 2.98, the first time since 1918 that both of the league's ERA was under 3.00. That hasn't happened again. The next year with the mound lowered, the ERA in both leagues was about 3.60.
And Luis Tiant, then with the Indians, led the AL in ERA with a 1.60 and won 21 games. The next year, with the mound lowered, Tiant lost 20 games and had a 3.71 ERA, lol.
+Ealdred Aruspex Big part of it is that the Tigers were a "Team" that year. They relied on each other, they trusted each other, they pulled for each other. Makes a big difference!
@@loyaldude10 He got to 3-2 with two outs against Cash, but then it was three straight pitches surrendering hits. Freehan was busted inside and the count drew even 2-2, but Gibson tossed a curve to help Detroit go up three, their final victory margin. Meant a lot to me as an 8-year old in Saginaw, Michigan!
Cardinal were a light-hitting outfit in '68, but all offense numbers were down that year. Tigers had overwhelming power edge, & once Gibson was forced to start with less than his 5 day rest, he folded late. Lolich pitched with 1 day rest, 3 days less than pampered Gibson, & smoked the banjo-hitting Cards. Go Gettem' Tigers!
@@frederickrapp5396- Bob Gibson expressed surprise that Lolich would be facing him in Game 7 on only two days rest. He was quoted as saying that Lolich "wasn't exactly what you'd call a finely tuned athlete". He must have been utterly stunned when Lolich not only went nine innings, but that he outpitched him as well. In 1972 after the players strike during spring training, Lolich went a full nine innings when other starters were limited to five. The guy simply had an incredibly durable arm which simply isn't seen in 21st Century baseball.
It’s refreshing to see a video of baseball in a time before “big baseball.” Now it’s ruled by advertising and politics. They’ve also made sports into a science. And I’m sure pitching and hitting have improved techniques now, but then it was just talented, hard-working athletes playing ball. No pitch count, no performance enhancing drugs, no politics.
this was one of the best world series ever. Gibson was absolutely brilliant and overpowering (never saw such a dominant performance as him in game 1, w/ 17 K's). Must have tired when Tigers started gettign all of those hits, although Northrop's hit should have been caught by Flood.
Apparently, you didn't watch the replay of Flood's play. The ball was smoked well over his head by 20 feet. He had no chance, even without his stumbling bumbling first move in.
@@Mister8224 I disagree. The ball only went slightly over Floods head. Had he not first started in and gotten his spikes caught in grass he would have caught it.
After the game Flood said that he lost the ball in the light-shirted crowd. He started in. If he had been more familiar with Northrup's power to all fields, he would have started back. Then, maybe he might have had a chance to make a spectacular catch. Losing the ball in the crowd, starting in the wrong direction and catching his spikes in the grass...it was obviously meant to me. You can only attribute that to Northrup's hitting prowess.
Micky Lolich pitched this game on two days rest and came within one out of a shutout.Today's pitchers have a hard time on three.Gibson nor Lolich would have pitched game 7 and whoever did would not have pitched past the 7th inning.Gibson beat the Yankees in game 7 in '64 and beat the Red Sox in game 7 in '67,but could not beat the Tigers in game 7 in '68.Denny McClain won 31 games that year and it will never happen in today's system.
By the 7th inning of Game 7, Gibson's arm was tiring and he wasn't throwing quite as hard as he was before. Further, by now the Tigers batters knew the speed & timing of the pitches and made the proper adjustments. The result: four straight hits. Winning pitcher Mickey Lolich had what was called a "rubber arm" back in the day. He could pitch all day long and his arm would never get sore. Both pitchers threw a complete game. GREAT World Series. It's what we had back then because MLB allowed a full strike zone. The games were much shorter, pace of the game was quicker, pitches threw fewer pitches, there were more complete games, and the game of pro baseball was much more fun. How I wish that the game had never changed with the strike zone getting shortened two years later.
notice how freehand hit a nasty curve ball. He stayed back & kept the swing short. Today most hitters would have wiffed. All those hits by the tigers swings were using their hands. Not a go for all swing.
BBBYpsi, You're right. Back in that time a batter would try different things, like shortening his swing, choking up, and not taking a close pitch for a called third strike, which drives me crazy about today's game. Back when I played, coaches were always telling us with two strikes, be hacking!
BBBYpsi Absolutely correct. Great observation. Major League players after 2 strikes would even choke up on the bat and see the ball to the bat to direct the ball between players. Today the defense adjust cause they know where it’s going to be hit. No bunts, no hit n run, just Home Runs by measurement and speed. Boring.
i remember the 1968 world series very well. i was a 13 year old devoted tiger fan. i dreaded bob gibson. oh my lord!! his look from the mound was so intimidating, and that fastball he had had so much movement on it the tigers were just completely baffled in the first game. i think gibson is one of the ten best pitchers in baseball history.
I remember those days. The local humor in St. Louis at that time was something like " Did you hear the Redbirds dropped the series ? " " Oh Yeah !, I hear they had a Flood out in center field ! " ...Its definately local humor as the old Bush Stadium was in the same location as the new ball field, just a stones throw away from the Mississippi River which floods periodically. I guess one had to be there. none the less , after all these years its still hard to believe they dropped that series. Gibby on the mound , Flood in center field was a Big Deal back then , SEVEN time gold glove winner. He would have been a valuable asset to any team . Just goes to show , no matter how good a team is , a few bad breaks here a couple of lucky breaks there can change the outcome irrespective of a teams' competitiveness during the course of the regular season. If a team gets HOT at the right time , they can take home the whole enchilada ! Cograts to Detroit, they deserved that win. blunders are part of the game. They put themselves in position to take advantage of the play. THATS what counts. Good old fashioned hard nosed baseball attitude can still win games.
