WORLD SERIES GAME #7

TRIVIA QUESTION: What was the name of the ballpark where the Houston Colt .45's (later the Astros) played when they came into the National League in 1962? .

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION IN THE PREVIOUS COLUMN:  When Mudcat Grant was sent to the Dodgers the deal went like this; Traded by the Minnesota Twins with Zoilo Versalles to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Bob Miller, Ron Perranoski and John Roseboro.

Since this is 2017 World Series Week, we'll be taking a look at the matching World Series games of the 1960's. Each of the blogs will deal with a corresponding game where possible. This blog deals with the seventh game of the 1967 series.

                                                                  1967 (Game Seven)
                                                                  St. Louis at Boston
                                                               Cardinals 7, Red Sox 2

 To say it was Bob Gibson's World Series is to underscore it with understatement. The Cardinals won 101 games in 1967 and Gibson won only 13, but it was in the World Series where he would shine. The 13-7 record in the regular season rates a remark here; Gibson was 10-6 when on July 15th Roberto Clemente smashed a line drive off Gibson's leg. The leg was broken but Gibson finished the inning, remarkably. He would come back toward the end of the season and pick up the final three wins.

However, it was in the World Series where he would shine. In Game One he would win 2-1 on a six hitter while striking out 10. In Game Four he tossed a five-hit shutout. When he took the mound in Game Seven, the Red Sox were hoping they would see a different Bob Gibson. They were wrong. 

Gibson squared off against 22-game winner Jim Lonborg who would also pick up the Cy Young Award. Batting third in the Red Sox line-up was Carl Yastrzemski who won the Triple Crown. Yaz hit .326 with 44 homers and 121 RBI, leading the AL in most offensive categories. The Cards were led by a rejuvenated Roger Maris, a slugging Orlando Cepeda, speedy Lou Brock and Curt Flood. It was the first of two consecutive World Series appearances for the Cardinals. They were back in 1968.

Neither team could mount anything through three. When the fourth inning rolled around the Cardinals were ready. Light hitting Dal Maxvill led off with a triple and with two out scored on a Flood single, 1-0 St. Louis. Maris singled with Flood taking third and he scored when Lonborg uncorked a wild pitch. Cards led 2-0.

The game continued scoreless for the next two innings as Lonborg was matching Gibson, pitch for pitch. Then it was pitch for pitcher. With one out in the fifth Gibson, an outstanding hitting pitcher, took Lonborg deep to make it 3-0. Brock followed with a single. He then stole second and third and rode home on a sac fly by Maris to give the Cardinals a 4-0 lead behind Gibson. 

The Red Sox finally broke through in the bottom of the inning when George Scott tripled and came home on a sacrifice fly. But the roof caved in on the Sox in the sixth when Tim McCarver doubled, Mike Shannon got aboard when his ground ball to second was booted by Mike Andrews and Julian Javier followed with a three run homer. That made it 7-1 St. Louis and while the Sox would score one more in the eighth, it was too much Bob Gibson to overcome.

When the dust settled Gibby had pitched a three-hitter, allowing two earned runs and struck out 10. It was his third victory in the Series and earned him his second World Series MVP (1964 was the other). For the record Gibson pitched 27 innings, 3 complete games and struck out 26 batters while allowing only 14 hits, five walks and a measly three total runs. He also homered. 

Yes, it was Bob Gibson's World Series on his way to the Hall of Fame.


Please pick up a copy of my book "Tales of My Baseball Youth; A Child of the 60's" at www.bobbrillbooks.com, or on Amazon.