1967 World Series
Encyclopedia
The 1967 World Series matched the St. Louis Cardinals
against the Boston Red Sox
in a rematch of the 1946 World Series
, with the Cardinals winning in seven games for their second championship in four years and their eighth overall. The Series was played from October 4 to October 12 in Fenway Park
and Busch Memorial Stadium
.
Red Sox were led by triple crown
winner Carl Yastrzemski
(who won the Most Valuable Player
award for his 1967 performance) and ace pitcher Jim Lonborg
, who won the American League Cy Young Award. The Red Sox reached the World Series by emerging victorious from a dramatic four-team pennant race that revitalized interest in the team after eight straight losing seasons. Going into the last week of the season, the Red Sox, Detroit Tigers
, Minnesota Twins
, and Chicago White Sox
were all within one game of each other in the standings. The White Sox lost their last five games (two to the lowly Kansas City Athletics
and three to the similarly inept Washington Senators
) to fall out of the race. Meanwhile, the Red Sox and Twins met in Boston for the final two games of the season, with Minnesota holding a one game lead. Boston swept the Twins, but needed to wait out the result of the Tigers' doubleheader with the California Angels
in Detroit. A Detroit sweep would have enabled them to tie the Red Sox for first place. The Tigers won the first game but the Angels won the nightcap, enabling the Red Sox to claim the A.L. pennant.
pennant
, with a team featuring All-Star
s Orlando Cepeda
(selected as the National League Most Valuable Player), Lou Brock
, Tim McCarver
, and 1964 World Series MVP Bob Gibson
, as well as former two-time Yankee MVP Roger Maris
and Curt Flood
. Twenty-two-year-old Steve Carlton
won 14 games in his first full major league season, beginning what was to be a lengthy and very successful career. The Cardinals overcame the absence of Bob Gibson
, who missed almost one-third of the season with a broken leg on July 15 (on disabled list
, July 16–Sept. 6) suffered when he was struck by a ball hit by Pittsburgh's Roberto Clemente. Gibson still managed to win 13 games, and while he was out, Nelson Briles
filled his spot in the rotation
brilliantly, winning nine consecutive games as the Cardinals led the N.L. comfortably for most of the season, eventually winning by 10½ games over the San Francisco Giants
.
leading the Cardinals. Cy Young winner Jim Lonborg
pitched the decisive final game of the regular season, so he was unable to start Game 1. Facing Boston's José Santiago, Gibson and St. Louis won, 2–1. Roger Maris, (obtained from the Yankees in December 1966) knocked in both of St. Louis' runs with third and seventh-inning grounders. Santiago pitched brilliantly and homered in the third inning off Gibson for the Red Sox' only run.
Gibson cemented his reputation as an unhittable postseason pitcher in this series, allowing only three total runs over three complete games. His efforts allowed the Cardinals to triumph despite the batting of Yastrzemski (.500 OBP
, .840 SLG), and pitching of Lonborg, who allowed only one run in each of his complete-game wins in Games 2 and 5. In Game 2, Yastrzemski belted two homers but the story was Lonborg. The Boston ace retired the first 19 Cardinals he faced until he walked Curt Flood with one out in the seventh inning. He had a no-hitter until Julian Javier doubled down the left field line with two out in the eighth inning; Lonborg settled for a one-hit shutout in which he faced only 29 batters.
In St. Louis, the El Birdos (as Cepeda had nicknamed them) took Games 3 and 4, with Briles pitching the home team to a 5–2 victory (Mike Shannon's two run blast proved to be the decisive factor), and Gibson tossing a 6–0 whitewashing (with two RBIs apiece by Maris and Tim McCarver). Now leading three-games-to-one, Lonborg kept the Bosox in the series with a 3–1 victory. The 25-year-old righty tossed two hit, shutout ball over innings, then finally gave up a run when Maris knocked a home run to right.
Going for the clincher at Fenway Park in Game 6, the visiting team took a 2–1 lead going into the fourth inning when Dick Hughes (who led the National League with a .727 winning percentage and won 16 games during the regular season) gave up a record three homers in a single inning. Yastrzemski led off the fourth with a long drive over the wall in left-center and, two outs later, rookie Reggie Smith and Rico Petrocelli both hammered consecutive shots. Brock managed to tie the game with a two-run homer in the seventh, but Boston retaliated with four runs of their own and went on for the 8–4 triumph to tie the series at three games all. The Cardinals set a World Series record using eight pitchers.
The decisive Game 7 featured Gibson and Lonborg facing each other for the first time in the series, but Lonborg was starting on only two days' rest, and was unable to compete with Gibson, who only allowed three hits over the course of a complete game. Both pitchers were 2–0 in the series with Gibson giving up four hits in 18 innings and Lonborg surrendering a single run and four hits in his 18. Something had to give—and it was Lonborg. The Cardinal ace clearly dominated the finale, permitting only three hits, striking out 10 batters and even adding a home run blast of his own in the fifth. Julian Javier added a three run shot off Lonborg in the sixth and Gibson cruised to the decisive 7–2 victory. He now boasted a 5–1 record and a 2.00 ERA in World Series competition, with 57 strikeouts in 54 innings and only 37 hits allowed.
This was the first year since 1948 that neither the Yankees
, the Giants
, nor the Dodgers
played in the World Series. It would be another seven years before the Dodgers would return to the series and nine before the Yankees came back. The Giants would not play in a World Series until 1989. Lou Brock
stole three bases in Game 7 for a record seven (7) thefts in a seven-game series. The Cardinals tied a World Series record by using eight pitchers in their Game 6 loss.
Ken Brett
, the older brother of George Brett
, became the youngest pitcher in World Series
history at 19 years, 20 days, when he pitched one inning of relief at the end of Game 4. He also pitched of an inning at the end of Game 7. He gave up no hits or runs in either appearance. He was the only left-hander on the Boston pitching staff.
Red Sox catcher Elston Howard
had the dubious distinction of tying Pee Wee Reese
's record for most losing World Series teams (6).
St. Louis catcher Tim McCarver
said the Boston newspapers made Bob Gibson
angry with their headline "Lonborg and Champagne" that basically declared that Jim Lonborg would win before Game 7.
The two teams met again in the 2004
and the Red Sox swept in four to break the Curse of the Bambino
.
St. Louis is only one of two teams to take a 3–1 series lead only to lose the next two games and still win the championship. The other was the 1972 Oakland Athletics
.
1967 marked the first time that the Commissioner's Trophy was presented to the World Series-winning team.
in Boston, Massachusetts
Ace Bob Gibson
(13–7, 2.98), who sat out July and August with a broken leg, started Game 1 for the Cardinals while 21-year-old José Santiago (12–4, 3.59) suited up for the Red Sox. Jose, starting because Sox ace Jim Lonborg
had pitched the final day of the regular season, won seven straight second-half games helping Boston stave off the Detroit Tigers
and Minnesota Twins
to win the pennant by one game in a tightly fought pennant race.
Pitching was prime as Gibson and Santiago seemed to have their best stuff for this afternoon game at Fenway Park. The Cards got on the board in the top of the third on a lead-off single to center by Lou Brock
, a double by Curt Flood
, and a Roger Maris
ground-out to first scoring Brock from third. The Sox came right back to tie the score in the bottom of the same inning. After Gibson (Bob) struck out Gibson (catcher, Russ)
, Santiago helped his own cause by homering to left-center field.
But Bob Gibson
was masterful the rest of the way finishing with ten strikeouts allowing just six hits with one walk. José Santiago matched Gibson until the top of the seventh when Brock again led off with a single to right (his fourth hit), promptly stole second-base, and eventually scored on back-to-back groundouts by Flood and Maris. That run would hold up for a 2–1 Cardinal win but the Red Sox ace, Jim Lonborg
was waiting in the wings to start Game 2.
in Boston, Massachusetts
Jim Lonborg
enjoyed his best season as a professional in 1967 capturing the Cy Young Award
with an A.L. best 22 wins (against nine losses), was tops with 246 strikeouts, and had an impressive earned run average
of 3.16. Lonborg continued his superb pitching starting Game 2 for the Red Sox and for seven and two-thirds innings, the Cardinals could only manage one baserunner, a seventh inning walk by Curt Flood
. After Tim McCarver
and Mike Shannon
led off the eighth with groundouts, Julian Javier
turned a Lonborg fastball around, lining a double into the left-field corner breaking up his no-hitter
. Bobby Tolan
, pinch-hitting for weak-hitting Dal Maxvill
, ended the inning by grounding out to second-base. Lonborg retired the side in order in the ninth ending the game as close to perfect, giving up just one hit and one walk while striking out four.
Carl Yastrzemski
provided more than enough offense by solo-homering in the fourth and adding a three-run shot in the seventh (scoring Jose Tartabull
and Dalton Jones
.) The other Red Sox run came in the sixth inning on walks to George Scott and Reggie Smith
and a run-scoring sacrifice-fly by shortstop Rico Petrocelli
. The final score was 5–0 to even up the series at one game apiece with an upcoming journey to St. Louis for Game 3.
in St. Louis, Missouri
After "Sleepwalking in Boston", the St. Louis Cardinals
came out of their hitting slumber and tagged Boston
starter, Gary Bell
for three runs on five hits in the first two innings of Game 3. A former sixteen-game winner for the Cleveland Indians
, Bell was an early-season pickup who pitched well in 29 games for the Sox going 12–8 with an ERA of 3.16. But he didn't have his best stuff against Cardinal's starter, 23-year-old Nelson Briles
. Briles, after losing fifteen games in 1966, alternated between middle-relief and starting pitching in '67, and finished with a neat fourteen-win, five-loss record (.737 winning percentage—best in the N.L.) and an even neater 2.43 ERA.
The great table-setter Lou Brock
started things rolling in the first with a triple to left-center. Curt Flood
followed with a single to center scoring Brock for the game's first run. In the second, Tim McCarver
led off with a single to center followed by a Mike Shannon
two-run home run to left. Ineffective Gary Bell
was pinch-hit for in the third inning, replaced by Gary Waslewski
. Waslewski pitched three perfect innings, striking out three before leaving in the sixth for relief pitcher Lee Stange
.
Boston scored their first run in the sixth with Mike Andrews
, (pinch-hitting for Bell), singling to center. Andrews took second on a Tartabull sacrifice, immediately scoring on a Dalton Jones
basehit to right. But the Cards added some insurance in the bottom of the frame with the disconcerting Brock bunting for a hit, eventually going to third when Stange, attempting a pick-off, threw wild into right-field. Roger Maris
, in his next-to-last season, would have a good Series with ten hits and a home run, scored Brock with a single to right-center.
In the seventh Reggie Smith
would hit a lead-off home run for Boston, trimming the score to 4–2 but the Cards stifled any further Sox comeback scoring their fifth run in the bottom of the eighth when Maris beat out an infield tap for a single and Orlando Cepeda
muscled a double off the wall in right-center making the score 5–2. Briles would finish his complete-game victory with a 1-2-3 ninth, the second out recorded when Reggie Smith
would interfere with McCarver who was trying to catch his pop-up foul down the first-base line. Up two games to one, St. Louis would send Bob Gibson
back to the mound, a championship within reach.
in St. Louis, Missouri
54,000 plus smiling fans packed Busch Memorial Stadium
in anticipation of yet another Bob Gibson
post-season, pitching gem. Gibson, never one to disappoint, was as good as advertised. Again, all St. Louis needed was a spark from Lou Brock
and this time four runs crossed the plate in the first inning. Brock started things rolling with a slow-roller to third—nothing Dalton Jones
could do could match Brock's speed, for an infield-hit. Curt Flood
singled to shallow left and Roger Maris
powered-up going the other way, doubling into the left-field corner scoring both base-runners. Orlando Cepeda
then hit a sac-fly, Maris advancing to third. Tim McCarver
hit a clutch single to right to score Maris. After Mike Shannon
fouled out to Rico Petrocelli
for the second out, Julian Javier
would single in the hole between short and third followed by .217 lifetime hitter Dal Maxvill
's run-scoring single to left for the Cardinal's fourth run. That would be it for Game 1 starter José Santiago who would only last two-thirds of an inning this time out. Gary Bell
would relieve, getting the ninth batter of the inning, Bob Gibson
to fly out to left.
Gibson would be on cruise-control the remainder of the game while the Cards would add two more runs off reliever Jerry Stephenson
in the third. Cepeda would double into the left-field corner and move to third on a wild pitch. McCarver would add a second RBI on a sac-fly to center scoring Cepeda. Shannon would walk and score on a Julian Javier
double just inside the third-base line. That would be it for the scoring as Gibson would win his second Series game, a five-hit complete-game that put his Cardinals up, three games to one.
in St. Louis, Missouri
With their backs up against the wall, manager Dick Williams
would again put his trust in the dependable Jim Lonborg
. The 25-year-old righty would be faced by Steve "Lefty" Carlton
. Carlton was a very respectable 14–9 in 30 games with a 2.98 ERA, striking out 168 in 193 innings during the regular season.
The game played out very tentatively; with just one early run scored by Boston in the top of the third. After Lonborg struck-out leading off the inning, Joe Foy
struck a single to left. Mike Andrews
reached safely at first after a sacrifice attempt was fumbled by Cardinal third-baseman Mike Shannon
. With two on and one out, Carl Yastrzemski
looked at a third strike for the second out, but Ken Harrelson
followed with a clutch single to left scoring Foy.
Pitching with a slight cold (and a paper horseshoe in his back-pocket) Lonborg again sparkled, at one point retiring twelve straight. After a Roger Maris
single in the fourth, the next batter to reach base was Julian Javier
who got on base in the eighth on an error by Rico Petrocelli
. Carlton was just as good but left after six innings of work, replaced by Ray Washburn
who then pitched two scoreless innings.
St. Louis Manager Red Schoendienst
brought in Ron Willis
to pitch the ninth. The Red Sox greeted Willis by loading the bases on a George Scott walk, a Reggie Smith
double, and an intentional walk to Rico Petrocelli
. Jack Lamabe
relieved Willis after a 1–0 count on Elston Howard
who promptly popped a single to right scoring Scott. Maris threw high to the plate allowing Smith to score the second run. With the score 3–0 St. Louis came to bat in the last of the ninth in a last attempt comeback bid. But Lonborg's luck continued getting Brock and Flood to ground out to second and third respectfully. Maris spoiled the shutout bid by homering over the right-field fence but Orlando Cepeda
would end the game on a groundout to third. The Boston Red Sox
were now back in the Series although still down three games to two.
in Boston, Massachusetts
Pivotal Game 6 matched rookie Gary Waslewski
(2–2, 3.21) who had only pitched in twelve regular season games, versus one-year wonder Dick Hughes
(16–6, 2.67) who pitched three seasons, winning only twice more in 1968 before retiring due to arm problems.
Rico Petrocelli
gave the Red Sox an early lead with a second inning blast over the Green Monster
in left field. St. Louis came back with two runs in the top of the third when Julian Javier
hit a lead-off double off that same Green Monster
. After retiring the next two batters, Waslewski gave up a single to Lou Brock
, scoring Javier. Then after a Brock steal, Curt Flood
singled to left, scoring Brock.
In the Sox half of the fourth, Carl Yastrzemski
, Reggie Smith
, and Rico Petrocelli
would all go long setting a new World Series
record with three home runs in the same inning. A demoralized Hughes wouldn't finish the inning and Don Willis
would be summoned from the bullpen to get the last out, and Elston Howard
groundout to third.
Waslewski was very workmanlike, but started to tire in the sixth inning when, after walks to Roger Maris
and Tim McCarver
, was replaced by John Wyatt who would get out of the jam retiring Mike Shannon
on a popup to short and Petrocelli on a fly to short right. The Cards would come back and hit Wyatt hard in the seventh. After pinch-hitter Bobby Tolan
walked, Lou Brock
hit a homer into the right-center field bleachers. Flood and Maris hit long fly-outs to center but their hits stayed in the park to end the inning, St. Louis had tied the score at four apiece.
The Red Sox would send ten batters to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning and regain the lead. Elston Howard would lead off making both the first and last outs but four runs would cross the plate in-between. After all was said and done, the Cardinals would send four pitchers to the mound in the inning and when Hal Woodeshick
would come in to pitch the eighth, a Series record would be tied with eight (8) pitchers used also setting a two team record of eleven pitchers used. St. Louis had one more good chance to win the game loading the bases in the eighth, but highlighted by a great Yastrzemski catch in left-center, the Cards couldn't push one across and wouldn't score again going quietly in the ninth; with Gary Bell
pitching the last two innings for the save. The Red Sox survived to play another day and the Series was now tied at three games apiece.
in Boston, Massachusetts
The seventh game again matched the aces, Bob Gibson
against Jim Lonborg
. Lonborg was pitching on two-days rest, while Gibson had rested an extra day since his last outing. From the start, it was apparent that Lonborg was struggling. Three Cardinal hits and a wild pitch put St. Louis ahead 2–0 in the third inning. Two more scored in the fifth on a home run by Gibson, Lou Brock
's single and two stolen bases (his seventh steal—a new Series record), and a Roger Maris
sacrifice-fly to right. A Boston run in the fifth cut the score to 4–1, but the Red Sox dream was abruptly halted in the sixth on a three-run homer by Julian Javier
off the arm-weary Lonborg. With the 7–2 defeat, Boston's "Impossible Dream" ended one game too soon and the St. Louis Cardinals were World Series Champions for the second time in the 1960s
, and eighth overall.
Only once before had a seventh game of a Series brought together starting pitchers who both had 2–0 won-lost records in that Series. It happened in 1925
, when the Washington Senators
' Walter Johnson
pitched against the Pittsburgh Pirates
' Vic Aldridge
.
(N.L.) over Boston Red Sox
(A.L.)
1967 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 86th season in St. Louis, Missouri, its 76th season in the National League, and its first full season at Busch Memorial Stadium. The Cardinals went 101-60 during the season and won the NL pennant by 10½ games over the San Francisco Giants...
against the Boston Red Sox
1967 Boston Red Sox season
The Boston Red Sox season, often referred to as The Impossible Dream, consisted of the Red Sox shocking New England and the rest of the baseball world by winning the American League Championship and reaching the World Series for the first time since 1946...
in a rematch of the 1946 World Series
1946 World Series
-Game 1:Sunday, October 6, 1946 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, MissouriThe Red Sox won Game 1 when Rudy York hit a home run into the left field bleachers.-Game 2:Monday, October 7, 1946 at Sportsman's Park in St...
, with the Cardinals winning in seven games for their second championship in four years and their eighth overall. The Series was played from October 4 to October 12 in Fenway Park
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
and Busch Memorial Stadium
Busch Memorial Stadium
Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri that operated from 1966 to 2005....
.
Red Sox
The "Impossible Dream"1967 Boston Red Sox season
The Boston Red Sox season, often referred to as The Impossible Dream, consisted of the Red Sox shocking New England and the rest of the baseball world by winning the American League Championship and reaching the World Series for the first time since 1946...
Red Sox were led by triple crown
Triple crown (baseball)
In Major League Baseball, a player earns the Triple Crown when he leads a league in three specific statistical categories. For batters, a player must lead the league in home runs, run batted in , and batting average; pitchers must lead the league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average...
winner Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Michael Yastrzemski is a former American Major League Baseball left fielder and first baseman. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Yastrzemski played his entire 23-year baseball career with the Boston Red Sox . He was primarily a left fielder, with part of his later career...
(who won the Most Valuable Player
MLB Most Valuable Player Award
The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award is an annual Major League Baseball award, given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America...
award for his 1967 performance) and ace pitcher Jim Lonborg
Jim Lonborg
James Reynold Lonborg is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who played with the Boston Red Sox , Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies...
, who won the American League Cy Young Award. The Red Sox reached the World Series by emerging victorious from a dramatic four-team pennant race that revitalized interest in the team after eight straight losing seasons. Going into the last week of the season, the Red Sox, Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
, Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
, and Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
were all within one game of each other in the standings. The White Sox lost their last five games (two to the lowly Kansas City Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
and three to the similarly inept Washington Senators
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
) to fall out of the race. Meanwhile, the Red Sox and Twins met in Boston for the final two games of the season, with Minnesota holding a one game lead. Boston swept the Twins, but needed to wait out the result of the Tigers' doubleheader with the California Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
in Detroit. A Detroit sweep would have enabled them to tie the Red Sox for first place. The Tigers won the first game but the Angels won the nightcap, enabling the Red Sox to claim the A.L. pennant.
Cardinals
The Cardinals won 101 games en route to the National LeagueNational League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
pennant
Pennant (sports)
A pennant is a commemorative flag typically used to show support for a particular athletic team. Pennants have been historically used in all types of athletic levels: high school, collegiate, professional etc. Traditionally, pennants were made of felt and fashioned in the official colors of a...
, with a team featuring All-Star
All-star
All-star is a term designating an individual as having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry...
s Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes is a former Puerto Rican Major League Baseball first baseman.Cepeda was born to a poor family. His father, Pedro Cepeda, was a baseball player in Puerto Rico, which influenced his interest in the sport from a young age. His first contact with professional baseball was...
(selected as the National League Most Valuable Player), Lou Brock
Lou Brock
Louis Clark "Lou" Brock is an American former professional baseball player. He began his Major League Baseball career with the Chicago Cubs but, spent the majority of his career as the left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Brock was best known for breaking Ty Cobb's all-time major league...
, Tim McCarver
Tim McCarver
James Timothy "Tim" McCarver is an American former Major League Baseball catcher, and a current sportscaster in residence for Fox Sports.-Playing career:...
, and 1964 World Series MVP Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
, as well as former two-time Yankee MVP Roger Maris
Roger Maris
Roger Eugene Maris was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During the 1961 season, he hit a record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs...
and Curt Flood
Curt Flood
Curtis Charles Flood was a Major League Baseball player who spent most of his career as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. A defensive standout, he led the National League in putouts four times and in fielding percentage twice, winning Gold Glove Awards in his last seven full seasons...
. Twenty-two-year-old Steve Carlton
Steve Carlton
Steven Norman Carlton , nicknamed "Lefty", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1965-1988 for six different teams in his career, but it is his time with the Philadelphia Phillies where he received his greatest acclaim as a professional and won four Cy Young Awards...
won 14 games in his first full major league season, beginning what was to be a lengthy and very successful career. The Cardinals overcame the absence of Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
, who missed almost one-third of the season with a broken leg on July 15 (on disabled list
Disabled list
In Major League Baseball, the disabled list is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players.-General guidelines:...
, July 16–Sept. 6) suffered when he was struck by a ball hit by Pittsburgh's Roberto Clemente. Gibson still managed to win 13 games, and while he was out, Nelson Briles
Nelson Briles
Nelson Kelley "Nellie" Briles was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals , Pittsburgh Pirates , Kansas City Royals , Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles...
filled his spot in the rotation
Rotation
A rotation is a circular movement of an object around a center of rotation. A three-dimensional object rotates always around an imaginary line called a rotation axis. If the axis is within the body, and passes through its center of mass the body is said to rotate upon itself, or spin. A rotation...
brilliantly, winning nine consecutive games as the Cardinals led the N.L. comfortably for most of the season, eventually winning by 10½ games over the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
.
Summary
Pitching dominated this World Series, with Bob GibsonBob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
leading the Cardinals. Cy Young winner Jim Lonborg
Jim Lonborg
James Reynold Lonborg is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who played with the Boston Red Sox , Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies...
pitched the decisive final game of the regular season, so he was unable to start Game 1. Facing Boston's José Santiago, Gibson and St. Louis won, 2–1. Roger Maris, (obtained from the Yankees in December 1966) knocked in both of St. Louis' runs with third and seventh-inning grounders. Santiago pitched brilliantly and homered in the third inning off Gibson for the Red Sox' only run.
Gibson cemented his reputation as an unhittable postseason pitcher in this series, allowing only three total runs over three complete games. His efforts allowed the Cardinals to triumph despite the batting of Yastrzemski (.500 OBP
On base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes...
, .840 SLG), and pitching of Lonborg, who allowed only one run in each of his complete-game wins in Games 2 and 5. In Game 2, Yastrzemski belted two homers but the story was Lonborg. The Boston ace retired the first 19 Cardinals he faced until he walked Curt Flood with one out in the seventh inning. He had a no-hitter until Julian Javier doubled down the left field line with two out in the eighth inning; Lonborg settled for a one-hit shutout in which he faced only 29 batters.
In St. Louis, the El Birdos (as Cepeda had nicknamed them) took Games 3 and 4, with Briles pitching the home team to a 5–2 victory (Mike Shannon's two run blast proved to be the decisive factor), and Gibson tossing a 6–0 whitewashing (with two RBIs apiece by Maris and Tim McCarver). Now leading three-games-to-one, Lonborg kept the Bosox in the series with a 3–1 victory. The 25-year-old righty tossed two hit, shutout ball over innings, then finally gave up a run when Maris knocked a home run to right.
Going for the clincher at Fenway Park in Game 6, the visiting team took a 2–1 lead going into the fourth inning when Dick Hughes (who led the National League with a .727 winning percentage and won 16 games during the regular season) gave up a record three homers in a single inning. Yastrzemski led off the fourth with a long drive over the wall in left-center and, two outs later, rookie Reggie Smith and Rico Petrocelli both hammered consecutive shots. Brock managed to tie the game with a two-run homer in the seventh, but Boston retaliated with four runs of their own and went on for the 8–4 triumph to tie the series at three games all. The Cardinals set a World Series record using eight pitchers.
The decisive Game 7 featured Gibson and Lonborg facing each other for the first time in the series, but Lonborg was starting on only two days' rest, and was unable to compete with Gibson, who only allowed three hits over the course of a complete game. Both pitchers were 2–0 in the series with Gibson giving up four hits in 18 innings and Lonborg surrendering a single run and four hits in his 18. Something had to give—and it was Lonborg. The Cardinal ace clearly dominated the finale, permitting only three hits, striking out 10 batters and even adding a home run blast of his own in the fifth. Julian Javier added a three run shot off Lonborg in the sixth and Gibson cruised to the decisive 7–2 victory. He now boasted a 5–1 record and a 2.00 ERA in World Series competition, with 57 strikeouts in 54 innings and only 37 hits allowed.
This was the first year since 1948 that neither the Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
, the Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
, nor the Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
played in the World Series. It would be another seven years before the Dodgers would return to the series and nine before the Yankees came back. The Giants would not play in a World Series until 1989. Lou Brock
Lou Brock
Louis Clark "Lou" Brock is an American former professional baseball player. He began his Major League Baseball career with the Chicago Cubs but, spent the majority of his career as the left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Brock was best known for breaking Ty Cobb's all-time major league...
stole three bases in Game 7 for a record seven (7) thefts in a seven-game series. The Cardinals tied a World Series record by using eight pitchers in their Game 6 loss.
Ken Brett
Ken Brett
Kenneth Alven Brett was a Major League Baseball pitcher and the second of four Brett brothers who played professional baseball, the most notable being the youngest, George Brett.Ken played for 10 teams in his 14-year MLB career.Born in Brooklyn, Ken Brett grew up in southern California and was an...
, the older brother of George Brett
George Brett (baseball)
George Howard Brett , nicknamed "Mullet", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman, designated hitter, and first baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hits are the most by any third baseman in major league history, and 15th...
, became the youngest pitcher in World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
history at 19 years, 20 days, when he pitched one inning of relief at the end of Game 4. He also pitched of an inning at the end of Game 7. He gave up no hits or runs in either appearance. He was the only left-hander on the Boston pitching staff.
Red Sox catcher Elston Howard
Elston Howard
Elston Gene Howard was an American Negro League and Major League Baseball catcher, left fielder and coach. During a 14-year baseball career, he played from 1955–1968, primarily for the New York Yankees...
had the dubious distinction of tying Pee Wee Reese
Pee Wee Reese
Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from to . A ten-time All Star, Reese contributed to seven National League championships for the Dodgers and, was inducted...
's record for most losing World Series teams (6).
St. Louis catcher Tim McCarver
Tim McCarver
James Timothy "Tim" McCarver is an American former Major League Baseball catcher, and a current sportscaster in residence for Fox Sports.-Playing career:...
said the Boston newspapers made Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
angry with their headline "Lonborg and Champagne" that basically declared that Jim Lonborg would win before Game 7.
The two teams met again in the 2004
2004 World Series
The 2004 World Series was the Major League Baseball championship series for the 2004 season. It was the 100th World Series and featured the American League champions, the Boston Red Sox, against the National League champions, the St. Louis Cardinals...
and the Red Sox swept in four to break the Curse of the Bambino
Curse of the Bambino
The Curse of the Bambino was a superstition cited as a reason for the failure of the Boston Red Sox baseball team to win the World Series in the 86-year period from 1918 to 2004...
.
St. Louis is only one of two teams to take a 3–1 series lead only to lose the next two games and still win the championship. The other was the 1972 Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
.
1967 marked the first time that the Commissioner's Trophy was presented to the World Series-winning team.
Game 1
Wednesday, October 4, 1967 at Fenway ParkFenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
in Boston, Massachusetts
Ace Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
(13–7, 2.98), who sat out July and August with a broken leg, started Game 1 for the Cardinals while 21-year-old José Santiago (12–4, 3.59) suited up for the Red Sox. Jose, starting because Sox ace Jim Lonborg
Jim Lonborg
James Reynold Lonborg is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who played with the Boston Red Sox , Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies...
had pitched the final day of the regular season, won seven straight second-half games helping Boston stave off the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
and Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
to win the pennant by one game in a tightly fought pennant race.
Pitching was prime as Gibson and Santiago seemed to have their best stuff for this afternoon game at Fenway Park. The Cards got on the board in the top of the third on a lead-off single to center by Lou Brock
Lou Brock
Louis Clark "Lou" Brock is an American former professional baseball player. He began his Major League Baseball career with the Chicago Cubs but, spent the majority of his career as the left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Brock was best known for breaking Ty Cobb's all-time major league...
, a double by Curt Flood
Curt Flood
Curtis Charles Flood was a Major League Baseball player who spent most of his career as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. A defensive standout, he led the National League in putouts four times and in fielding percentage twice, winning Gold Glove Awards in his last seven full seasons...
, and a Roger Maris
Roger Maris
Roger Eugene Maris was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During the 1961 season, he hit a record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs...
ground-out to first scoring Brock from third. The Sox came right back to tie the score in the bottom of the same inning. After Gibson (Bob) struck out Gibson (catcher, Russ)
Russ Gibson
John Russell Gibson was an American reserve catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants between and . Listed at 6' 1", 195 lb., he batted and threw right-handed. Gibson was born and raised in Fall River, Massachusetts, and was a graduate of B.M.C...
, Santiago helped his own cause by homering to left-center field.
But Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
was masterful the rest of the way finishing with ten strikeouts allowing just six hits with one walk. José Santiago matched Gibson until the top of the seventh when Brock again led off with a single to right (his fourth hit), promptly stole second-base, and eventually scored on back-to-back groundouts by Flood and Maris. That run would hold up for a 2–1 Cardinal win but the Red Sox ace, Jim Lonborg
Jim Lonborg
James Reynold Lonborg is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who played with the Boston Red Sox , Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies...
was waiting in the wings to start Game 2.
Game 2
Thursday, October 5, 1967 at Fenway ParkFenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
in Boston, Massachusetts
Jim Lonborg
Jim Lonborg
James Reynold Lonborg is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who played with the Boston Red Sox , Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies...
enjoyed his best season as a professional in 1967 capturing the Cy Young Award
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball , one each for the American League and National League . The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955...
with an A.L. best 22 wins (against nine losses), was tops with 246 strikeouts, and had an impressive earned run average
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
of 3.16. Lonborg continued his superb pitching starting Game 2 for the Red Sox and for seven and two-thirds innings, the Cardinals could only manage one baserunner, a seventh inning walk by Curt Flood
Curt Flood
Curtis Charles Flood was a Major League Baseball player who spent most of his career as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. A defensive standout, he led the National League in putouts four times and in fielding percentage twice, winning Gold Glove Awards in his last seven full seasons...
. After Tim McCarver
Tim McCarver
James Timothy "Tim" McCarver is an American former Major League Baseball catcher, and a current sportscaster in residence for Fox Sports.-Playing career:...
and Mike Shannon
Mike Shannon
Thomas Michael Shannon is an American-born former Major League Baseball player and current radio sportscaster.Shannon is a radio broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was raised in St. Louis, Missouri and played with the Cardinals during some of the team's most successful years...
led off the eighth with groundouts, Julian Javier
Julián Javier
Manuel Julián Javier Liranzo , best known as Julián Javier [hoo-lee-AN hah-vee-ER], is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and right-handed batter. He played with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds...
turned a Lonborg fastball around, lining a double into the left-field corner breaking up his no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
. Bobby Tolan
Bobby Tolan
Robert Tolan is a former center and right fielder in Major League Baseball. Tolan, who batted and threw left-handed, played for the St. Louis Cardinals , Cincinnati Reds , San Diego Padres , Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates...
, pinch-hitting for weak-hitting Dal Maxvill
Dal Maxvill
Charles Dallan Maxvill is a former shortstop, coach and general manager in Major League Baseball. A graduate of St. Louis' Washington University, where he earned a degree in electrical engineering, Maxvill signed a professional baseball contract in 1960 with the hometown St...
, ended the inning by grounding out to second-base. Lonborg retired the side in order in the ninth ending the game as close to perfect, giving up just one hit and one walk while striking out four.
Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Michael Yastrzemski is a former American Major League Baseball left fielder and first baseman. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Yastrzemski played his entire 23-year baseball career with the Boston Red Sox . He was primarily a left fielder, with part of his later career...
provided more than enough offense by solo-homering in the fourth and adding a three-run shot in the seventh (scoring Jose Tartabull
José Tartabull
José Milages Tartabull Guzmán is a retired Major League Baseball outfielder; his Major League career lasted nine years, from 1962 to 1970...
and Dalton Jones
Dalton Jones
James Dalton Jones is a former Major League Baseball player who played nine seasons in the big leagues for the Boston Red Sox , Detroit Tigers , and Texas Rangers .-Biography:...
.) The other Red Sox run came in the sixth inning on walks to George Scott and Reggie Smith
Reggie Smith
Carl Reginald Smith is a former Major League Baseball outfielder, coach and front office executive. During a 17-year big league career , Smith appeared in 1,987 games, hit 314 home runs and batted .287. He was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed. In his prime, he had one of the strongest...
and a run-scoring sacrifice-fly by shortstop Rico Petrocelli
Rico Petrocelli
Americo Peter "Rico" Petrocelli is an American retired baseball shortstop and third baseman who played his entire career in the American League with the Boston Red Sox...
. The final score was 5–0 to even up the series at one game apiece with an upcoming journey to St. Louis for Game 3.
Game 3
Saturday, October 7, 1967 at Busch Stadium (II)Busch Memorial Stadium
Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri that operated from 1966 to 2005....
in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
After "Sleepwalking in Boston", the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
came out of their hitting slumber and tagged Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
starter, Gary Bell
Gary Bell
Wilbur Gary Bell , nicknamed "Ding Dong", is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1958-1969 for four different teams in his career, but is noted primarily for his time with the Cleveland Indians...
for three runs on five hits in the first two innings of Game 3. A former sixteen-game winner for the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
, Bell was an early-season pickup who pitched well in 29 games for the Sox going 12–8 with an ERA of 3.16. But he didn't have his best stuff against Cardinal's starter, 23-year-old Nelson Briles
Nelson Briles
Nelson Kelley "Nellie" Briles was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals , Pittsburgh Pirates , Kansas City Royals , Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles...
. Briles, after losing fifteen games in 1966, alternated between middle-relief and starting pitching in '67, and finished with a neat fourteen-win, five-loss record (.737 winning percentage—best in the N.L.) and an even neater 2.43 ERA.
The great table-setter Lou Brock
Lou Brock
Louis Clark "Lou" Brock is an American former professional baseball player. He began his Major League Baseball career with the Chicago Cubs but, spent the majority of his career as the left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Brock was best known for breaking Ty Cobb's all-time major league...
started things rolling in the first with a triple to left-center. Curt Flood
Curt Flood
Curtis Charles Flood was a Major League Baseball player who spent most of his career as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. A defensive standout, he led the National League in putouts four times and in fielding percentage twice, winning Gold Glove Awards in his last seven full seasons...
followed with a single to center scoring Brock for the game's first run. In the second, Tim McCarver
Tim McCarver
James Timothy "Tim" McCarver is an American former Major League Baseball catcher, and a current sportscaster in residence for Fox Sports.-Playing career:...
led off with a single to center followed by a Mike Shannon
Mike Shannon
Thomas Michael Shannon is an American-born former Major League Baseball player and current radio sportscaster.Shannon is a radio broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was raised in St. Louis, Missouri and played with the Cardinals during some of the team's most successful years...
two-run home run to left. Ineffective Gary Bell
Gary Bell
Wilbur Gary Bell , nicknamed "Ding Dong", is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1958-1969 for four different teams in his career, but is noted primarily for his time with the Cleveland Indians...
was pinch-hit for in the third inning, replaced by Gary Waslewski
Gary Waslewski
Gary Lee Waslewski was a Major League Baseball player who played as a pitcher from 1967-72. He was 11-26 with 5 saves in his career, with an ERA of 3.44....
. Waslewski pitched three perfect innings, striking out three before leaving in the sixth for relief pitcher Lee Stange
Lee Stange
Albert Lee Stange is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. The right-hander was signed by the Washington Senators as an amateur free agent before the 1957 season...
.
Boston scored their first run in the sixth with Mike Andrews
Mike Andrews
Michael Jay Andrews is a retired American Major League Baseball infielder who played for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. He is currently the chairman of The Jimmy Fund, an event fundraising organization affiliated with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston,...
, (pinch-hitting for Bell), singling to center. Andrews took second on a Tartabull sacrifice, immediately scoring on a Dalton Jones
Dalton Jones
James Dalton Jones is a former Major League Baseball player who played nine seasons in the big leagues for the Boston Red Sox , Detroit Tigers , and Texas Rangers .-Biography:...
basehit to right. But the Cards added some insurance in the bottom of the frame with the disconcerting Brock bunting for a hit, eventually going to third when Stange, attempting a pick-off, threw wild into right-field. Roger Maris
Roger Maris
Roger Eugene Maris was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During the 1961 season, he hit a record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs...
, in his next-to-last season, would have a good Series with ten hits and a home run, scored Brock with a single to right-center.
In the seventh Reggie Smith
Reggie Smith
Carl Reginald Smith is a former Major League Baseball outfielder, coach and front office executive. During a 17-year big league career , Smith appeared in 1,987 games, hit 314 home runs and batted .287. He was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed. In his prime, he had one of the strongest...
would hit a lead-off home run for Boston, trimming the score to 4–2 but the Cards stifled any further Sox comeback scoring their fifth run in the bottom of the eighth when Maris beat out an infield tap for a single and Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes is a former Puerto Rican Major League Baseball first baseman.Cepeda was born to a poor family. His father, Pedro Cepeda, was a baseball player in Puerto Rico, which influenced his interest in the sport from a young age. His first contact with professional baseball was...
muscled a double off the wall in right-center making the score 5–2. Briles would finish his complete-game victory with a 1-2-3 ninth, the second out recorded when Reggie Smith
Reggie Smith
Carl Reginald Smith is a former Major League Baseball outfielder, coach and front office executive. During a 17-year big league career , Smith appeared in 1,987 games, hit 314 home runs and batted .287. He was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed. In his prime, he had one of the strongest...
would interfere with McCarver who was trying to catch his pop-up foul down the first-base line. Up two games to one, St. Louis would send Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
back to the mound, a championship within reach.
Game 4
Sunday, October 8, 1967 at Busch Stadium (II)Busch Memorial Stadium
Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri that operated from 1966 to 2005....
in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
54,000 plus smiling fans packed Busch Memorial Stadium
Busch Memorial Stadium
Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri that operated from 1966 to 2005....
in anticipation of yet another Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
post-season, pitching gem. Gibson, never one to disappoint, was as good as advertised. Again, all St. Louis needed was a spark from Lou Brock
Lou Brock
Louis Clark "Lou" Brock is an American former professional baseball player. He began his Major League Baseball career with the Chicago Cubs but, spent the majority of his career as the left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Brock was best known for breaking Ty Cobb's all-time major league...
and this time four runs crossed the plate in the first inning. Brock started things rolling with a slow-roller to third—nothing Dalton Jones
Dalton Jones
James Dalton Jones is a former Major League Baseball player who played nine seasons in the big leagues for the Boston Red Sox , Detroit Tigers , and Texas Rangers .-Biography:...
could do could match Brock's speed, for an infield-hit. Curt Flood
Curt Flood
Curtis Charles Flood was a Major League Baseball player who spent most of his career as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. A defensive standout, he led the National League in putouts four times and in fielding percentage twice, winning Gold Glove Awards in his last seven full seasons...
singled to shallow left and Roger Maris
Roger Maris
Roger Eugene Maris was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During the 1961 season, he hit a record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs...
powered-up going the other way, doubling into the left-field corner scoring both base-runners. Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes is a former Puerto Rican Major League Baseball first baseman.Cepeda was born to a poor family. His father, Pedro Cepeda, was a baseball player in Puerto Rico, which influenced his interest in the sport from a young age. His first contact with professional baseball was...
then hit a sac-fly, Maris advancing to third. Tim McCarver
Tim McCarver
James Timothy "Tim" McCarver is an American former Major League Baseball catcher, and a current sportscaster in residence for Fox Sports.-Playing career:...
hit a clutch single to right to score Maris. After Mike Shannon
Mike Shannon
Thomas Michael Shannon is an American-born former Major League Baseball player and current radio sportscaster.Shannon is a radio broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was raised in St. Louis, Missouri and played with the Cardinals during some of the team's most successful years...
fouled out to Rico Petrocelli
Rico Petrocelli
Americo Peter "Rico" Petrocelli is an American retired baseball shortstop and third baseman who played his entire career in the American League with the Boston Red Sox...
for the second out, Julian Javier
Julián Javier
Manuel Julián Javier Liranzo , best known as Julián Javier [hoo-lee-AN hah-vee-ER], is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and right-handed batter. He played with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds...
would single in the hole between short and third followed by .217 lifetime hitter Dal Maxvill
Dal Maxvill
Charles Dallan Maxvill is a former shortstop, coach and general manager in Major League Baseball. A graduate of St. Louis' Washington University, where he earned a degree in electrical engineering, Maxvill signed a professional baseball contract in 1960 with the hometown St...
's run-scoring single to left for the Cardinal's fourth run. That would be it for Game 1 starter José Santiago who would only last two-thirds of an inning this time out. Gary Bell
Gary Bell
Wilbur Gary Bell , nicknamed "Ding Dong", is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1958-1969 for four different teams in his career, but is noted primarily for his time with the Cleveland Indians...
would relieve, getting the ninth batter of the inning, Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
to fly out to left.
Gibson would be on cruise-control the remainder of the game while the Cards would add two more runs off reliever Jerry Stephenson
Jerry Stephenson
Jerry Joseph Stephenson was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Boston Red Sox , Seattle Pilots and Los Angeles Dodgers . Born in Detroit, Michigan, and raised in Hermosa Beach and Anaheim, California, Stephenson was a graduate of California State University, Fullerton...
in the third. Cepeda would double into the left-field corner and move to third on a wild pitch. McCarver would add a second RBI on a sac-fly to center scoring Cepeda. Shannon would walk and score on a Julian Javier
Julián Javier
Manuel Julián Javier Liranzo , best known as Julián Javier [hoo-lee-AN hah-vee-ER], is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and right-handed batter. He played with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds...
double just inside the third-base line. That would be it for the scoring as Gibson would win his second Series game, a five-hit complete-game that put his Cardinals up, three games to one.
Game 5
Monday, October 9, 1967 at Busch Stadium (II)Busch Memorial Stadium
Busch Memorial Stadium, also known as Busch Stadium, was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri that operated from 1966 to 2005....
in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
With their backs up against the wall, manager Dick Williams
Dick Williams
Richard Hirschfeld "Dick" Williams was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967–69 and 1971–88, he led teams to three American League pennants, one National...
would again put his trust in the dependable Jim Lonborg
Jim Lonborg
James Reynold Lonborg is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who played with the Boston Red Sox , Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies...
. The 25-year-old righty would be faced by Steve "Lefty" Carlton
Steve Carlton
Steven Norman Carlton , nicknamed "Lefty", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1965-1988 for six different teams in his career, but it is his time with the Philadelphia Phillies where he received his greatest acclaim as a professional and won four Cy Young Awards...
. Carlton was a very respectable 14–9 in 30 games with a 2.98 ERA, striking out 168 in 193 innings during the regular season.
The game played out very tentatively; with just one early run scored by Boston in the top of the third. After Lonborg struck-out leading off the inning, Joe Foy
Joe Foy
Joseph Anthony "Joe" Foy was a Major League Baseball third baseman.-Boston Red Sox:Born in New York City, Foy was signed as an amateur free agent by the Minnesota Twins in 1962, but was selected in that year's minor league draft by the Boston Red Sox...
struck a single to left. Mike Andrews
Mike Andrews
Michael Jay Andrews is a retired American Major League Baseball infielder who played for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. He is currently the chairman of The Jimmy Fund, an event fundraising organization affiliated with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston,...
reached safely at first after a sacrifice attempt was fumbled by Cardinal third-baseman Mike Shannon
Mike Shannon
Thomas Michael Shannon is an American-born former Major League Baseball player and current radio sportscaster.Shannon is a radio broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was raised in St. Louis, Missouri and played with the Cardinals during some of the team's most successful years...
. With two on and one out, Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Michael Yastrzemski is a former American Major League Baseball left fielder and first baseman. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Yastrzemski played his entire 23-year baseball career with the Boston Red Sox . He was primarily a left fielder, with part of his later career...
looked at a third strike for the second out, but Ken Harrelson
Ken Harrelson
Kenneth Smith Harrelson , nicknamed "The Hawk" due to his distinctive profile, is a former All-Star first baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball...
followed with a clutch single to left scoring Foy.
Pitching with a slight cold (and a paper horseshoe in his back-pocket) Lonborg again sparkled, at one point retiring twelve straight. After a Roger Maris
Roger Maris
Roger Eugene Maris was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During the 1961 season, he hit a record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs...
single in the fourth, the next batter to reach base was Julian Javier
Julián Javier
Manuel Julián Javier Liranzo , best known as Julián Javier [hoo-lee-AN hah-vee-ER], is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and right-handed batter. He played with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds...
who got on base in the eighth on an error by Rico Petrocelli
Rico Petrocelli
Americo Peter "Rico" Petrocelli is an American retired baseball shortstop and third baseman who played his entire career in the American League with the Boston Red Sox...
. Carlton was just as good but left after six innings of work, replaced by Ray Washburn
Ray Washburn
Ray Clark Washburn is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Washburn, a right-hander, pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals from to and the Cincinnati Reds in ....
who then pitched two scoreless innings.
St. Louis Manager Red Schoendienst
Red Schoendienst
Albert Fred "Red" Schoendienst is an American Major League Baseball coach, former player and manager, and 10-time All-star. After a 19-year playing career with the St...
brought in Ron Willis
Ron Willis
Ronald Earl Willis is a former professional baseball player. He was a pitcher over parts of 5 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros and San Diego Padres. Willis was a member of the 1967 World Series champion Cardinals...
to pitch the ninth. The Red Sox greeted Willis by loading the bases on a George Scott walk, a Reggie Smith
Reggie Smith
Carl Reginald Smith is a former Major League Baseball outfielder, coach and front office executive. During a 17-year big league career , Smith appeared in 1,987 games, hit 314 home runs and batted .287. He was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed. In his prime, he had one of the strongest...
double, and an intentional walk to Rico Petrocelli
Rico Petrocelli
Americo Peter "Rico" Petrocelli is an American retired baseball shortstop and third baseman who played his entire career in the American League with the Boston Red Sox...
. Jack Lamabe
Jack Lamabe
John Alexander Lamabe was a former professional baseball player. He was born in Farmingdale, New York. He was a pitcher over parts of seven seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs...
relieved Willis after a 1–0 count on Elston Howard
Elston Howard
Elston Gene Howard was an American Negro League and Major League Baseball catcher, left fielder and coach. During a 14-year baseball career, he played from 1955–1968, primarily for the New York Yankees...
who promptly popped a single to right scoring Scott. Maris threw high to the plate allowing Smith to score the second run. With the score 3–0 St. Louis came to bat in the last of the ninth in a last attempt comeback bid. But Lonborg's luck continued getting Brock and Flood to ground out to second and third respectfully. Maris spoiled the shutout bid by homering over the right-field fence but Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Cepeda
Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes is a former Puerto Rican Major League Baseball first baseman.Cepeda was born to a poor family. His father, Pedro Cepeda, was a baseball player in Puerto Rico, which influenced his interest in the sport from a young age. His first contact with professional baseball was...
would end the game on a groundout to third. The Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
were now back in the Series although still down three games to two.
Game 6
Wednesday, October 11, 1967 at Fenway ParkFenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
in Boston, Massachusetts
Pivotal Game 6 matched rookie Gary Waslewski
Gary Waslewski
Gary Lee Waslewski was a Major League Baseball player who played as a pitcher from 1967-72. He was 11-26 with 5 saves in his career, with an ERA of 3.44....
(2–2, 3.21) who had only pitched in twelve regular season games, versus one-year wonder Dick Hughes
Dick Hughes
Richard Henry Hughes is a retired professional baseball player who played 3 seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball...
(16–6, 2.67) who pitched three seasons, winning only twice more in 1968 before retiring due to arm problems.
Rico Petrocelli
Rico Petrocelli
Americo Peter "Rico" Petrocelli is an American retired baseball shortstop and third baseman who played his entire career in the American League with the Boston Red Sox...
gave the Red Sox an early lead with a second inning blast over the Green Monster
Green Monster
The Green Monster is a popular nickname for the thirty-seven foot , two-inch high left field wall at Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox baseball team...
in left field. St. Louis came back with two runs in the top of the third when Julian Javier
Julián Javier
Manuel Julián Javier Liranzo , best known as Julián Javier [hoo-lee-AN hah-vee-ER], is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and right-handed batter. He played with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds...
hit a lead-off double off that same Green Monster
Green Monster
The Green Monster is a popular nickname for the thirty-seven foot , two-inch high left field wall at Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox baseball team...
. After retiring the next two batters, Waslewski gave up a single to Lou Brock
Lou Brock
Louis Clark "Lou" Brock is an American former professional baseball player. He began his Major League Baseball career with the Chicago Cubs but, spent the majority of his career as the left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Brock was best known for breaking Ty Cobb's all-time major league...
, scoring Javier. Then after a Brock steal, Curt Flood
Curt Flood
Curtis Charles Flood was a Major League Baseball player who spent most of his career as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. A defensive standout, he led the National League in putouts four times and in fielding percentage twice, winning Gold Glove Awards in his last seven full seasons...
singled to left, scoring Brock.
In the Sox half of the fourth, Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Michael Yastrzemski is a former American Major League Baseball left fielder and first baseman. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Yastrzemski played his entire 23-year baseball career with the Boston Red Sox . He was primarily a left fielder, with part of his later career...
, Reggie Smith
Reggie Smith
Carl Reginald Smith is a former Major League Baseball outfielder, coach and front office executive. During a 17-year big league career , Smith appeared in 1,987 games, hit 314 home runs and batted .287. He was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed. In his prime, he had one of the strongest...
, and Rico Petrocelli
Rico Petrocelli
Americo Peter "Rico" Petrocelli is an American retired baseball shortstop and third baseman who played his entire career in the American League with the Boston Red Sox...
would all go long setting a new World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
record with three home runs in the same inning. A demoralized Hughes wouldn't finish the inning and Don Willis
Don Willis
Don Willis was a colorful pool hustler and billiards player from Canton, Ohio. At the time, cash prizes for pool tournaments did not pay enough for a full time income, so he traveled the country playing private pool games for money...
would be summoned from the bullpen to get the last out, and Elston Howard
Elston Howard
Elston Gene Howard was an American Negro League and Major League Baseball catcher, left fielder and coach. During a 14-year baseball career, he played from 1955–1968, primarily for the New York Yankees...
groundout to third.
Waslewski was very workmanlike, but started to tire in the sixth inning when, after walks to Roger Maris
Roger Maris
Roger Eugene Maris was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During the 1961 season, he hit a record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs...
and Tim McCarver
Tim McCarver
James Timothy "Tim" McCarver is an American former Major League Baseball catcher, and a current sportscaster in residence for Fox Sports.-Playing career:...
, was replaced by John Wyatt who would get out of the jam retiring Mike Shannon
Mike Shannon
Thomas Michael Shannon is an American-born former Major League Baseball player and current radio sportscaster.Shannon is a radio broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was raised in St. Louis, Missouri and played with the Cardinals during some of the team's most successful years...
on a popup to short and Petrocelli on a fly to short right. The Cards would come back and hit Wyatt hard in the seventh. After pinch-hitter Bobby Tolan
Bobby Tolan
Robert Tolan is a former center and right fielder in Major League Baseball. Tolan, who batted and threw left-handed, played for the St. Louis Cardinals , Cincinnati Reds , San Diego Padres , Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates...
walked, Lou Brock
Lou Brock
Louis Clark "Lou" Brock is an American former professional baseball player. He began his Major League Baseball career with the Chicago Cubs but, spent the majority of his career as the left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Brock was best known for breaking Ty Cobb's all-time major league...
hit a homer into the right-center field bleachers. Flood and Maris hit long fly-outs to center but their hits stayed in the park to end the inning, St. Louis had tied the score at four apiece.
The Red Sox would send ten batters to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning and regain the lead. Elston Howard would lead off making both the first and last outs but four runs would cross the plate in-between. After all was said and done, the Cardinals would send four pitchers to the mound in the inning and when Hal Woodeshick
Hal Woodeshick
Harold Joseph Woodeshick was an American left-handed pitcher who spent eleven seasons in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers , Cleveland Indians , both Washington Senators , Houston Colt .45s/Astros and St. Louis Cardinals...
would come in to pitch the eighth, a Series record would be tied with eight (8) pitchers used also setting a two team record of eleven pitchers used. St. Louis had one more good chance to win the game loading the bases in the eighth, but highlighted by a great Yastrzemski catch in left-center, the Cards couldn't push one across and wouldn't score again going quietly in the ninth; with Gary Bell
Gary Bell
Wilbur Gary Bell , nicknamed "Ding Dong", is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1958-1969 for four different teams in his career, but is noted primarily for his time with the Cleveland Indians...
pitching the last two innings for the save. The Red Sox survived to play another day and the Series was now tied at three games apiece.
Game 7
Thursday, October 12, 1967 at Fenway ParkFenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
in Boston, Massachusetts
The seventh game again matched the aces, Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
against Jim Lonborg
Jim Lonborg
James Reynold Lonborg is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who played with the Boston Red Sox , Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies...
. Lonborg was pitching on two-days rest, while Gibson had rested an extra day since his last outing. From the start, it was apparent that Lonborg was struggling. Three Cardinal hits and a wild pitch put St. Louis ahead 2–0 in the third inning. Two more scored in the fifth on a home run by Gibson, Lou Brock
Lou Brock
Louis Clark "Lou" Brock is an American former professional baseball player. He began his Major League Baseball career with the Chicago Cubs but, spent the majority of his career as the left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Brock was best known for breaking Ty Cobb's all-time major league...
's single and two stolen bases (his seventh steal—a new Series record), and a Roger Maris
Roger Maris
Roger Eugene Maris was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During the 1961 season, he hit a record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs...
sacrifice-fly to right. A Boston run in the fifth cut the score to 4–1, but the Red Sox dream was abruptly halted in the sixth on a three-run homer by Julian Javier
Julián Javier
Manuel Julián Javier Liranzo , best known as Julián Javier [hoo-lee-AN hah-vee-ER], is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and right-handed batter. He played with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds...
off the arm-weary Lonborg. With the 7–2 defeat, Boston's "Impossible Dream" ended one game too soon and the St. Louis Cardinals were World Series Champions for the second time in the 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
, and eighth overall.
Only once before had a seventh game of a Series brought together starting pitchers who both had 2–0 won-lost records in that Series. It happened in 1925
1925 World Series
In the 1925 World Series, the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the defending champion Washington Senators in seven games.In a reversal of fortune on all counts from the previous 1924 World Series, when Washington's Walter Johnson had come back from two losses to win the seventh and deciding game, Johnson...
, when the Washington Senators
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
' Walter Johnson
Walter Johnson
Walter Perry Johnson , nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Washington Senators...
pitched against the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
' Vic Aldridge
Vic Aldridge
Victor "Vic" Aldridge , nicknamed the "Hoosier Schoolmaster," was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Giants, and was known to be an excellent curveball pitcher. Before his playing career he was a schoolmaster,...
.
Composite box
1967 World Series (4–3): St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
(N.L.) over Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
(A.L.)
Records
- Gibson gave up only fourteen hits in his three complete games, tying Mathewson's record for fewest hits given up in winning three complete World Series games.