1971 National League Championship Series
Encyclopedia

Game 1

Saturday, October 2, 1971 at Candlestick Park
Monster Park
Candlestick Park is an outdoor sports and entertainment stadium located in San Francisco, California, in the Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally built as the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 until moving into Pacific Bell Park in 2000...

 in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...


With aces Gaylord Perry
Gaylord Perry
Gaylord Jackson Perry is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1962-1983 for eight different teams in his career. During a 22-year baseball career, Perry compiled 314 wins, 3,534 strikeouts, and a 3.11 earned run average...

 and Steve Blass
Steve Blass
Stephen Robert "Steve" Blass is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher and a current broadcast announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates.-Playing career:Blass was born in Canaan, Connecticut...

 taking the mound for their respective teams, Game 1 looked to be a pitchers duel. It sort of was for four innings; the Pirates struck for two in the top of the third when Dave Cash
Dave Cash (baseball)
David Cash, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played in the National League for the Pittsburgh Pirates , Philadelphia Phillies , Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres .Cash established himself as a solid singles hitter and a good defensive second baseman in his seasons with...

 doubled home Jackie Hernández
Jackie Hernandez
Jacinto Hernández Zulueta is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and third baseman from 1965 to 1973....

. Cash scored the second run when Richie Hebner
Richie Hebner
Richard Joseph Hebner is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played from 1968 to 1985 in Major League Baseball. He played with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, and Chicago Cubs, all of the National League, and the Detroit Tigers of the American...

 grounded to Tito Fuentes
Tito Fuentes
Rigoberto "Tito" Fuentes Peat is a retired second baseman who played for 13 seasons in the Major Leagues between 1965 and 1978...

 at second, but Willie McCovey
Willie McCovey
Willie Lee McCovey , nicknamed "Mac", "Big Mac", and "Stretch", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played nineteen seasons for the San Francisco Giants, and three more for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics, between and...

, who attempted to field the ball and had to scramble back to first because Perry forgot to cover the bag, dropped Fuentes' throw. The Giants halved the lead in their half of the third when Chris Speier
Chris Speier
Christopher Edward Speier is a former Major League Baseball player and current bench coach for the Cincinnati Reds. He was drafted second overall in the January secondary 1970 Major League Baseball Draft.-Playing career:...

 singled, went to second on a Perry sacrifice, and scored on a Ken Henderson
Ken Henderson
Kenneth Joseph Henderson was an outfielder for the San Francisco Giants , Chicago White Sox , Atlanta Braves , Texas Rangers , New York Mets , Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs .He helped the Giants to win the National League Western Division in 1971 and the Reds to win the NL West in...

 single.

Fuentes and McCovey would redeem themselves in the fifth by each slamming two-run homers off Blass for a 5–2 lead. Al Oliver
Al Oliver
Albert Oliver, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball player. Over the course of his 18-year career, he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates , Texas Rangers , Montreal Expos , San Francisco Giants , Philadelphia Phillies , Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays...

 cut the deficit to 5–4 for the Pirates with two-run single in the seventh, but that was it as Perry went the distance for a complete game
Complete game
In baseball, a complete game is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher.As demonstrated by the charts below, in the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. Pitchers were...

 win.

Game 2

Sunday, October 3, 1971 at Candlestick Park
Monster Park
Candlestick Park is an outdoor sports and entertainment stadium located in San Francisco, California, in the Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally built as the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 until moving into Pacific Bell Park in 2000...

 in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...


In front of an NBC-TV audience, Pirate first baseman Bob Robertson
Bob Robertson
Robert Eugene Robertson is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball. Robertson, who batted and threw right-handed, played for the Pittsburgh Pirates , Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays...

 grew into a star in Game 2. Robertson smashed three homers, becoming the first to do so in a playoff game. His solo homer in the fourth tied the game at 2–2 and his three-run blast in the seventh made the score 8–2 and essentially put the game out of reach. Robertson also homered in the ninth, and Gene Clines
Gene Clines
Eugene Anthony Clines is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball, Clines played for the Pittsburgh Pirates , New York Mets , Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs . He was also the hitting coach for the Chicago Cubs from 2005-2006...

 added a homer for the Pirates.

Game 3

Tuesday, October 5, 1971 at Three Rivers Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to...

 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...


The Pirates' Bob Johnson
Bob Johnson (pitcher)
Robert Dale Johnson is a former professional baseball player. He was a pitcher over parts of seven seasons with the New York Mets, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.Johnson was a member of the 1971 World...

 and the Giants' Juan Marichal
Juan Marichal
Juan Antonio Marichal Sánchez is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. Playing for the San Francisco Giants most of his career, Marichal was known for his high leg kick, pinpoint control and intimidation tactics, which included aiming pitches directly at the opposing batters'...

 locked into a tight pitcher's duel for eight innings. Bob Robertson
Bob Robertson
Robert Eugene Robertson is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball. Robertson, who batted and threw right-handed, played for the Pittsburgh Pirates , Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays...

 hit a solo homer, his then-record fourth of the series, in the second, and the Giants tied it in the sixth when Ken Henderson
Ken Henderson
Kenneth Joseph Henderson was an outfielder for the San Francisco Giants , Chicago White Sox , Atlanta Braves , Texas Rangers , New York Mets , Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs .He helped the Giants to win the National League Western Division in 1971 and the Reds to win the NL West in...

 singled and scored when third baseman Richie Hebner
Richie Hebner
Richard Joseph Hebner is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played from 1968 to 1985 in Major League Baseball. He played with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, and Chicago Cubs, all of the National League, and the Detroit Tigers of the American...

 threw wildly past Robertson at first after fielding a bunt by Tito Fuentes
Tito Fuentes
Rigoberto "Tito" Fuentes Peat is a retired second baseman who played for 13 seasons in the Major Leagues between 1965 and 1978...

.

Hebner would atone for the error, however, by slamming a game-winning solo homer in the eighth off Marichal. Dave Giusti
Dave Giusti
David John Giusti, Jr., is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1962 to 1977....

 came on in the ninth and saved it for Johnson and the Pirates.

Game 4

Wednesday, October 6, 1971 at Three Rivers Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to...

 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...


Another anticipated pitching duel between Gaylord Perry
Gaylord Perry
Gaylord Jackson Perry is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1962-1983 for eight different teams in his career. During a 22-year baseball career, Perry compiled 314 wins, 3,534 strikeouts, and a 3.11 earned run average...

 and Steve Blass
Steve Blass
Stephen Robert "Steve" Blass is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher and a current broadcast announcer for the Pittsburgh Pirates.-Playing career:Blass was born in Canaan, Connecticut...

 quickly went by the wayside. Blass lasted only two innings, giving up five runs. Willie McCovey
Willie McCovey
Willie Lee McCovey , nicknamed "Mac", "Big Mac", and "Stretch", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played nineteen seasons for the San Francisco Giants, and three more for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics, between and...

 had a three-run homer and Chris Speier
Chris Speier
Christopher Edward Speier is a former Major League Baseball player and current bench coach for the Cincinnati Reds. He was drafted second overall in the January secondary 1970 Major League Baseball Draft.-Playing career:...

 also homered.

The Pirates, however, got Blass off the hook in their half of the second. Richie Hebner
Richie Hebner
Richard Joseph Hebner is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played from 1968 to 1985 in Major League Baseball. He played with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, and Chicago Cubs, all of the National League, and the Detroit Tigers of the American...

 tied the game with a three-run homer, but not before 1960 World Series
1960 World Series
The 1960 World Series was played between the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League and the New York Yankees of the American League from October 5 to October 13, 1960...

 hero Bill Mazeroski
Bill Mazeroski
William Stanley Mazeroski , nicknamed "Maz", is a former Major League Baseball player who spent his entire career with the Pittsburgh Pirates...

 provided a thrill by pinch-hitting for Blass and singling and later scoring on Hebner's home run.

The score stayed at 5–5 until the sixth when the Pirates pushed across four runs on a Roberto Clemente
Roberto Clemente
Roberto Clemente Walker was a Puerto Rican Major League Baseball right fielder. He was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the youngest of seven children. Clemente played his entire 18-year baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates . He was awarded the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in...

 RBI single and a three-run homer by Al Oliver
Al Oliver
Albert Oliver, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball player. Over the course of his 18-year career, he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates , Texas Rangers , Montreal Expos , San Francisco Giants , Philadelphia Phillies , Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays...

. Meanwhile, Bruce Kison
Bruce Kison
Bruce Eugene Kison is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1971-1985 for three different teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates , California Angels and Boston Red Sox...

 and Dave Giusti
Dave Giusti
David John Giusti, Jr., is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1962 to 1977....

 pitched the last seven innings of shutout baseball to close out the series.

Composite box

1971 NLCS (3–1): 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...

over 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....



External links

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