This is Retro Sports Radio. Visit RetroSeasons
.com for more sports history. since 1945. Let's
listen to the bedlam here at Tiger Stadium. What
a climax to a wonderful year, the year of the
Tiger, 1968. This tennis, what a great gift to
Detroit, with love from the Tigers. Go get them.
Tiger. We're all behind our baseball team. Go
get them, Tiger. World Series bound and picking
up steam. Go get them, Tiger. There'll be joy
in Tiger Town. We'll sing you songs when the
Bengals bring the pennant home where it belongs.
The year before, troubled Detroiters had too
many other problems to be caught up in the four
-team fight for the pennant. The Red Sox won
in 1967 on the last day of the season. But a
new Tiger spirit was forged in the heat of that
campaign. They lost a pennant and won a future.
One man who saw that future was Bill Freehand.
Here's what he said at Lakeland during spring
training of 1968. Bill, can the Tigers do it
this year? Well, Ernie, I'll tell you what, I'm
convinced that we can do it. We've got some real
good talent. I think we gained something last
year by virtue of the fact that we had a lot
of young guys who went through an experience
we'd never been through before. And I'll tell
you what, if we can keep our guys free from injuries,
we're going to win in 68. The year of the Tiger
began unhappily. Before 41 ,429 fans at Tiger
Stadium, Earl Wilson hit a home run but lost
to the Red Sox. But ah, that next day... That
was the tip -off of a whole season of wonderful
next days. In the ninth inning, up came Gates
Brown with a pinch -hit home run to give rookie
John Warden a 4 -3 relief victory. Ray Gates
had a special magic with the public. What do
you think it was? Well, I think that he transpired
to them a quiet, spoken fellow, a humble -looking
guy, but a powerful -looking fellow at the plate
who produced. He represented the underdog in
the games that followed. There were two more
Tiger victories for relief pitchers. One by Darryl
Patterson. The other by Fred Lasher. And the
Tigers kept on winning. Nine straight games they
won. More than any other Tiger team had put together
since 1949. They won a few the easy way, but
only a few. They beat the White Sox in the 10th
inning on Bill Freehand's single. They came from
behind in the 9th on Jim Price's pinch single
to tie the Indians. And won it in the 10th. on
Willie Horton's home run. They took three more
victories at Chicago, first sinking the White
Sox with three runs in the 10th inning, then
sweeping a doubleheader on April 21st. It was
a date to remember. The second of those doubleheader
victories was Denny McClain's first of the season.
The year of the Tigers swept on in waves of triumph
in fantastic thrill -packed last -minute victories
up to the time they cranked the pennant. The
Tigers have won 37 games in the seventh inning
or beyond, 29 in their last time at bat. Well,
Ray, I guess that's just the mark of a champion,
isn't it? Certainly is. It's almost like it's
a magic formula, something that makes a champion.
And when you look back to Boston in 1967, Baltimore
in 66, those ball clubs had the same ingredients,
the ability to come from behind. Everybody got
into the act. Pitchers, hitters, Steelers. A
catch double by Tom Magic beat the Orioles on
May the 7th. A home run and a magnificent bases
loaded catch by Jim Northam made him the hero
of the next Tiger victory. After the game, I
talked to Northam. Jimmy made a great catch in
Baltimore, a big catch because the bases were
loaded and you hit the ground there and skidded.
How do you keep that ball from bouncing out of
the glove in a play like that? Well, I hit the
ground with my shoulder and I held the glove
up off the ground. Actually, you just dive and
catch the ball, and if you get it in your glove,
it usually stays in the web the way the gloves
are built now. Did you think you were going to
get to that drive off the bat of Robinson? No,
when he first hit it, I didn't figure I had a
chance to even come close to it, and we just
started running over there after it, and all
of a sudden I dove at the ball, and I was just
lucky enough to catch it. And Jenny McLean kept
right on winning ball games. Al Kaline drove
in six runs as the Tigers walloped the Senators
12 -1 on May 10th, another date to remember.
But that put the Tigers back into the league
lead, and nobody ever caught them. McClain lost
his first game of the year when the Orioles broke
his five -game winning streak on May 15th. But
the Tigers then took three out of four from the
Senators. Jim Northrup won the first with a ninth
-inning Grand Slam homer. After the Tigers had
lost the second, Gates Brown won the third with
an eighth -inning pinched single. And history
was made as the Tigers won the fourth. One out.
Matthews on it first. Three and two, the count
to K -line, batting in the place of Gates -Brown.
Tigers out in front, 4 -0. We're in the bottom
of the sixth inning. Jones working for Washington
on the mound. Stretches. Delivers. There goes
the runner. Fly ball to deep left. And that one
you can kiss goodbye. has hit 307 home runs in
his career and becomes the Tigers' all -time
home run hitter, going one ahead of Hank Greenberg.
He was tied with Greenberg at 3 .06. He now has
307 for his Major League career and becomes the
Tigers' number one home run hitter. The next
day, the Tigers beat the Twins on a 10th inning
error. But first... Hernandez about as far right
as you'll ever see a shortstop play. Even on
an over -shifted infield, which they're not doing
here on Willie. Here's a fly ball to right. It's
deep, and it is out of here. A home run to tie
the ball game. Willie Horton hits one to the
opposite field in deep right center, and the
game is tied. Bad news on the first trip to the
West Coast. Earl Wilson on the shelf three weeks
after bruising his heel. Al Kaline out 37 games
when his right arm was broken at open. by a Lou
Kraus pick. A tenth -inning loss in the Oakland
final punctuated by a free -for -all fight after
Jack Aker hit Jim Northup in the head with a
pick. But there was good news, too. Denny McLean
won his seventh game of the year. And on May
27th, Eddie Matthews hit two home runs for a
career total of 512, putting him sixth among
all -time home -run sluggers of Major League
history. Pat Dobson, normally a relief pitcher,
went nine innings as he threw a shutout at the
Red Sox in his first start. One night when both
Bill Freehand and Jim Price were hurt, Wayne
Comer, an outfielder, came in to catch and did
a good job. And the year of the Tiger rolled
on with a thrill almost every night. On June
11th, the Tigers beat the Twins with their 13th
last inning victory. And on June 12th... Here's
McCullough down the crowd yelling, go, go, go.
Here's the pitch by Jim Cott. Mack swings. It's
a long fly to right. It may be gone. Going back,
Ulander. And he cannot reach it. It's in for
a home run. McCullough puts the Tigers ahead.
A home run in the lower deck in right field.
The Tigers lead it 2 -1. And Denny McLean raced
on toward his date with destiny. In the ninth
inning, Minnesota, no runs, no hits, no errors,
and nobody left. The final score, Detroit 3,
Minnesota 1. Those late -inning victories, one
of the most thrilling, came on June the 14th
at Chicago. Mickey Stanley was as great with
his glove as with his bat. Swing and there's
a drive to deep right center. Stanley going after
it and dives and makes a great catch. A fabulous
catch by Stanley. Aparicio going back to first
base. He's doubled off. The play went Stanley
to Dick McAuliffe to Bill Freehand on a sensational
catch by Mickey Stanley. On that great catch
in Chicago, how did you get such a good jump
on the ball? Well, Ernie, it was a time where
I was in a slump with a bat, and when I am in
a slump with a bat, I'm just a little bit better
feeler, and I was on my toes and ready to go,
and it was just one of the things where I got
a real good jump, and I was lucky to catch the
ball. I didn't think I was going to catch it.
I skinned both elbows and both knees and tore
my britches and sweatshirt, and Louie Aparicio
was a runner, and we doubled him off at first.
He was almost at third base. Mickey, generally
when you have a play like this, do you anticipate
and move one way or the other depending on the
batter? Well, I do. This is the day when Joe
Sparman was pitching, and I followed the flight
of the ball, and I think this was a breaking
ball inside, and McGraw is more or less a pull
hitter, and I think I cheated a half a step by
following the pitch. And you know ahead of time
what the pitch is going to be? No, I don't know
what the pitch is going to be, but I follow the
flight of the ball, before the ball reaches the
hitter, whether or not it's going to be a breaking
ball or a fastball, or whether or not the ball's
going to be inside or outside. Manager Mayo Smith
later said that, in his personal opinion, that
was the outstanding fielding play of the season.
Time and again, Tiger power smothered the opposition.
Dick Truszewski beat the Indians with a home
run and talked about it after the game. Dick,
it's been said that your three -run homer against
Cleveland was perhaps one of the turning points
for the first half of the Tigers' season. Did
it come as a surprise to you? A very definite
surprise, in particular because I hit it off
Sam McDowell, and I got a real big kick out of
it because it came in a spot where it really
helped our ball club. Nobody out. Northrop tonight
struck out twice and got a grand slammer. That
came in the fifth inning. His ninth home run
of the year. Fly ball down the line in the right
field, and that one is gone! a slump. He's done
it again. Another grand slam home run by Northland.
The Tigers have routed for three to pull within
one round of the Yankees. Yanks five, Detroit
four. Swing. There's a long bout in the center
field. Robinson going back, way back. He can't
get this one. It's pass into defense. Here comes
Stanley. He scores. Rounding third is freehand.
He scores. Willie Horton rounding third, and
he holds up as the throw comes in to Fernandez.
It's a long... Kaline returned to action in a
new role, playing first base for the first time
in his career on July 1st. And he had a big piece
of the action as the Tigers won the first game.
Two and two to counter Al. Stanley at third base,
nobody out. Angels have the infield, pulled in.
Brunette now, pumps, delivers. Fastball, line
to left. After the game, I asked Kaline how he
liked first base. I think I'm going to like it
quite a bit, Ernie. It's very interesting over
there. I get a chance to talk to all the visiting
players, the umpires, and I get a chance to...
Find out what's really happening in the ballgame.
You know, I played so many years in the outfield,
you just wonder what happens when everybody goes
to the mound. Now I'm finally learning what they
say and everything, and I think I'm going to
really enjoy it. That set off a four -game streak
over the Angels and a five -game winning streak
for the Tigers. The third victory was Jenny McClain's
15th of the season, achieved with the help of
home runs by Willie Horton, Norm Cash, and Dick
Krasinski. Then came the real wild one on the
4th of July. where the Tigers belted out a 13
-10 victory in a slugfest that saw them smash
six home runs to tie a major league record. Listen
to some of the fireworks, including part of the
Tigers' nine -run second inning. Go get him,
tiger. There was one series left before the All
-Star game. The Tigers made it a big one by winning
three out of four games from the Athletics at
Detroit. And at the All -Star game, halfway point
of the season, the Tigers' 27 games over .500
were nine and a half games in front of the American
League track. Well, you know, Mayo Smith told
me right after All -Star time that he thought
the most important thing that happened in that
first half of the season... was that three -run
homer by Dick Krzyzewski that stopped the Tigers'
skid in Cleveland. Another thing that impressed
me in the first part of the season was the fact
that the experts had all said that the witness
of the Tigers would be the bullpen. And the Tigers
came up with these young arms, Darryl Patterson,
John Warden, Pat Dobson in the bullpen, and then
Johnny Wyatt came along to help out. Wyatt, who
came on, and a question mark as far as his ability,
maybe with a couple of other clubs, but he seemed
to do a job for the Tigers. And Ray Oiler's great
feeling, especially there in the early part of
the year, was the fact that we were having a
hero per day for about 50 weeks. Now the city
was warming up to these Tigers. This theme of
destiny was becoming the second most important
factor in the life of Detroit. The most important
was the peace and harmony of the summit. And
it was a Tiger summer. The Tigers went into a
little swamp, losing three in a row. One at Minnesota,
the next two at Anaheim. But things went better
at Oakland. McClain again, naturally. His 18th
was an eight -hit shutout over the Athletics.
Two days later, Earl Wilson back in form, made
it two out of three in the series. Home to Detroit
came the Titans for a series of the Orioles.
In the first game, Willie Horton made a diving
attempt to a fly ball. Nearly had it. Then lost
it after rolling over several times and seemed
to be badly hurt. I thought he talked about it.
Well, first of all, I thought it was my knee
that hit me in the stomach. But it just, you
know, it really was a great pain that knocked
the wind out of me, mostly. And I kind of tore
my stomach muscle. Did you think you had a shot
at that catch? Well, I had it. I was looking
at the film. And I had the ball long enough for
the umpire to call the man out. And that's one
thing I really love. You know, my center fielder,
Mickey, he always looked out for me. He'd always
be the first one there with me. And he told me,
don't move. So far, and all the way through my
career, like every time something happened to
me, he'd always be the first one to me. Been
together so long, and I guess I'm more concerned
of him also. You know, he's just one of them
things. He'd just always be the first one out
there. Then it was Magic's turn to start. Two
out, a man on first, that's freehand. Tigers
are turning by one run, 4 -3 behind Baltimore.
Here's Magic now waiting on a full count delivery
by Drabowski. Swung on, it's a fly ball to right.
You too excited to know that it won the game,
or did you realize that? No, I knew we won the
game when I knew the home run was gone, Ernie.
I just got some kind of great feeling. All I
could think of was that it put us really two
more games ahead of Baltimore. At Baltimore a
week later, it was Daryl Patterson's turn to
star. Go to a full count. With you gone, everybody
will be moving. Now to wind up, the 3 -2 pitch.
Cold strike three. and took a fastball to the
knees. Odom coming up with the right hand. And
Darrell Patterson does a great job. With the
bases loaded, then putting down Valentine, Robinson,
and Johnson on strike. That's Patterson's best
job done so far in a Tiger uniform. But the Orioles
from the sixth. No runs. Two hits. No Detroit
errors. Three men left on base for the Orioles.
We've played six innings. Tigers lead, shoot
and a base. The next night, July 27th, was a
milestone. Denny McClain won his 20th victory.
Number 21 for Denny was his second straight shutout,
a 4 -0 win over the Senators. Dick McCollum scored
all four runs after getting four straight hits.
Now to Minnesota for three games. The first won
by the relief combination of Don McMahon, John
Hiller, and Darryl Patterson. Then a loss to
Dean Chance. But after that, you guessed it,
Denny McClain again. His 22nd, his fifth in a
row over the Twins. August 6th, Friday night
at Tiger Stadium, and what a ball game. It lasted
17 innings before Dick Chizuski settled it with
a single for 2 -1 Tiger victory over the Indians.
It was too late to finish the second game of
the doubleheader, but the Tigers completed the
5 -2 victory when the ninth inning was played
the next night. And then in the regular game...
Willie Horton's 27th home run and rookie Dave
Campbell's first gave Earl Wilson a 6 -1 victory.
And Denny McClain, who else, finished off a four
-game sweep with number 23. The Red Sox came
to town in third place, closing in on Baltimore
just three and a half games back. And the Sox
won the first game on Gilfoy's Grand Slam. But
then, in a series of dramatic events... Highlighted
by Gates Brown's hitting, the Tigers smashed
their way to victory in the next three. Here
it comes. He taps one over. The bounding ball
to first base. It's through for base hit. The
Tigers win the game. And the Tigers stream out
of the dugout. Bob Gates Brown and this crowd
is going berserk as the Tigers win the doubleheader,
getting the second game with a rally of four
runs in the ninth inning to win it by three.
The Tigers went back on the road with the tough
Indians and Red Sox to visit. The Tribe restless
in fourth place. And Denny McLean opened a three
-game series at Cleveland with his 24th victory.
After a loss to Sonny Siebert, the Tigers made
it two out of three as Mickey Lomax relieved
Joe Sparma for a 3 -0 shutout victory. for the
Red Sox. Denny McClain went on to pitch his 25th
victory and 6th shutout of the year. The next
day's game was a thriller. Now the 1 -0 pitch.
Bill Freehand we've got to talk to. Bill, when
you hit that 11th inning home run to win the
ball game up in Boston, you looked a little weary
coming around the base. It's been a hard day,
eh? It's been a hard day, and the night before
was pretty long, too. The humidity was real high
that day, and I don't know, in the latter part
of August, my energy is a little sapped on Saturday
morning, but I tell you what, when that ball
jumped off my bat, I couldn't have been any happier,
and when we finally finished that game, I was
really a tired man. You knew it was gone then
as soon as you hit it. Well, in Boston, you can
tell pretty well. If you get the ball up, I knew
I hit the ball well, and I thought I hit it high
enough to carry the wall, and I was lucky. Do
you like hitting that park, Fenway? Personally,
I always have done pretty well there. I don't
know if I'd like to call signals there all my
life. It gets a little tough, and I think a five
-run lead is never real secure in that park.
A couple of days later, a new Tiger pitching
hero emerged. One pitch away from a one -hit
shutout against Chicago. Hiller has his sign.
He goes to work. The pitch. It's a strike. It's
all over. The Tigers win it. Chuck him out to
end the ball game. Nothing at all for the White
Sox. And the final score in game number one,
Tigers 7, Chicago nothing. And the day after
that, the Tigers, whose last inning heroics rivaled
the perils of Pauline all year long, came up
with more of the same against the White Sox.
Waiting on a 1 -0 delivery. Right hand hitting
outfield to Mickey Stanley. Swing. There's a
fly ball deep to the map. Going back. Very. Maybe
it is. Out of here. Home run. Tigers 2, White
Sox. Bottom of the 10th array. wood. What type
of pitch was it? It was a knuckleball, Ernie.
That's mostly what he throws. Did it hang a little
high? Was it low, or could you tell? It moved
in on me, and I'm mostly a pool hitter, and I
was fortunate enough the ball came in on me.
Did you have an idea when you went up there that
you were going to swing for the fence? Not really.
I guess a knuckleball pitcher, I usually try
to go back through the middle. Wally Moses said
that's the best way to hit them, and that's what
I try to do. What other thoughts do you have
when you come off the bench as a fence batter?
Well, this year, I've had the good fortune to
come up with a couple timely base hits, and it's
an amazing thing. Before I go up to hit, I'm
not really nervous. But after I hit, I'm shaking
like a leaf. It's funny. How about when you're
out on the bases and that big mob's waiting for
you at the plate? I tell you, when that happened
that night, I couldn't believe it. I thought
I was dreaming. I woke up in the middle of the
night, and I had a dream. And it was just hard
to comprehend. And I finally got to home plate,
and some of the guys were there, you know, and
all the guys were running out of the field. I
said, you know, this is true. You didn't get
hurt in that mob, did you? I got spiked a couple
times, but I'll get spiked any time for that.
But that didn't end the fireworks in the White
Sox series. There were plenty more in the final
game. 1 -0, Tigers lead. They got that run in
the opening inning. The man who scored is up
there now waiting on a 3 -2 pitch from John.
Watch out. That one just about hit him. I think
Mack's a little perturbed. He's yelling out to
Tommy John. Now he goes at him, and John tackles
McCauley. Here comes Pete Ward in, Mickey Stanley.
Salerno's there in the middle, and both dugouts
empty, and the teams are going at it. Gates Brown
is out there, and now the umpires are trying
to separate the combatants here, and I think
the situation has been still. John, I believe,
has hurt his arm. The fight with Tommy John cost
Dick McAuliffe a $250 fine and a five -day suspension.
McAuliffe's loss was the first of a series of
minor disasters for the Tigers. For with McAuliffe
on the bench, they went to New York and dropped
four straight games, their longest losing streak
of the season. Everything went wrong in the sweltering
August heat of Yankee Stadium. Earl Wilson was
knocked cold by a line drive as the Yankees won
the first game of a twilight doubleheader 2 -1.
Then the Tigers were forced to a 19 -inning 3
-3 standoff in the second game. It had to be
called because of the curfew. The Yankees were
on their way with a long winning streak, the
hottest team in the league. But there was even
more trouble to come, plenty of it. Denny McClain,
who hadn't suffered two straight defeats all
year, finally lost his second in a row on Saturday.
And on Sunday, the Tigers dropped both ends of
a doubleheader, each one by one run. They got
out of New York wishing they had never seen the
place, then considered themselves lucky to split
a two -game series with the White Sox. That was
the last day of Dick McCullough's suspension.
He returned to the lineup when the Tigers got
back into the friendly environment of Tiger Stadium.
Dick, it must have been very frustrating sitting
out that suspension. Well, it was quite frustrating,
Ernie, especially when you're in a pennant race
like we were. We were about seven games, seven
and a half games ahead at the time, and to be
set down five games, well, actually six games.
And seeing my teammates trying to battle out
there, these one -run ball games, and it was
quite depressing for me. And I felt greatly part
in not winning a few of those games because of
the fact that I was sitting on the bench and
I was really helpless. And a lot of people asked
me, well, what would you do if they did it again,
threw at me again? And I told them, I said, well,
I'd really have to try and count to 100 as fast
as I could. I think twice. Perhaps it was the
welcome home. Perhaps it was the return of McCollum.
Or perhaps it was Denny McLean's determination
not to extend his losing streak beyond two. Whatever
the reason, the Tigers finally began winning
again. Their first of two victories over the
Angels was McLean's 26th, which had been 12 days
coming. Their second was a Mickey Lulich two
-hitter settled by a Willie Horton home run.
The pennant drive was really underway. Manager
Mayo Smith somehow had the pitching staff at
its peak. And up to the pennant clenching game,
there were 11 straight games without a relief
appearance by the bullpen. The Tigers won 17
out of 22 after the New York derailment. And
eight in a row to clench. You could feel the
confidence of this team. And pennant fever gripped
the city. The department stores were selling
everything from Tiger milk to Tiger t -shirts.
The newspapers were running full -page pictures
of the players every day. Every other car, it
seemed, had a Go Get Em Tigers bumper sticker.
The magic number was posted all over town. People
took transistor radios to the ballpark, theaters,
movie houses, and restaurants. There was even
a song written about... Danny McClane, Danny
McClane There's never been any like Danny McClane
His pitch on the organ... What's nearsighted,
Denny? What are the baseball awards? The all
-time Tiger Stadium attendance record was broken
as they neared the 2 million mark. Players were
seen, heard, and featured everywhere. It was
baseball, baseball, baseball. Bill Strehan here,
the second most important name for my checks.
The second place Orioles were in town for a crucial
three -game series. and they were determined
to take on the Tigers with a victory. This was
a series that finished the Orioles as a serious
threat. Oh, they were technically still in the
race after that, but not really. For while nearly
125 ,000 fans went mad in the three days between
August 30th and September 1st, the Tigers took
two out of three to show the baseball world they
weren't about to fold in the clutch. Earl Wilson
was the pitching and batting hero of the first
game of Baltimore. Besides hurling a four -hitter
for a 9 -1 victory, well, let the story tell
itself. Swing to the long one! Deep left, it
may be! That was the 31st home run of Wilson
Surrey, putting him within sight of Wes Farrell's
all -time career record for pitching. The Orioles
spurred the series in the second game, but the
third was the one that set them reeling. The
man who pitched it? McClain, of course. With
Denny McClain, it almost became not whether he
would win, but how he would win. He did it with
his bat, three hits and an hour. His team would
come from behind, and with his inborn sense of
drama, the maestro even did it with his glove.
And this even had the Baltimore announcer cheering.
It may be a triple play. They did it. A triple
play. McLean to Magic to catch. The first triple
play in the old ballpark since 1965. And later,
Denny added to his immortality by having Mickey
Mantle hit his 535th home run off of him. Denny
and the whole team applauded the Mets who thus
surpassed Fox for the number three all -time
position. In the second game of a doubleheader
at Oakland, the day after that big Baltimore
series in Detroit, freehand came up in the clutch
and... Now here's the pitch to Bill. Long fly
to left field. It might be. Could be. It is.
Put the Tigers out in front by a score of 4 -3.
The next day, it was Northrop's turn. Bogle ahead
of the batter. Northrop with a strike one count.
The bases are loaded. He swings a bounding ball.
Redfield. Krasinski scores. McCarty, bounding
third. He's coming home. The throw to the plate.
Not in time. He scores. And on the third goes
Stanley. On the second goes... And the Tigers
take the lead again, 4 -3 on a single by Jim
Northrup with the bases loaded. Back to Detroit
to entertain the Twins. Man on third, man on
second, and nobody out. Caught, set some pitches,
and Willie swings a long fly ball to left. Maybe
it's gone. It scored four runs. And they have
a 4 -0 lead over the Minnesota Twins. Boswell
beginning to throw in the bullpen. That's the
32nd home run for Willie Horton. It gives him
76 runs batted in. Now to Anaheim for this series
of explosions. Here's the set now, the pitch.
Swing, a bounding ball to left. That ought to
get a run in. Here's Stanley rounding third.
Rykard will throw to second and the Tigers lead
1 -0 on the single by Kaline. Scoring Mickey's
family from second base. 1 -0 Detroit. Here's
Willie Horton stepping in. Bennett delivers.
Here's a fly ball to left. It's deep. Rykard
going back. Might be. It is. Out of here. 3 -0
Tigers. The 33rd home run by Willie Horton. So
the Tigers out in front early. 3 -0 in the opening
inning. Tigers 3, California nothing in the third.
Now the wind -up by Bennett, and the pitch is
swung on. There's a drive to left. Deep record
going back. It is out of here. Just over the
fence and into the bullpen. Mickey Stanley hits
home run number 11, and the Tigers now lead 4
-0. Bennett comes back. There's a long belt back.
Now it's McLean again, with his bat helping his
arm. So McLean batting against Messer -Smith,
and he swings, and it's a fly ball to center.
Johnstone is turned. He's going back. It's a
deep one. He's still going, and it is off the
wall. Diddy going for two. He's rounding second.
He's heading for third. And here comes the throw.
He slides. He has a three -bagger. Last game
of the season in Anaheim was an easy one for
the pennant -bound Tigers. He was tied with Northup.
There's another drive deep to left. This might
be gone. It is in the bullpen. A home run by
Freehand. And the Tiger power asserting itself
again here tonight. Seven to nothing. The Tigers
lead them. Number 22 for Mr. Freehand. Here's
Tom Satriato. Tom tonight, 0 for 2. Clever Morton
had gone all the way to home. Scappers back to
third base. A great play by Stanley. Hiller kicks
and deals. Fly ball, short right. Here comes
Northrup digging hard. He dives and he makes
a great catch. Well, Stanley made one earlier
and now Northrup makes a great diving, tumbling
catch in right field. And home to Detroit to
entertain the athletics royally. Turn to throw
by Wilson to second. He's picked off. Picked
off at second base is Reggie Jackson. Kaczynski
ducked behind him. Tipped the throw for Wilson.
And Jackson is picked off. And what a job Wilson
does in the clutch. Blanking the Oakland A's
in the seventh inning. No run on two hits. And
there were no errors. opposition and a full house
at Tiger Stadium to lend encouragement. Denny
McLean's big bid for immortality. Everyone was
there. Julie Nixon and David Eisenhower, Sandy
Koufax, and the last 30 -game winner, Dizzy D.
The Oakland A's lead the Tigers 4 -3 in the ninth
inning. Segui walking off the mound and rubbing
up that ball tossed out by Umpire Halleck. is
stick around here now before this big Tiger crowd.
Here's the set by Diego Segui. The pitch. Northup
swings the bounding ball. It's flown to Decatur.
He throws to the plate. The throw's wild. Kaline
scores. Stanley rounding second. He throws. Goes
to third. Safe at first is Northup. And the game
is... Here's the set by Sege, the pitch. Swung
on, a drive for left. That'll be the ball game.
It's over ahead of Goska. McClain wins his 30th.
Here comes Stanley in the score. Willie Horton,
single, and the ball game is over. And the Tigers
win it 5 -4. Jenny McClain is one of the first
out of the dugout. Racing out, and Horton is
mobbed as the Tigers come from behind. And McClain
has his 30th victory of the 1968 season. Okay,
Denny, our Tiger broadcast still on the air.
Congratulations. Your team has come through for
you all year long, and they came through for
you again on the ninth inning. They've been doing
it all year, Ray, and you don't expect them to
keep doing it like this all year. I thought I
was in a little bit of trouble, but they pulled
me out again. They've been doing it all year.
Denny, about your performance today. You started
off very strong, and then Jackson gave you a
lot of trouble. Did you... Feel about the same
way as you did your last couple of performances?
Yes, I did. Jackson, the first home run he hit
was a pretty good pitch. But the second pitch
he hit was a high changeup and was a real bad
pitch. Real bad. Denny, you have a chance, of
course, to talk to Dizzy Dean right after the
ballgame. What does that have to tell you? Dizzy
just congratulated me and wished me a lot of
luck. All right, now you're going to 30. You
want number 31 right now, of course. When do
you think you'll go again? Probably Wednesday
night, right? Let me help you arm feel right
now. Arm feels wonderful. Wonderful. Okay, thank
you very much, Denny McLean. Congratulations
again to you. Two days later came the climax.
The climax that truly made 1968 the year of the
Tiger. Well, this big crowd here ready to break
loose. Three men on, two men out. Game tied 1
-1 in the ninth inning. McDaniel checking his
time with Jake Gibbs. The tall right -hander
ready to go to work again. And the wind -up and
the pitch. He swings. A line shot. Base hit.
Right field. The Tigers win it. Here comes Kaline
to score. And it's all over. Downward singles.
The Tigers mobbed on. Kaline has scored. The
fans are steaming on the field. And the Tigers
have won their first pennant since 1945. Let's
listen to the bedlam here at Tigers Stadium.
Tigers are being mobbed as they go to their dugout.
They'll hardly make it. Confetti in the air.
Fireworks in the air. Now, Ray Lane is in the
Tiger Clubhouse, and I imagine quite a few things
are popping down there. Ray? Right, Johnny. We're
in the Tiger Clubhouse, and as usual, for the
pennant winners, it's the big night right now.
Joe Sparma, congratulations. Thanks, Ray. Great
job. Thank you very much. It's great to be able
to be a part of it, I'll tell you. Joe, you had
to feel a little down the last couple of months.
Yeah, I did. I think I won this game for the
people who had faith in me, and I guess my wife,
if it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't have
got through the year, I'll tell you. Manager
Mayo Smith over here right now, a man that's
been dunked by about five bottles of champagne.
He is sopping wet. It ended up the way we wanted
it to. We won it, even though we knew that Baltimore
had lost. This is a very happy day. And, of course,
these guys have played great all year. I'm happy
first for them. Of course, John Fetzer, the Tiger
organization. Last but not least, the fans. They've
waited a long time for this. And see if we can't
get over here to reach the Tiger president, Mr.
John Fetzer. All right, now we get up here. And
I want Alice with a bottle of champagne. Mr.
Fetzer, congratulations to Alice. Well, I'm not
very good at giving play -by -play descriptions,
Ray, but that was the finest toss of water I've
ever seen tossed on Jim Campbell's ball head.
And this is the greatest testimony I know to
the greatest ball club in the world today. Mr.
Fetzer, I want to say one thing. You have tried
for the past two years to build yourself a penicillin
tender. You got it tonight. This is the climax
of a long, long, cold winter night. But I tell
you right now, it's warm indeed. Can you get
Mr. Campbell for us over there? Mr. Lodi's trying
to get Jim. Jim, congratulations. Hi, Ray. Well,
we're real happy. I'll tell you, real happy is
not the word for it, is it? You think we've been
so close for a few days, but when it comes, you
think, well, you won't get excited. But by golly,
it's just wonderful. Jim, you've had a hero in
about every ballgame this year. There's really
no one hero in this club. They're a great bunch
of kids. I think they're just great. This has
to certainly pay off for all the hours and days
and months of hard work trying to build up. Yeah,
and years. Okay, you look great with that soap
on you, Jim. Yeah, I look great. Jim Campbell,
general manager and vice president of the Detroit
Tigers. Hey, Mickey. Mickey Loli, say we can't
get the old left -hander over here, Mickey. Hey,
buddy, it must be a pretty good feeling. Oh,
I tell you, Ray, it's great. I don't know what
to say. We had a feeling, you know, we were going
to win it in spring training, and here we are,
and we're the happiest people in the world right
now. You know, you're talking about that feeling.
I think it was very prevalent in spring training.
It was sort of a silent thought, but all you
guys had seemed like dedication. You knew you
could do it. Well, everybody said in spring training,
I mean, how did we feel after last year when
we come so close and miss? And we said, well,
we knew what it was like there. We were all more
experienced, and I think today we have proved
that we did gain more experience last year, and
I think there's a great future for the Detroit
Tigers in the next few years in Detroit. Mickey,
you've had that in -and -out season at least
the first three months of the season. You seem
to be on the right track again. Well, you know
Mickey Lowledge. He always seems to come along
when he has to, so I'm real glad I could do it.
Mickey, you've done a wonderful job, and good
luck the remaining season, and good luck in the
series.