BACKGROUND from The Sports Time Traveler
The Dodgers, Giants and Pirates have been embroiled in a 3-way battle at the top of the National League all summer in 1966.
The defending World Series champion Dodgers, led by Sandy Koufax, are no surprise contender. Winners of 2 of the last 3 Fall Classics, they were expected to be here.
So were the Giants, led by Willie Mays, who nearly won the World Series in 1962, and have won an average of 94 games a year across the past 4 seasons.
But here in mid-September, it was wholly unexpected that the Giants and Dodgers would be looking up to the Bucs (the Pirates nickname), a team that had finished in 8th place in 1963 and has not seriously contended since their surprising 1960 season World Championship season.
Yet the Pittsburgh Pirates have held sole possession of 1st place since September 2nd.
This Pirates team has had almost complete turnover since 1960. Only one pitcher, Vern Law, remains from the pitching rotation, and only two players are still in the starting lineup. One is 2nd baseman Bill Mazeroski, whose home run famously won the 1960 World Series in game 7. The other is a right fielder from Puerto Rico, who had emerged in 1960 as a star, and now they have begun to call “The Great One” in Pittsburgh - Roberto Clemente.
The 1966 Pirates play their games in the 2nd oldest baseball stadium in use in the majors, Forbes Field. Three years older than Fenway Park, and only 2 months younger than Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia, Forbes Field feature distant outfield fences and poor parking.
Now let’s go back to a thriller during the thick of the 1966 pennant race in Pittsburgh.
FORBES FIELD, PITTSBURGH - September 10, 1966
“Last night” in 1966 the Pirates desperately needed a win. After losing 3 straight games to the Braves, the Bucs were at Forbes Field to open a 3 game set against the Cardinals. It will be the Pirates last home games prior to a 15 game road trip.
Pittsburgh entered the day clinging to a half game lead in the National League over the Giants and 1.5 games over the defending champion Dodgers.
In the top of the 1st, rookie starter Woody Fryman gave up a 2 out double to Orlando Cepada that put the Bucs in a 1 - 0 hole.
In the bottom of the 1st, they got it back. Roberto Clemente moved Matty Alou to 3rd on a single and Willie Stargell lifted a sacrifice fly to tie the game.
Fryman locked down the Cards until the 6th inning when Orlando Cepeda provided the big hit again and put the Cards in front 2 - 1.
But yet again Lumber Company founders, Clemente and Stargell rapped hits and the Pirates tied it back up at 2.
NOTE: It will not be until 1971 that the Pirates will be called “The Lumber Company.” But it is the consistent power hitting of Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell that will lend itself to that unique nickname. And in 1966, the pair are already the backbone of the Bucs’ lineup.
The game remained tied at 2 all the way into the bottom of the 12th inning. After Fryman had been lifted for a pinch hitter in the 7th, relievers Pete Mikkelsen and Roy Face held the Cardinals to 1 hit in the 8th through 12th innings.
The Pirates came to the plate in the bottom of the 12th with the top of the order. And that meant most of the best batters in baseball in 1966.
The Pirates had 4 of the top 5 batters across the major leagues if you looked at the complete list of players in the weekly listings in the newspapers last Sunday. It was stunning to see that.
And the only one of the 5 who was not a Pirates player was Felipe Alou of the Braves, who is the brother of the Pirates’ leadoff batter, Matty Alou.
Matty Alou (batting .347) led off the last of the 12th with a single.
Gene Alley (batting .297) bunted him over to 2nd.
The Great One, Roberto Clemente, came to the plate next. He was 4 for 5 on the night, which increased his average to .329. It was his 2nd 4 hit game in less than 2 weeks. The Cardinals elected to walk Clemente.
Willie Stargell was up next. Stargell was 1 for 3 in the game to raise his average to .313. Stargell had already driven in both of the Pirates runs to reach 90 for the season. But Bucs’ manager Harry Walker decided to pinch hit Manny Mota for lefty hitting Willie Stargell because the Cardinals had brought in a lefty pitcher.
Manny Mota had come into the game tied for the best batting average in baseball with his teammate Matty Alou at .347, although Mota with just under 300 at bats was not technically eligible for the hitting crown. Mota had actually led all batters in the majors for most of the summer.
It’s really something when you have the leading batter in all of baseball on the bench for such situations.
Mota walked.
The bases were now loaded with 1 out for Bill Mazeroski, the man who hit one of the most famous home runs in World Series history to beat the Yankees in game 7 in 1960.
Charley Feeney of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote, “Mazeroski then sent a fly to Curt Flood in medium center. Alou the speedster, raced home.”
Matty Alou was tagging up at 3rd base with the potential winning run. If Matty were to be out it would be an inning ending double play.
Cardinals’ center fielder Curt Flood made the throw to catcher Tim McCarver.
That’s all-star to all-star.
Feeney wrote, “Flood fired on one hop” to McCarver.
Tim McCarver had lined himself a few steps up the 3rd base side to block Alou’s path to home. That forced Matty Alou to run wide right around McCarver. Alou got some help. Neal Russo of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote, “Alou was elbowed off the plate,” by McCarver as he ran past.
After racing past McCarver, Matty Alou was slightly behind home plate as McCarver grabbed the ball. And McCarver, now ball in hand, was a little in front of home plate.
Both men dove for home.
The picture below shows the play.
Matty Alou reached home plate 1st with the winning run. The Pirates were 3 - 2 victors.
This is as thrilling as it gets in pennant races.
With the win, The Bucs increased their lead in the National League to 1.5 games.
But there’s a new 2nd place team.
The Giants had sent Juan Marichal to the mound at Candlestick. Marichal entered the game with a 21 - 5 record. He is widely considered the 2nd best pitcher in baseball after Sandy Koufax, here in 1966. But Marichal lost 6 - 0 to the Cubs, who wisely walked Willie Mays 3 times.
In L.A., 8 year veteran pitcher Claude Osteen, who had missed his last start with a groin pull, pitched one of the best games of his career. Frank Finch of the Los Angeles Times wrote, “Three dinky infield singles were all that stood between Claude Osteen and a perfect game.” The Dodgers beat the Astros 7 - 0.
The Dodgers win combined with the Giants loss put the Dodgers percentage points ahead of the Giants for 2nd place. Both teams are 1.5 games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates.
My gosh, this is a great pennant race!
The Sports Time Traveler will continue following the thrilling 1966 National League pennant race.
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Great stuff as always Len!