It was great to have a sports fan teaching afternoon classes. My geometry teacher got the AV squad to roll in a TV on a stand for this series, and we were in the Yankees market. Awesome.
I was 10-11 yrs old. The 68 series was the start of my love of baseball. I was able to play until I was 40. In 7th grade woodshop I took a Bob Gibson pic and a Mickey Lolich pic cut from a sports mag, Glued them to a piece of wood after staining it and woodburning in Cardinal and Tiger logos. I displayed that on my walls for decades. I don't know where it is now but I can see it as I speak about it. Baseball. Love it.
@@jerardnorgren3411 teacher took my radio in the 73 playoffs. I had it in my desk and had earplugs running up my sleeve, but I started yelling, and that gave it away 😂. Third grade, Jefferson Elementary, Royal Oak, Mich.
I've always felt for Ray Oyler, having a great defensive year at short stop, only to be set down in the World Series to have the center fielder on the club move to short stop. It worked. Micky Stanley made two errors but they never resulted in RBIs.
@@cdjhyoung IIRC, Mayo Smith was the Tigers' manager that year and he felt that Stanley's bat would make up for his defensive liability. This was a great Series, great memories.
@@Diogenes-ty9yy I didn't realize it until I did a little research is that Stanley started the 69 season as the Tiger's short stop and played 58 game there. Ray Oyler was left unprotected in the expansion draft and landed in Seattle where he had the best statistical batting season of his career.
I recall sitting in my little basement bedroom with a bunch of buddies watching the Tigers with our little Sylvaina 12" black and white that my brother and I worked so hard to get via neighborhood odd jobs and delivering newspapers. Fun days!!
@@TheTussman I think Frank Robinson did that once too, hit two slams in one game for the Orioles. I do miss Curt Gowdy calling Saturday afternoon baseball games.
When it was Baseball!.....When it was a game!!!!.....even though I was 1 yr old when this game took place.....I love it more than today's baseball.....My favorite player was Mr. CLemente, and just knowing he played during this time gives me so much happiness! Tim Mcarver, Bob Gibson, Bill Freham.....all of this guys were true to the game......old Shool baseball....The Best......
@K Maxx hey bro...I was born in 1966...In fact I dont remember him playing....but I've seen plenty of videos! Baseball was better than ever!!!! Hater! Go do your HOMEWORK....
I agree! They were civilized looking then. Today they look like they are on the wanted list. And the ridiculous celebrations after a regular game. The dugouts with the comic-con antics. What do you expect from Gen Z? Oh, and the oven mitt, give me a break!
The 1968 World Series was one of the greatest ever played. Detroit recovered from a 3-1 deficit, winning three consecutive games, in order to win the World Championship. Tiger Mickey Lolich pitched and won three games, the third on only two days' rest. Yet, this Series barely gets mentioned in Ken Burns' video, "Baseball," except to point out that Gibson struck out 17 in the first game.
"this Series barely gets mentioned in Ken Burns' video, 'Baseball,' except to point out that Gibson struck out 17 in the first game." That's because the Red Sox weren't playing.
I’m a lifelong Yankees fan, but I was glued to the set during this Series. Historically, any number of guys had grabbed 3 wins by starting games 1, 4 and 7, but Lolich’s feat was amazing at the time, and still is!
Ken Burns’ dad lost the family fortune in Denny McLain’s scheme to turn worn-out baseballs into car upholstery. And Ken Burns has never forgiven the Tigers.
Same here. My teacher was Mrs. Dunham, and though she hated the Tigers being a Cleveland native, she let us watch anyway because they were our team. Teachers wouldn't dream of doing that in today's wretched, woke education system.
I remember checking the League Leaders in the paper everyday and marveling at how many grand slams Northrup hit. Great World Series. Two terrific teams.
Being a Pirates fan, I thought the '71 and '79 Series were better, but Tigers vs. Cards was one of the best I've seen of the ones that didn't include the Pirates. It's absolutely right up there with Red Sox vs. Reds in '75.
kyokogodai ....A decent and humble man...may God bless his soul. He used to always give a shout-out to Gates Brown in local interviews with, "..Say hello to the Gator for me.." He and Gates Brown were tight..
- Is it Freddie?? Did you watch any of the Red Sox-Yankees last night? Did you see any of the 9th inning? I'm TIRED of people whining about how baseball today is "unwatchable". Newsflash: baseball 50 years ago ISN'T applicable to today's society. Baseball has to adjust to the times like everything else. Unless you wanted everything from 50 years ago to stay EXACTLY the same and not have even one thing change at all.
I remember being in second grade (St. Jude in Detroit) and watching this game in class! Jim's triple was key, but damn getting four straight hits against gibson was impressive!
The same thing for me---I was a 7th grader at Holy Trinity Catholic School (Alpine Township/GR). The nun who taught my class would wheel the TV into the classroom each and every day of the 1968 Series. And when the dismissal bell rang, I would peddle that mile home in record time so I could watch the remainder of those games.
@@robertflowers6621 My dad was also in grade school when this game was played. Their teacher, Sister Mary Catherine, secured one of the AV departments TVs and brought it into the classroom. Same story 4 years later when the Tigers were in the ALCS against Oakland. If there's more hardcore baseball fans than Catholic Nuns, I haven't met them.
I remember these games like it was yesterday. Denny McClain had been pitching against Gibson in the previous games where he lost. So they did a switch and Mickey Lolich pitched against Gibson after McClain had won game six. It was my first summer back from Vietnam so I always felt the won this series for me!
That's not why they "switched". They didn't want to rely on Earl Wilson, who hadn't had a particularly good year, or Joe Sparma. So, both McLain and Lolich pitched on 2 days rest . That put each of them a day ahead in the rotation.
Marc...I listened to the game in a foxhole in Vietnam at something like 3am on Armed Forces radio with an earphone in one ear. Being a Tiger fan, it was amazing.
I was in school at the time. To allow the kids to watch the game at home Detroit Schools switched a teacher's conference up a day so we got out early to be able to watch the whole game. Pretty nice.
I was 13 and in junior high school at the time. Color TV was a new thing. My school HAD color TV, and since back then games were played in the afternoon, we students were allowed to stay after school to watch the games and be bussed back home afterwards. What a country we were back then. I can hardly believe it. To have all my classmates SCREAMING after that hit will remain with me the rest of my life.
Had a similar experience in HS same series our teacher was a avid baseball fan and we listened to the game on his transistor radio. Best teacher I ever had
I went to game 5 of this series with my brother. I was a freshman at Western Michigan and my dad came and picked me up and had tickets for my brother and me. The Tigers got beat like a drum in that game, but I watched this one in the commons room at Western. Still one of the great times of my life.
illinoizrichy1 Sorry but 1968 was a horrible year for baseball. Pitchers dominated way too much. Every game was 1-0, 2-1, 3-1, etc. Attendance was way down. Hell, the AL batting champion was Yastremski, w/a .301 BA. Lack of offense was why MLB lowered the mound the next year. Time magazine ran an article that year, entitled "Baseball is dead". People, especially sports fans think everything was better 40-50 years ago, but that's not always the case.
I live in SW Lower Michigan, and it’s more Cubs/Chisox country than Tigers. While I’m 10 Toes Down for the Tigers, I loved listening to Harry Carey and Jimmy Piersall broadcasting the Chisox in the late 70’s! I grew up on Harwell and Paul Carey, and I think that they are the GOAT as radio broadcasters...but Harry and Jimmy were good AND fun!
That sounded like Jim Simpson to me...although with the sound quality from that old a broadcast, it was hard to tell. Gowdy did the Game of the Week for NBC, but he was also their #1 play-by-play announcer for the AFL games (this was pre-merger), and Jim Simpson did a lot of post-season baseball.
That became known as "Flood's Fatal Slip". But these 2 teams deserved to be in the series; both were stacked with talented ballplayers at every position.
1968 was last season before divisional play. By all star break it was clear that Cardinals and Tigers were going to World Series, barring a historic collapse.
@@scottodonnell7121 Flood was a victim of his own excellence. Few or no other outfielders could have caught that ball. Northrup completely deserved being credited with a triple. A year later someone told me the Cardinals owner traded Flood to Philadelphia because of that play. I don't know if that was the reason, but I wouldn't put it past a vindictive owner to do something like that. That trade was what lead Flood to challenge the reserve clause.
When they won we were on the freeway driving through Detroit traffic on the way to see my grandparents in Flint before flying overseas to our next duty station. My dad, just back from his first tour in Vietnam, started screaming at the top of his lungs and the entire freeway erupted with horns honking. That night the news showed the airport tarmac overrun with fans CHASING PLANES as they landed trying to find the team. I was nine and I’ll never forget it. ❤
All these years later this still hurts. The Cardinals had never lost a game 7 in their history. Floods stumble was a shock and it was asking too much for Gibson to go on two days rest. However, the key was that St. Louis couldn't do anything against Lolich, who I believe won 3 games. As I recall the Tigers had an outfielder playing shortstop!
The Tigers crushed Carlton as well. It was his first year as an all star. The Cardinals should have brought in somebody else after the first couple of hits in the 7th. Detroit won the last three games, man!
When the Yankees traded Maris to St Louis I went with him ! Those Cards would have won 2 straight WS! Great team ! Give the tigers credit they came back!
I saw games 6 and 7 live. My grandparents lived in St Louis and my gramps had gotten 2 tickets for each game. They let me out of school, my parents flew me to St Louis from Detroit and I got to see my two favorite teams going head-to-head in one of the most epic world series ever. I was truly blessed.
Gibby was one of the fastest working pitchers that you'll ever see. As soon as the catcher threw the ball back to him, Gibson was ready to start his windup.
He was fast, but then, all pitchers got right back to the rubber and hitters stayed in the box. Today, hitters go for a stroll after every pitch, take 3 slow motion swings, adjust their gloves 3 times, and dig in. If the pitcher takes too long, they go out for a latte and biscotti ...
I look at this and say…this is the pace baseball should demand today. No stepping out all time fooling what batting gloves. Pitchers should be pitching with a clock on them.
Finally the 2023 season will rectify a lot of this stalling BS. MLB is rolling out a pitch clock. IIRC, it’s 15 seconds with the bases empty, and 20 with base runners.
Jim Northrup had a knack for hitting grand slams...In fact, June 24, 1968,In a game against the Cleveland Indians, Northrup hit grand slams in consecutive at bats in the 5th and 6th innings. This made him one of only 13 players to have hit 2 grand slams in one game and the second to do so in consecutive at-bats.
Seeing this unforgettable video in black and white takes me back to that day with my transistor radio at Northwest High School in St. Louis, my heart sinking with Northrup's hit evading the slipping Flood, who was a fabulous CF'er.
I was listening to mine as well during the day games. Radio hidden below my shirt, wire run up my long sleeves and covered the bug in my ear with my hand. Might have been the only student in my HS of 3,000 students that thought that my Tigers could win. "We're all behind our baseball team, go get 'em Tigers. World Series bound and pickin' up steam, go get 'em Tigers....."
Just noticed Young Jim Hart played a home game there Oct 6 . Series games were 3 & 4 days later. Outfield probably torn-up like Wrigley after an in-season concert.
Till the day he died, Tim McCarver said that this was the World Series that got away from them. The Cardinals were up three games to one with a chance to finish them off in Detroit. But because they knew they had Gibson going in a Game 7, they thought he was invincible, and there was no way they could lose that game. They took their foot off the gas, let the Tigers back in, and Mickey Lolich ended up outpitching Bob Gibson in the Year of the Pitcher.
@@georgenagy9823 - Everyone I've heard interviewed from that 1968 Cardinals team from McCarver to Gibson to Shannon to Brock has said that they let their guard down and the foot off the gas after going up 3-1 in the Series knowing Gibson was waiting in Game 7. They said that and that they underestimated Mickey Lolich. The Tigers just capitalized on that and they managed to beat the seemingly invincible Gibson in Game 7. And for the record, I'm not a Cardinals fan. I've just seen multiple interviews with McCarver and Gibson that that was the one that got away..........
I remember this series fondly. My school wouldn't allow any radios, so I skipped school and ended up listening to the game in an empty field near my house. Game one was a cold and rainy day here and I came down with a cold and had to stay home for the rest of the series, even though I was sick I never enjoyed myself more until 1984
I've spent more than 50 years feeling sick about how this Series turned out. My Cardinals up 3-1 and they let it slip away. How could that happen? The Cards had all-world Bob Gibson (he of the 1.12 ERA) and beat 31 game winner Denny McLain twice. Yet still lost in 7. It still drives me crazy every day.
I was 11 years old and still recall being disappointed the Cardinals did not win but the Tigers had a great team..... ah, who cares about the Tigers, I wanted the Cardinals to win - lol.
@@michaelinhouston9086 Gibson, Brock, Flood, McCarver, Carlton, Maxvill, Shannon, Cepeda, Maris. Seemed like a monster team of legends when I was a kid. I lived in Chicago but at night could catch the Cardinal games on KMOX when the wind was blowing right. It was the Card's Last Hurrah. In 69, the miracle Mets would emerge and then Cincinatti's Big Red Machine took over. But in the mid 60s the Card ruled the roost. And we did have 2006 when the Cards got revenge over the Tigers. Retaliate for '68!!
I watched this game on live television and was rooting for the Tigers. Gibson had a great year but Lolich came out on top when it mattered most: the Series. And don't forget that Game # 7 was played in St. Louis. The Tigers were the better team and deserved their Series victory. Thanks for great memories.
Flood makes that catch like he should have tigers score 0 completely different game Cards defending champs were the better team done in by few bad plays were up 3-1 in that series they blew it.
@@eugeneelar2231 The beauty of baseball is that Flood didn't make that catch, and the defending Champs aren't guaranteed a repeat. The Tigers were the better overall team and proved it when it mattered.
@@richardgriffith1241 many times in sports the better team doesn't win.Some players don't play well unlucky breaks like flood tripping.There were 2outs he makes the catch tigers lose,all their runs came from that inning right?Shannon's hr in ninth wins it.
@@eugeneelar2231 Wrong. The Tigers scored another run, final was 4-1. Had the Tigers been up only 1-0 in the ninth, no way Shannon hits that meaningless two-out homer.
This happened just one year after the Detroit riots it brought the city back together.I was in 5th grade,Wade Fast elementary, Mt,Clemens Mi. Cash was my favorite player probably because he was a lefty first baseman the position I played all my life. Our teacher Mrs. Emerick who was retiring that year brought in a 13 inch black n white TV and set with bunny ears,with tin foil on em. up in class and we skipped our work and watched the games . Back then World series games were always played during the day.Great memories. Side note the great Denny Mclain barely showed up for the series the very underrated Mickey Lolich carried the team on his back by getting 3 wins with the 3rd one over Bob Gibson and the Cards in game 7. The Tigers were down 3 games to one and came back to win it! While McClain and Gibson got all the press Lolich was in the trenches winning ballgames. But, I will never forget how dominate Gibson was in game 1 breaking a record by fanning 17 Tigers in that game.
I got to see Denny McLain speak at a local theater a couple of years ago. Still funny AF. We were in the second row. At one point, he couldn’t remember the name of the first Black umpire. I softly said, “Emmett Ashford”? He looked at me, amazed, and said “How the hell do you know THAT?” My long suffering wife just shook her head and said, “This is what I live with”. He laughed.
And I too loved Stormin’ Norman. A sad ending for a great guy. The story of him bringing a table leg up to bat against Nolan Ryan as he was throwing a no-no is one of my all time favorite stories.
Cash was great, saw him clear the right field rooftop with a blast at Old Tiger Stadium. Went to our church at St. James Methodist off of Southfield freeway in Detroit!
Thanks. I grew up in Detroit and its suburbs, and I was 11 when the 1968 series was played. I was in seventh heaven when Detroit finally pulled it out, after being down three games. For Burns not to mention it, except to note Gibson's performance, is outrageous.
That’s one thing I appreciate about modern technology. You don’t really get a feel for how exciting this must have been for local fans. But man, baseball has always been the best.
Loved Stormin Norman Cash, Willie The Wonder Horton, Jim Northrup, Bill Freehan, Mickey Stanley, Al Kaline, Dick McAuliffe, Dennis Dale McClain, Mickey Lolich, Earl Wilson and The Gator..Gates Brown!! 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂👍👍👍👍👍
I was 8, and was with my Dad in St Louis on this day, and we had to head back home to the Illinois side. As we drove past Busch Stadium on the way to the bridge, there was a banner that said "Standing Room Available" and I'll never forget the pain in my Dad's face because he had to go back and work, and we couldn't stop. Sad that the Cards lost that day, but I vowed never to pass up an opportunity like that again. Thanks for posting this clip.
Had to walk home from school with radio in hand, but got home in time to see the win. Same small radio in shirt pocket in history class. Earphone in, Tigers score, let out a whoop! Teacher asks, “What’s the score,”
I as well was 10. This was the first world series I ever followed but I ran home to see and root for the tigers. Remember that all world series games were played in the afternoon back then.
I know that this is "old " video, but I remember Denny McLain. I was collecting the 7/11 slurpee cups on MLB. He was the last cup I needed. Was so happy when I got it! ☺️
I was in jr. high school when they let our class go into the auditorium to watch the series on a black & white set. The one thing I wish they would have never done was to go to night games. Play all day games the way it was. It is just not the same any more.
It's unrealistic though. I could see having a day game or two on a weekend but wouldn't it have been better if you were already out of school when the game started so you could watch the whole game? If they had a 7 o clock start time back then I'm sure it would be over before 9:30 and kids would be able to stay up. Plus you'd have all day wondering, anticipating if your team can win, that nervous tension building. Also, I've always believed that turning on the bright lights for a night game is the perfect playoff atmosphere. I've probably been conditioned by baseball movies though where the climactic game at the end is always played at night.
Also the day games on weekends in the WS or CS’s afford the avoidance of October evening chills in some of the northern cities, altho even with that now climate change is causing more mild nights sometimes. But late October especially, some of those night games can be bleak.
God, I could watch this all day. I was 7 years old, Wayne Michigan. Our elementary school brought a TV into our classroom so we could watch these WS games and root for the Tigers (all WS games were day games back then). What a glorious Team our '68 Tigers were!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Keep in mind, this is the guy who came to the plate with a table leg against Nolan Ryan and told the ump it didn't matter what he went up there with because no one was going to get a hit off Ryan that night anyway. One of the true characters of the game. Dad used to get company box seats in the upper deck, front row right over Cash playing down at first. RIP Norm, we still remember.
@@itinerantpatriot1196 The first game I ever got to see at Tiger Stadium was pretty much in that very same area watching my favorite player Norm Cash and his counterpart Joe Pepitone of the Yankees in 1964. And at 12 years old I was pretty much in awe of both teams and the place as well. My only regret was that Yogi Berra wasn't playing anymore... he was managing. The Tigers eeked out a really close 14 to 2 loss to a very good Yankee team that went on to lose the World Series to the Cardinals.
I distinctly remember our 6th grade teachers letting us listen to the games. When one of the fourth grade teachers Bryon a small, portable tv we crowded in for the last game. I remember most of the players and the positions they played. What a wonderful memory. Thanks for this post.
Me too Kim ,Don Wert single walk off I heard Ernies call.I remember manager Smith going to outfielder Mickey Stanley to play Short Stop for the weak hitting Ray Oiler.
Thanks for posting this Wayne. After the final out, all of us kids plus neighbor kids piled in the back of my Dad’s pickup truck and drove east on Warren Avenue. Greeted by plenty of honking horns and a huge crowd in the intersection of Warren and Greenfield. Great memories!
I was downtown on Grand River when they won. It was pandemonium!!! I never kissed, and was kissed, by so many unknown women and handed a brown bag with hooch in it from people in cars driving by! I think I got home about 4 or 5 in the morning. Fabulous!
My dad, who was a Cardinal fan, pulled me out of school to watch this game. He named me after Stan Musial but unfortunately for my dad I became a Tigers fan. This was a great moment for me but not for him.
@@rascal211 The Tigers games were shown on TV where I lived when I was a kid and the Cardinals games weren't. I was a big Al Kaline fan so there was no way I was changing.
Detroit had 4 outfielders in Northrup, Horton, Karine, and Stanley. The Tigers manager got all 4 in each game by benching shortstop Ray Oyler and putting Mickey Stanley in that position. Mayo Smith was called genius for that move, but all it did was strengthen the lineup.
I was in the third grade when this happened. Never watched the games live since they were generally played during the day while I was in school. No streaming or even VCR’s in those days. It’s great to see these highlights on YT though.
Great to see these old highlights,thanks for posting! I was a young kid in a Detroit suburb, it was a nostalgic time. Remember that play at the plate,pivotal.
@@JohnSmith-kz8yo Those commercial breaks are definitely annoying, but doesn't even begin to explain the huge difference of time the game is played. It used to be 2 1/2 hours instead of the eternity it takes for today's game.
Games today are slower because the strike zone is much smaller then back in the 60s if you threw 100 pitches back then you would be in the ninth inning. if you throw 100 pitches today you're probably in the sixth or seventh inning. so it's not fair to say that nobody comes close to Gibson because guys like Ryan, Clemens, Johnson are pitching to a smaller strike zone.
@@michaelguadiana4756 We had a lot more complete games for the starting pitchers, none of this pitch count and seven innings for the starter and one pitcher for the 8th and another for the 9th. Some starters less than that. We had relief pitchers that could pitch more than one inning. The manager and catcher could tell when the pitcher was losing his stuff. I remember when the umpires decided on their own to narrow the strike zone by not calling pitches above the belt a strike even if it was a strike by the rules. That was miserable as hell, but the owners finally convinced the umpires to go back to calling the letter high strike. It's still the same strike zone. They just work slower and even slower than that if the team scores a couple of runs. Baseball has changed so radically that I can't stand to watch it. Wild cards and multiple divisions have really ruined it for me. It used to be if you finished 2nd, you wait till next year. Then there are those boring 3 1/2 hour games and I have seen some go past 4 hours. It was my favorite sport growing up. Now I can't stand it. It's for the sports junkies who are addicted to it and a lot of other sports going on at the same time.
This is the first time I’ve seen footage of that fateful inning which included the mis-play of Flood that opened the gates to the Cardinals’ loss. American Forces Radio broadcast the World Series overseas on shortwave radio at the time.I was living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the time, eight time zones earlier than EST, and stayed up ‘til 4 or 5 in the morning to follow the game as an ardent 26 year old Cards fan. Thanks for the footage to replay what had only been in my imagination from the radio broadcast ‘til now.
Northrup passed away 1/8/11 at age of 71, from a seizure following years of declining health. This Tiger team had so many regulars who stayed with the club for years. C Bill Freehan played all 15 seaons with the Tigers, 1B Norm Cash played from 1960-74, OF Al Kaline all 22 years ('53-74), OF Willie Horton ('63-77), OF Jim Northrup ('64-74), 2B Dick McAuliffe ('60-74), OF Mickey Stanley all 15 years ('64-78), and 3B Don Wert ('63-70). Gates Brown played all 15 years ('63-75)
those were the days, when players stayed with their team their entire career, unless traded. Tigers were very good from early 60s through early 70s, though this was their only title until 84.
@@scottodonnell7121 Freehan's back up at catcher was Jim Price. On any other team he would have been the starting catcher, but being trapped behind Bill, he was lucky to see 15-20 starts a season at catcher. He may have actually logged more playing time at First Base.
@@Diogenes-ty9yy You're correct that Cash started out wiht the White Sox. They traded him to the Cleveland Indians one year later. It was a multi-player trade, but the most significant player obtained by the WSox was Minnie Minoso. Minoso actually led the league in hits in his first year with the WSox. And Cash never played for the Indians, who immediately traded him to the Tigers for Steve Demeter. That was not one of Cleveland's better trades. Demeter played a total of 4 games for Cleveland, was sent to the minors, and never returned to the majors. (He did have a great career in the minors for what that's worth, hitting 272 minor league HR's.)
1968 was, without doubt, the 'Year of the Pitcher'. And the fall classic did not disappoint. Gibson was great but Lolich was historic. Enjoyed the trip back to the days of yore. Thanks.
I can still remember watching this game in my 8th grade class room. The teacher rolled in the TV on a big stand, pugged it in and let us watch for an hour.
I was 7 years old, my dad had me watch the game with him, he tried to explain what I was watching, I remember how happy he was when the Tigers won this game to win the World Series. Have been a lifelong Tiger fan ever since even though only got to see this repeated once since this game.
I really liked Bill Freehan back then. He was a hell of an athlete and the best catcher in the American League for years. He looked like he could have played in the NFL as a linebacker
@Harry Browneigh he should be in the hall, has the same stats that Carter has, one world title for both. But freehan did something no other player did and that was he played all 15 innings of a All-Star game 1967. you can look it up.
Yep, back then they knew it was just a blip and that he would come out of it, of course they would have preferred to never have the blip in the first place but, there it was, and, it happened. Today they go running around like chickens with their heads cut off when a starter gives up a couple runs. One other point tho, the center field hit could have been ruled as an error and thus counted as an unearned run.
This is turn back the clock nostalgia, when all WS games were played in the daytime in stadiums that now exist only in old fans' memories and these black and white films. Gibson, Kaline, McCarver, Horton, Northrup, you are gone but not forgotten
Many players in those days wore what is known as a cap "liner", worn inside the cap when batting. It provided some protection, but certainly not as much as an actual helmet.
So, old man, you don’t approve of helmets, gloves, pads, and guards. Ah, an ancient armchair warrior! You must be a pleasure to be around. 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦♂️
The safety concerns in baseball then were secondary to tradition and we really don’t know how much players of those eras of baseball paid the price. But… I’m sure they did.
As a Cardinals fan, I was 8 years old that year and I remember RUNNING all the way home from school, so that I could see the game. Cried when Cardinals lost the series, but after a lifetime of observing the game since, must admit that the Tigers dominated and certainly don't get the props they deserve.
one of the best WS of all time. Shame that Gibson lost this gm, after pitching brilliantly for 6 2/3 inn. Tigers had a great team, and were big underdogs, largely becuz of Gibby
The 1968 Detroit Tigers were a much better hitting team than the 1968 St. Louis Cardinals were. They were only underdogs in your mind. Look at both teams hitting statistics in 1968.
@@mjbachman3027 the baseball experts made them underdogs as cardinals won it all in 67 and with largely same team in 64. Not many people were surprised that cards were up 3-1 the way gibson had pitched all year. Axiom was that good pitching could stop good hitting. Compare 65 dodgers hitting with Twins lineup but look who won series
This was a GREAT WS. I just finished reading "Summer of 68" by Tim Wendel. (good read) I like Norm Cash at bat with no helmet (just a cap). Lolich was the hero of the series!!!
One of the most exciting moments in my childhood was watching the Tigers win in 1968. When they won it was a month before my eighth birthday. Never forget it.
Back then, ALL World Series games were played during the day!! You had to SNEAK a transitor radio , with an earpiece to school to listen to it and it was YOUR ASS if you got caught too. Anybody else remember doing that??
@@frederickrapp5396 But I did stay awake for 2016 World Series when the Cubs won! It ended between 1130 and 1200 in Chicago, an hour later in Cleveland and the East. The game went 10 innings and had a short rain delay at end of 9th.
Of course that game, obviously game 7, likely would have been over much earlier, and before the delay, if Joe Maddon, Cubs manager, hadn't over managed the game in regard to his pitching.
1968 I was a 4th grader in Detroit at Our Lady of Precious Blood @ 6 mile and Schaefer, Sister Diana rolled a TV set on a stand into the classroom and we watched the Tigers in the World Series. Was unbelievable!
Interesting to note the lack of white chalk outlining the batters box etc..,, the was the first series of baseball that i ever watched sparking my interest in baseball. Northrup became my baseball hero at that point
Love watching these old clips from when baseball was played at a high level and speedy at the same time. Commentary didn’t fill every second with some kind of drivel like today motormouths
Crazy..but i was 9 also.. lived in Ypsilanti.. That was a AWESOME year.. My brother went to the final game that won the series.. I think he still has a baggie with sod in it from the field. I remember it like yesterday :)
I only remember some of the scores,because I was 19,years old,and with the 1st Cavalry,in Viet Nam,at 75 years old this is the first time I have seen these great games!Duty CalledThomas A.Filipiak
I’ve been a Tiger for life and I was in Vietnam when they finally won the World Series. I remember hearing it from someone. Never new any details until I got home.
That sounds like a younger Harry Caray. I listened to him plenty in the latter half of the '80's when I lived in Chicago, and he wasn't this sharp, sad to say. But Ernie Harwell was the voice I was glued to for this World Series--they even had it piped in to my Ann Arbor junior high PA system, low enough so the teachers could talk over it, but loud enough so you could keep up when the teacher wasn't talking. And the Tigers came through, as this clip amply demonstrates.
what i remember most about Gibson was how fast he worked; mccarver would throw the ball back to him, and he'd be into his windup already. I never thought the Tigers would beat him after that Game 1 when he struck out 17, but their hitters made the adjustment
Not just Gibson working efficiently. That was how the game was played then. We need to get back to rules outlawing stepping out of the box every pitch & adjusting helmet, glove & crotch. Play ball!
Thanks to Jim and all of the '68 Tigers for giving this old man such wonderful memories to cherish.
Man, isn’t that the truth. We will never see the like of it again.
Your wonderful memory is a disaster for me. ;-)
Norm Cash was a money player too.
Me too I was 9.. And from Detroit I remember they played the World Series in school, I actually remember that like it was yesterday
It was great to have a sports fan teaching afternoon classes. My geometry teacher got the AV squad to roll in a TV on a stand for this series, and we were in the Yankees market. Awesome.
Every guy on that team means a lot to me.I love them all.
Even Denny McLain?
This was when baseball was the greatest game played by the greatest players no comparison with the game today.
Do you feel better, champ??
@@sludge8506 Do you feel better, troll??
Finish your milk and cookies and go back down to your mommy's basement now.
@@sludge8506 Why make a cheap comment?
And I thought that was a pitchers league then but tigers could hit
@@sprsmoke Because timmy stated his infantile opinion as a fact. Sorry if I was offensive. 👍👍
I was 10-11 yrs old. The 68 series was the start of my love of baseball. I was able to play until I was 40. In 7th grade woodshop I took a Bob Gibson pic and a Mickey Lolich pic cut from a sports mag, Glued them to a piece of wood after staining it and woodburning in Cardinal and Tiger logos. I displayed that on my walls for decades. I don't know where it is now but I can see it as I speak about it. Baseball. Love it.
I was 11 too,and the first series I recall. The outfield didn't help Gibby much there.
Was it 10 or 11? You don't know how old you were in October of 1968?
Lolich won three of those games. McClain won 31 games that year. It was a great year. I have been a tiger fan ever since.
I was 8 and will never forget it
"Happy days are here again"
@@matthewdubay1180 I know. That's exactly what I was thinking. Everyone should be able to tell how old they were if you give them a random date. SMH.
I was so glad Al Kaline finally got to play in a World Series and played a great series.
I was happy for him , as well...and to think some players, like Mick, played in about 12 world series, on great teams
I recall that in his last year with the Tigers, Al Kaline asked for an increase in pay to $100,000 but the Tigers refused him.
Nice to see Kaline’s right field counterpart Roger Maris at 0:51 fielding Cash’s single.
Ted Williams only played in one and they lost and did rapid Robert ever win a series game
@@ddburdettenow days they give you that if you re a high enough draft choice😊
As an 8 year old, they let us watch the game at school in Detroit. I will never forget that series!
They let us watch the 72' game 5 vs the A's in 3rd grade class room.
I watched at McKinstry elementary with classmates it was fun 🤩
Same here! That was so cool.
@@jerardnorgren3411 teacher took my radio in the 73 playoffs. I had it in my desk and had earplugs running up my sleeve, but I started yelling, and that gave it away 😂. Third grade, Jefferson Elementary, Royal Oak, Mich.
I was 8 also. Born 3-10-60. I was in catholic school- St Roberts in Flushing Michigan. We were allowed to listen to the game on the radio.
Freehan should be in baseball hall of fame.
I thought that same thing as I was watching this.
Cash, Horton, Northrup, Kaline, Freehan....growing up watching these guys I never appreciated how special they were!!!
I've always felt for Ray Oyler, having a great defensive year at short stop, only to be set down in the World Series to have the center fielder on the club move to short stop. It worked. Micky Stanley made two errors but they never resulted in RBIs.
@@cdjhyoung IIRC, Mayo Smith was the Tigers' manager that year and he felt that Stanley's bat would make up for his defensive liability. This was a great Series, great memories.
@@Diogenes-ty9yy I didn't realize it until I did a little research is that Stanley started the 69 season as the Tiger's short stop and played 58 game there. Ray Oyler was left unprotected in the expansion draft and landed in Seattle where he had the best statistical batting season of his career.
I recall sitting in my little basement bedroom with a bunch of buddies watching the Tigers with our little Sylvaina 12" black and white that my brother and I worked so hard to get via neighborhood odd jobs and delivering newspapers. Fun days!!
Stanley, McAuliff, Lolich, I was 8 and knew all the players, today I might know a handful in any year because lack of loyalty, players never stay
Jim Northrup had one hell of a year in '68.
Always liked Northrup
The Silver Fox or the Grandslam Kid, my fav Tiger as a kid. Two grandslams in one game.
@@TheTussman
Wasn't that something?......😊
@@TheTussman I think Frank Robinson did that once too, hit two slams in one game for the Orioles. I do miss Curt Gowdy calling Saturday afternoon baseball games.
He had the perfect swing for Tiger Stadium-He was lethal there.
When it was Baseball!.....When it was a game!!!!.....even though I was 1 yr old when this game took place.....I love it more than today's baseball.....My favorite player was Mr. CLemente, and just knowing he played during this time gives me so much happiness! Tim Mcarver, Bob Gibson, Bill Freham.....all of this guys were true to the game......old Shool baseball....The Best......
Roberto Clemente had more hits than any other batter in the decade of the 1960s.
@K Maxx hey bro...I was born in 1966...In fact I dont remember him playing....but I've seen plenty of videos! Baseball was better than ever!!!! Hater! Go do your HOMEWORK....
Thanks for letting us know what you *don’t* like, geezer. That was interesting. 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
I agree! They were civilized looking then. Today they look like they are on the wanted list. And the ridiculous celebrations after a regular game. The dugouts with the comic-con antics. What do you expect from Gen Z? Oh, and the oven mitt, give me a break!
@@vintagegirl1961 They wear the oven mitt in case they have to take brownies out of the oven at 2nd base. It's actually very practical.
The 1968 World Series was one of the greatest ever played. Detroit recovered from a 3-1 deficit, winning three consecutive games, in order to win the World Championship. Tiger Mickey Lolich pitched and won three games, the third on only two days' rest. Yet, this Series barely gets mentioned in Ken Burns' video, "Baseball," except to point out that Gibson struck out 17 in the first game.
"this Series barely gets mentioned in Ken Burns' video, 'Baseball,' except to point out that Gibson struck out 17 in the first game."
That's because the Red Sox weren't playing.
I’m a lifelong Yankees fan, but I was glued to the set during this Series. Historically, any number of guys had grabbed 3 wins by starting games 1, 4 and 7, but Lolich’s feat was amazing at the time, and still is!
The Tigers have always gotten the short end of the stick
Ken Burns’ dad lost the family fortune in Denny McLain’s scheme to turn worn-out baseballs into car upholstery. And Ken Burns has never forgiven the Tigers.
Maybe because it was the greatest collapse by one of the best pitchers of all time.
I was 10 years old and I remember the teacher wheeled in a tv and we got to watch this in class.
What a wonderful teacher, little did he/she know that was the greatest lesson they ever taught.😊
Same here. My teacher was Mrs. Dunham, and though she hated the Tigers being a Cleveland native, she let us watch anyway because they were our team. Teachers wouldn't dream of doing that in today's wretched, woke education system.
Marquette, Michigan, on that beautiful late summer day. I was in 2nd grade, and we, too, got to watch the game. Thank you, Mrs. Zerbel!
Loved those day games. Seemed like everyone was watching or listening on the radio.
@redwings1158 Back then, I think most of the games were daytime.
Northrup had a fine World Series that year. Underrated player.
He was very streaky throughout his career but was capable of carrying a team for a week or two when he got rolling.
Northrup often said he knew he had to ready on Gibson's s first pitch and he was.
He was part of really good outfield, including Wilie Horton, Mickey Stanley, who filled in at short quite often that year, and HOFer AL Kaline. RiP.
I remember checking the League Leaders in the paper everyday and marveling at how many grand slams Northrup hit. Great World Series. Two terrific teams.
@@jameskolan9195 your comment prompted me to check him out…one of only 13 players to hit 2 grand slams in a game. Very interesting!
The 1968 World Series was one of the greatest. I was 13yrs old back in 1968. Bob Gibson was great
Mickey Lolich was better.
@@richardb.5691youre in neve
Rland
Being a Pirates fan, I thought the '71 and '79 Series were better, but Tigers vs. Cards was one of the best I've seen of the ones that didn't include the Pirates. It's absolutely right up there with Red Sox vs. Reds in '75.
@russs7574 I am a Reds fan, so the 1975 was a great World Series.
@russs7574 I'm from Charleston West Virginia, we were the AAA team for Pirates back in the 70s. I watched Dave Parker play here in Charleston.
Good stuff. Could watch this classic baseball stuff all damn day!
Al Kaline passed away this week. RIP Al!!
kyokogodai ....A decent and humble man...may God bless his soul. He used to always give a shout-out to Gates Brown in local interviews with, "..Say hello to the Gator for me.." He and Gates Brown were tight..
That was a month ago junior
@@danfrick220 - He wrote that message a month ago son. Pay attention!
@@JustWinBabee Drink another
He's up there with the rest of the hall of famers
The commentary is so clean... today's broadcasters seem like they fill every second of airtime with drivel.
Producers hate dead air.
You're right. And they're wrong to. Visuals and nat sound go a long way.
- Is it Freddie?? Did you watch any of the Red Sox-Yankees last night? Did you see any of the 9th inning? I'm TIRED of people whining about how baseball today is "unwatchable". Newsflash: baseball 50 years ago ISN'T applicable to today's society. Baseball has to adjust to the times like everything else. Unless you wanted everything from 50 years ago to stay EXACTLY the same and not have even one thing change at all.
I believe that is a young Harry Caray calling the game. He spent 25 yrs with the Cardinals
@@dunemetal67 Yes, back in his lucid days.
I remember being in second grade (St. Jude in Detroit) and watching this game in class! Jim's triple was key, but damn getting four straight hits against gibson was impressive!
I was in the 5th grade (Holy Redeemer, SW Detroit) They wheeled the TV into class so us kids could watch it! Great memories!
The same thing for me---I was a 7th grader at Holy Trinity Catholic School (Alpine Township/GR). The nun who taught my class would wheel the TV into the classroom each and every day of the 1968 Series. And when the dismissal bell rang, I would peddle that mile home in record time so I could watch the remainder of those games.
@@robertflowers6621 My dad was also in grade school when this game was played. Their teacher, Sister Mary Catherine, secured one of the AV departments TVs and brought it into the classroom. Same story 4 years later when the Tigers were in the ALCS against Oakland. If there's more hardcore baseball fans than Catholic Nuns, I haven't met them.
That camera angle behind the batter is great they should use that in today's game.
I remember these games like it was yesterday. Denny McClain had been pitching against Gibson in the previous games where he lost. So they did a switch and Mickey Lolich pitched against Gibson after McClain had won game six. It was my first summer back from Vietnam so I always felt the won this series for me!
Hey - thank you for your service to your country.
That's not why they "switched". They didn't want to rely on Earl Wilson, who hadn't had a particularly good year, or Joe Sparma. So, both McLain and Lolich pitched on 2 days rest . That put each of them a day ahead in the rotation.
Marc...I listened to the game in a foxhole in Vietnam at something like 3am on Armed Forces radio with an earphone in one ear. Being a Tiger fan, it was amazing.
My first MLB game was September 15, 1968 at Tiger Stadium.
I was in school at the time. To allow the kids to watch the game at home Detroit Schools switched a teacher's conference up a day so we got out early to be able to watch the whole game. Pretty nice.
I was 13 and in junior high school at the time.
Color TV was a new thing.
My school HAD color TV, and since back then games were played in the afternoon, we students were allowed to stay after school to watch the games and be bussed back home afterwards.
What a country we were back then.
I can hardly believe it.
To have all my classmates SCREAMING after that hit will remain with me the rest of my life.
Had a similar experience in HS same series our teacher was a avid baseball fan and we listened to the game on his transistor radio. Best teacher I ever had
I went to game 5 of this series with my brother. I was a freshman at Western Michigan and my dad came and picked me up and had tickets for my brother and me. The Tigers got beat like a drum in that game, but I watched this one in the commons room at Western. Still one of the great times of my life.
Couldn't be game 5. The Tigers won. Had they lost game 5, they'd have been eliminated, being down 3-1 and all.
Scott Trevathan Tigers won game 5, and 6, and 7.
HO HO Scott!!!! Caught lying on TH-cam!! How embarrassing!!
Go Broncos !
Maybe you are thinking of game 4?
Jim Northrup was one of my favorite Tiger players. Right up there with Kaline and Horton. He was a good one! SOLID!
Yep, can't forget Kaline arm in left field.
@@eldorado1830 Al Kaline was a right fielder. Only played left and/or center on occasion.
Best .267 hitter in my lifetime!!
@@sludge8506 Mine too!! Very underrated player on both sides of the ball.
@@felixmadison5736 Absolutely correct!! And AK was a great one!! Now, did Eldo just make a typo, or is his mind melted.
this is real baseball,, fast paced(no stepping out to fix a batting glove) real fans watching the game (not looking down at a cell phone)
no batting helmet for Norm Cash, he probably had an inside liner.
You got that right 100%
Just a bunch of baseball players
Not the millionaire money driven industry we have today
illinoizrichy1 Sorry but 1968 was a horrible year for baseball. Pitchers dominated way too much. Every game was 1-0, 2-1, 3-1, etc. Attendance was way down. Hell, the AL batting champion was Yastremski, w/a .301 BA. Lack of offense was why MLB lowered the mound the next year. Time magazine ran an article that year, entitled "Baseball is dead". People, especially sports fans think everything was better 40-50 years ago, but that's not always the case.
Not a single advertisement visible on any camera angle.
illinoizrichy1 Plus, charismatic players like Bob Gibson. 😆
Great coverage by Harry Carey and Curt Gowdy . Fifty years has went by too fast . Tigers will celebrate the 1968 win in September at Comerica Park .
Why do we have to be ghetto-ass Michigan?
I live in SW Lower Michigan, and it’s more Cubs/Chisox country than Tigers. While I’m 10 Toes Down for the Tigers, I loved listening to Harry Carey and Jimmy Piersall broadcasting the Chisox in the late 70’s!
I grew up on Harwell and Paul Carey, and I think that they are the GOAT as radio broadcasters...but Harry and Jimmy were good AND fun!
That sounded like Jim Simpson to me...although with the sound quality from that old a broadcast, it was hard to tell. Gowdy did the Game of the Week for NBC, but he was also their #1 play-by-play announcer for the AFL games (this was pre-merger), and Jim Simpson did a lot of post-season baseball.
That became known as "Flood's Fatal Slip". But these 2 teams deserved to be in the series; both were stacked with talented ballplayers at every position.
In the Detroit free press the next day a sports columnist wrote Floods slip is showing.
@@kened1954Slip or not, it looked like he was fooled, and committed to the wrong line to catch the ball.
@@DiogenesLantern he had zero chance to make that catch. It was a line drive that landed about 400 feet from the plate.
1968 was last season before divisional play. By all star break it was clear that Cardinals and Tigers were going to World Series, barring a historic collapse.
@@scottodonnell7121 Flood was a victim of his own excellence. Few or no other outfielders could have caught that ball. Northrup completely deserved being credited with a triple. A year later someone told me the Cardinals owner traded Flood to Philadelphia because of that play. I don't know if that was the reason, but I wouldn't put it past a vindictive owner to do something like that. That trade was what lead Flood to challenge the reserve clause.
When they won we were on the freeway driving through Detroit traffic on the way to see my grandparents in Flint before flying overseas to our next duty station. My dad, just back from his first tour in Vietnam, started screaming at the top of his lungs and the entire freeway erupted with horns honking. That night the news showed the airport tarmac overrun with fans CHASING PLANES as they landed trying to find the team. I was nine and I’ll never forget it. ❤
All these years later this still hurts. The Cardinals had never lost a game 7 in their history. Floods stumble was a shock and it was asking too much for Gibson to go on two days rest. However, the key was that St. Louis couldn't do anything against Lolich, who I believe won 3 games. As I recall the Tigers had an outfielder playing shortstop!
Mickey Stanley played most innings of all 7 games at SS. Made 2 errors. I dont recall that costing them any games?
Gibson went on 3days and lolich on 2days.
Gibson only allowed an infield hit until Cash's single, and didn't walk anyone. 7 Ks. Guess he just tired, but until then he was unhittable.
The Tigers crushed Carlton as well. It was his first year as an all star. The Cardinals should have brought in somebody else after the first couple of hits in the 7th. Detroit won the last three games, man!
When the Yankees traded Maris to St Louis I went with him ! Those Cards would have won 2 straight WS! Great team ! Give the tigers credit they came back!
Remember that 68', team, well. Playing baseball with my friends, in the neighbors backyard, listening to the game.
I saw games 6 and 7 live. My grandparents lived in St Louis and my gramps had gotten 2 tickets for each game. They let me out of school, my parents flew me to St Louis from Detroit and I got to see my two favorite teams going head-to-head in one of the most epic world series ever. I was truly blessed.
Notice how fast Bob Gibson worked, even in a pressure situation...this five minute sequence would take at least 20 at the pace of today's game.
Gibby was one of the fastest working pitchers that you'll ever see. As soon as the catcher threw the ball back to him, Gibson was ready to start his windup.
He was fast, but then, all pitchers got right back to the rubber and hitters stayed in the box. Today, hitters go for a stroll after every pitch, take 3 slow motion swings, adjust their gloves 3 times, and dig in. If the pitcher takes too long, they go out for a latte and biscotti ...
I look at this and say…this is the pace baseball should demand today. No stepping out all time fooling what batting gloves. Pitchers should be pitching with a clock on them.
Yes! I noticed that, too. 💯
Finally the 2023 season will rectify a lot of this stalling BS. MLB is rolling out a pitch clock. IIRC, it’s 15 seconds with the bases empty, and 20 with base runners.
Jim Northrup had a knack for hitting grand slams...In fact, June 24, 1968,In a game against the Cleveland Indians, Northrup hit grand slams in consecutive at bats in the 5th and 6th innings. This made him one of only 13 players to have hit 2 grand slams in one game and the second to do so in consecutive at-bats.
I listened to that game on WJR. If I recall correctly, he hit three that week.
I listened to that game as a kid on the radio.
I believe he had a chance at a third GS in that game late and struck out on three pitches.
I was at that game & saw he hit both of those. I’m now 69 years old but I vividly remember this game.
Seeing this unforgettable video in black and white takes me back to that day with my transistor radio at Northwest High School in St. Louis, my heart sinking with Northrup's hit evading the slipping Flood, who was a fabulous CF'er.
I was listening to mine as well during the day games. Radio hidden below my shirt, wire run up my long sleeves and covered the bug in my ear with my hand.
Might have been the only student in my HS of 3,000 students that thought that my Tigers could win.
"We're all behind our baseball team, go get 'em Tigers. World Series bound and pickin' up steam, go get 'em Tigers....."
Just noticed Young Jim Hart played a home game there Oct 6 . Series games were 3 & 4 days later. Outfield probably torn-up like Wrigley after an in-season concert.
@davidburke9596 have a relative that played HS football with Hart at Niles West. 2 others that graduated with Merrick Garland. Same HS.
Till the day he died, Tim McCarver said that this was the World Series that got away from them. The Cardinals were up three games to one with a chance to finish them off in Detroit. But because they knew they had Gibson going in a Game 7, they thought he was invincible, and there was no way they could lose that game. They took their foot off the gas, let the Tigers back in, and Mickey Lolich ended up outpitching Bob Gibson in the Year of the Pitcher.
The Cards didn't let their foot off the gas, the Tigers drove over them pulverized them
@@georgenagy9823 - Everyone I've heard interviewed from that 1968 Cardinals team from McCarver to Gibson to Shannon to Brock has said that they let their guard down and the foot off the gas after going up 3-1 in the Series knowing Gibson was waiting in Game 7. They said that and that they underestimated Mickey Lolich. The Tigers just capitalized on that and they managed to beat the seemingly invincible Gibson in Game 7.
And for the record, I'm not a Cardinals fan. I've just seen multiple interviews with McCarver and Gibson that that was the one that got away..........
Face it tigers won fair and square and Lue Brock was thrown out by Kaline.
I remember this series fondly. My school wouldn't allow any radios, so I skipped school and ended up listening to the game in an empty field near my house. Game one was a cold and rainy day here and I came down with a cold and had to stay home for the rest of the series, even though I was sick I never enjoyed myself more until 1984
If you had to stay home because of a cold for every game after Game 1 why were you out in a field for Game 7?
I've spent more than 50 years feeling sick about how this Series turned out. My Cardinals up 3-1 and they let it slip away. How could that happen? The Cards had all-world Bob Gibson (he of the 1.12 ERA) and beat 31 game winner Denny McLain twice. Yet still lost in 7. It still drives me crazy every day.
I was 11 years old and still recall being disappointed the Cardinals did not win but the Tigers had a great team..... ah, who cares about the Tigers, I wanted the Cardinals to win - lol.
@@michaelinhouston9086 Gibson, Brock, Flood, McCarver, Carlton, Maxvill, Shannon, Cepeda, Maris. Seemed like a monster team of legends when I was a kid. I lived in Chicago but at night could catch the Cardinal games on KMOX when the wind was blowing right. It was the Card's Last Hurrah. In 69, the miracle Mets would emerge and then Cincinatti's Big Red Machine took over. But in the mid 60s the Card ruled the roost. And we did have 2006 when the Cards got revenge over the Tigers. Retaliate for '68!!
THERE'S MORE SOBERING THINGS TO LAMENT; LIKE LOSING ONE'S SOUL AFTER GAINING THE WHOLE WORLD. TRUST JESUS BASEBALL FANS.
@@markdebenedetti5953 sorry but the Cards losing the 68 World Series is as sad and bad as it gets for me. As painful as it gets in life.
The Cardinals lost 3 home games in the series. They had their chances.
I watched this game on live television and was rooting for the Tigers. Gibson had a great year but Lolich came out on top when it mattered most: the Series. And don't forget that Game # 7 was played in St. Louis. The Tigers were the better team and deserved their Series victory. Thanks for great memories.
Flood makes that catch like he should have tigers score 0 completely different game Cards defending champs were the better team done in by few bad plays were up 3-1 in that series they blew it.
@@eugeneelar2231 The beauty of baseball is that Flood didn't make that catch, and the defending Champs aren't guaranteed a repeat. The Tigers were the better overall team and proved it when it mattered.
@@richardgriffith1241 many times in sports the better team doesn't win.Some players don't play well unlucky breaks like flood tripping.There were 2outs he makes the catch tigers lose,all their runs came from that inning right?Shannon's hr in ninth wins it.
@@eugeneelar2231 Wrong. The Tigers scored another run, final was 4-1. Had the Tigers been up only 1-0 in the ninth, no way Shannon hits that meaningless two-out homer.
@@eugeneelar2231 Tigers we’re the better team. Denny had a bad arm. He took a cortisone shot before game 6 and St. Louis could not touch him.
I lived in Detroit in 68. What a classic!
This happened just one year after the Detroit riots it brought the city back together.I was in 5th grade,Wade Fast elementary, Mt,Clemens Mi. Cash was my favorite player probably because he was a lefty first baseman the position I played all my life. Our teacher Mrs. Emerick who was retiring that year brought in a 13 inch black n white TV and set with bunny ears,with tin foil on em. up in class and we skipped our work and watched the games . Back then World series games were always played during the day.Great memories. Side note the great Denny Mclain barely showed up for the series the very underrated Mickey Lolich carried the team on his back by getting 3 wins with the 3rd one over Bob Gibson and the Cards in game 7. The Tigers were down 3 games to one and came back to win it! While McClain and Gibson got all the press Lolich was in the trenches winning ballgames. But, I will never forget how dominate Gibson was in game 1 breaking a record by fanning 17 Tigers in that game.
I got to see Denny McLain speak at a local theater a couple of years ago. Still funny AF.
We were in the second row. At one point, he couldn’t remember the name of the first Black umpire. I softly said, “Emmett Ashford”?
He looked at me, amazed, and said “How the hell do you know THAT?” My long suffering wife just shook her head and said, “This is what I live with”. He laughed.
And I too loved Stormin’ Norman. A sad ending for a great guy. The story of him bringing a table leg up to bat against Nolan Ryan as he was throwing a no-no is one of my all time favorite stories.
Cash was great, saw him clear the right field rooftop with a blast at Old Tiger Stadium. Went to our church at St. James Methodist off of Southfield freeway in Detroit!
I remember this well. I was in 5th grade and growing up in the Detroit area, was a huge tigers fan.
Thanks. I grew up in Detroit and its suburbs, and I was 11 when the 1968 series was played. I was in seventh heaven when Detroit finally pulled it out, after being down three games. For Burns not to mention it, except to note Gibson's performance, is outrageous.
"And that Detroit dugout now is a happy place." A fair assessment, I'd say.
And by the way, the city of Detroit was going ballistic at this point!
Oh brother! You have that right. Just like in 1984! and I don't want to tell you how it felt after the Stanley Cup was returned to Detroit in 1997!
That’s one thing I appreciate about modern technology. You don’t really get a feel for how exciting this must have been for local fans. But man, baseball has always been the best.
Loved Stormin Norman Cash, Willie The Wonder Horton, Jim Northrup, Bill Freehan, Mickey Stanley, Al Kaline, Dick McAuliffe, Dennis Dale McClain, Mickey Lolich, Earl Wilson and The Gator..Gates Brown!! 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂👍👍👍👍👍
Willie Horton's other nickname was "The Bull."
And Don Wert
@@frankcooper5629 - yes Don was a good dependable 3rd baseman for sure!
I had an Al Kaline glove back in 65.
This one just popped up on the screen, and I had to watch it. An old time AL fan from Buffalo.
I was 8, and was with my Dad in St Louis on this day, and we had to head back home to the Illinois side. As we drove past Busch Stadium on the way to the bridge, there was a banner that said "Standing Room Available" and I'll never forget the pain in my Dad's face because he had to go back and work, and we couldn't stop.
Sad that the Cards lost that day, but I vowed never to pass up an opportunity like that again. Thanks for posting this clip.
One of THE most entertaining MLB World Series !! Big-time ballplayers !! ;)
10 yrs. old. off the school bus & ran home 100mph to catch the last 3 innings. WAS WELL WORTH IT!!!!
Had to walk home from school with radio in hand, but got home in time to see the win.
Same small radio in shirt pocket in history class. Earphone in, Tigers score, let out a whoop!
Teacher asks, “What’s the score,”
Same here - no bus - just ran home - I was 11
I as well was 10. This was the first world series I ever followed but I ran home to see and root for the tigers. Remember that all world series games were played in the afternoon back then.
9 years of age for me. I still love this!
Never forget it back then was 9
I know that this is "old " video, but I remember Denny McLain. I was collecting the 7/11 slurpee cups on MLB. He was the last cup I needed. Was so happy when I got it! ☺️
I was in jr. high school when they let our class go into the auditorium to watch the series on a black & white set. The one thing I wish they would have never done was to go to night games. Play all day games the way it was. It is just not the same any more.
It's unrealistic though. I could see having a day game or two on a weekend but wouldn't it have been better if you were already out of school when the game started so you could watch the whole game? If they had a 7 o clock start time back then I'm sure it would be over before 9:30 and kids would be able to stay up. Plus you'd have all day wondering, anticipating if your team can win, that nervous tension building. Also, I've always believed that turning on the bright lights for a night game is the perfect playoff atmosphere. I've probably been conditioned by baseball movies though where the climactic game at the end is always played at night.
Also the day games on weekends in the WS or CS’s afford the avoidance of October evening chills in some of the northern cities, altho even with that now climate change is causing more mild nights sometimes. But late October especially, some of those night games can be bleak.
the also played in early october in them days
I was there. It was a great game.
God, I could watch this all day. I was 7 years old, Wayne Michigan. Our elementary school brought a TV into our classroom so we could watch these WS games and root for the Tigers (all WS games were day games back then). What a glorious Team our '68 Tigers were!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Players nowadays are so God damn disrespectful."
[ _Norm Cash stares down ump and tells him how to do his job on first pitch of the clip_ ]
He didn't get the nickname Stormin Normin signing autographs. :)
Keep in mind, this is the guy who came to the plate with a table leg against Nolan Ryan and told the ump it didn't matter what he went up there with because no one was going to get a hit off Ryan that night anyway.
One of the true characters of the game. Dad used to get company box seats in the upper deck, front row right over Cash playing down at first.
RIP Norm, we still remember.
@@itinerantpatriot1196
The first game I ever got to see at Tiger Stadium was pretty much in that very same area watching my favorite player Norm Cash and his counterpart Joe Pepitone of the Yankees in 1964. And at 12 years old I was pretty much in awe of both teams and the place as well.
My only regret was that Yogi Berra wasn't playing anymore... he was managing. The Tigers eeked out a really close 14 to 2 loss to a very good Yankee team that went on to lose the World Series to the Cardinals.
Cash was a Great one. This was before the Unions got into the umpires attitudes. Now this Umps are Jackasses
@@stever1791 uh huh. And it’s all because of unions.
I distinctly remember our 6th grade teachers letting us listen to the games. When one of the fourth grade teachers Bryon a small, portable tv we crowded in for the last game.
I remember most of the players and the positions they played.
What a wonderful memory. Thanks for this post.
Still have the pennant from this game. Such a fond memory.
Me too Kim ,Don Wert single walk off I heard Ernies call.I remember manager Smith going to outfielder Mickey Stanley to play Short Stop for the weak hitting Ray Oiler.
Thanks for posting this Wayne. After the final out, all of us kids plus neighbor kids piled in the back of my Dad’s pickup truck and drove east on Warren Avenue. Greeted by plenty of honking horns and a huge crowd in the intersection of Warren and Greenfield. Great memories!
I was downtown on Grand River when they won. It was pandemonium!!! I never kissed, and was kissed, by so many unknown women and handed a brown bag with hooch in it from people in cars driving by! I think I got home about 4 or 5 in the morning. Fabulous!
My dad, who was a Cardinal fan, pulled me out of school to watch this game. He named me after Stan Musial but unfortunately for my dad I became a Tigers fan. This was a great moment for me but not for him.
If the Cardinals won the series you would have been a cardinal fan.
@@rascal211 The Tigers games were shown on TV where I lived when I was a kid and the Cardinals games weren't. I was a big Al Kaline fan so there was no way I was changing.
Was on the couch riveted to this as a youngster great memories
Detroit had 4 outfielders in Northrup, Horton, Karine, and Stanley. The Tigers manager got all 4 in each game by benching shortstop Ray Oyler and putting Mickey Stanley in that position. Mayo Smith was called genius for that move, but all it did was strengthen the lineup.
@@steveroe6771 It was the gutsiest move in modern World Series history, if not all MLB postseason history!
I was in the third grade when this happened. Never watched the games live since they were generally played during the day while I was in school. No streaming or even VCR’s in those days. It’s great to see these highlights on YT though.
One of the best World Series of all time
Great to see these old highlights,thanks for posting! I was a young kid in a Detroit suburb, it was a nostalgic time. Remember that play at the plate,pivotal.
The tempo of the game was faster.
Of course. They didn't have 5 minute commercial breaks between innings.
@@JohnSmith-kz8yo -yeah and no fucking shifts or bringing in endless relief pitchers.
@@JohnSmith-kz8yo Those commercial breaks are definitely annoying, but doesn't even begin to explain the huge difference of time the game is played. It used to be 2 1/2 hours instead of the eternity it takes for today's game.
Games today are slower because the strike zone is much smaller then back in the 60s if you threw 100 pitches back then you would be in the ninth inning. if you throw 100 pitches today you're probably in the sixth or seventh inning. so it's not fair to say that nobody comes close to Gibson because guys like Ryan, Clemens, Johnson are pitching to a smaller strike zone.
@@michaelguadiana4756 We had a lot more complete games for the starting pitchers, none of this pitch count and seven innings for the starter and one pitcher for the 8th and another for the 9th. Some starters less than that. We had relief pitchers that could pitch more than one inning. The manager and catcher could tell when the pitcher was losing his stuff. I remember when the umpires decided on their own to narrow the strike zone by not calling pitches above the belt a strike even if it was a strike by the rules. That was miserable as hell, but the owners finally convinced the umpires to go back to calling the letter high strike. It's still the same strike zone. They just work slower and even slower than that if the team scores a couple of runs. Baseball has changed so radically that I can't stand to watch it. Wild cards and multiple divisions have really ruined it for me. It used to be if you finished 2nd, you wait till next year. Then there are those boring 3 1/2 hour games and I have seen some go past 4 hours. It was my favorite sport growing up. Now I can't stand it. It's for the sports junkies who are addicted to it and a lot of other sports going on at the same time.
This is the first time I’ve seen footage of that fateful inning which included the mis-play of Flood that opened the gates to the Cardinals’ loss. American Forces Radio broadcast the World Series overseas on shortwave radio at the time.I was living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the time, eight time zones earlier than EST, and stayed up ‘til 4 or 5 in the morning to follow the game as an ardent 26 year old Cards fan. Thanks for the footage to replay what had only been in my imagination from the radio broadcast ‘til now.
Northrup passed away 1/8/11 at age of 71, from a seizure following years of declining health. This Tiger team had so many regulars who stayed with the club for years. C Bill Freehan played all 15 seaons with the Tigers, 1B Norm Cash played from 1960-74, OF Al Kaline all 22 years ('53-74), OF Willie Horton ('63-77), OF Jim Northrup ('64-74), 2B Dick McAuliffe ('60-74), OF Mickey Stanley all 15 years ('64-78), and 3B Don Wert ('63-70). Gates Brown played all 15 years ('63-75)
those were the days, when players stayed with their team their entire career, unless traded. Tigers were very good from early 60s through early 70s, though this was their only title until 84.
@@loyaldude10 It was before free agency
@@scottodonnell7121 Freehan's back up at catcher was Jim Price. On any other team he would have been the starting catcher, but being trapped behind Bill, he was lucky to see 15-20 starts a season at catcher. He may have actually logged more playing time at First Base.
I remember Norm Cash started out with the White Sox. IIRC, they traded him to Detroit for a pair of old sweat socks or something similar. SMH...
@@Diogenes-ty9yy You're correct that Cash started out wiht the White Sox. They traded him to the Cleveland Indians one year later. It was a multi-player trade, but the most significant player obtained by the WSox was Minnie Minoso. Minoso actually led the league in hits in his first year with the WSox. And Cash never played for the Indians, who immediately traded him to the Tigers for Steve Demeter. That was not one of Cleveland's better trades. Demeter played a total of 4 games for Cleveland, was sent to the minors, and never returned to the majors. (He did have a great career in the minors for what that's worth, hitting 272 minor league HR's.)
I was only 3 but when we won again in 84 I was 19 and in the Navy celebrating from Florida.
1968 was, without doubt, the 'Year of the Pitcher'. And the fall classic did not disappoint. Gibson was great but Lolich was historic. Enjoyed the trip back to the days of yore. Thanks.
Probably the greatest clutch pitching Series from a "second tier" pitcher ever. To outshine Gibson--1.12 ERA--and McClain--31-6--was something else.
I can still remember watching this game in my 8th grade class room. The teacher rolled in the TV on a big stand, pugged it in and let us watch for an hour.
May God Bless your soul Jim.
Thank you for the memories!
Was there in 68! And in 84 in Detroit. Sat 2 rows from Bob Seger! Didn't know it.
Even though ole Northrup was a great player, "Stormin Norman" was My Tiger! #1🐅fan since the 60's.😃( Freehan was my older Brother's 😀)
I was 7 years old, my dad had me watch the game with him, he tried to explain what I was watching, I remember how happy he was when the Tigers won this game to win the World Series. Have been a lifelong Tiger fan ever since even though only got to see this repeated once since this game.
"And that Detroit dugout now is a happy place!"
You bet!
I watched this in a gymnasium on a big ol black and white in the the 5th Grade in St Louis. It was magical.
I really liked Bill Freehan back then. He was a hell of an athlete and the best catcher in the American League for years. He looked like he could have played in the NFL as a linebacker
He played football at Michigan. I understand he was a skilled punter.
Great catcher and tough. Very underrated.
He finished 2nd to McLain in MVP voting in 68
Heard he has dementia really bad and needs round the clock care. Sad.
@Harry Browneigh he should be in the hall, has the same stats that Carter has, one world title for both. But freehan did something no other player did and that was he played all 15 innings of a All-Star game 1967. you can look it up.
I was 16 and the memories are all coming back now, thank you.
In the 7th ,Gibson gave up two, 2 out singles a triple and a double and still stayed in game
Yep, back then they knew it was just a blip and that he would come out of it, of course they would have preferred to never have the blip in the first place but, there it was, and, it happened. Today they go running around like chickens with their heads cut off when a starter gives up a couple runs. One other point tho, the center field hit could have been ruled as an error and thus counted as an unearned run.
He also batted for himself later in the game.
This is turn back the clock nostalgia, when all WS games were played in the daytime in stadiums that now exist only in old fans' memories and these black and white films. Gibson, Kaline, McCarver, Horton, Northrup, you are gone but not forgotten
Gotta acknowledge the recent passing of Bob Gibson’s catcher, Tim McCarver (Feb 16, 2023). Those two were a couple of fierce competitors.
And to think McCarver was Steve Carlton's catcher for years as well.
Ouch. Cardinal fan here. Hopefully this madness ends soon and we get back to baseball. All the best to everyone.
No batting helmets, no batting gloves, no elbow pads or shin guards. Just pure, unadulterated baseball.
And no stinking DH
Most of the players were using batting helmets. Not wearing one is just stupid.
Many players in those days wore what is known as a cap "liner", worn inside the cap when batting. It provided some protection, but certainly not as much as an actual helmet.
So, old man, you don’t approve of helmets, gloves, pads, and guards. Ah, an ancient armchair warrior! You must be a pleasure to be around. 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦♂️
The safety concerns in baseball then were secondary to tradition and we really don’t know how much players of those eras of baseball paid the price.
But… I’m sure they did.
As a Cardinals fan, I was 8 years old that year and I remember RUNNING all the way home from school, so that I could see the game. Cried when Cardinals lost the series, but after a lifetime of observing the game since, must admit that the Tigers dominated and certainly don't get the props they deserve.
one of the best WS of all time. Shame that Gibson lost this gm, after pitching brilliantly for 6 2/3 inn. Tigers had a great team, and were big underdogs, largely becuz of Gibby
The 1968 Detroit Tigers were a much better hitting team than the 1968 St. Louis Cardinals were. They were only underdogs in your mind. Look at both teams hitting statistics in 1968.
@@mjbachman3027 the baseball experts made them underdogs as cardinals won it all in 67 and with largely same team in 64. Not many people were surprised that cards were up 3-1 the way gibson had pitched all year. Axiom was that good pitching could stop good hitting. Compare 65 dodgers hitting with Twins lineup but look who won series
We didn't have TV back then in our house...but "listening" to the hit, I can still see the ball drop in behind the fielder.
This was a GREAT WS. I just finished reading "Summer of 68" by Tim Wendel. (good read) I like Norm Cash at bat with no helmet (just a cap). Lolich was the hero of the series!!!
One of the most exciting moments in my childhood was watching the Tigers win in 1968. When they won it was a month before my eighth birthday. Never forget it.
Back then, ALL World Series games were played during the day!! You had to SNEAK a transitor radio , with an earpiece to school to listen to it and it was YOUR ASS if you got caught too. Anybody else remember doing that??
I remember our teacher being cool, allowing us to sneak a radio into the classroom.
Those were the days! Now you can't stay awake through a World Series game.
@@stephenkammerling9479You are correct about falling asleep during the World Series. Most games end after midnight on the East Coast.
@@frederickrapp5396 But I did stay awake for 2016 World Series when the Cubs won! It ended between 1130 and 1200 in Chicago, an hour later in Cleveland and the East. The game went 10 innings and had a short rain delay at end of 9th.
Of course that game, obviously game 7, likely would have been over much earlier, and before the delay, if Joe Maddon, Cubs manager, hadn't over managed the game in regard to his pitching.
1968 I was a 4th grader in Detroit at Our Lady of Precious Blood @ 6 mile and Schaefer, Sister Diana rolled a TV set on a stand into the classroom and we watched the Tigers in the World Series. Was unbelievable!
Interesting to note the lack of white chalk outlining the batters box etc..,, the was the first series of baseball that i ever watched sparking my interest in baseball. Northrup became my baseball hero at that point
Game 7 of the World Series and it was played on October 10th. Now we’re lucky if the series is over by November.
Jaysus - Brock and Flood get picked off by Lolich in the bottom of the 6th, then butcher the outfield plays in the TOP of the 7th. Yeeesh !! ;P
Love watching these old clips from when baseball was played at a high level and speedy at the same time. Commentary didn’t fill every second with some kind of drivel like today motormouths
Crazy..but i was 9 also.. lived in Ypsilanti.. That was a AWESOME year.. My brother went to the final game that won the series.. I think he still has a baggie with sod in it from the field. I remember it like yesterday :)
I only remember some of the scores,because I was 19,years old,and with the 1st Cavalry,in Viet Nam,at 75 years old this is the first time I have seen these great games!Duty CalledThomas A.Filipiak
Even with Flood catching his cleats you get 4 straight hits of Gibson you earned it ❤
I’ve been a Tiger for life and I was in Vietnam when they finally won the World Series. I remember hearing it from someone. Never new any details until I got home.
My dad had just gotten home from Vietnam when they won.
greatest day of my life
I am there with you - CASH - NORTHRUP- HORTON - LOLICH - McCLAIN - FREEHAN - a tremendous all around team
You had a sad life
cyberpimp29 what’s sad is that you get off on insulting strangers anonymously online
@@brianfergus839 lol - but you take the high road, huh Bri?
cyberpimp29 no, it must be clear from my response that I enjoy insulting people I’ve never met from the anonymity of the internet. I’m weak
That sounds like a younger Harry Caray. I listened to him plenty in the latter half of the '80's when I lived in Chicago, and he wasn't this sharp, sad to say. But Ernie Harwell was the voice I was glued to for this World Series--they even had it piped in to my Ann Arbor junior high PA system, low enough so the teachers could talk over it, but loud enough so you could keep up when the teacher wasn't talking. And the Tigers came through, as this clip amply demonstrates.
what i remember most about Gibson was how fast he worked; mccarver would throw the ball back to him, and he'd be into his windup already. I never thought the Tigers would beat him after that Game 1 when he struck out 17, but their hitters made the adjustment
and Gibson almost shut them out in gm 4. Northrop hit a HR late, and Gibson was pissed.
Not just Gibson working efficiently. That was how the game was played then. We need to get back to rules outlawing stepping out of the box every pitch & adjusting helmet, glove & crotch. Play ball!
Hard to believe this inning happened during Gibson's extraordinary 1968 season.
Great times! Great game!