1972 World Series
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The 1972 World Series sent the Oakland Athletics against the Cincinnati Reds, with the Athletics prevailing in a matchup of what were to become the two premier MLB dynasties of the 1970s. Iconoclastic club owner Charlie Finley's "Swingin' A's" featured day-glo uniforms, lots of facial hair, colorful nicknames, and explosive personalities, while "The Big Red Machine" were a more traditional franchise with a more traditional look -- and an everyday lineup packed full of future Hall of Famers. After a 40-year absence and two franchise relocations, the A's had finally made it back to the Series after squeaking by Detroit in a 5-game ALCS; they would play the Series without their star right fielder Reggie Jackson, who was injured stealing home in the final game against Detroit. The Reds had also narrowly advanced, topping the Pirates with a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth in Game 5 of the NLCS, putting Cincinnati back in the October Classic after a disappointing year out of the Series spotlight. (The Reds had last won the pennant in 1970, only to drop that Series to Baltimore.)
The Series opened in unexpected fashion, as unheralded catcher Gene Tenace of the A's hit home runs in his first two at-bats, leading Oakland to a Game One victory. Tenace was the first player ever to homer in his two initial Series plate appearances, a feat later matched by Andruw Jones of the Braves in 1996. A's left fielder Joe Rudi was the Game 2 hero with a home run and a spectacular game-saving ninth-inning catch made while sprawled up against the left field wall. After the Reds squeaked out a 1-0 Game 3 win, Tenace had a key hit in the middle of Game 4's ninth inning A's rally which featured four straight singles, the other three by pinch-hitters, as the A's scored twice to top the Reds and give the Oakland a commanding 3-1 lead in games. The Reds held off the A's in Game 5 as second baseman Joe Morgan threw out pinch-running pitcher John "Blue Moon" Odom at the plate for the game's final out after a short pop fly caught in foul territory. This was the 5th straight game in the Series decided by one run.
The Reds evened the Series at three games apiece with an easy Game 6 victory, 8-1. The A's opened the scoring in Game 7 with an unearned run in the first inning. Cincy tied things up in the fifth on Hal McRae's sacrifice fly. But the very next inning, Tenace and Sal Bando each stroked RBI doubles to give Oakland a 3-1 edge. The Reds made it 3-2 in the eighth, but A's reliever Rollie Fingers shut the door in the ninth. The Athletics franchise had its sixth World Series title, and the city of Oakland had its first world championship in any sport. Tenace, an utterly unexpected hero, was named MVP with 9 RBIs, a Series record-tying 4 home runs and a Series-record slugging percentage. Rudi's game-saving circus catch in Game 2 (which he later attributed to one-on-one discussions with Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio on the art of tracking fly balls) made the highlight reels, and became the most memorable single image of the Series.
Records: Oakland Athletics (W: 93, L: 62, Pct: .600, GA: 5 ½) - Cincinnati Reds (W: 95, L: 59, Pct: .617, GA: 10 ½)
Playoffs: ALCS: (3-2) Oakland Athletics over Detroit Tigers – NLCS: (3-2) Cincinnati Reds over Pittsburgh Pirates
Managers: Dick Williams (Oakland), Sparky Anderson (Cincinnati)
Umpires: Chris Pelekoudas (NL), Jim Honochick (AL), Mel Steiner (NL), Frank Umont (AL), Bob Engel (NL), Bill Haller (AL)
Series MVP: Gene Tenace (Oakland)
Television: NBC (Curt Gowdy, Tony Kubek, Monte Moore and Al Michaels announcing)
Contents |
[edit] Summary
AL Oakland Athletics (4) vs. NL Cincinnati Reds (3)
Game Score Date Location Attendance
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Athletics - 3, Reds - 2 October 14 Riverfront Stadium 52,918
(2) Athletics - 2, Reds - 1 October 15 Riverfront Stadium 53,224
(3) Reds - 1, Athletics - 0 October 18 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 49,410
(4) Reds - 2, Athletics - 3 October 19 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 49,410
(5) Reds - 5, Athletics - 4 October 20 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum 49,410
(6) Athletics - 1, Reds - 8 October 21 Riverfront Stadium 52,737
(7) Athletics - 3, Reds - 2 October 22 Riverfront Stadium 56,040
[edit] Matchups
[edit] Game 1
October 14, 1972 at Riverfront Stadium (Cincinnati Reds)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Oakland Athletics 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 4 0
Cincinnati Reds 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 0
PITCHERS: OAK - Holtzman, Fingers (6), Blue (7)
CIN - Nolan, Borbon (7), Carroll (8)
WP - Holtzman
LP - Nolan
SAVE - Blue
HOME RUNS: OAK - Tenace (2)
CIN - none
ATTENDANCE: 52,918
[edit] Game 2
October 15, 1972 at Riverfront Stadium (Cincinnati Reds)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Oakland Athletics 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 9 2
Cincinnati Reds 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 6 0
PITCHERS: OAK - Hunter, Fingers (9)
CIN - Grimsley, Borbon (6), Hall (8)
WP - Hunter
LP - Grimsley
SAVE - Fingers
HOME RUNS: OAK - Rudi
CIN - none
ATTENDANCE: 53,224
[edit] Game 3
October 18, 1972 at Oakland Coliseum (Oakland Athletics)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Cincinnati Reds 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 2
Oakland Athletics 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2
PITCHERS: CIN - Billingham, Carroll (9)
OAK - Odom, Blue (8), Fingers (8)
WP - Billingham
LP - Odom
SAVE - Carroll
HOME RUNS: CIN - none
OAK - none
ATTENDANCE: 49,410
[edit] Game 4
October 19, 1972 at Oakland Coliseum (Oakland Athletics)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Cincinnati Reds 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 7 1
Oakland Athletics 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 3 10 1
PITCHERS: CIN - Gullett, Borbon (8), Carroll (9)
OAK - Holtzman, Blue (8), Fingers (9)
WP - Fingers
LP - Carroll
SAVE - none
HOME RUNS: CIN - none
OAK - Tenance
ATTENDANCE: 49,410
[edit] Game 5
October 20, 1972 at Oakland Coliseum (Oakland Athletics)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Cincinnati Reds 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 5 8 0
Oakland Athletics 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 7 2
PITCHERS: CIN - McGlothlin, Borbon (4), Hall (5), Carroll (7), Grimsley (8), Billingham (9)
OAK - Hunter, Fingers (5), Hamilton (9)
WP - Grimsley
LP - Fingers
SAVE - Billingham
HOME RUNS: CIN - Rose, Menke
OAK - Tenace
ATTENDANCE: 49,410
[edit] Game 6
October 21, 1972 at Riverfront Stadium (Cincinnati Reds)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Oakland Athletics 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 7 1
Cincinnati Reds 0 0 0 1 1 1 5 0 X 8 10 0
PITCHERS: OAK - Blue, Locker (6), Hamilton (7), Horlen (7)
CIN - Nolan, Grimsley (5), Borbon (6), Hall (7)
WP - Grimsley
LP - Blue
SAVE - Hall
HOME RUNS: OAK - none
CIN - Bench
ATTENDANCE: 52,737
[edit] Game 7
October 22, 1972 at Riverfront Stadium (Cincinnati Reds)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Oakland Athletics 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 6 1
Cincinnati Reds 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 4 2
PITCHERS: OAK - Odom, Hunter (5), Holtzman (8), Fingers (8)
CIN - Billingham, Borbon (6), Carroll (6), Grimsley (7), Hall (8)
WP - Hunter
LP - Borbon
SAVE - Fingers
HOME RUNS: OAK - none
CIN - none
ATTENDANCE: 56,040
[edit] Composite Box
1972 World Series (4-3): Oakland Athletics (A.L.) over Cincinnati Reds (N.L.)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland Athletics | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 46 | 9 | |
| Cincinnati Reds | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 46 | 5 | |
| Total Attendance: 363,149 Average Attendance: 51,878 | |||||||||||||
| Winning Player’s Share: – $20,705, Losing Player’s Share – $15,080 * Includes Playoffs and World Series | |||||||||||||
[edit] Trivia
- This was the Oakland Athletics' first trip to the World Series and the first for the Athletics franchise since 1931.
- During Game 1, utility infielder Gene Tenace -- who had hit five home runs during the entire 1972 season -- homered in each of his first two World Series at-bats. He would go on to hit a total of four long balls during the 1972 World Series, earning the World Series Most Valuable Player Award. Tenace also had nine RBI in the Series; no other Oakland player had more than one.
- The Oakland Athletics won despite two injuries to key players: Reggie Jackson, who missed the Series with a pulled hamstring; and Darold Knowles, who broke his thumb during a game played on September 27, 1972 — less than three weeks before the Series opener.
- This was broadcaster Al Michaels' first World Series. He would not call a World Series again until 1979, after he had become a sportscaster for ABC.
- This marked the second straight year a Series game was rained out. Game 3 was rained out on Tuesday, October 17 and rescheduled for the next day. The rain-out forced the final five games of the series to be played on five consecutive days.
- After his home run in Game 2, the A's Joe Rudi did not have another hit or another RBI for the rest of the Series, despite starting every game.
- Baseball legend Jackie Robinson, the first black big-league player of the modern era, made his final public appearance in Cincinnati before Game 2. In a brief speech, he expressed his desire to see a black manager of a Major League Baseball team, a color barrier that had not yet been broken.
[edit] Reference(s)
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series. 1st ed. New York: St Martins, 1990. (Neft and Cohen 340-344)
[edit] External Links
- 1972 World Series at Baseball-Reference.com
- 1972 World Series at WorldSeries.com (MLB.com)
- 1972 World Series at Baseball-Almanac.com
- 1972 World Series box scores and play-by-play at Retrosheet.org
- 1972 NLCS | Game 5
- History of the World Series - 1972
- Reds History
- Joe Rudi's game-saving Game 2 catch
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