10/13 Postseason: Maz's Day; Lots of Series Action; NLCS Series Tied

• 1903 - Boston won the first World Series five games to three (it was best-of-nine) with a 3-0 win at the Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds in front of 7,455 fans. In a battle between Deacon Phillippe and Bill Dinneen, the key blow was Hobe Ferris’ two-run single in the fourth inning, following a Bucco boot. Dinneen tossed a four-hitter, and ended the game with his seventh K, whiffing Honus Wagner. Even in that rubber-armed era, it was too much work for Phillippe, who started five of the eight games (and went the distance in all of them) because of an injury to Sam Leever’s shoulder, the mental breakdown of Ed Doheny, a 16-game winner during the season, and the defection of 1902 rotation members Jack Chesbro and Jesse Tannehill to the American League. Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss added his share of the gate receipts to the players' share, so the losing team's players actually finished with larger individual shares than the winning team ($1,316.25 to $1,182.00). Dreyfus also gave Deacon Phillippe a bonus and 10 shares of stock in the Pirates for his yeoman efforts. 

Fred Clarke 1909 - Conlon Collection/Detroit Public Library 

• 1909 - The Pirates broke out the bats at Forbes Field in front of 21,706 fans to take a 3-2 lead in the World Series with an 8-4 win over the Tigers. Fred Clarke had two hits, including a homer with three RBI/two runs scored, to lead the offense. Tommy Leach, Bobby Byrne and George Gibson also had a pair of raps while Babe Adams cruised to his second WS win, giving up six hits and fanning eight. The Bucs tortured Detroit on the basepaths, stealing five bases in six tries. 
• 1925 - Pittsburgh evened the World Series at three games each as they downed the Washington Senators 3-2 at Forbes Field. Ray Kremer bested Alex Ferguson, giving up six hits. Bucco leadoff man Eddie Moore had two hits, including a homer, two runs scored and an RBI; Pie Traynor and Clyde Barnhart drove in the other tallies. All the scoring was in the first five innings. The Sens’ Joe Harris doubled with an out in the ninth, but Kremer routinely retired Joe Judge and Ossie Bluege to seal the deal. 
• 1960 - Game Seven of the World Series at Forbes Field ended with this call by NBC’s Mel Allen “There's a drive into deep left field, look out now… that ball is going, going gone! And the World Series is over! Mazeroski… hits it over the left field fence…” Bill Mazeroski led off the bottom of the ninth with the most dramatic home run in Series history, a blast off Ralph Terry, breaking a 9-9 tie with the Yankees and bringing Pittsburgh its third World Championship. It’s still the only homer to win a seventh game in the ninth inning. Hal Smith hit a key two-out, three-run blast in the eighth to give Pittsburgh a short-lived lead. Harvey Haddix, the fourth Pirate hurler, recovered from a blown save to get the win thanks to Maz, who also cost Casey Stengel his job; the Ol’ Perfessor “retired” as NY manager five days after the loss, telling the media "I wasn't retired - they fired me." Other factoids: Bobby Richardson of the Yankees was named MVP of the Series, the only time that someone from the defeated team has been so honored, and it was the only World Series game ever played without a strikeout recorded by either club. 
• 1971 - Roberto Clemente had three hits while Milt May drove in the winning run with a pinch-hit single in the eighth as the Pirates rallied to defeat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 at TRS before a house of 51,378 in Game Four of the Fall Classic. Luke Walker gave up three runs in the first frame before heading to the showers with two outs, but Bruce Kison came to the rescue, tossing 6-⅓ one-hit innings, then Dave Giusti saved it by pitching perfect ball over the last two frames. It was the first scheduled night World Series game in baseball history (in 1949, the lights were turned on in the ninth inning at Ebbets Field because of darkness in a WS game between Brooklyn & the Yankees) and set two attendance records: 61M TV viewers and 51,378 fans in the park. It was a successful experiment; by 1987, all World Series games would be scheduled under the lights. The win evened the Series at two games. It also got foul poles added to TRS the following season after a rhubarb over a Clemente drive (the Bucs claimed homer; the ump called foul) led the Pirate brass to discovered that TRS’ painted yellow foul line had a 20” recess between the fence on the field and the back wall, leaving enough room for a curving ball that would otherwise kiss the foul line to slip foul.

Roberto Clemente 1971 - photo Pirates Picture Pack

• 1979 - The Bucs took a 6-3 lead into the eighth against the Orioles in the fourth game of the World Series, but they and 50,883 fans were stunned by a six-run eighth by the O’s and a 9-6 loss snatched from the jaws of victory at TRS. Kent Tekulve, inheriting a mess from Don Robinson, gave up a pair of two-run doubles to Terry Crowley and John Lowenstein to take the defeat. The Pirates banged out 17 hits, but stranded 10 with two DP, a caught stealing and a throw-out at home. Willie Stargell had three knocks, including a homer and double, but Pittsburgh fell into a three games to one deficit against Baltimore.  
• 1991 - Pittsburgh evened the NLCS at two games with a 10-inning, 3-2 win at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium over the Braves. Mike LaValliere’s two-out, pinch hit single off Mark Wohlers scored Andy Van Slyke, and Stan Belinda tossed two scoreless frames for the win. Steve Buechele's three hits gave him five straight over two games to tie an NLCS record that would stand until 2003. 
• 1992 - The Pirates pounded the Braves 13-4 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium to even the NLCS series at three games each. Tim Wakefield won his second game while Jay Bell, Barry Bonds and Lloyd McClendon homered. The Bucs ran away with the game after an eight-run second inning, featuring a pair of hits by Bonds And McClendon during the frame.