The '
1967 World Series' matched the
St. Louis Cardinals against the
Boston Red Sox, with the Cardinals winning in seven games for their second championship in four years and their eighth overall. The Series was played from
October 4 to
October 12 in
Fenway Park and
Busch Memorial Stadium.
Summary
Pitching dominated this World Series, with
Bob Gibson leading the Cardinals. Cy Young winner
Jim Lonborg pitched the decisive final game of the regular season, so he was unable to start Game 1. Gibson cemented his reputation as an unhittable postseason pitcher in this series, allowing only three total runs over three complete games. His efforts allowed the Cardinals to triumph despite the batting of Yastrzemski (.500
OBP, .840
SLG), and pitching of Lonborg, who allowed only one run in each of his complete-game wins in Games 2 and 5.
The decisive Game 7 featured Gibson and Lonborg facing each other for the first time in the series, but Lonborg was starting on only two days' rest, and was unable to compete with Gibson, who only allowed three hits over the course of a complete game. The final score was 7-2, in favor of the Cardinals.
This was the first year since 1948 that neither the Yankees, the Giants, nor the Dodgers played in the World Series.
Lou Brock stole three bases in Game 7 for a record seven (7) thefts in a 7-game World Series. The Cardinals tied a World Series record by using 8 pitchers in their game 6 loss.
Ken Brett, the brother of
Hall of Famer George Brett, became the youngest pitcher in
World Series history at 19 years, 20 days, when he pitched one inning of relief at the end of Game 4. He also pitched 1/3 of an inning at the end of Game 7. He gave up no hits or runs in either appearance. He was the only left-hander on the Boston pitching staff.
St. Louis catcher
Tim McCarver said the Boston newspapers made
Bob Gibson angry with their headline "'Lonborg and Champagne'" that basically declared that Jim Lonborg would win before Game 7.
'Records:'
St. Louis Cardinals (W: 101, L: 60, Pct: .627, GA: 10.5) -
Boston Red Sox (W: 92, L: 70, Pct: .568, GA: 1)
'Managers:'
Red Schoendienst (St. Louis),
Dick Williams (Boston)
'Umpires:'
Johnny Stevens (AL),
Al Barlick (NL),
Ed Runge (AL),
Augie Donatelli (NL),
Frank Umont (AL),
Paul Pryor (NL)
'Series MVP:'
Bob Gibson (St. Louis)
'Television:'
NBC (
Curt Gowdy,
Ken Coleman and
Harry Caray announcing)
Background
Red Sox
The
"Impossible Dream" Red Sox were led by
triple crown winner and future
Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski, who won the
Most Valuable Player award for his 1967 performance. Their pitching staff was anchored by
Cy Young Award winner
Jim Lonborg. The Red Sox reached the World Series by emerging victorious from a dramatic four-team pennant race that revitalized interest in the Red Sox after eight straight losing seasons. Going into the last week of the season, the Red Sox, Tigers, Twins, and White Sox were all within one game of each other in the standing. The White Sox lost their last 5 games (2 to the lowly Kansas City Athletics and 3 to the Washington Senators) to fall out of the race. Meanwhile, the Red Sox and Twins met in Boston for the final two games of the season with Minnesota holding a 1 game lead. Boston swept the Twins, but needed to wait out the result of the Tigers doubleheader with the Angels in Detroit. A Detroit sweep would have enabled them to tie the Red Sox for 1st place. The Tigers won the first game but the Angels won the nightcap, enabling the Red Sox to claim the A.L. pennant.
Cardinals
The Cardinals won 101 games en route to the
National League pennant, with a team featuring
All-Stars
Orlando Cepeda,
Lou Brock,
Tim McCarver, and 1964 World Series MVP
Bob Gibson, as well as
Roger Maris and
Curt Flood. 22 year-old Steve Carlton won 14 games in his first full major league season, beginning what was to be a lengthy career. In time, he would join Cepeda, Gibson, and Brock in baseball's
Hall of Fame.The Cardinals overcame the absence of Bob Gibson, who missed 1/3 of the season with a broken leg. Gibson still managed to win 13 games, and while he was out, Nelson Briles filled his spot in the rotation brilliantly as the Cardinals led the N.L. comfortably for most of the season.
Summary
'NL St. Louis Cardinals (4) vs. AL Boston Red Sox (3)'| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance | Time of Game |
|---|
| 1 | 'Cardinals – 2', Red Sox – 1 | October 4 | Fenway Park | 34,796 | 2:22 |
| 2 | Cardinals – 0, 'Red Sox – 5' | October 5 | Fenway Park | 35,188 | 2:24 |
| 3 | Red Sox – 2, 'Cardinals – 5' | October 7 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 54,575 | 2:15 |
| 4 | Red Sox – 0, 'Cardinals – 6' | October 8 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 54,575 | 2:05 |
| 5 | 'Red Sox – 3', Cardinals – 1 | October 9 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 54,575 | 2:20 |
| 6 | Cardinals – 4, 'Red Sox – 8' | October 11 | Fenway Park | 35,188 | 2:48 |
| 7 | 'Cardinals – 7', Red Sox – 2 | October 12 | Fenway Park | 35,188 | 2:23 |
Matchups
Game 1
October 4,
1967 at
Fenway Park in
Boston, Massachusetts
Ace
Bob Gibson (13-7, 2.98), who sat out July and August with a broken leg, started game one for the Cardinals while twenty-one-year-old
Jose Santiago (12-4, 3.59) suited up for the Red Sox. Jose, starting because Sox ace
Jim Lonborg had pitched the final day of the regular season, won seven straight second-half games helping Boston stave off the
Detroit Tigers and
Minnesota Twins to win the pennant by one game in a tightly fought pennant race.
Pitching was prime as Gibson and Santiago seemed to have their best stuff for this afternoon game at Fenway Park. The Cards got on the board in the top of the 3rd on a lead-off single to center by
Lou Brock, a double by
Curt Flood, and a
Roger Maris ground-out to first scoring Brock from third. The Sox came right back to tie the score in the bottom of the same inning. After Gibson (Bob) struck out Gibson
(catcher, Russ), Santiago helped his own cause by homering to left-center field.
But
Bob Gibson was masterful the rest of the way finishing with ten strikeouts allowing just six hits with one walk.
Jose Santiago matched Gibson until the top of the 7th when Brock again led off with a single to right (his fourth hit), promptly stole second-base, and evenually scored on back-to-back groundouts by Flood and Maris. That run would hold up for a 2-1 Cardinal win but the Red Sox ace,
Jim Lonborg was waiting in the wings to start game two.
Game 2
October 5,
1967 at
Fenway Park in
Boston, Massachusetts
Jim Lonborg enjoyed his best season as a professional in
1967 capturing the
Cy Young Award with an A.L. best 22 wins (against 7 losses), was tops with 246 strikeouts, and had an impressive
earned run average of 3.16. Lonborg continued his superb pitching starting game two for the
Red Sox and for seven and two-thirds innings, the Cardinals could only manage one baserunner, a 7th inning walk by
Curt Flood. After
Tim McCarver and
Mike Shannon led off the 8th with groundouts,
Julian Javier turned a Lonborg fastball around, lining a double into the left-field corner breaking up his
no-hitter.
Bobby Tolan, pinch-hitting for weak-hitting
Dal Maxvill, ended the inning by grounding out to second-base. Lonborg retired the side in order in the 9th ending the game as close to perfect giving up just one hit and one walk while striking out four.
Meanwhile, future
hall-of-famer Carl Yastrzemski provided more than enough offense by solo-homering in the 4th and adding a 3-run shot in the 7th (scoring
Jose Tartabull and
Dalton Jones.) The other
Red Sox run came in the 6th inning on walks to
George Scott and
Reggie Smith and a run-scoring sacrifice-fly by shortstop
Rico Petrocelli. The final score was 5-0 to even up the series at one game apiece with an upcoming journey to St Louis for game three.
Game 3
October 7,
1967 at
Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium in
St Louis, Missouri
After "Sleepwalking in Boston", the
St Louis Cardinals came out of their hitting slumber and tagged
Boston starter,
Gary Bell for three runs on five hits in the first two innings of game three. A former 16-game winner for the
Cleveland Indians, Bell was an early-season pickup who pitched well in 29 games for the Sox going 12-8 with an ERA of 3.16. But he didn't have his best stuff against Cardinal's starter, twenty-three year old
Nelson Briles. Briles, after losing 15 games in 1966, alternated between middle-relief and starting pitching in '67, and finished with a neat 14-win, 5-loss record (.737 - best in the N.L.) and an even neater 2.43 ERA.
The great table-setter
Lou Brock started things rolling in the 1st with a triple to left-center.
Curt Flood followed with a single to center scoring Brock for the game's first run. In the 2nd,
Tim McCarver led off with a single to center followed by a
Mike Shannon two-run home run to left. Ineffective
Gary Bell was pinch-hit for in the 3rd inning, replaced by
Gary Waslewski. Waslewski pitched three perfect innings, striking out three before leaving in the 6th for relief pitcher
Lee Stange.
Boston scored their first run in the 6th with
Mike Andrews, (pinch-hitting for Bell), singling to center. Andrews took second on a Tartabull sacrifice, immediately scoring on a
Dalton Jones basehit to right. But the Cards added some insurance in the bottom of the frame with the disconcerting Brock bunting for a hit, eventually going to third when Stange, attempting a pick-off, threw wild into right-field.
Roger Maris, in his next-to-last season, would have a good Series with 10 hits and a home run, scored Brock with a single to right-center.
In the 7th
Reggie Smith would hit a lead-off home run for Boston, trimming the score to 4-2 but the Cards stifled any further Sox comeback scoring their fifth run in the bottom of the 8th when Maris beat out an infield tap for a single and
Orlando Cepeda muscled a double off the wall in right-center making the score 5-2. Briles would finish his complete-game victory with a 1-2-3 ninth, the second out recorded when
Reggie Smith would interfere with McCarver who was trying to catch his pop-up foul down the first-base line. Up two-games to one, St Louis would send
Bob Gibson back to the mound, a Championship within reach.
Game 4
October 8,
1967 at
Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium in
St Louis, Missouri
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|
| Boston (A) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | '0' | '5' | '0' |
| 'St Louis (N)' | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | x | '6' | '9' | '0' |
| 'W': Bob Gibson (2-0) 'L': Jose Santiago (1-1) |
54,000 plus smiling fans packed
Busch Memorial Stadium in anticipation of yet another
Bob Gibson post-season, pitching gem. Gibson, never one to disappoint, was as good as advertised. Again, all St Louis needed was a spark from
Lou Brock and this time four (4), 1st inning runs crossed the plate. Brock started things rolling with a slow-roller to third - nothing
Dalton Jones could do could match Brock's speed, for an infield-hit.
Curt Flood singled to shallow left and
Roger Maris powered-up going the other way, doubling into the left-field corner scoring both base-runners.
Orlando Cepeda then hit a sac-fly, Maris advancing to third.
Tim McCarver hit a clutch single to right to score Maris. After
Mike Shannon fouled out to
Rico Petrocelli for the second out,
Julian Javier would single in the hole between short and third followed by .217 lifetime hitter
Dal Maxvill's run-scoring single to left for the Cardinal's fourth run. That would be it for game one starter
Jose Santiago who would only last 2/3rd's of an inning this time out.
Gary Bell would relieve getting the ninth batter of the inning,
Bob Gibson to fly out to left.
Gibson would be on cruise-control the remainder of the game while the Cards would add two more runs off reliever
Jerry Stephenson in the 3rd. Cepeda would double into the left-field corner and move to third on a wild pitch. McCarver would add a 2nd RBI on a sac-fly to center scoring Cepeda. Shannon would walk and score on a
Julian Javier double just inside the third-base line. That would be it for the scoring as Gibson would win his second Series game, a 5-hit complete-game that put his Cardinals up, 3 games to 1.
Game 5
October 9,
1967 at
Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium in
St Louis, Missouri
With their backs up against the wall, manager
Dick Williams would again put his trust in the dependable
Jim Lonborg. The twenty-five year old righty would be faced by future hall-of-famer,
Steve "Lefty" Carlton. Carlton was just twenty-two coming off his first full season in the bigs, a career that would stretch for 24 seasons. Steve was a very respectable 14-9 in thirty games with a 2.98 ERA.
The game played out very tentatively; with just one early run scored by Boston in the top of the third. After Lonborg struck-out leading off the inning,
Joe Foy struck a single to left.
Mike Andrews reached safely at first after a sacrifice attempt was fumbled by Cardinal third-baseman
Mike Shannon. With two on and one out,
Carl Yastrzemski looked at a third strike but
Ken Harrelson followed with a clutch single to left scoring Foy.
Pitching with a slight cold (and a paper horseshoe in his back-pocket) Lonborg again sparkled, at one point retiring 12 straight. After a
Roger Maris single in the 4th, the next batter to reach base was
Julian Javier who got on base in the 8th on an error by
Rico Petrocelli. Carlton was just as good but left after six innings of work, replaced by
Ray Washburn who then pitched two scoreless innings.
St Louis Manager
Red Schoendienst mistakenly brought in
Ron Willis to pitch the ninth. The
Red Sox greeted Willis loading the bases on a
George Scott walk, a
Reggie Smith double, and an intentional walk to
Rico Petrocelli.
Jack Lamabe relieved Willis after a 1-0 count on
Elston Howard who promptly popped a single to right scoring Scott. Maris threw high to the plate allowing Smith to score the second run. With the score 3-1 St Louis came to bat in the last of the 9th in a last attempt comeback bid. But Lonborg's luck continued getting Brock and Flood to ground out to second and third respectfully. Maris spoiled the shutout bid by homering over the right-field fence but
Orlando Cepeda would end the game on a groundout to third. The
Boston Red Sox were now back in the Series although still down 3 games to 2.
Game 6
October 11,
1967 at
Fenway Park in
Boston, Massachusetts
Pivotal game six matched rookie
Gary Waslewski (2-2, 3.21) who had only pitched in 12 regular season games, versus one-year wonder
Dick Hughes (16-6, 2.67) who pitched 3 seasons, winning only twice more in 1968 before retiring due to arm problems.
Rico Petrocelli gave the Bostonians an early lead with a 2nd inning blast over the
Green Monster in left field. St Louis came back with two runs in the top of the 3rd when
Julian Javier hit a lead-off double off that same "Green Monster". After retiring the next two batters, Waslewski gave up a single to
Lou Brock, scoring Javier. Then after a Brock steal,
Curt Flood singled to left, scoring Brock who came home on a great slide.
In the Cards half of the fourth,
Carl Yastrzemski,
Reggie Smith, and
Rico Petrocelli would all go long setting a new
World Series record with 3 home runs in the same inning. A demoralized Hughes wouldn't finish the inning and
Don Willis would be summoned from the bullpen to get the last out, an
Elston Howard groundout to third.
Waslewski was very "workmanlike", but started to tire in the 6th inning when, after walks to
Roger Maris and
Tim McCarver, was replaced by
John Wyatt who would get out of the jam retiring
Mike Shannon on a popup to short and Petrocelli on a fly to short right. The Cards would come back and hit Wyatt hard in the 7th. After pinch-hitter
Bobby Tolan walked,
Lou Brock hit a homer into the right-center field bleachers. Flood and Maris hit long fly-outs to center but their hits stayed in the park to end the inning, St Louis had tied the score at four apiece.
The Red Sox would send ten batters to the plate in the bottom of the 8th inning and regain the lead. Elston Howard would lead off making both the first and last outs but four runs would cross the plate in-between. After all was said and done, the Cardinals would send four pitchers to the mound in the inning and when
Hal Woodeshick would come in to pitch the 8th, a Series record would be tied with eight (8) pitchers used also setting a two team record of 11 pitchers used. St Louis had one more good chance to win the game loading the bases in the 8th, but highlighted by a great "Yaz" catch in left-center, the Cards couldn't push one across and wouldn't score again going quietly in the ninth;
Gary Bell pitching the last two innings for the save. The Red Sox survived to play another day and the Series was now tied at 3 games apiece.
Game 7
October 12,
1967 at
Fenway Park in
Boston, Massachusetts
The seventh game again matched the aces,
Bob Gibson against
Jim Lonborg. Lonborg was pitching on two-days rest, while Gibson had rested an extra day since his last outing. From the start, it was apparent that Lonborg was struggling. Three Cardinal hits and a wild pitch put St Louis ahead 2-0 in the 3rd inning. Two more scored in the 5th on a home run by Gibson,
Lou Brock's single and two stolen bases (his 7th steal - a new Series record), and a
Roger Maris sacrifice-fly to right. A Boston run in the 5th cut the score to 4-1, but the Red Sox dream was abruptly halted in the 6th on a three-run homer by
Julian Javier off the arm-weary Lonborg. With the 7-2 defeat, Boston's "Impossible Dream" ended one game too early and the St. Louis Cardinals were World Series Champions.
Composite Box
1967 World Series '(4-3):
St. Louis Cardinals (N.L.)' over
Boston Red Sox (A.L.)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|
| 'St. Louis Cardinals' | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | '25' | '51' | '4' |
| 'Boston Red Sox' | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 2 | '21' | '48' | '4' |
| 'Total Attendance': 304,085 'Average Attendance': 43,441 |
| 'Winning Player’s Share': – $8,315 'Losing Player’s Share' – $5,115 | |||||||||||||
Three wins
★ The matchup for Game 7 had historic overtones. Only once before had a seventh game of a Series brought together starting pitchers who both had 2-0 won-lost records in that Series. It happened earlier, in
1925, when the
Washington Senators'
Walter Johnson pitched against the
Pittsburgh Pirates'
Vic Aldridge
★ Bob Gibson was the starting pitcher for Games 1, 4 and 7. During each of those contests he pitched a complete game, won all three (3), and had a shutout. Other pitchers with three (3) victories in a seven-game Series include:
Pitcher's With Three (3) Wins in a 7-Game World Series
Pitcher Series
★
Babe Adams 1909 World Series
★
Stan Coveleski 1920 World Series
★
Harry Brecheen 1946 World Series
★
Lew Burdette 1957 World Series
★
Mickey Lolich 1968 World Series
★
Randy Johnson 2001 World Series
★ The two teams met again in the
2004 World Series and the Red Sox swept in 4 to break the ''
Curse of the Bambino''.
★ 1967 marked the first time that the
World Series Trophy was presented.
External links
★
1967 World Series at Baseball-Reference.com
★
1967 World Series at ''WorldSeries.com (MLB.com)''
★
1967 World Series at Baseball-Almanac.com
★
1967 World Series box scores and play-by-play at Retrosheet.org
★
''Boston Globe'' article on 1967 World Series
References
★ Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. ''The World Series.'' 1st ed. New York: St Martins, 1990.
MLB World Series
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