Saturday, October 10, 2015

The Freakin' Weekend (1969)

Huge 1969 weekend for sports, beginning with Friday night, Oct. 10, ...



The defending state champs are Lynch East Main in Class A, Fort Thomas Highlands in 2A and Louisville Trinity in 3A. Here are the Kentucky High School Athletic Association alignments for 1969 and '70 ...

 


Friday's local-ish games of import to Hoptown 1969 me are the city Tigers at Mayfield and Trigg County at Murray.

"Hoptown and Trigg County will be involved in situations that can only be labeled absolute musts," reports the Kentucky New Era in an Oct. 10, 1969, article with no byline (which was more the industry norm unless a story was clearly a feature or opinion piece until somewhere in the 1980s).

I'm going to have to see how the playoffs are set up (my guess is that Hoptown 1969 me was so busy getting rich until now that he didn't follow this stuff that closely until now), but I think we're going to have playoffs where district champions play each other for regional titles and then the four regional champions play two rounds of games to figure out state titles. In any event, Hopkinsville and Trigg County are 0-1 in Class 2A, Region I, District 1 and Class A, Region I, District 1, respectively. And both Mayfield (ranked No. 5 statewide in 2A) and Murray (ranked No. 4 in A) are very good, so it will take huge road upsets if either my Tigers or Wildcats stay in contention for district championships after tonight.




My plan is to leave early in the afternoon and drive north of the lakes, get something to eat and then go out to Mayfield for the Hoptown game. If things are out of hand by halftime or so, I'll bug out to Murray to see what's going on with Trigg. Then I'll drive home to Hoptown over the Eggner's Ferry Bridge. The games don't start until 8, so, unless they're huge, huge blowouts and I bail early on both, there's no way I will be home in time to watch tonight's 10:30 Touchdown Preview on Channel 4. 






It didn't work out for my A's this year, but I still plan to watch the World Series. The Mets' season has been such a big deal that it even made Page 1 of the Kentucky New Era when New York clinched the National League East last month.



Saturday's Game 1 pits New York's Tom Seaver against the Orioles' Mike Cuellar, in Baltimore.



Then, of course, there's more football.




There's so much interesting sports going on, in fact, that I've barely had time for anything else on TV.



145 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Mayfield's tough. You've got to come to play against Mayfield.

      Delete
  2. Other results among ranked teams Friday night ...

    Class A

    No. 1 Tompkinsville won, 56-7, over Cumberland County
    No. 2 Russellville lost, 20-0, to Daviess County
    No. 5 Bardstown won, 46-0, over Eminence

    Class 2A

    No. 2 Madisonville won, 39-24, over Henderson City
    No. 3 Elizabethtown won, 41-14, over Owensboro Catholic
    No. 4 Covington Catholic won, 35-18, over Louisville Shawnee

    Class 3A

    No. 1 Louisville Saint Xavier won, 12-6, over No. 2 Louisville Trinity
    No. 4 Louisville Atherton won, 19-7, over No. 5 Louisville Manual

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tompkinsville eventually was consolidated into Monroe County; Lynch, into Harlan County. And both of those schools have had pretty good football teams over the years, too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, my gosh, Don Buford just homered off Tom Seaver to open the bottom of the first in Game 1 of the World Series. Sandy Koufax said in the paper today that he expected the Orioles to win.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Koufax lost the last start of his career to the Orioles in the 1966 World Series.

      Delete
  5. This YouTube video is from Canada, so, at the latest commercial break, we had some loggers promoting an ale! It's 1-0, Orioles, going to the bottom of the second.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The Orioles' seventh and eighth hitters, second-baseman Dave Johnson and shortstop Mark Belanger, hit .280 and .287 during the regular season, respectively. (Curt Gowdy says Johnson and Belanger are roommates and had a bet all season who would end up with more hits--Belanger won.) The Mets, meanwhile, have .207 and .212 hitters in their order.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mike Cuellar, the Orioles' starting pitcher, has gone once through the New York order, and he struck out four of the nine Mets ... still 1-0, Baltimore, now through two-and-a-half innings.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Tony Kubek just had an interview with Ted Williams, who is in the commissioner's box for today's game. What NBC is doing for the World Series--Canada is relaying the NBC telecast--is pairing a broadcaster from the home team with Curt Gowdy in the booth, and then Kubek (Gowdy's regular Game of the Week partner) is doing stuff from the stands.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Now Seaver gives up run-scoring singles to Belanger and Cuellar, and then Buford doubles in another run. Five straight Orioles reach base with two outs, and the Baltimore lead is now 4-0 after four innings.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Through five innings, the Orioles maintain their 4-0 lead.

    It's interesting how NBC did this broadcaster deal in Game 1 (here's Part 2 of the YouTube video). Instead of having the local announcer talk incessantly with Gowdy throughout the game, Bill O'Donnell simply took over play-by-play duties from Gowdy in the bottom of the fifth. He spoke at the beginning of the game with Gowdy, and he weighed in at some point during game action earlier. But, for the most part, Gowdy handled things solo with occasional inning-break interviews from Kubek. Now O'Donnell has taken over the point, and Gowdy is, presumably, having a hot dog and probably a look at the box score to this point in the game.

    ReplyDelete
  11. And now here's Tony Kubek interviewing Detroit manager Mayo Smith in the stands, and you can hear a pleasant Herb Alpert tune playing on the P.A. system.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Through six, we're still at 4-0, Orioles. And, dating back to games in 1966, Baltimore has now gone 39 consecutive World Series innings without allowing a run.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wikipedia is fantastic.

    And now bases are loaded with no out in the seventh—or, as sparse and smooth Bill O’Donnell puts it, “the Mets with a lot of fat on the fire here ...”

    O’Donnell has watched this team all year, and the tension is rising in his voice: “Cuellar, very noticeably here, pressing … against the tail end of the Mets’ order …”

    Full count …

    ReplyDelete
  14. Weis flies out to Buford in left field, and Clendennon scampers home … 4-1 …

    ReplyDelete
  15. Don Cardwell relieved Seaver in the sixth, but now he’s done, with Rod Gaspar coming up as a pinch-hitter …

    Grounder into infield grass … Brooks Robinson charges, bare-hands, whips the ball to first … out … 4-1, Baltimore, through seven innings.

    ReplyDelete
  16. The new Met pitcher is “a Canadian lad,” says O’Donnell, now relaxed again. Ron Taylor is the only Met with World Series experience before today—he pitched with St. Louis in 1964.

    ReplyDelete
  17. The National Transportation & Safety Board estimates that 10,000 people died in automobile accidents in 1968 who would not have had they been wearing safety belts, O’Donnell tells us. “Why don’t you take six seconds and fasten your safety belt?”

    Through seven innings, it’s 4-1, Orioles.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You have to wonder how many folks in Baltimore went into this World Series thinking that back in January of 1969 -- only nine months ago -- the Colts were overwhelming favorites to beat the Jets in the Super Bowl. I certainly would have thought about that.

      Delete
  18. It’s the top of the eighth, and Gowdy breaks in on O’Donnell to tell us that Sunday's World Series Game 2 will be on a half-hour later, at 1:30 Eastern. It’ll be Jerry Koosman for New York against Dave McNally for Baltimore. “And, right after that, we’ll go to football, AFL football. We’ll tell you more about that later.”

    YEAH!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Gowdy and O'Donnell are discussing that Frank Robinson is "dead serious" about becoming a manager. He has been managing in the Puerto Rican league during the winter, and he intends to immediately pursue a managing job at the major-league level when he's finished playing.

    "He's a good baseball man," Gowdy says. "He should make a fine manager."

    ReplyDelete
  20. Game 1's winner is 39-26 in World Series history, says NBC.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Still 4-1, Orioles, through eight innings.

    ReplyDelete
  22. OK, two on and two out for the Mets in the ninth ... Orioles pitching coach George Bamberger out to visit Cuellar ... Gowdy: "This is when they want the honest answer, 'Are you tired?'" ...

    ReplyDelete
  23. Groundout ... Cuellar finishes off the Mets, 4-1. Baltimore looks fantastic. The American League president, Joe Cronin, was on with Kubek earlier in the game, comparing this Orioles team favorably with the early days of the recent Yankee dynasty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In fact, the O's are about to win three pennants in a row.

      Delete
  24. I love Tony Kubek. He so clearly loves baseball, and it makes for a very enjoyable broadcast.

    ReplyDelete
  25. OK, college football ... what we got here is some No. 2 Texas vs. No. 8 Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl.

    Here's the full AP Top 20 going into this weekend 1969's games:

    1. Ohio State
    2. Texas
    3. Arkansas
    4. Southern California
    5. Penn State
    6. Georgia
    7. Missouri
    8. Oklahoma
    9. Purdue
    10. Tennessee
    11. UCLA
    12. Florida
    13. Alabama
    14. Louisiana State
    15. Notre Dame
    16. Stanford
    17. West Virginia
    18. Wyoming
    19. Michigan State
    T20. Auburn and Nebraska

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ohio State is the defending national champions. They are the overwhelming favorites to repeat -- just as they are in 2015.

      Delete
  26. Bill Fleming on ABC's College Football Today pre-game show says the Cotton Bowl is considered the neutral field in this series, and each school is given exactly half of the 70,000 tickets each to sell.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was just talking to a big Texas fan about this game. He said that Austin is only 10 miles closer to Dallas than Norman is. He also said that the UT and OU fans don't alternate from one year to the next, but always stay on one side of the Cotton Bowl or the other.

      Delete
  27. Ohio State is averaging 51.5 points a game.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Oklahoma's Steve Owens had more than 350 carries last season--more than twice as many as USC's O.J. Simpson.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Ohio State is running more than 93 plays a game. The Raiders run more plays than anyone in pro football, at about 69 plays a game. College football instituted the clock stoppage after first downs last season.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Now Bud Wilkinson is breaking down the differences and advantages of Texas's and Oklahoma's different flavors of "the new triple-option offense."

    Texas runs a "Wishbone Y," in which Wooster, the Longhorns' fullback, lines up about three-and-a-half yards behind the line of scrimmage and slightly in front of his two backfield mates. This allow Texas to run a quick fake to Wooster.

    Oklahoma runs the "Diamond T," in which Owens lines up behind the other two backs and about six yards behind scrimmage. This gives Owens more space to pick out daylight and to work up a head of steam.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I remember when they used to do a lot of this sort of thing in football commentary, and I wish they would bring it back.

      Delete
    2. I would like to see someone explain what would happen if a team used run-blocking schemes on its pass plays.

      Delete
  31. Mod Squad and Wake Me When The War Is Over (movie of the week starring Ken Berry and Eva Gabor) coming up on ABC Monday night!

    ReplyDelete
  32. That Texas fullback is Steve Worster (not Wooster, though Bill Flemming pronounces it, "WOO-stur").

    ReplyDelete
  33. Oklahoma takes a 7-0 lead as its quarterback, 19-year-old-as-of-yesterday Jack Mildren of Abilene, Texas, keeps it on the option and runs nine yards for a score. The Longhorns had the ball first but failed to get anything going and punted short, and then the Sooners ran the ball right down the field. No passes in this game so far ... 10:14 to go in the first quarter ...

    ReplyDelete
  34. Texas's coach, Darrell Royal, played for Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma. Oklahoma's coach, Chuck Fairbanks, played for Duffy Daugherty at Michigan State.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Here's why you don't throw ... Texas is intercepted on a third-and-4 throw, and now Oklahoma has the ball inside Texas's 10 ...

    ReplyDelete
  36. Owens flies over the pileup at the line: 14-0, Oklahoma.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Meanwhile, over on the Wilburn Brothers show on Channel 4, here's Harlow Wilcox & the Oakies playing the No. 83 song in this week's Cash Box Top 100, "Groovy Grubworm."

    Even Harlow Wilcox (of Norman, Oklahoma) was probably watching the Sooners and the Longhorns on ABC.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Now Steve Owens of Oklahoma has broken the Big 8 career-rushing record previously held by Gale Sayers of Kansas.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Texas strikes back with a long touchdown pass from Huston Street's dad to Cotton Spreyer, and then Happy Feller comes on for the PAT. Bud Wilkinson said before the game that he thought Spreyer, a fleet wide receiver, "might be the boy who makes the difference in today's game." I wish Bud Wilkinson would explain why wide receivers no longer line up in a three-point stance as Spreyer has been doing throughout this game.

    ReplyDelete
  40. It's 14-7, Oklahoma, after one quarter on what Chris Schenkel describes as "a warm, humid afternoon" at the Cotton Bowl.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Rest in peace, Mr. Pfaff, who wrote this fantastic Pan Am jingle that just aired as part of a commercial after a Texas punt. (Is this the first-ever Pinterest link at the HP?)

    ReplyDelete
  42. Check that ... Oklahoma punt ... and now Street has thrown to Jim Bertlesen for a big gain into Sooner territory ...

    ReplyDelete
  43. And now Bertelsen runs in; Feller kicks again, and Texas has drawn even, at 14.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Replies
    1. Have you noticed that Texas has an all-white team?

      Delete
    2. No. I did notice that Oklahoma does not.

      Delete
  45. Straight-on kicker Happy Feller boots through a 27-yard field goal early in the third quarter, and Texas is now ahead, 17-14.

    ReplyDelete
  46. But Street's second interception leads to an Oklahoma field goal, and now we're tied again. The Sooners' kicker, Bruce Derr, had missed his only other attempt thus far in the season, and he and the holder exchanged giant hand slaps when this 22-yard try went through. Schenkel had warned about the "acute angle" that Derr would need to navigate. I read a thing the other day that Matthew sent around about Mark Moseley's MVP season in the NFL and how field-goal kicking has gotten so much more accurate at every level of football, and certainly everyone around this game seems more pleasantly surprised when a short field-goal try is successful than I would've guessed.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Another big pass from Street to Speyer and then a couple of rugged gashes by Ted Koy ... TOUCHDOWN ... no! ... illegal procedure ...

    ReplyDelete
  48. Schenkel just noted that ABC cameras are at five other games today and that the highlights will be put together in one show that will be aired on Sunday, Oct. 12. "Check your local listings," he advises.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Yup, looks like Nashville's Channel 8 is going to have the highlights show at 11 Sunday morning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nope, I'll be at church so I'll miss it.

      Delete
    2. So will I. But you can come over and watch it later with me on my fancy videotaping machine.

      Delete
  50. Here's Happy Feller and another of Schenkel's acute angles ... GOOD! ... 20-17, Texas ... good game ... 24 seconds to go in the third quarter ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really hope you stick with this 1969 college football season. It was one of the best seasons college football ever had.

      Delete
  51. Wait ... now ABC is telling me that Lana Turner and George Hamilton's big Survivors drama is on Monday night. I don't get it. There's no way you can fit a Mod Squad, a Survivors and a movie of the week all in one prime-time block ... what the heck is going on here?

    ReplyDelete
  52. And now here's Bruce Derr from Oklahoma for a FORTY-SIX YARD TRY ... wind at his back ... Schenkel: "It's long enough!" ... long pause as the official waves his arms wide left ... "Oh, the agony of being unsuccessful on a three-pointer" ...

    ReplyDelete
  53. 9:19 to go ... third-and-12 coming for Oklahoma, still trailing 20-17 ... Wilkinson: "This is the time you dig deep for the one long-yardage play you've been practicing all week" ... no ... sack ... 8:54 ... Sooners to punt ...

    ReplyDelete
  54. Speyer fields a punt at the 16 and works hard to advance to the 20 ... really good punt catch and return ... looked like a punt that might've been downed inside the 10 ... Speyer has been great, just as Bud Wilkinson suspected.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Third-and-7 ... Texas runs a crazy flanker-reverse pitch to Speyer, which Oklahoma totally sniffs out ... Speyer still nearly picks up the first but does not ... punt coming ...

    ReplyDelete
  56. It's fantastic how Texas put the 100-football emblem signifying the 100th anniversary of college football floating above the longhorn's horns on the sides of their helmets.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Texas resumes possession at the Oklahoma 23 with a 20-17 lead and to go in the game ... not sure how much time is left ... six minutes? ...

    ReplyDelete
  58. Schenkel: "Looking ahead, we'll be televising the Texas-Arkansas game from Fayetteville Dec. 6, coast to coast."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The story goes that before the season, the folks at ABC wanted to pick one game to be a national broadcast on December 6. It would be the only game of the day, and would give ABC the chance to build a huge audience in celebration of the 100th anniversary of college football. The story goes that Beano Cook was the guy who told them to pick the Arkansas/Texas game, which was usually played in October, for the last game of the year. It turned out to be a brilliant move.

      Delete
  59. Fantastic ... so Texas has been running out of their Wishbone Y all game, and, as all of you Bud Wilkinson students know, that means there are three guys lined up in the backfield behind the quarterback, Street. Directly behind him is Worster, the fullback, about three-and-a-half yards behind the line of scrimmage. Then, on either side of and behind Worster, are halfbacks Bertelsen and Koy. OK, pretty much every Texas play in this game has started with a fake handoff to Worster, who then plows into the middle of the line to be beaten up by a bunch of giant Oklahoma guys ...

    ReplyDelete
  60. After picking up the muffed punt, Texas fakes to Worster and runs Bertelsen right for a couple of yards and an audible-over-70,000-people-in-the-Cotton Bowl pounding, and then it fakes to Worster and runs Bertelsen left for a couple of yards and an audible-over-70,000-people-in-the-Cotton Bowl pounding.

    OK, third-and-5 ...

    ReplyDelete
  61. Honestly, I'll have to see, but I think, for the first time all game, Street this time gives the ball to Worster! He knifes through the line of scrimmage and drags a couple of Sooners for the first down.

    "I believe that's the last play Oklahoma was expecting," says Wilkinson, and it's hard to tell if he's more disappointed for his old team, Oklahoma, or more happy for his old player, Texas coach Royal.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Tough day after his birthday for Jack Mildren ... interception ...

    ReplyDelete
  63. Schenkel says this is the first time ABC has televised this game. He has attended, but he's never broadcast the game live. He's all fired up about the whole experience. Texas finished off the 27-17 victory, and now the Longhorns' marching band is on the field playing "The Eyes of Texas" as ABC pans around to various teary-eyed majorettes, cheerleaders, children and college boys singing along. Schenkel: "I think you'll have to admit, if that doesn't grab you, not only do you not have much an ear for music, but you also don't have much emotion."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Of course, this game achieved national fame after that legendary Dan Jenkins article back in 1963.

      Delete
  64. Replies
    1. Thank you to the Longhorns, the Sooners, Chris Schenkel, Bud Wilkinson, ABC, YouTube, YouTube user "Stephen Barnett," Internet, computers, et al, for allowing me to watch it.

      Delete
  65. I'll probably close out Saturday TV with the new Andy Williams show and maybe some My Three Sons. But I need a break from TV--Game 2 of the World Series and AFL and NFL football are on tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sept. 28/Week 2 results in the NFL:

      -- Cardinals 20 over Bears 17 in St. Louis
      -- Browns 27 over Redskins 23 in Cleveland
      -- Packers 14 over 49ers 7 in Green Bay
      -- Eagles 41 over Steelers 27 in Philadelphia
      -- Lions 24 over Giants 0 in Detroit
      -- Vikings 52 over Colts 14 at Minnesota
      -- Cowboys 21 over Saints 17 in New Orleans
      -- Rams 17 over Falcons 7 in Los Angeles

      Delete
    2. Sept. 28/Week 3 results in the AFL:

      -- Benglas 24 over Chiefs 19 at Cincinnati
      -- Raiders 38 over Patriots 23 at Boston
      -- Chargers 34 over Jets 27 at San Diego
      -- Oilers 22 over Dolphins 10 at Houston
      -- Bills 41 over Broncos 28 at Buffalo

      Delete
    3. Oct. 4-5/Week 4 results in the AFL:

      -- Raiders 20 at Dolphins 20
      -- Chargers 21 over Bengals 14 at San Diego
      -- Jets 23 over Patriots 14 at New York
      -- Oilers 28 over Bills 14 at Houston
      -- Chiefs 26 over Broncos 13 at Kansas City

      Delete
    4. Oct. 5/Week 3 results in the NFL:

      -- Rams 36 over Saitns 17 at Los Angeles
      -- Cardinals 27 over Steelers 14 at Pittsburgh
      -- Redskins 17 at 49ers 17
      -- Cowboys 38 over Eagles 7 at Philadelphia
      -- Lions 28 over Browns 21 at Detroit
      -- Vikings 19 over Packers 7 at Minnesota
      -- Colts 21 over Falcons 14 at Atlanta
      -- Giants 28 over Bears 24 at New York

      Delete
  66. My Three Sons Steve's got a new girlfriend.

    ReplyDelete
  67. We're tuning in just in time for first pitch of Game 2 of the World Series. The only changes in today's lineups that I've noted so far is that Andy Etchebarren is catching for Baltimore instead of Elrod Hendricks, the starting pitchers are Dave McNally and Jerry Koosman and Bill O'Donnell is taking the first half of play-by-play instead of Curt Gowdy.

    ReplyDelete
  68. NBC just showed the following sign in the Baltimore stands:

    TOWSON ST.
    BACKS
    BIRDS

    ReplyDelete
  69. Top of the second ... 0-0 ... "BALTIMORE HAS NEVER LOST A WORLD SERIES GAME," NBC superimposes on a picture of Ron Swoboda walking to the plate with one on and no out ... nearly the same font used on the screen during the moon landing ...

    ReplyDelete
  70. Foul out to Boog Powell ... the Mets have made four outs so far in this game, and two have been foul outs to Boog Powell ...

    ReplyDelete
  71. Wow, Tony Kubek just had an interview with Mrs. Babe Ruth!

    And Bob Hope has a special on NBC tomorrow night.

    ReplyDelete
  72. Bill O'Donnell laying down the 411 that Dave McNally never played high-school baseball but instead concentrated on American Legion ball.

    Scoreless through three innings ...

    ReplyDelete
  73. And there you go ... my main man Donn Clendennon ... home run over right-fielder Frank Robinson's head to open the fourth ... Orioles' no-runs-allowed streak in World Series innings snapped at 45 ... 1-0, visiting Mets ...

    ReplyDelete
  74. AFL action coming up after today's World Series game: Jets at Cincinnati, Oilers at Kansas City and Raiders at Denver.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The AFL standings heading into Week 5 action ...

      Eastern Division
      1. Houston 3-1
      2. New York 2-2
      3. Buffalo 1-3
      4. Miami 0-3-1
      5. Boston 0-4

      Western Division
      1. Oakland 3-0-1
      2. Kansas City 3-1
      3. Cincinnati 3-1
      4. Denver 2-2
      5. San Diego 2-2

      Delete
    2. The NFL standings heading into Week 4 action ...

      Western Conference

      Central Division
      1. Green Bay 2-1
      2. Detroit 2-1
      3. Minnesota 2-1
      4. Chicago 0-3

      Coastal Division
      1. Los Angeles 3-0
      2. Atlanta 1-2
      3. Baltimore 1-2
      4. San Francisco 0-2-1

      Eastern Conference

      Capitol Division
      1. Dallas 3-0
      2. Washington 1-1-1
      3. Philadelphia 1-2
      4. New Orleans 0-3

      Century Division
      1. Cleveland 1-2
      2. New York 2-1
      3. St. Louis 2-1
      4. Pittsburgh 1-2

      Delete
  75. Brooks Robinson is really, really good.

    ReplyDelete
  76. Here's Tony Kubek with an interview with Mitzi Gaynor. I think she's on Bob Hope's special tomorrow night. About midway through the last inning, NBC cut to video of Kubek already sitting down next to Mitzi Gaynor, and Gowdy and O'Donnell had some fun talking about how Kubek got himself into position plenty early for the interview with "the very attractive Ms. Gaynor."

    ReplyDelete
  77. Now Tony has some time with Sandy Koufax in the stands. Koufax says he felt that both McNally and Koosman are pitching very well but that Koosman could not afford to merely pitch equally well as McNally "because Baltimore has the better club. And, so far ... you can't fault anything that Jerry has done."

    ReplyDelete
  78. We're in the bottom of the fifth, so now Gowdy has taken over as play-by-play man.

    ReplyDelete
  79. Gowdy says a delegation of 12 from Morris, Minnesota, including the New York pitcher's dad, are in the stands to watch their homeboy, Jerry Koosman. That's pretty impressive, given that only 5,366 people lived there, per the 1970 U.S. Census (now down nine folks, to 5,357, per the 2014 estimate).

    ReplyDelete
  80. Wikipedia says Koosman is from Appelton, Minnesota, and I love Wikipedia, but I'm rolling with Curt Gowdy on this one.

    Wikipedia also says this about Jerry Koosman.

    ReplyDelete
  81. Koosman loses his no-hitter as Paul Blair singles into left to lead off the inning. "Now the big boys are coming up for the Orioles, Robinson and Powell," says Gowdy, and a roar from the Baltimore fans rises in anticipation.

    ReplyDelete
  82. Gowdy: "The only man to hit a ball out of this ballpark--completely out of it--is at the plate right now, Frank Robinson, the '66 season."

    ReplyDelete
  83. Line drive to deep center ... out to Agee ...

    ReplyDelete
  84. Now here's menacing Boog Powell in his too-short sleeves showing off his mighty biceps. He looks like someone who might've won a boxing tournament on a Navy ship if he hadn't been busy playing baseball.

    ReplyDelete
  85. Powell takes a giant swing, and the ball skittles off the bat into a high, high, high popup to Bud Harrelson. Powell slams his bat into the dirt. Two down ...

    ReplyDelete
  86. And next pitch, there goes Robinson, singling into center ... they won't get Blair, already turning for home as Agee awaits the dribbler ... tie game ... Baltimore is tough, baby ...

    ReplyDelete
  87. But now Ed Charles, at third for New York, does his best Brooks Robinson, and makes a terrific diving stop of Dave Johnson's hard hit ... throws to second for the fourth ... tied at 1 going to the eighth ...

    ReplyDelete
  88. It's cool to see the Orioles' catcher, Andy Etchebarren, running to back up the first baseman on Met ground balls with no one on base. I guess major-league catchers always do that, but it's just cool to see.

    ReplyDelete
  89. Still 1-1 through eight ... McNally nearly broke the tie, driving Cleon Jones to the warning track with a fly out to end the home half.

    ReplyDelete
  90. Game 3 in New York will be on NBC at 11:30 a.m. Central on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 1969.

    ReplyDelete
  91. OK, top of the ninth in Game 2 ... 1-1 ... here's Donn Clendenon to face McNally ... Ron Swoboda's on deck, and Ed Charles is in the hole ...

    ReplyDelete
  92. With two down and an 0-2 count, former K.C. A Charles (#GREENCOLLAR!)--who hit .207 during the regular season--gets his second hit of the game, a single to left ... here's Jerry Grote ...

    ReplyDelete
  93. Grote singles, and Charles, running on the pitch, scoots to third ... here comes Orioles pitching coach George Bamberger to the mound ...

    ReplyDelete
  94. AND NOW AL WEIS SINGLES HOME EX-K.C. A CHARLES! With two out in the top of the ninth, the Nos. 6-7-8 hitters in the New York order produce the go-ahead run ... Koosman now ...

    ReplyDelete
  95. Weis, a .215 hitter with 23 runs batted in during the regular season, has driven in both of the Mets' runs in the World Series thus far.

    ReplyDelete
  96. Belanger to Boog for the third out ... headed to bottom of ninth ... Mets 2, Orioles 1 ...

    ReplyDelete
  97. Mickey Mantle tells Kubek at the inning break that he's watched Brooks Robinson for a long time, "but he still amazes me every time I watch him."

    ReplyDelete
  98. Top of the order for the Os: Buford, Blair and F. Robinson ...

    ReplyDelete
  99. Baltimore was 63-21 at home this season.

    ReplyDelete
  100. Jerry Koosman retires the first two, and the Mets are moving Al Weis from second base to the outfield for Frank Robinson's at-bat. It's Weis in left, Cleon Jones in left-center, Tommie Agee in right-center and Ron Swoboda in right. Curt Gowdy says New York manager Gil Hodges has played this special defense at other points against certain power hitters. Very interesting ...

    ReplyDelete
  101. Frank Robinson walks, and Merv Rettenmund enters as a pinch-runner ... here's Boog ... I would think that Hodges has pulled Weis back to the infield, but Gowdy hasn't yet said ...

    ReplyDelete
  102. 3-1 count to Powell ... Ed Charles comes over to chat with Koosman ... foul ... full count ... Rettenmund will be running on the pitch, says Gowdy ...

    ReplyDelete
  103. "There goes Rettenmund! ... Ball four! ... And the batter will be Brooks Robinson! ..."

    ReplyDelete
  104. Hodges and Grote now out to talk with Koosman ... "This is where the managers make their money," says Gowdy. "Leave him in, or take him out? He's going to take him out."

    Canadian Ron Taylor is headed in from the bullpen ...

    ReplyDelete
  105. So here's Taylor, who pitched two innings of hitless/scoreless relief in Game 1, running the count to 3-1 on Brooks Robinson ... Gowdy: "Robinson swings at an outside pitch; that would've been Ball 4." ... full count ... Brooks bounces the ball up the third-base line ... Charles has it ... looks at the throw to second for the force ... throws to first ... Brooks Robinson is out ... "Charles made a quick mental recovery there," says Gowdy ... that's it ... Mets win ... series even!

    ReplyDelete