I feel so old...

[bulldog10jw]

someone mentioned to me that Sandy Koufax, the best pitcher I ever saw pitch in person, is 71 years old. OUCH!

[Grizalltheway]

Freddy Garcia was probably the best pitcher I ever saw in person...

[Gil Dobie]

someone mentioned to me that Sandy Koufax, the best pitcher I ever saw pitch in person, is 71 years old. OUCH!

Willie Mays is 76 :(

[ngineer]

Freddy Garcia was probably the best pitcher I ever saw in person...

Well, from what I've seen so far as a Phillie Phan, you haven't seen much...xrolleyesx Freddy can't get past the 5th inning and all we heard was how much of a quality start machine he is (or was...):(

[chantster]

I always thought Koufax was the best lefty I have ever seen.

The best righty was Bob Gibson.


Personally, I think an all star baseball team from the 60's can easily kick ass on any all star team of today's players.

[ngineer]

someone mentioned to me that Sandy Koufax, the best pitcher I ever saw pitch in person, is 71 years old. OUCH!

Yes, when I saw Koufax was pitching against the Phils I knew the would be over quick and the Phils had very little chance. I also read that he can is still in great shape and that back when he was in his 50s the Dodgers were trying to get him to sign a contract since he could still effectively pitch..

[bulldog10jw]

I always thought Koufax was the best lefty I have ever seen.

The best righty was Bob Gibson.


Personally, I think an all star baseball team from the 60's can easily kick ass on any all star team of today's players.

Seaver is my top righthander. Then again, as a Mets fan, I saw him pitch many times.

[bulldog10jw]

Yes, when I saw Koufax was pitching against the Phils I knew the would be over quick and the Phils had very little chance. I also read that he can is still in great shape and that back when he was in his 50s the Dodgers were trying to get him to sign a contract since he could still effectively pitch..

Drafted at 71

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/27/sportsline/main2735685.shtml

[poly51]

I saw Sandy Koufax pitch several times in the 1960s including against the Giants the first weekend in May 1965. 42 years ago this week. My son attended that game but was not born yet. My wife was 6 month pregnant. Sandy Koufax lived in Templeton, CA for a few years in the mid 1970s which is 20 miles from San Luis Obispo. He drove an Audi which I serviced. I was the service manager at the local VW, Porsche Audi dealership. My son who is 41 still has the baseball I asked Sandy to sign for him at that time.

[Grizalltheway]

Well, from what I've seen so far as a Phillie Phan, you haven't seen much...xrolleyesx Freddy can't get past the 5th inning and all we heard was how much of a quality start machine he is (or was...):(

Well, I've only been to 2 pro games, both of them at Safeco. Freddy pitched in the second one, well enough to win, so I was happy. Also saw A-Rod hit one of his many dingers in the first game.

[Grizalltheway]

I saw Sandy Koufax pitch several times in the 1960s including against the Giants the first weekend in May 1965. 42 years ago this week. My son attended that game but was not born yet. My wife was 6 month pregnant. Sandy Koufax lived in Templeton, CA for a few years in the mid 1970s which is 20 miles from San Luis Obispo. He drove an Audi which I serviced. I was the service manager at the local VW, Porsche Audi dealership. My son who is 41 still has the baseball I asked Sandy to sign for him at that time.

That's awesome! My uncle has a ball that he got mickey mantle to sign for him at a tigers game back in the '60s, I'm so jealous of it.

[Mr. C]

Sandy was my hero growing up. My first Major Leagie game was a Dodgers-Giants game at the L.A. Coliseum in 1961 (my dad's birthday and we took him to see one of his old teammates from WWII, Gil Hodges, play). It was the first of only four meetings between Sandy Koufax and Juan Marichal. Koufax won 4-3 when Daryl Spencer hit a walk-off HR in the ninth. I have several items from one of Sandy's 1965 uniforms, the number 32, a button from the uniform and the Spalding tag from it. One of my brothers was away at college and was living in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles (a stone's throw away from Dodger Stadium) and his roommate worked at the laundry that cleaned the Dodgers and Angels uniforms (the Angels played at Dodger Stadium from 1962-65 before moving to Anaheim). He knew that my brother was a huge Dodger fan and that I was a big Koufax fan and snagged the uniform items for me. I also have a No. 32 from an Angels uniform of that era.

I had a friend here in Boone that owned a local barbecue restaurant called Bandanas. He lived in Vero Beach before moving to Boone and owned a restaurant down there, too. He and Koufax were neighbors and Sandy had signed some balls for him. They used to meet each other, jogging on the beach in the mornings. Unfortunately, my friend died of cancer a few years ago. Don't know what happened to the balls after that. I've always heard that while Sandy is a very private person, he is also very generous and down to earth when people do get to know him.

And BTW, Koufax is the best I've ever seen, too. You'd have to consider him and Lefty Grove as the best left-handers of all-time. The NL at that time had Koufax, Marichal, Gibson, Drysdale (who was a very nice guy when I used to cover the Dodgers) and Bunning. That was my favorite era of baseball. Those dudes would kick butt even more today.

[Mr. C]

That's awesome! My uncle has a ball that he got mickey mantle to sign for him at a tigers game back in the '60s, I'm so jealous of it.
We have a bit of baseball memorabilia around the house. I have a Tom Seaver autograph on a framed Hot Stove League program that my sister got one year for my birthday. I also received an autographed ball from Dick Selma at the same time. Both Saever and Selma are from my hometown. My daughters have several balls, including ones signed by Will Clark, Tommy John and Kip Wells (all the same day. Clark, BTW, was delightful to my daughters). One of the Jacksonville players tossed my oldest a ball at a game in Chattanooga a couple of years ago and she later had it signed by Rick Honeycutt. But her prize possession is a game-used Louisville slugger bat that Dave Hansen gave to her when she was little. She is probably one of the few kids around that her favorite player is Dave Hansen. One night when she was very young, she woke up in the middle of the night while I was watching the Dodgers play against the Diamondbacks and low and behold if Hansen didn't set the MLB record for pinch-hit HRs while she was watching. My younger daughter had a family friend give her a game-used Dave Roberts bat from his Cleveland Indians days. She wanted a bat like her sister's. My prize baseball possession is a ball that a Japanese baseball excutive from the Yomuiri Giants gave me after I wrote a nice story about him. The official Giants baseball bears the signature of Sadaharu Oh, both in Japanese characters and in English. I also got the man, a former teammate of Oh's, Shozo Doi (an all-star second baseman on those great Giants team of the 1960s that won nine straight Japanese World Series and Ichiro's first manager) to sign it on the other side. I also have a replica Sandy Koufax jersey (too bad I didn't get more than just the artifacts from his REAL jersey in 1965).

[Mr. C]

I saw Sandy Koufax pitch several times in the 1960s including against the Giants the first weekend in May 1965. 42 years ago this week. My son attended that game but was not born yet. My wife was 6 month pregnant. Sandy Koufax lived in Templeton, CA for a few years in the mid 1970s which is 20 miles from San Luis Obispo. He drove an Audi which I serviced. I was the service manager at the local VW, Porsche Audi dealership. My son who is 41 still has the baseball I asked Sandy to sign for him at that time.
That was a rather odd game. The Giants beat Koufax 6-3 by scoring four runs in the eighth inning, despite 11 strikeouts for Sandy. Koufax got in trouble, losing the lead and leaving with two men on and Bob Miller came in and put fuel on the fire. Gaylord Perry started the game and was relieved by Masanori Murakami, who left in the seventh and was replaced by ... Marichal. Marichal won the game in relief, pitching the final 1 1/3 innings, giving up the tie-breaking run that made it 3-2 Dodgers. Marichal also drove in an insurance run during the rally. It was a Sunday afternoon game at Candlestick Park with 40,596 in attendance (plus at least one kid in the womb). Jesus Alou and Jim Ray Hart were the heroes offensively for the Giants, each going 3-for-4. Alou had three RBIs. Wes Parker was 3-for-5 for the Dodgers.

[Ivytalk]

I remember a game in '66 -- Sandy's last year -- where the Phils actually beat him, 4-0. Larry Jackson, of all people, won the game and got a key hit to boot.

[Marcus Garvey]

My earliest memory of the Phillies, and baseball in general, start in the early 80's. Of course, that means I'm far more familiar with the National League from this period. Off the top of my head, I can't think of a single pitcher who was dominating for a long stretch since the early 80's. You had a handful of guys who had 2-3 year periods of greatness, but no long stretch like a Jim Palmer or Sandy Koufax had. Even Greg Maddux, as good as he was at his peak, never scared me when the Phils faced him.

[Gil Dobie]

I'd also say Sandy Koufax was the best LHP every. Gibson was nasty on the mound. I remember watching the 1967 & 68 World Series when he dominated all but game 7 of 1968. I didn't watch the 1964 Series, too young, but Gibson also won 3 games in that one. Steve Carlton would also be on my list of LHP's with Lefty Grove & Old-time Negro Leaguer John Donaldson. Bob Feller and Satchel Paige would also be on my list of RHP's.

[Mr. C]

I remember a game in '66 -- Sandy's last year -- where the Phils actually beat him, 4-0. Larry Jackson, of all people, won the game and got a key hit to boot.
Koufax also lost a 3-2 decision to lefty Chris Short, the other great Phillies pitcher of that era, early in 1965.

The game you are refering to was Monday, July 18, 1966 at Connie Mack stadium. It was 0-0 into the fifth when the Phillies struck for three runs. Larry Jackson was in the middle of that when his sacrifice bunt down the third-base line turned into a base hit to give the Phillies first and third with none out after a Tony Taylor double. Cookie Rojas and Johnny Callison followed with RBI singles, Richie Allen was walked intentionally to load the bases and Harvey Kuenn hit a pop-up to second baseman Jim Lefebvre that turned into a sacrifice fly that Rojas somehow scored on. Koufax got out of the inning down 3-0 and was lifted for pinch-hitter Jimmy Barbieri the next inning. The Dodgers had the capacity for doing little offensively at that time (remember they were shutout three straight games that year by Baltimore in the World Series sweep).

Jackson, who was a solid starter in the NL (I know Phillies fan remember he was traded for Ferguson Jenkins in one of their dumbest transactions of all-time), pitched a four-hitter. He always gave the Dodgers fits. Jackson kept the Phillies in a gameon the final Sunday of the regular season as the Dodgers were trying to clinch the NL pennant. He faced Don Drysdale in the first game of a doubleheader (a make-up when Saturday's game was rained out in Philly) and left in the seventh, trailing 3-2 (after a three-run Ron Fairly HR in the sixth). Eventually Chris Short came on in relief and won 4-3 when the Dodgers made a pair of errors in the eighth. That's how Short picked up his 20th win of the season (he got 19 on Friday night in the series with a 5-3 win against Claude Osteen). Short's 20th victory and the Giants' extra-inning win over Pittsburgh (listened to both these games on the radio as a kid) set up the famous game where Koufax pitched on two days rest to resue the Dodgers. Koufax faced Jim Bunning and was ahead 6-0 in the ninth (two-run HR by Willie Davis was the key blow with two outs in the third). Koufax gave up three runs in the ninth after an error and a key Bill White double, but then Koufax struck out Bob Uecker (one of the toughest hitters against Koufax statistically), got pinch-hitter Bobbie Wine (Bobby Wine pinch-hitting? Ouch!) to ground out to Maury Wills at short and struck out Jackie Brandt to end the game and clinch the pennant. It was Koufax's final MLB win at the age of 30.

[HiHiYikas]

Well, if you really want to feel old, just think...within a few more years, there will probably be a few kids in the big leagues who were born in the 1990's. The Minor leagues are already filling up with kids born in 1987.

The best pitcher I've ever seen is probably Roger Clemens. I saw him face Pedro Martinez in a Yankees/Red Sox game on Patriot's Day weekend back in 2000. Roger had 5 K's, Pedro had 9 - neither figured in the decision, though. The game winner was rookie Alfonso Soriano's bloop homer over the Monster. Yanks win 3-2.

Probably the best pitching performance I ever saw was from Mike Mussina back when he was with the Orioles in 1999. Moose went all 9 innings, struck out 10, no walks. He struck out the side in the first. He got Jose Offerman 3 times looking (Offerman looked silly every time). He made one or two bad pitches, and Boston just happened to capitalize for 2 runs. Unfortunately, Baltimore could only manage 1. I can't imagine a tougher way to lose.

I was just scanning box scores, and it looks like Moose took close losses in 1 or 2 other games in which he pitched great and the O's couldn't get more than a couple runs on the board. It's a little frustrating, that a team only needed to score a couple more runs over the course of an entire season - in opportune places - to make an 18 game winner a 21 game winner (the O's first in decades).

[Mr. C]

I'd also say Sandy Koufax was the best LHP every. Gibson was nasty on the mound. I remember watching the 1967 & 68 World Series when he dominated all but game 7 of 1968. I didn't watch the 1964 Series, too young, but Gibson also won 3 games in that one. Steve Carlton would also be on my list of LHP's with Lefty Grove & Old-time Negro Leaguer John Donaldson. Bob Feller and Satchel Paige would also be on my list of RHP's.
Koufax dominated Gibson in their head-to-head meetings, winning four out of five times. For some reason, the Dodgers didn't do badly against Gibson (now Larry Jaster of the Cardinals was a different story. Jaster shut them out almost every time he faced them).

Gibson won three games in the 1967 Worlrd Series against the Boston Red Sox, including a Game Seven classic matchup with AL Cy Young Award winner Jim Lonborg (there is another name for you Philly fans). Gibson was 2-1 in 1964 against the Yankees, losing Game Two, winning Games Five and Seven (the clincher on two days rest, how about that for today's wimpy hurlers). Gibson was also 2-1 against the Detroit Tigers in 1968, winning Game One with the 17-strikeout shutout and winning 10-0 in Game Four. He lost Game Seven 4-1 to Mickey Lolich (who won Games Two, Five and Seven) when Lolich pitched on two days rest.

An interesting fact, in 1964, 1965, 1967 and 1968, teams started Game Sevens with pitchers going on two days rest. Gibson, Koufax and Lolich won their games, Lonborg lost his. You would never see any of today's Prima Donnas do that.

[poly51]

Koufax dominated Gibson in their head-to-head meetings, winning four out of five times. For some reason, the Dodgers didn't do badly against Gibson (now Larry Jaster of the Cardinals was a different story. Jaster shut them out almost every time he faced them).

Gibson won three games in the 1967 Worlrd Series against the Boston Red Sox, including a Game Seven classic matchup with AL Cy Young Award winner Jim Lonborg (there is another name for you Philly fans). Gibson was 2-1 in 1964 against the Yankees, losing Game Two, winning Games Five and Seven (the clincher on two days rest, how about that for today's wimpy hurlers). Gibson was also 2-1 against the Detroit Tigers in 1968, winning Game One with the 17-strikeout shutout and winning 10-0 in Game Four. He lost Game Seven 4-1 to Mickey Lolich (who won Games Two, Five and Seven) when Lolich pitched on two days rest.

An interesting fact, in 1964, 1965, 1967 and 1968, teams started Game Sevens with pitchers going on two days rest. Gibson, Koufax and Lolich won their games, Lonborg lost his. You would never see any of today's Prima Donnas do that.

Jim Lonborg still lives in the Boston area. I think he is a dentist. He was born in Santa Maria, CA and grew up in San Luis Obispo. He played for San Luis Obispo High School. I played Little League baseball against him in 1953 and 1954.

[UncleSam]

Steve Carlton - saw him in 1972 when he went 27-10 for a very poor Phillies team that won only 59 games that year.

[Col Hogan]

First game I ever attended was Red Sox/Yankees for my birthday. Got to see Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Carl Yastremski (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=active&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=Yastrzemski&spell=1).

Red Sox lost the game

[SunCoastBlueHen]

Steve Carlton - saw him in 1972 when he went 27-10 for a very poor Phillies team that won only 59 games that year.

When I was a kid, my dad took me to see Carlon vs. Nolan Ryan at the Vet in Philly. Talk about a pitching matchup!

[Mr. C]

Yes, when I saw Koufax was pitching against the Phils I knew the would be over quick and the Phils had very little chance. I also read that he can is still in great shape and that back when he was in his 50s the Dodgers were trying to get him to sign a contract since he could still effectively pitch..
Koufax, who was great with mechanics, was a Dodger pitching coach at the time. He used to go around and instruct the minor leaguers on a roving basis. In his late 50s, he still threw better than 90 miles per hour (he was a legitimate 100-plus in his prime). He was the hardest thrower I've ever seen, throwing even harder than Nolan Ryan (I've actually got some game tape of Koufax). There is a story from the 1977 World Series of him throwing batting practice to the Dodgers before the deciding Game Six (the Reggie Jackson three-HR game). Koufax was blowing away Dodger after Dodger and someone had to come out and relieve him, because he was ruining the confidence of Steve Garvey, Ron Cey, Davey Lopes, Dusty Baker and Reggie Smith etc. before this important game. Too bad we didn't have Koufax pitching that night instead of Burt Hooten.

[andy7171]

Willie Mays is 76 :(
WHOA THERE! We share the same birthday, I'm 40 years behind him. And I ain't 36 yest until this Sunday! :D :D :( xbawlingx

[Mr. C]

When I was a kid, my dad took me to see Carlon vs. Nolan Ryan at the Vet in Philly. Talk about a pitching matchup!
Surprisingly, Ryan didn't pitch many games at the Vet. I found this matchup between Carlton and Ryan after some digging:

Wednesday, June 10, 1981, Phillies 5, Astros 4. Ryan left with a 4-1 lead with one out in the eighth and reliever Frank LaCorte gave up four runs to bail out Carlton for a Phillies' win. Garry Maddox had a three-run HR to win it.

Another possibility is Friday, May 3, 1985. The Phillies won 3-2 when Glenn Wilson homered off DiPino in the eighth for two runs. Neither Ryan or Carlton figured in the decision. Kent Tekulve got the win.

[blukeys]

Steve Carlton - saw him in 1972 when he went 27-10 for a very poor Phillies team that won only 59 games that year.


I saw Carlton quite a few times. He had trouble with a few teams but there were certain teams that he could just embarass. The 70's Pirates come to mind. Pops Stargell et al. just could look terrible against the Carlton slider. xnodx

[SunCoastBlueHen]

Surprisingly, Ryan didn't pitch many games at the Vet. I found this matchup between Carlton and Ryan after some digging:

Wednesday, June 10, 1981, Phillies 5, Astros 4. Ryan left with a 4-1 lead with one out in the eighth and reliever Frank LaCorte gave up four runs to bail out Carlton for a Phillies' win. Garry Maddox had a three-run HR to win it.

Another possibility is Friday, May 3, 1985. The Phillies won 3-2 when Glenn Wilson homered off DiPino in the eighth for two runs. Neither Ryan or Carlton figured in the decision. Kent Tekulve got the win.

That is amazing there were only two Carlton / Ryan match-ups at the Vet! We must have seen the '81 ballgame (I would have been 12 at the time).

I now feel privileged, thanks for the research. xthumbsupx

[SunCoastBlueHen]

I saw Carlton quite a few times. He had trouble with a few teams but there were certain teams that he could just embarass. The 70's Pirates come to mind. Pops Stargell et al. just could look terrible against the Carlton slider. xnodx

It was either Stargell or Dave Parker xconfusedx who compared hitting Carlton to eating soup with a fork.

[Mr. C]

First game I ever attended was Red Sox/Yankees for my birthday. Got to see Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Carl Yastremski (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=active&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=Yastrzemski&spell=1).

Red Sox lost the game
The closest thing I could find to a Yankees-Red Sox game on, or near your birthday that had Mantle, Maris and Yaz all playing in the same game, with the Yankees winning, was Thursday afternoon, May 30, 1963. The Yankees scored a run in the 10th to win 6-5. Elston Howard led off with a double and eventually scored on a Clete Boyer SF. Ralph Terry (whom I have interviewed and written about) pitched a complete game for the win. Arnold Earley got the loss in relief for the BoSox. Earl Wilson had been the starter for Boston, with relief from Jack Lambe and Dick Radatz. Mantle was 0-2 with a couple of walks, Maris was 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs and a second-inning HR off Wilson. Yaz had a miserable 0-for-5 day. The Sox stars were Dick Stuart with a HR and two RBIs and Eddie Bressound, with a three-run HR and a 3-for-4 day at the plate. The Red Sox beat the Yankees 11-6 on Tuesday, May 28, but the two teams didn't play on Wednesday, May 29 (possibly a rainout) before concluding the series on Thursday, May 30.

[Mr. C]

It was either Stargell or Dave Parker xconfusedx who compared hitting Carlton to eating soup with a fork.
Carlton made a lot of right-handed hitters look foolish with that slider. The pitchers of his era that I remember with as good a left-handed slider were Ron Guidry (a similar pitcher to Carlton) and relief ace Sparky Lyle. All three had a great combination of the sinker and the slider.

[Mr. C]

That is amazing there were only two Carlton / Ryan match-ups at the Vet! We must have seen the '81 ballgame (I would have been 12 at the time).

I now feel privileged, thanks for the research. xthumbsupx
For some reason, Ryan didn't face the Phillies very often in his years with the Astros and even less of the games seemed to be in Philly. And when he did pitch there, he missed Carlton most of the time. Ryan and Carlton met once when Ryan was with the Mets and Carlton was with the Cardinals (Tuesday, September 28, 1971, in a day game at Shea Stadium). Ironically, it was Ryan's last game before being traded to the Angels for Jim Fregosi and Carlton's last game with the Cardinals before being traded to the Phillies for Rick Wise (can we say two BAD trades?). Carlton won 5-2 to finish the season 20-9, while Ryan fell to 10-14. Ryan walked four and gave up a hit without retiring a man in the first inning and was pulled for Jim McAndrew, losing 3-0.

[Gil Dobie]

For some reason, Ryan didn't face the Phillies very often in his years with the Astros and even less of the games seemed to be in Philly. And when he did pitch there, he missed Carlton most of the time. Ryan and Carlton met once when Ryan was with the Mets and Carlton was with the Cardinals (Tuesday, September 28, 1971, in a day game at Shea Stadium). Ironically, it was Ryan's last game before being traded to the Angels for Jim Fregosi and Carlton's last game with the Cardinals before being traded to the Phillies for Rick Wise (can we say two BAD trades?). Carlton won 5-2 to finish the season 20-9, while Ryan fell to 10-14. Ryan walked four and gave up a hit without retiring a man in the first inning and was pulled for Jim McAndrew, losing 3-0.

I just sold the scored card from Carlton's first game on ebay, sometime in February. The cover was signed by Carlton and Bob Gibson. It was against the Cubs. Sold for $67. Item number was 110093577877, if you want to look it up.

[Col Hogan]

The closest thing I could find to a Yankees-Red Sox game on, or near your birthday that had Mantle, Maris and Yaz all playing in the same game, with the Yankees winning, was Thursday afternoon, May 30, 1963. The Yankees scored a run in the 10th to win 6-5. Elston Howard led off with a double and eventually scored on a Clete Boyer SF. Ralph Terry (whom I have interviewed and written about) pitched a complete game for the win. Arnold Earley got the loss in relief for the BoSox. Earl Wilson had been the starter for Boston, with relief from Jack Lambe and Dick Radatz. Mantle was 0-2 with a couple of walks, Maris was 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs and a second-inning HR off Wilson. Yaz had a miserable 0-for-5 day. The Sox stars were Dick Stuart with a HR and two RBIs and Eddie Bressound, with a three-run HR and a 3-for-4 day at the plate. The Red Sox beat the Yankees 11-6 on Tuesday, May 28, but the two teams didn't play on Wednesday, May 29 (possibly a rainout) before concluding the series on Thursday, May 30.

Thanks for the history... xbowx xbowx that would have been it, since my memory was it was my tenth birthday......

[Col Hogan]

The closest thing I could find to a Yankees-Red Sox game on, or near your birthday that had Mantle, Maris and Yaz all playing in the same game, with the Yankees winning, was Thursday afternoon, May 30, 1963. The Yankees scored a run in the 10th to win 6-5. Elston Howard led off with a double and eventually scored on a Clete Boyer SF. Ralph Terry (whom I have interviewed and written about) pitched a complete game for the win. Arnold Earley got the loss in relief for the BoSox. Earl Wilson had been the starter for Boston, with relief from Jack Lambe and Dick Radatz. Mantle was 0-2 with a couple of walks, Maris was 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs and a second-inning HR off Wilson. Yaz had a miserable 0-for-5 day. The Sox stars were Dick Stuart with a HR and two RBIs and Eddie Bressound, with a three-run HR and a 3-for-4 day at the plate. The Red Sox beat the Yankees 11-6 on Tuesday, May 28, but the two teams didn't play on Wednesday, May 29 (possibly a rainout) before concluding the series on Thursday, May 30.

Forgot to mention...batting practice was great. Maris launched a couple that were monsters...and Yaz was just as impressive...

[bulldog10jw]

The first game my Dad ever took me to was Yankees-Red Sox at the Stadium. My first impression was , wow, it's in color. We only had a black and white TV at the time which was 1960. Jackie Jensen led off the game for the Sox with a HR(just over the 296' sign), but the Yankees won, I think, 8-5.

[SunCoastBlueHen]

Jackie Jensen led off the game for the Sox with a HR(just over the 296' sign), but the Yankees won, I think, 8-5.

Mr. C will be able to verify that score for you. :p

If you're nice, he might even send you the box score and play by play.

(Thanks again for that Mr. C, that was fun to look over)

[Mr. C]

The first game my Dad ever took me to was Yankees-Red Sox at the Stadium. My first impression was , wow, it's in color. We only had a black and white TV at the time which was 1960. Jackie Jensen led off the game for the Sox with a HR(just over the 296' sign), but the Yankees won, I think, 8-5.
Here is your game: Saturday afternoon, July 8, 1961 at Yankee Stadium. Jackie Jensen hit a three-run HR in the first off Whitey Ford after singles by Chuck Schilling and Gary Geiger. Ford was awful, going six innings plus and giving up five runs, 10 hits and three walks before screwballer Luis Arroyo took over and saved the game for Ford, who improved to 16-2 on the season. Ike Delock started for the Sox and was knocked out when the Yankees scored five times in the third. Johnny Blanchard started the comeback with a lead-off HR. Mickey Mantle homered in the fifth off Tracy Stallard to make it 6-3. The Sox cut it to 6-5 in the seventh to chase Ford. But after giving up a double to Schilling to start, Arroyo held Boston to one walk the rest of the way. Tony Kubek homered in the seventh and Bill "Moose" Skowron homered in the eighth off Mike Fornieles for the Yankees to clinch it. Jensen had four RBIs and Schilling had three of 11 hits for Boston, but that couldn't counter 13 hits and three HRs for New York.

[spelunker64]

http://www.wunderbar.ie/images/accessories/pitcher2.jpg

Best pitcher I've seen...

[Mr. C]

ARRGH!!!!

[bulldog10jw]

Here is your game: Saturday afternoon, July 8, 1961 at Yankee Stadium. Jackie Jensen hit a three-run HR in the first off Whitey Ford after singles by Chuck Schilling and Gary Geiger. Ford was awful, going six innings plus and giving up five runs, 10 hits and three walks before screwballer Luis Arroyo took over and saved the game for Ford, who improved to 16-2 on the season. Ike Delock started for the Sox and was knocked out when the Yankees scored five times in the third. Johnny Blanchard started the comeback with a lead-off HR. Mickey Mantle homered in the fifth off Tracy Stallard to make it 6-3. The Sox cut it to 6-5 in the seventh to chase Ford. But after giving up a double to Schilling to start, Arroyo held Boston to one walk the rest of the way. Tony Kubek homered in the seventh and Bill "Moose" Skowron homered in the eighth off Mike Fornieles for the Yankees to clinch it. Jensen had four RBIs and Schilling had three of 11 hits for Boston, but that couldn't counter 13 hits and three HRs for New York.

Thanks for the info. It's funny that I remember Jensen's home run and the score, but not much else. We took the train into NY from CT and then the subway to the stadium. I remember the sign as we walked behind the stadium said "Bleacher Seats 75 cents". We went back later in the year when the Yankees played the Tigers in a 3 game series with the Tigers trailing by only 1-1/2 games. They were swept, of course. We attended the Sat game(I think, maybe Sunday) and Maris hit a couple of HR's that landed just a couple of rows in front of us as we were in the right field stands. I think the final was 7-2, but i could be wrong.