World Series memories are very personal. They don’t have to be about who won and who lost.
One of my first memories of the World Series was in 1963 when the Yankees faced the Dodgers. In game one, Sandy Koufax dominated, striking out fifteen Yankees. But what I remember is that I didn’t have school that day because of a Jewish holiday. (Koufax still pitched since it was the day before Yom Kippur.) I was watching the game with my friends but at some point we went outside to play football.
In 1964, in game 4, I remember Ken Boyer of the Cardinals hitting a grand slam home run. Boyer’s home run in the 6th inning was all the Cardinals needed and they won game four 4-3, tying the series at two games each. In game 7, I was riding home from school with my mom and listening to the 9th inning on the radio. The bad news was that the Yankees were trailing 7-3 (yes, you did hear right – it was bad news). Suddenly, Clete Boyer and Phil Linz hit solo homers off of Bob Gibson to make it close, but the Yankees lost 7-5 and the series.
Jose Feliciano sang his controversial rendition of the Star Spangled Banner during the 1968 World Series between the Cardinals and the Tigers.
It was during a tumultuous time in 1968, as the Vietnam War raged out of control and just months after Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy had both been assassinated.
In 1969, it was the Mets and catches by Tommy Agee and Ron Swoboda, and J.C. Martin running outside the baseline.
Let’s hear your World Series greatest memories. Comment on what you remember and what made it so special that it stuck in your mind all these years.
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