#167 1968 World Series Game 6 - Tiger 10-Run Inning Ties Mark

The 1968 World series marked the last time two teams faced off in the Fall Classic without having to first advance via a playoff series.  With Major League Baseball expanding to 24 teams in 1969, the two leagues were split into four divisions and a League Championship Series would determine the World Series opponents between 1969 and 1993.

The Cardinals and Tigers were powerhouses in their respective leagues, easily advancing to the World Series.  This was a rematch of the 1934 World Series, when the Gashouse Gang of the Cardinals had bested the Tigers in seven games.  The Tigers would prevail this time, winning their first title since 1945, and their third World Series title overall as the Cardinals couldn't repeat after winning in 1967 against the Red Sox.

World Series cards were a key subset in Topps flagship sets throughout the 1960s and 1970s, with a card highlighting each game along with a series capping "Celebration" card.  Topps designed its World Series cards in its 1969 set to have the appearance of the front page of a newspaper, with The Sporting News getting some free publicity as the paper's banner.

Building the Set / Card #189
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)

In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania.  My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set.  That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon.  I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.

This is the 112th of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York.  My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside.  After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far.  With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298.  The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing a little over $3.

The Card / Tigers Team Set / Cardinals Team Set  

The Cardinals returned home to Busch Stadium for Game 6, on Wednesday, October 9th, needing one more win to repeat as World Series Champions.  Denny McLain (#150) was starting for the Tigers, facing off against Ray Washburn (#415) for the Cardinals.  Washburn had been the Game 3 winner for the Cardinals, but he had endured a shaky outing on the way to a 7-3 win.  McLain had already lost two World Series games, Game 1 and Game 4, and was back on short rest to try to keep the Tigers' season alive.  The 31-game winner and the eventual Cy Young and MVP winner for 1968 would pitch a complete game for the Tigers, allowing a run while striking out seven.

Washburn did not fare nearly as well, getting knocked out in the third inning with his team already trailing and the bases loaded.  Al Kaline's (#410) single chased Washburn and gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead.  Larry Jaster (#496) replaced Washburn and threw fuel onto the fire.  Norm Cash (#80) singled home Mickey Stanley (#13), putting runners at the corners and giving the Tigers a 4-0 lead.  Jaster walked Willie Horton (#180) to load the bases, and Jim Northrup (#580), who had already hit four regular season grand slams, launched a home run to deep right field, giving the Tigers a 8-0 advantage.  Three more runs would score and the game went to the bottom of the the third with the Tigers holding a commanding 12-0 lead.

The Tigers would eventually win the game, 13-1, forcing a Game 7.

Sources:

Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

#166 1968 World Series Game 5 / #168 1968 World Series Game 7