#166 1968 World Series Game 5 - Kaline's Key Hit Sparks Tiger Rally

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 #635

September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (Richie's Sports Cards)

On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show.  The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year.  I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova.  I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.

I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set.  After about 90 minutes of walking and buying, while running low on funds, and even lower on stamina, I found a nice display of vintage Topps star cards at Richie's Sports Cards, from Manalpan, New Jersey.  I quickly and easily picked up six more star cards needed for our set from Richie's my fourth stop of the show.  This is the first of those six cards, and it cost less than $6 after a discount.

The Card / Cardinals Team Set / Tigers Team Set  

With the Cardinals leading the series three games to one, it was do or die time for the Tigers.  Mickey Lolich (#270), the Tigers' Game 2 winner, again took the mound and pitched a complete game, allowing three runs on nine hits while striking out eight.  All three runs allowed by Lolich came in the first inning, and he settled down after that.  The Tigers chipped away against Cardinals' starter Nelson Briles (#60) with a pair of runs in the fourth inning on RBIs from Norm Cash (#80) and Jim Northrup (#580).  Trailing 3-2 heading to the bottom of the seventh, Briles allowed Lolich to reach with a single, chasing him from the game to be relieved by Joe Hoerner (#522).

Needing seven outs to secure the World Series title, Hoerner allowed four straight baserunners, coughing up the lead and giving the Tigers the momentum shift they needed.  Dick McAuliffe (#305) singled and Mickey Stanley (#13) walked to load the bases.  Al Kaline (#410) brought two runs home with a single to center, giving the Tigers the lead.  Cash added another RBI single and the inning would end with the Tigers now ahead, 5-3.

I was able to find the image Topps used for the card fairly quickly from the Getty Images website, and the photo actually depicts Kaline hitting his Game 3 home run off the Cardinals' Ray Washburn (#415) in a losing effort.  Tim McCarver (#475) was behind the plate for the Cardinals throughout the series, but that's home plate umpire Stan Landes shown here, while Doug Harvey was actually behind the plate for Game 5.

Sources:

Baseball Reference / Wikipedia

#165 1968 World Series Game 4 / #167 1968 World Series Game 6