Did Jim Lonborg Pitch the Greatest World Series Game ?

Some of the greatest achievements somehow become forgotten over time, even as far as the World Series goes. For example, if you were to ask even a devoted Boston Red Sox fan what he or she recalls about the 1967 Series versus the Cardinals most will answer how Bob Gibson beat Boston three times, throwing a trio of complete games including the 7-2 clincher over a tired Jim Lonborg. Few will remember what made Lonborg so weary in the first place that allowed the Cardinal hitters to finally get to him. The fact is that Jim Lonborg pitched one of the best, and some could argue the best, game in all of World Series history.

Now of course people will immediately point to Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956 but Larsen himself will tell you that he had a bit of luck in that one. Jackie Robinson smashed a shot off of the third baseman's glove, but the shortstop grabbed the ball and threw him out. Mickey Mantle made a fine running catch on a liner walloped by Gil Hodges in the left-center gap and the called third strike to Dale Mitchell wasn't even close to being over the plate. But that's baseball and history smiles upon Larsen while thumbing its nose at Lonborg.

On October 1^st of that season Lonborg pitched nine innings against the Twins to clinch the pennant. He gave up seven hits and struck out five in the 5-3 triumph that coupled with a Tiger loss to the Angels later in the day sent Boston to its first post-season since 1946. It helped raise Lonborg's record to 22-9 and his 39 starts led the league. On October 5^th, at Fenway Park in Boston, Lonborg took the ball against a Cardinal team that boasted hitters like Lou Brock, Roger Maris, Orlando Cepeda, Curt Flood, and Tim McCarver. Gibson had stymied Boston the day before, beating them 2-1 in the Series opener. Lonborg needed a big effort. He gave it.

Through the first six innings only Brock and Dal Maxvill managed to get good wood on the ball, both hitting line drives that were caught easily by infielders. Boston tallied a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth off of Dick Hughes and Lonborg went out for the seventh. Brock grounded out before Flood drew a walk, ruining any chance of duplicating Larsen's gem. Maris flew out and Cepeda knocked into a fielder's choice to end the frame. American league MVP Carl Yastrzemski homered deep to center field to make the game 5-0 and the crowd settled into their seats to see if history would be made.

McCarver and Mike Shannon grounded out and Julian Javier, the St. Louis second baseman, came to the plate. Lonborg had handled him as he had everyone else so far, grounding him out in the third and inducing a short fly ball in the sixth. But Javier lined a double down into Fenway's corner and broke the spell. Lonborg then got pinch-hitter Bobby Tolan to ground out to second to end the inning.

In the ninth Lonborg mowed the Cards down in order to complete the one-hitter. He had walked one, struck out four, and given up the lone double to Javier. Four days later, with Boston trailing three games to one and in St. Louis he would twirl a nifty three hitter, allowing a pair of singles and a two-out homer in the ninth to Maris for a 3-1 triumph. After Boston had tied the Series with an 8-4 win Boston skipper Dick Williams gambled that a tired Lonborg, throwing on just two full days of rest, would be better than anything else he had on his staff. The gamble failed as Lonborg was beaten 7-2, giving up home runs ironically to Gibson, who won his third game against Boston, and Javier, who was a thorn in the Red Sox side along with Brock and Maris for the entire seven games.

Lonborg would go on to break his leg in an off-season skiing accident and never regained the greatness he had that one magical year, when he was named the Cy Young Award winner in the American League. He would join the Phillies and prove to be a capable starter, going 75-60 for them in a seven year span before retiring from baseball in 1979 at the age of 37. He went on to become a dentist of all things, using his background as a pre-med student at Stanford to go to Tufts University, where he graduated from in 1983. One can only wonder that whenever Lonborg was drilling a cavity and the patient was feeling some pain if he envisioned Julian Javier sitting in that chair.