Summer of '68: The Season That Changed Baseball--And America--Forever (39 page)

86
“worst in the league”:
McLain, 84–85, 91–92.

86
“that was Denny McLain”:
Brown interview.

87
Key victory:
Jerry Green,
Year of the Tiger: A Diary of Detroit’s World Champions
, 123–124.

87
Fans tune in Harwell:
Lolich interview.

87
“ridiculous divisive gossip”:
Freehan, 94.

88
The Lost Son of Havana:
Luis Tiant, author interview, June 12, 2002.

88
Tiant’s background:
Luis Tiant, with Joe Fitzgerald,
El Tiante: The Luis Tiant Story
, 22–25;
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=tiantlu01

89
“I didn’t want him to come to America”:
Rob Ruck,
Raceball: How the Major Leagues Colonized the Black and Latin Game
, 71.

90
“still have nightmares”:
Howard interview.

90
“the ball last”:
Bob Dolgan,
Baseball Digest
, July 2002.

90
“finish what you started”:
Ryan interview.

90
“It’s the amount of money”:
Dick Bosman, author interview, June 22, 2009.

91
the Robinsons . . . complained:
Dolgan.

91
“never seen a fastball thrown so hard”:
Ibid.

91
“He’s a great pitcher”:
Tiant, 67.

92
McLain serenades Tiger Stadium crowd:
Green, 117.

92
Astrodome conditions:
“Tiant Claims Throw to 1st ‘Moved Away,’” July 10, 1968.

93
“No better example”:
“National League Wins All-Star Game, 1–0, on Mays’s Unearned Run in First,” Leonard Koppett,
New York Times
, July 10, 1968.

93
“I watched you on television”:
Tiant, 73.

94
“The Orioles are not winning”:
“Ousted Bauer Blasts Choice of Successor,”
Los Angeles Times
, July 12, 1968.

95
“a pennant contender”:
“Orioles Name Earl Weaver,”
Chicago Tribune
, July 1968.

95
Home run club:
Hank Aaron, author interview, October 2, 2000.

95
“huge block ‘S’”:
“Aaron, r.f.—Story of Superman in Flannels,” Jim Murray,
Los Angeles Times
, July 23, 1968.

96
“not sure I’ve mastered it yet”:
“Record Looms for Wilhelm By Birthday,”
Washington Post
, July 24, 1968.

96
Hansen triple play:
Associated Press, “Hansen in Triple Play Unassisted,” July 31, 1968.

97
“fighting for thirty wins”:
Tiant, 67.

97
“If Luis played for us”:
Ibid, 68.

97
“So all I want is twenty wins”:
Ibid.

97
“never have an easy inning”:
Tiant interview.

97
“hurt his arm”:
Tiant, 70.

98
Alvin Dark legacy:
Cepeda interview; Ruck, 164–165.

99
“It’s a different race”:
Daniels interview.

99
Balke’s involvement:
Ibid.

100
“No you’re not”:
Ibid.

100
“Chemistry”:
Horton interview.

101
Plane in Pool:
Cantor, 137–140; Lolich interview; Brown interview.

102
“patient at plate”:
Tim McCarver, with Phil Pepe,
Few and Chosen: Defining Greatness Across the Eras
, 98.

103
Flood background:
Brad Snyder,
A Well-Paid Slave: Curt Flood’s Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sports
. This remains the definitive work for anyone wishing to read more about Flood and his epic court battle.

103
“child of the Sixties”:
Ken Burns,
Baseball
(PBS, 1996).

104
Following in Lombardi’s footsteps:
If Snyder’s biography is the one to read about Flood, then certainly David Maraniss’s
When Pride Still Mattered
remains the standard on the football coaching legend.

104
“new regime”:
Maraniss, 443.

105
“not dead”:
Ibid., 444.

106
Chicago:
Tom Hayden, author interview, February 28, 2011, and May 28, 2011.

106
Lombardi VP choice:
Maraniss, 445.

106
Nixon then Kennedy:
Ibid, 446.

106
Kennedy telegram:
Ibid. Also cited in several other publications.

107
Harrelson at Tiger Stadium:
Ken Harrelson, author interview, August 16, 2011; Green, 94–95; McLain, 88.

108
“whole world gone crazy”:
Green, 74.

108
“doesn’t need . . . basic training”:
Ibid, 96.

108
No permits in Chicago:
Hayden interview; Kurlansky, 281.

108
16 million watched on television:
www.nielsenwire.com
; also available on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvebyWqLXeo&feature=related
.

108
Tigers-White Sox game rescheduled for Milwaukee:
Cantor, 136.

109
“pro-war stances”:
Kurlansky, 281.

109
“ We flew into Chicago”:
Larry Dierker, author interview, July 13, 2011.

110
“clubbing anyone they could find”:
Kurlansky, 282.

110
“amazed by what was going on”:
Dierker interview.

111
“guy who made us go”:
Brown interview.

111
“hard as I’ve ever been hit”:
McAuliffe interview.

112
“I’m dead”:
Green, 163.

112
McLain missed fight:
Ibid., 165.

113
McAuliffe suspended:
McAuliffe interview; Green, 166.

114
“I feel so funky”:
Cantor, 109.

114
blackboard in Yankee Stadium:
Green, 170; Cantor, 110.

115
Showdown with Dark:
Tiant interview; Tiant, 71.

PART V

117
“pins and needles”:
Hayden interview.

118
“a little guy, always arguing”:
Freehan, 22.

118
“good memory”:
Hayden interview.

118
“some of the best amateur baseball”:
Freehan, 21.

118
“ Wouldn’t it be funny?”:
Green, 173.

119
“It took a lot”:
McAuliffe interview.

119
“only four games ahead”:
Green, 174.

120
“it will just about be over”:
Ibid, 177.

120
“If we beat them tomorrow ”:
Ibid, 179.

120
“It’s first goddamn inning”:
McLain, 99.

121
“Fastball’s coming”:
Ibid, 100.

121
“flair for showmanship”:
Green, 179.

122
Ed Sullivan:
McLain, 102–103; Green, 187; Cantor, 144.

122
Winning No. 30:
McLain, 104–106; Green, 189–196; Cantor, 145–148.

122
“How could I be a thirty-game winner?”:
Green, 189–190.

124
Children’s Crusade:
Cantor, 145.

125
Gibson’s closing run:
“Gibson was great in ‘68,” Bill Deane, Baseball Analysts,
http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2005/06/gibson_was_grea_1.php

126
“I mastered my craft”:
Gibson, 1. Ironically, this is the opening line, his “Call me, Ishmael,” of his second memoir.

126
“always gave you a ball to hit”:
Gibson and Jackson (this is Jackson’s opinion), 147.

127
Grooving one to Mickey Mantle:
McLain, 111–113; Green, 210, Cantor, 154–157.

129
Gibson’s reaction:
Gibson, 200.

129
“a nice guy like Roger”:
Pappas, 84.

130
Only fastballs to Maris:
Ibid., 84–85.

130
“To have any hope”:
Ryan interview.

131
Perry’s no-hitter:
Associated Press, “Perry Hurls No-Hitter,” September 18, 1968; United Press International, “Mom Misses No-Hitter by Perry,” September 19, 1968; United Press International, ‘“My Biggest Thrill,’ Says Veteran Perry,” September 18, 1968; Gaylord Perry, author interview, August 2001.

131
“They are not”:
Shirley Povich,
Washington Post
, September 20, 1968.

131
Washburn’s no hitter:
Associated Press, “Cards’ Washburn Hurls No-Hitter, Second Successive One at Giants’ Park,” September 19, 1968; Harry Jupiter, “Gay, Ray Play No-Hit Tit for Tat,”
Sporting News
, October 5, 1968.

132
“kind of summed that up”:
Perry interview.

132
Candlestick Park:
Gillette and Enders, 222–229.

133
“Prayer”:
Brett Butler, author interview, September 1990.

134
“culture of the new league”:
MacCambridge, 250.

135
Zimmerman on Namath:
Ibid., 251.

135
“It was redundant”:
Ibid., 262.

136
“meant to . . . pitch”:
Tiant interview.

136
“flared like a bull”:
Tiant, 69.

137
“bowing the neck”:
Ibid.

137
“watch TV ”:
Tiant interview.

137
“end of an era”:
Mead interview.

138
“I would not trade places with anyone”:
Associated Press, “Rose Doesn’t Walk, He Always Hustles,” June 30, 1968.

138
Look out for Lolich:
McCarver interview.