1971-Detroit Tiger Hall of Famers Al Kaline and Billy Martin battle with the Umpires at Fenway Park

On a sunny Sunday August afternoon in 1971 at Fenway Park the Detroit Tigers are cruising their way to an easy win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Then a controversial call by veteran umpire Hank Soar leads to an old-fashion baseball rhubarb with Detroit Hall of Famer Al Kaline and manager Billy Martin. Make the call for yourself and post your comments below! Please note this footage is NOT from a complete game. No ownership of this material is claimed.

[@hankluvsdagny]

Al Kaline mad and Billy Martin a model of restraint--at the same time! This has to be a one-in-a-million video.

[@caveman3096]

Billy would have lost his mind in a tighter game I bet. Up 8/1 with 2 down in the ninth he knew Lolich would finish it off but he got hosed in a big way there

[@thomasconaboy1441]

Hank Soar was no joke

[@robertboruski4302]

Love those Tiger uniforms with the players number on their sleeves....Awesome. bring them back !!!

[@Jleed989]

Agree!

[@dr.migilitoloveless2385]

Exactly 💯👍

[@danielboom72]

Without a doubt!

[@oldredbarnman]

This was the last season the Tigers wore these grey road unis, and possibly the only time their names appeared on the back. How I wish they would go back to them, great look! Looked foul to me! Several seasons later, Tiger center fielder Ron LeFlore sliced one around the fair pole for a HR, only to have the umpire rule it foul. Thanks for the upload, nice seeing the Tigers of my youth, and in color!

[@jimcoleman598]

I like how they had the numbers on the sleave back then too

[@jamesbowen8960]

I have two of those jerseys Cash and Kaline. They were very hot and muggy. Beautiful uniforms but boy they were not player friendly. You sweated your fanny off!

[@oldredbarnman]

@@jamesbowen8960 That's cool! Saw a game worn 1971 Joe Coleman away jersey that went for $900+ on Lelands Auction site. Would love to find a Cash, my alltime favorite player.

[@Jleed989]

I agree. Look how “plain” the Yankees road uniforms are but I love the old school

[@DavidFobare]

Those gray unis wouldn’t look the same with today’s fabric. When I was a boy we played in woolen garb until ‘76. Those old unis were great; I would tell my mom I could slide in broken glass and not feel a thing. Great for a 10yo trying to learn a pop up slide.

[@KenWesaw-up5wf]

If al kaline complained it was a bad call

[@boomerpo]

WOW SUCH GREAT TIMES ALL THOSE OLD TIGERS

[@oldiesgeek454]

I like how the one fan quickly hops over the wall, grabs the ball and quickly hops back over the wall. 😅

[@bobma6342]

It's rare to see Al Kaline get upset like that.

[@jimcoleman598]

True. I recall a game in NY where he was called out at first, threw down his helmet and was immediately ejected. Kaline was hot, as replays showed he was easily safe. I believe it was in 1973 and the whole weekend the Tigers were getting screwed by the umpires. The day before Eddie Brinkman was called out on strikes on a pitch that was 3 feet out of the strike zone. He just threw down his bat and rightfully said " F-You!" You could read his lips. Of course he was ejected too...... Worst calls Id ever seen in a baseball series.

[@johngalt60]

@@jimcoleman598 called out on a pitch 3 FEET outside the strike zone, huh?! Okay...🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@jimcoleman598]

@@johngalt60 Did you see it, 💩for brains?? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@williamwhiting6285]

Hank missed this one badly. Absolutely a foul ball and the idiot in the seats interfered with #6. Soar should've known if Al is arguing, and he rarely did, he is correct.

[@dags3]

Thanks for another great clip. Keep them coming.

[@retromaven2159]

Thanks dags! Fair or foul????

[@dags3]

I'd say fan interference and the batter should be out.@@retromaven2159

[@donengland9140]

Love Kaline

[@juan833blue]

R.I.P. Al Kaline and Billy Martin

[@pwk22]

The only time Martin wasn't angry was when he was sleeping.

[@johngalt60]

Every right to be angry here.

[@chicomaki6103]

Even then he was probably angry.

[@us-Bahn]

His wife used to say he’d sleep shout.

[@clintscroggs65]

Don't know if Kaline would have caught the ball, but it looked like it would fall in the space between the line and the wall. The fan was several seats away from the foul pole.

[@gabriel-1957]

You can see Kaline let up because the fan interfered, besides Kaline was one of the best outfielders in the game of baseball, you could see it was foul and it was fan interference. Umpire was very dumb on that call.

[@80sCardCollector]

There is no space there. He let up cause the fan touched it and he knew he could never catch it. Was playing the bounce off the wall

[@Tom-dt4ic]

This was a clear case of fan interference. It should have been the last out, which would have made this game one of the few in MLB history to end on a fan interference call.

[@vernpascal1531]

One can only imagine how many key calls that Umps got wrong for decades in Playoffs, and WS, before the review process. Look at how many now have to be overturned?

[@carltonreese4854]

That line goes right up to the wall and the ball looks like it is going to be fair. That said, it most certainly should have been fan interference. You cannot have it both ways: if it is foul and in the stands, then it is not interference, but the batter is still up; if it is fair, then it is interference. Either way, there should be no hit or run on the play.

[@jamesmmahoney]

Exactly right. The fans arms appeared to come into the field of play which means fan interference and an out. It should not have been a difficult call for the umpires, esp. for the umpire at first base who would have had a direct view down the foul line.

[@AndrewBaumgarten]

Surely "Det" won the game, as they would a far more important game, also vs Boston to clinch the '72 A.L. East title, with Mr. Kaline, denied in the game you posted, grabbing the last out. In that strike marred '72 season, it came down to best of 3, at Detroit, with the Tigers winning the first two and the division. Det (86-70) Bost (85-70) was (were?) the final standings. Thank you for all your posts. I have a rare interview with Sandy Koufax from 1989 (also Don Drysdale and Don Sutton) up. View it "Dodgertown Interviews" All are welcome to do so and thanks again.

[@bhbecca]

Why isn't Lolich in the Hall of Fame? It's a joke. He was a dominant pitcher.

[@MarvinBarnes-rg1lv]

Brilliant in the '68 world series and what a year he had in '71 when it seemed like Martin pitched him every other game! 376 innings!

[@johngalt60]

Because he only won 53% of his decisions, 217 wins. Not everyone is a HOFer.

[@bhbecca]

@@johngalt60 Are you from that era? Did you see him pitch? Because I did and what you said is crazy. Lolich was one of the best pitchers in the game for a long time. You could cite that stat for a lot of Hall of Famers. The guy had a 25 win season. Look at a team like the Angels-- Nolan Ryan was basically a .500 pitcher, but his team was only winning at a .400 level. The numbers can be misleading. I was okay with keeping him out until they started letting everyone in. I''d prefer it be a very exclusive club. Was Steve Garvey a tremendous player, absolutely. But was he as good as Gehrig? Greenberg? Eddie Murray? For me, the hall should be reserved for the best of the best-- I think that's where you're probably coming from-- and I agree. But that's not what it's evolved into.

[@johngalt60]

@@bhbecca What I said is crazy? What I said is a cold hard fact. He's got some nice seasons on his resume, highlighted by his 25 and 22 win seasons and his performance in the '68 series, of which I am grateful being a Detroit fan. He's also got 14-19, 16-21 and 12-18 seasons on his resume. A pretty good overall pitcher with 2nd and 3rd place Cy Young finishes and three AS appearances, but not HOF worthy. It is what is.

[@bhbecca]

@@johngalt60 John, he's better than many pitchers currently in the hall of fame. He played on some bad teams and in the old park that had a chain link five foot fence as I recall. Lolich is much more than what you're saying-- he just was. I was alive and watched him play. Everyone knew who Mickey Lolich was for a reason. He wasn't fringe, or a guy who just had two good seasons.

[@tomking1890]

You won't see a Tiger team like this again with these present owners.

[@timziegler7114]

It looked foul to me. Kaline had a good case.

[@FerrellKatz]

Kinda related here, but I saw the Tigers play the defending NL Cincinnati Reds at Louisville's State Fairgrounds ballpark as both teams prepared to start the 1971 season after breaking camp.

[@dr.migilitoloveless2385]

I like the Tiger's road grays of that era.

[@AveryBlackman]

I probably watched this game at 10 years old. 😊

[@acousticshadow4032]

If not, you watched it at 9 or 11 years old???

[@AveryBlackman]

​@acousticshadow4032 In 1971, I was ten years old.

[@alvan4080]

Man - do I miss those those days-Billy Martin was one of my Favs-great player and manager

[@michaelcunningham2808]

I can't tell about fair or foul but it definitely looked like the fan touched the ball. I don't know what the rules were regarding fan interference at the time. Had the game been close Martin probably would've really been arguing.

[@40intrepid]

The same thing happened to the Tigers again in 1978 at Yankee Stadium. A fan in an orange shirt reached over the right field wall, and knocked a fly ball away from Tigers outfielder Mickey Stanley. The only person in the park who didnt see was the umpire Kenny Kaiser, NY probably won the game as a result.

[@acousticshadow4032]

Bosox announcer, Ken Coleman, had it wrong. Kaline wasn't claiming the ball was foul ~ he was claiming the fan's interference denied him a chance to catch the ball (for the final out of the game).

[@zxccxz164]

where is the rest! : )

[@saifonlawrence2044]

...back when the Tigers were great !

[@joeydbball1729]

Very cool! It looked foul. Hard to tell from the angle.

[@retromaven2159]

Thanks JoeyD. I agree, he would have had to have leaned over further to grab the ball in fair territory.

[@jerome2022]

Perspective pole home run

[@retromaven2159]

Thanks for checking out my video. Make sure to check out my other great retro-baseball clips on my page! Please remember to Subscribe and Like! Al Kaline Full At Bat on Monday Night Baseball 1973 kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIuZk2CZm7aefrc&ab_channel=RetroMaven Carl Yastrzemski versus Luis Tiant 1979 kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZTMqHiFoNSphLM&ab_channel=RetroMaven Tom Seaver 19-Strikeout Game 1970 kzbin.info/www/bejne/oWjEdZijlK6sp68&ab_channel=RetroMaven Tom Seaver Returns to Shea Stadium 1977 kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYCUiKSul9GcaaM&ab_channel=RetroMaven Rookie of the Year John "The Count" Montefusco in action 1975 kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2PIo6ptq5eMnM0&ab_channel=RetroMaven Hall of Famer Don Drysdale's 200th Win 1968 kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4LCZ2ebeJyUl6s&ab_channel=RetroMaven Ralph "The Road Runner" Garr in action 1975 kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2PdkI2AbMaHeZI&ab_channel=RetroMaven Pete Rose Long Home Run at Crosley Field 1970 kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHakq6FoeaaLq7c&ab_channel=RetroMaven

[@seancuneen5081]

Pretty calm for Billy.

[@mikeomalley7029]

Vida Blue??

[@marknorthrup4897]

Fans that interfere have no idea that they may be affecting outcomes that have millions of dollars in jeopardy. They are doing damage to the game for a $3 ball.

[@us-Bahn]

What could the ump possibly argue?

[@rayrussell6258]

Fan interference definitely .... fair or foul is impossible to tell from this angle. There isn't much room between the fence and foul line there, so Kaline may have had the best view of anybody.

[@80sCardCollector]

Been to Fenway hundreds of times. That’s a fair ball but definitely fan interference. There is no foul ground there!

[@darylevrba6705]

I say foul...the lines were very close to the stands...the fan didn't extend his arms at the play so it fell right in the bread basket...thanks for the clip keep the 70's coming and if possible a little longer😁😉🤔awesome show thanks a million!!!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@retromaven2159]

Yup, def more to come!

[@chicomaki6103]

I'm assuming the Tigers hung on to win.

[@ronniebishop2496]

Martin didn’t go at it. 😮

[@ttiwkram]

Back when men were men, and pitchers were expected to hurl complete games.

[@millardhale85]

Horrible no call

[@jamesmmahoney]

That is clearly fan interference as the fans arms reached into the field of play. Hard to believe all four umpires missed that call. The batter should have been ruled out or, at a minimum, the ball should have been called foul and a dead ball.

[@CapAnson12345]

That play didn't really mean anything in the larger scheme of things.

[@normanlinden5786]

Martin isn't the HOF.

[@KevinMiller-xn5vu]

Billy Martin is NOT a Detroit Tigers Hall Of Famer; he's not even IN the Hall Of Fame.

[@joeschmoe1794]

Had to be a foul ball. Guy barely reached out of the stands for it, if at all.

[@MilePost106]

Take note, notice they aren’t wearing all kinds of braces and crap. This was when baseball was real!

[@KevinMiller-xn5vu]

It was definitely fan interference.

[@Tom-dt4ic]

Agreed. In that case it should have been the last out, making this game one of the few in MLB history that ended with a fan interference call.

[@francis-dt2hl]

billy martin is not in thwe h of f

[@stephaniegormley9982]

Even if it was fair, it was fan interference.,

[@andrewyoung2796]

Mickey Stanley was interfered with. Yankees won The yanks tied with boston Bucky dent year

[@natch27]

Stanley, instead of chasing after the ball, argued with the umpire while Rivers circled the bases, tying the game at 2-2. Make the play, then argue. Anyway, this happened in the 7th inning in a game on July 3rd. It is a colossal reach to say this affected the ‘78 pennant race.