MLB 1973 World Series Highlights

[@jojoe7118]

My Dad surprised my brother and I with WS tickets to ALL THREE games at Shea .. I felt like I won the Lottery !!!!! I was the MAN in my grammar school.......:) 'Never forget those cold October....Shea nights ..must have been 40 degrees and there goes Rusty Staub out in RF with no Longsleeve undershirt .... We had COATS on !!! He was in short sleeves. What a TREAT to see MAYS and Reggie Jackson on the same field! Seaver and Garrett, Milner and Koosman and Cleon Jones, McGraw....The games were Great ...series could have gone either way..Thank You DAD !!!!!!!!

[@johnlevalley521]

Thats a great childhood memory. Thanks for sharing.

[@merseybeat1963]

Wow !

[@Wixom2200]

Sure.

[@donsheffler]

I was thrilled as a kid seeing Willie Mays and Hank Aaron making appearances in San Diego all through the early 70’s against my horrible Padres :)

[@mikemulrennan7948]

I was at game 6 in Oakland

[@DJ-bj8ku]

First WS I remember. I was ten. Loved those days. Daytime games are best.

[@paleo704]

Low ratings though for obvious reasons

[@johnmcclain2848]

Especially in the fall

[@djquinn11]

We’re almost the same age, although I remember the ‘68 series when I was 6 because I was living in Detroit. That A’s team was awesome in the early 70’s.

[@Wixom2200]

I love daygames.

[@BobJ1979]

Amazing that Willie Mays played in the World Series in his rookie year, 1951 and 22 years later in his final season.

[@cortr9310]

Yes and lost both times for different New York teams (Giants, Mets) losing to repeat champions (Yankees, A's). Also, Mays was available to pinch hit in the 9th inning of game 7. With 2 outs and in possibly the last at bat of his career, with 2 runners on base and NY down 5-2, Mays was ready to pinch hit. With a left hander Darold Knowles pitching, Yogi Berra let lefty hitting Wayne Garrett bat instead of pinch hitting Mays. Garrett popped out to shortstop. Mays and Berra had feuded and Yogi left him on the bench. Had Mays come up as the tying run with 2 out in the 9th inning of game 7, it would have been one of the most dramatic at bats in baseball history.

[@wilsonstone935]

@@cortr9310 you remember that, thank you, I was screaming to let Mays hit, I was 11 but always a big Mays fan and almost wrote a letter to berra asking why he didn't let Mays bat, his fielding was shot but he'd been hitting ok, -still mad, but glad someone else recognized that moment

[@gergnosirrah1]

@@cortr9310 That's a fascinating piece of (almost) baseball history. Too bad Berra didn't let Mays hit. Just imagine if he had homered and sent the game into extras......

[@joelliebler5690]

Bob Jalving It was Mays last Year playing and he made a critical error playing centerfield in the sun field in Oakland

[@mariopalos9238]

Got the first hit of the series as well! 3:44

[@mikecamp486]

I grew up in this Era and loved it back then now not so much

[@mikem591]

The A’s knew how to win. And they had the coolest uniforms!

[@berniecioffoletti3398]

I wish they would have stayed with the vests after the '71 season.

[@frankmccarthy2624]

I watched this as a 10 year old living in NE Pennsylvania. I was a pitcher and center fielder that year in LL so Seaver and Mays were my hero’s. I hardly cared that they lost.

[@MrStradia]

Classic series. Man this is the first series I watched as a kid. Mets were my team then.

[@hipstereagle6050]

Pretty amazing to see Yogi Berra and Willie Mays wearing Met uniforms

[@stephanierae650]

@MANCHESTER UNITED F.C To h*ll with soccer.

[@houstonrebel4449]

@M I've seen soccer games. If you blink you might miss the only score in the game. Otherwise, it's just kicking a ball back and forth.

[@howie9751]

@M Give it a rest!

[@samuelmoulds1016]

yeah, and remember, Berra was the Yankees' manager in 1964.

[@samuelmoulds1016]

@@stephanierae650 yeah, and I have said for 30 years that soccer in America is a communist plot to get to get OUR kids off the baseball field!

[@Chupacvabra]

I used to think Dennis Eckersley had a unique look. Now I realize he looked like the entire 1973 A's roster.

[@arlieferguson3990]

He basically had the same look going back to his days with the Red Sox.

[@basilsmith104]

Great series.

[@ronmackinnon9374]

@@arlieferguson3990 He already had that look with Cleveland, brought it with him to Boston.

[@classicsurvivor]

Charlie Finley paid a bonus to every player that grew a beard.

[@scottn.3250]

Eckersley grew up just 20 minutes from the Coliseum and the '72 A's might have had an influence on him.

[@michaelshaffer3393]

I was at this game. I was 8. Still gives me goosebumps. Sad the Oakland Alameda county Coleseum will be gone after this season. What a beautiful stadium still in great shape. Sad they are tearing it down because it a top 5 ballpark in the majors.

[@user-vi6ro8bd4l]

I was 12. My grandad surprised me with the tickets. Left field bleachers. Game 2. Saw Mays miss a catch or 2. Extra innings made it so tense. Great game. Oakland Coliseum so full of sports history and legends. All gone now, without a trace.

[@ogrebattle22763]

I was just a 10 year old Mets fan watching this with my dad & I'll never ever forget that play at the plate as long as I live watching Willie staring at the catcher both him & the umpire & Bud coming across the plate everything in slow motion than Bud being called out & all hell breaking loose... what a time as a kid & as a Mets fan... who expected The Mets to go 7 with The A's & to even make it that year... But one thing The Mets did have was great pitching...

[@softyme63]

I was ten as well and a big Met fan… I remember thinking if only they had a healthy Rusty and the ball didn’t go through Felix Millan’s legs lol

[@scottkeimig8571]

I was eight and I'll never forget that it broke my heart LOL it was a tough pill to swallow

[@marklennox2151]

As Cleon said.. "we should've started George Stone..."

[@scottkeimig8571]

@@marklennox2151 wasn't he known as the stork

[@marklennox2151]

@@scottkeimig8571 No it was George Theodore who played a few years later and really did look like a stork. George Stone was a mid-year pickup who went on fire and was almost unhittable at the time. I think he went 12-3 and I agree with Cleon that he was their best chance in game 7.

[@bernardoconnor1502]

Jerry Grote was an underrated catcher. He wasn't a great hitter, but as a defensive game caller he was as good as anybody. He was one tough Texan.

[@lawrenceehrbar8667]

A decent hitter for a catcher during that time. As kids, watching him on TV, once a month or so he'd get hit by a foul-tip right to the groin, and would fall to the ground all scrunched up on his back, and we'd be laughing. Hey, we were kids. We loved him too, but it would look so funny.

[@Robert-qm5so]

@@lawrenceehrbar8667 lol 😆 , wow the stuff we remember when we were kids and that's stay stuck in our mind ✌️

[@berniecioffoletti3398]

He was a better hitter than some people think. He was pretty clutch. He hit over .300 during that stretch run of August and September in '73, and he had a career high .295 in 1975.

[@michaelm9519]

I love the music and the a's uniforms , mets unis were cool too

[@SirManfly]

i loved the A's white ones with yellow and green trim. always thought they were snappy!

[@josemeda4592]

@@SirManfly Me 2.

[@wolfiethedog76]

The music is funky...love it

[@stephanierae650]

@@SirManfly Swingin' A's in "Wedding gown" white-reserved for Sundays.

[@lincolnmaceachern2410]

@@wolfiethedog76 Check out the book "Big Hair and Plastic Grass", about '70's baseball. I was 11 in "73, and, in rural eastern Canada, pre- cable, our TV networks would pick up the World Series, but not the playoffs.

[@viralbuthow000]

My Met fan dad cried about this for years. If only Felix had grabbed that grounder. But the A's had the better mix of batting and pitching. Gotta tip the hat.

[@pst702]

Yeah but going up 3 to 2 and a better pitching staff and needing only one game...Yogi screwed up, period....logic sez George Stone gets the ball for game 6 and Seaver( on regular rest) and Matlack and basically everyone for game 7...they had a golden opportunity to win and Yogi blew it.

[@coilmanjoe]

Love those old time Met uniforms!

[@mr.gogetter1828]

The Mets, today, still wear those old time uniforms, even if they made them more bold with names on the back of them. They've gone around in circles, after many uniform changes over the years.

[@STWRITES1]

"Tom Seaver is so good blind people come to the park to hear him pitch." - Reggie Jackson, 1973 World Series

[@marcsonnenberg623]

Reggie would have been on that Mets team had they drafted him instead of Steve Chilcott. SMH

[@douglaslowe5]

I used to say that about Nolan Ryan. He grunted so loud releasing pitches You could hear him in the nosebleed seats.

[@howie9751]

@@marcsonnenberg623 From what I read in a bio on him, the Mets' scouting report said Reggie dated white women so they passed up on him.

[@jorgeespinosa3179]

@@douglaslowe5 When Nolan Ryan pitched, the ball landed in the catcher's mitt and the ball sort of groaned, like it got the wind knocked out of it. That's my recollection.

[@keko922]

@@howie9751 Donald Grant was a racist. Cleon Jones was found to have been with a white woman and he made him apologize in a press conference or to the media.

[@joemartinez333]

In 1973, I loved all 3 of the A's uniforms especially the white one, their Sunday home uniform.

[@howie9751]

I loved the gold letters on the green uniforms.

[@michaelleroy9281]

But they didn't wear the white one for game 7 which was on a Sunday they wore green

[@marcjennett9721]

First world series I remember and made me a lifetime baseball fan. Wish the video was more like what we saw on the network.

[@stevekalba9951]

Love the vintage soundtrack and filmgraphy..you cant watch old World Series highlight films any other way!

[@gergnosirrah1]

The opening sequence is a perfect illustration of why I love instant replay in baseball. As a player growing up, and as a fan for my entire life, it always burned me up that umpires could totally blow a call and would NEVER change it despite how passionate the arguments from the players and manager involved. Harrelson was SO safe on that play at the plate. Even at normal speed, it's obvious that the catcher completely missed him. The umpire can be heard telling Berra, "Tell your player to slide." Sorry ump, just because he didn't slide shouldn't have influenced your pitiful call. Harrelson's reaction upon hearing he was called out is classic - almost George (Pine Tar) Brett-worthy. Those early-70's A's were quite a team!

[@pst702]

I agree, even worse was a call in the 1970 World Series when catcher Elrod Hendricks tagged Bernie Carbo out with the glove hand empty and the right hand with the ball in plain sight except the umpire who called Carbo of the Reds out.. .incredible! Ump was wrong on the Harrelson play and lead to extra innings for the Mets who eventually won the game but wasted pitching in the process.

[@ronmackinnon9374]

@@pst702 That was because the umpire in the 1970 game knew that the way he was positioned--watching to see if the ball would stay fair before Hendricks grabbed it--had interfered with Hendricks' ability to make the tag. He knew that he had inadvertently--to use an analogy from basketball--'run a pick' for Carbo. And Carbo griped about the call when he himself had failed to touch home plate.

[@robertdecker4780]

Always thought Yogi was So Cool in this,with his Unique Coaching Style,Way of Speaking,and especially the arguments.

[@johnpcomposer]

I was also ten that autumn and a Oakland fan. Indeed those were the days. It was the 2nd world series I watched. 1972 Oakland vs Cincinnati was my 1st.

[@DJ_DKBGD]

I was just a toddler in 73 and became a Mets fan on the last day of the 83 season thanks to Rusty Staub. Staub nailed a bullet pinch hit to Right Field finishing the come from behind rally against the Expos. It was the most exciting baseball game I had watched up to that point. He was the best hitter the Mets ever had. Great to see Cleon Jones who I had completely forgotten about until watching this video. I had no idea that Willie Mays played for the Mets. On the A's side it was nice to see Reggie earning his way to become the world's first Million Dollar athlete. What a National League Pitcher killer he was! He sure mutilated the Mets and Dodgers pitchers. It was also nice to see Catfish Hunter at his prime. Nice video!

[@lawrenceehrbar8667]

Rusty tied mlb record for most consecutive pinch hits - 8. and holds mlb record rbi's as pinch hitter season - 25

[@johnlevalley521]

I always enjoyed watching this film during a Mets rain delay on WOR-TV in the late 70's.

[@steveswangler6373]

Tugger pitched 6 innings in relief in game 2 and appeared in game 3 as well. relievers today couldn't even dream about doing that. these are the days when relievers earned saves, instead of coming in for one inning with a 3 run lead and getting credit for a save.

[@sludge4125]

Ah, another shithead... Your statement shows that you are a pathetic asshole. The game has changed. We don’t know which pitchers could do that because a manager simply won’t let a pitcher do it. Fkn moron. And, it’s pathetic that you can’t enjoy this wonderful video without WHINING like a little bitch who needs her diaper changed that the game has changed in the past FORTY SEVEN YEARS, almost half a century. What an asshole.

[@nala3038]

Sludge oh shut the hell up douchebag. Smh!

[@lawrenceehrbar8667]

A few times during Tug's tenure with the Mets he'd fall into a slump. So, the Mets would have him start a game and he'd go six innings and would be cured.

[@johnlittle234]

Tug helped the 1980 Phillies win a World.Series their first he was traded in a 6 player swap The Phillies rookie catcher was who the Mets wanted Tug who the Phillies wanted looks like the Phillies got the better end as they did with the Kenny Dykstra trade

[@michaelbarnhart2593]

Such a great series that I watched on TV as a teen. Anyone old enough to remember a World Series "day" game? Haha!

[@marklennox2151]

Mr. B ... I went to a catholic parochial school back in the day and in '60s the crazy nuns would stop classes when the games started and put on the TV and start our education on the sacrifice bunt and so on !

[@johndoiron9615]

I was 7 for this series, and I definitely remember World Series games during the day. I still don't like night games all these decades later.

[@chuckwood8452]

I was 7 years old and I remember watching every single game of this series

[@dannymundycomedy]

I also was 7 and I have always loved Reggie.

[@michaelleroy9281]

​@@dannymundycomedy I was slightly older, like 18

[@renevega6672]

I remember those Mets vividly and I was only 11 years old at the time! They were my favorite team.

[@paulsiegel2915]

back when highlight films were an art form

[@rondy702]

As a kid, Joe Rudy in left field was one of the best!

[@TheMaggiesdaddy]

rondy702 Rudi, with an i

[@Muddyrich]

@@TheMaggiesdaddy Rudi Can't Fail

[@TheMaggiesdaddy]

@@Muddyrich How awesome was that batting stance!? Even as a lefty, I tried to copy it, but it just never looked correct from the left side.

[@ronmackinnon9374]

@@Muddyrich '70s baseball plus a Clash reference. Gotta love it!

[@Muddyrich]

@@ronmackinnon9374 Saw them in the Coliseum too!!

[@TheMaggiesdaddy]

So many hall of farmers n this series: Hunter, Jackson and Fingers for the A’s; Mays, Seaver and Berra for the Mets.

[@KTF0]

Those A's uniforms are fire. Home, away, and the alternates.

[@mr.gogetter1828]

They were better than the current A's uniforms that look too plain. If they bring back those uniforms from the 1970's, they should add the elephant on the left sleeve.

[@juan833blue]

Statutory Grape loved those Oakland A’s Uniforms of the 70s! #Amazing

[@rustywilliamson7140]

I'll take those sleeveless jerseys from the late 60s.

[@darryljorden9177]

As much as I liked their green and gold uniform tops, I loved the polar bear white home uniforms that they wore on Sundays (see game two).

[@MrsChristianMom]

Guys would dye their spikes white to be like the A's.

[@juan3zz]

I Miss Shea Stadium! It was like a second home to me for so many years.

[@howie9751]

Shea was just a shell with a baseball field inside. Cold a lot of the year and your perspective on fly balls from the upper deck was off. The park had no atmosphere. Luckily the fans did.

[@juan3zz]

@@howie9751, What on earth are you "Trying" to say??? Back in the 1980s and 1990s, I was at Shea Stadium every weekend. And when the Mets were out of town I was at Yankee Stadium the other weekends. The Fans at Shea back then had way more energy than Yankee Fans. It was a real fun place to be. Also, Shea Stadium had better Sports bars and better concessions areas than that cramped out of date Yankee Stadium. Yankee Stadium was beautiful when you were in the stands looking at the field, but it was an Absolute Joke when you were in the common areas and Concessions.

[@howie9751]

@@juan3zzI'm not sure why you're bringing the badly remodeled Yankee Stadium into the discussion, but maybe you ought to re-read what I wrote. Shea had no atmosphere in an of itself (unlike Fenway and Camden Yards), it was the fans that made Mets games memorable.

[@michaelleroy9281]

​​@@juan3zz The original Yankee Stadium had seen it's final game by the time this World Series began

[@juan3zz]

@751 Yeah, I agree. Shea Stadium was out in the middle of no where. It was not a neighborhood Arena like Yankee Stadium, Fenway, and other such Stadiums. And yes, there was no doubt a buzz in the Bronx and in the surrounding area when the Yankees were playing. There is so much to do outside of Yankee Stadium.

[@DZPianoMusic]

In 1972, my dad took me on a boys-only trip to the west coast, so his impressionable 9-year old son could see the US Open Golf championship in Pebble Beach, and as many baseball games as we could go to. The A’s became “my team” (weird for an east coast kid). I remember watching every single second of the 1972, ‘73, and ‘74 Playoffs and World Series on TV with my dad (except when he was at work). This video brings back everything I felt back then (50 years ago this fall), including the adoration, admiration, and love I had for my father 😀⚾️

[@rogernesmith2279]

Thank you very much for this. Greatly appreciated.

[@moncaman1]

Excellent watch!!!!....💪😎🇺🇸🗽✨😇⚾, nearly 50 years later 🤔🤨👍, I know every player !!!!....🤺🎯, Thank you for this amazing video...✌️....

[@dantheman5745]

25:48 Nobody choked-up on the bat like Felix Millan.

[@viralbuthow000]

And it worked! Led Mets in average many of those years.

[@kencummings953]

@WinConsinSportsNutRW Ron Hunt for one.

[@kelvinhouston4287]

It's amazing he didn't get his hands broken 5 or 6 times in his career.

[@johnlittle234]

Lenny Dykstra not Kenny dykstra

[@hermanator74301]

I love it,...baseball uniforms, low styrups and all. No pajamas on these guys.

[@EphSBGGSO]

Willie and Hank.....my boyhood baseball heroes. And then came Reggie....

[@patriciawalters6778]

And then came Ricky...

[@tomitstube]

great series, had everything, ole bert campaneris, reggie jackson, sall bando, joe rudi, rollie fingers, what a great team. forgot all about that "sun field" in left at the alameda county stadium, all 4 games in oakland were day games starting at 1pm, the 3 games in new york were night games.

[@depaola63]

I was THERE !! Oakland as a 10 year old saw game 7 w/Nick Sr. and Willie Mays' last at bat ! " Mr. October " MVP!! and I share the same birthday on MAY 18th ! ...32 years later I would sing The National Anthem for The A's on that same grass 14 x ( from 2005-2014) ..of the A's winning 12 of those I sang at!! ( find me here on KZbin)..also I played in The Oakland Coliseum on 11/28/80 as we WON The NCS 4A High School Championship !! #1 in the east bay, PITTSBURG PIRATES !! .....*..The Coliseum is very special to me !

[@Wixom2200]

Sure.

[@depaola63]

@@Wixom2200 ....absolutely sir! Thank you sir! Why don’t you look up the 4 times of the 14 here on KZbin sir, I’m sure sir! Type in my name sir, thank you sir, sure is right sir!

[@johnlittle234]

Mets Yankey. Subway world series great to see the Tanks prevail 2007 2008 Mets classic flop 2022 another dramatic Mets flop

[@billybergendahl3515]

The Oakland A's of 1972-74 are my all-time favorite baseball team.

[@johndoiron9615]

I became an A's fan from the east coast as a little kid in 1972, and they're still my favorite.

[@Mryrhodesian]

I've been watching baseball for 50 years and i still think that Oakland dynasty had to be the most disrespected of any champion in history. I think because outside of 1971 they never won 100 games. All they did was win and win and win again!

[@sludge4125]

Winning three series in a row, by anyone other than the Yankees, is phenomenal. In fact, these Oakland teams were the only team, other than the Yankees, to do it. Sensational!!!

[@Muddyrich]

Regular season wins mean nothing, other than getting you to the post season

[@sludge4125]

Silvy, are you the village idiot? I have read your other posts. Village idiot might actually be too kind of a description for you.

[@christinacascadilla4473]

The A’s of that era were nearly in five World Series in a row. In 1971 they were beaten in the playoffs by that Baltimore team they had four 20 game winners. Then they were in the series 72, 73, 74, and then in 1975 were beaten in the playoffs by the Jim Rice, Carlton Fisk, Fred Lynn Red Sox. They had an amazing run. Free agency ended it. The owner didn’t exactly help either.

[@Muddyrich]

@@christinacascadilla4473 Finley was definitely his own worst enemy. In 1971 he had the bright idea of having the A's visit Nixon at the White House, having not won anything, just having good record and an Eastern road trip. I'm sure just up the highway Earl Weaver did not hesitate to use this for a little extra motivation for the current World Champions.

[@mikevanriel7573]

This was a more heartbreaking World Series loss for the Mets than I thought. Took them over 10 years to recover.

[@loyaldude10]

Mets were very fortunate to even get there.

[@davanmani556]

That was the racist and homophobic M. Donald Grant.

[@mikeforte7585]

@@davanmani556 i.new Grant was an idiot...racist too??

[@pst702]

@@loyaldude10 well, the National League East didn't have any great team that ran away with it... in fact up until the last week there was 3 or 4 teams in the running for the East title...the Mets strong point was their pitching...the Mets pitching kept this team in contention with the powerful Cincinnati Reds, the Big Red Machine... those '73 Mets won a tough 5 game series...it was basically an upset by beating the Reds in 5 games.. the Mets HAD the Oakland Athletics on the ropes after 5 games with a 3-2 advantage and could have won the 3rd game that went into extra innings (would have been a sweep at home after winning game 2 in Oakland)...Yogi's error was not using his hottest pitcher.... George Stone for game 6...would have had EVERYTHING for game 7 if Stone failed in game 6...Seaver, Matlack, Koosman, MacGraw,etc...Seaver was not up to par in game 6 and Yogi gave the ball to a 2nd year pitcher (Matlack) for a pressured game 7.....bad move... always save your best for last....Mets had it in their hands and lost it.

[@mdteletom1288]

@@mikeforte7585 I think that's a reference to the Cleon Jones incident during the '74 Spring training. Look up Cleon Jones, van, Grant and apology and you should get the answer.

[@johndoiron9615]

So many people only think of Reggie Jackson with the Yankees, but real fans know where he got his great start. He is still my favorite player of all time, and will always be an Athletic to me.

[@anthonydavella8350]

hope you guys keep your team

[@brianbiechele1958]

Yeah, The Kansas City Athletics.

[@rpc717]

I think of him as an A who played as a fake Yankee.

[@johndoiron9615]

@@rpc717I like this take.

[@michaelleroy9281]

Nobody remembers he played for the Orioles, 1976 and the Angels 1982-1986

[@calliopivogiatzis2235]

RIP my favorite Met,Ed Kranepool!❤

[@LEETCH_2]

It would have been really cool to see the Mets and A's World Series rematch in 1988. Unfortunately Davey Johnson made some boneheaded moves against the Dodgers, and the heavily favored Mets lost in 7 in the NLCS.

[@ATCguy1973]

I agree. Not bringing in Randy Myers in game 4. Starting Ron Darling instead of Dwight Gooden in game 7. It should have been the best 2 teams in baseball that season. The Mighty A's hitting against the Mighty Mets pitching although the Mets had some great hitting and the A's had great Pitching. It would have been a series for the 80s. But the Dodgers shocked the world and won it all fair and square with a lot of passion

[@scoobycarr5558]

Cubs fan here. The 1988 NLCS could have gone either way for sure. But those bad moves by the Mets cost them a chance to make it to the World Series.

[@irar4665]

David Cone shooting his mouth and then getting hit hard in Game 2 against the weak hitting Dodgers cost them the series more than any manager moves in that series

[@marcsonnenberg623]

@@ATCguy1973 I was at game 4 and went home heartbroken. That was the turning point. Instead of being up 3 games to 1, the series was tied up 2-2. We will never know how Randy Myers would have pitched in the 9th, but a tired Gooden, and not the same Doc Gooden of '84 and '85 should have been pulled after 8 innings. Today it is rare for a starter to be out there in the 9th inning.

[@ATCguy1973]

@@marcsonnenberg623 Yes I agree. I was a die hard Mets fan in 1988 and really wanted to see the A's and Mets matchup. I would have been at game 2 of the world series at Shea had the Mets made it.

[@brucewettin]

went to game 5 with my dad i was 10 we had it up 3-2 going to Oak!..I met Rusty in my lobby years later very nice to me, he was huge!

[@pfunkster83]

Yogi blew this series for the Mets by moving Seaver up for game 6. A well rested Tom Seaver in game 7 would have been tough to beat.

[@millypoo7713]

You mean the same Tom Seaver who took a 2-1 lead into the 8th inning of game 3... but gave up the tying run in a game the Mets lost 3-2 in 11 innings? If Seaver holds that lead... the Mets win the series in 5 games. I can see where you might second guess Berra... but to say Yogi "blew it" because he wanted Seaver & Matlack pitching games 6 & 7 is preposterous.

[@pst702]

George Stone should have gotten the ball for game 6...his era was killing the A's and a rested Seaver and Matlack for 7 with the pitching staff would have been a advantage for the Mets....Yogi blew it.

[@Wixom2200]

I agree!

[@Wixom2200]

@@millypoo7713 No Yogi blew it.

[@graciemaemarie11jones16]

seaver just couldnt do it in the biggest game.rested?didnt lolich win game 7 in 68 on 2 games rest?

[@jeremydavidson9194]

I'd love to see a montage of one of today's teams done with this music and in this style.

[@millypoo7713]

In 1973, only 3 AL players hit 30 or more home runs with Reggie Jackson leading the way with a modest 32. In 2019, a whopping 31 AL players hit 30 or more home runs. Baseball sure has changed. Imo... not for the better.

[@Thesage50]

What i remember most about that series is Willie Mays singling in the winning run in game two, then turning into Joe Hardy while struggling to make a catch in center, and Joe Rudi continuously climbing the left field fence at Shea, robbing the mets hitters in the process!

[@Jiltedin2007]

Gone are the Daytime Postseason Games played on Saturdays and Sundays!

[@michaelleroy9281]

FOX drags them out way past midnight now

[@Jiltedin2007]

@@michaelleroy9281 At a time when Children need to be put to bed. Hate to say it, but Baseball is no longer A Family Game on Television.

[@michaelsemmijr2095]

It's interesting to hear Reggie, obviously a big fan of Server, compliment the Mets pitcher, saying that he wasn't the regular Tom Server of old, and how he is the games best athlete.

[@ATCguy1973]

It would have been awesome if they were teammates. That could have happened had the Mets drafted Reggie number one overall in the 1966 draft instead of Steve Chilcott

[@pst702]

@@ATCguy1973 true, Reggie Jackson was the best player available but Bob Schieffing made a costly mistake that cost the Mets dearly... Reggie who's half African American was dating a white woman (actually she was/ is a white Latino.....Jeanne Campos.... Jackson is also half Latino, mother's side)..its unbelievable that race played a part in a decision in the 1966 draft for the Mets....New York is a liberal and progressive city(even in 1966) and that wouldn't have been an issue .... I have read some of Reggie's books and Reggie had an axe to grind against the Mets..... look at the home run in game 7 .... a giant leap of a stomp at home plate .... tell me that's not on a subconscious level a sign of a payback...he has in his many autobiographies admitted it on some level....throw in George Stone in game 6 and Mr. October would have started his legacy a little later, 1974..and beyond

[@ronmackinnon9374]

@@pst702 While knowing that his middle name is Martinez, it never occurred to me that was a good indication that he was half Latino.

[@kevaninthe4135]

Gowdy is playing up the Holtzman at bat line a bit too much. Dude spent several years in the National League and 1973 was the first year of the DH. Holtzman was plenty familiar with hitting.

[@graciemaemarie11jones16]

agree.he was clutch. good hitter.agree.love holztman. he gave to them basturds fron new shit city

[@basilsmith104]

Great series.

[@GlenSeymour]

They may not have had the greatest players but someone always made the big play in key moments!

[@waldenspondmedia1105]

wow - I remember this Series so well - Tug McGraw, Willie Mays(the last WS for Mays)

[@scoobycarr5558]

Did you know that the A's uniform logo that resembles an elephant has been the same since the franchise was founded in 1901?

[@stephanierae650]

Coincidentally Finley also embraced a mule named after him who'd parade around the field meeting fans before games. Good ol' days!

[@michaelleroy9281]

They put it on the uniform sleeves in 1988

[@zxccxz164]

are there more high quality 70s videos like this.....maybe the pennant races?? love this!

[@Muddyrich]

mostly just playoffs and WS, but some creative word input keeps turning up things

[@pmsfar-outgrooviness8025]

@@Muddyrich all-star games too

[@bartonpercival3216]

It was nice seeing the original Oakland coliseum with the outfield bleachers and you could see the Oakland hills in the background!!!!!! ⚾👍

[@Luke-yr2yu]

They used to run these World Series highlights of the great Oakland dynasty years during Cubs rain delays on WGN in the 1970s. I fell in love with these. It's great to see them again.

[@scottn.3250]

The A's and Cubs traded a lot back then. Maybe because Finley was from Illinois. Ken Holzman came over from the Cubs and was a key starting pitcher in the A's rotation those three series.

[@michaelleroy9281]

​@@scottn.3250 Billy Williams played his last years with the A's

[@scottn.3250]

Unfortunate that B. Williams didn't get a World Series ring with the A's. Matty Alou got one, though.

[@robertdecker4780]

This narrarator had a Really Cool Old Nerd type of Voice and overall very mentally engaging commentator style delivery. Anybody realize that Bert Campanaris,normally a spray-hitter belted 22 home-runs in 1972..?! I always was fascinated about that. He must've been powerlifting during that particular year. : )

[@bryantc382]

Curt Gowdy was the guy calling the game

[@Muddyrich]

Look up Dick Green, he too had a bizarre anomalous power-hitting year...

[@ronmackinnon9374]

1970, not 1972, was that outlier year for Campaneris with 22 home runs.

[@howie9751]

Curt Gowdy, one of the best. Called Super Bowls too.

[@scottn.3250]

Nice to see Reggie get the Series MVP a year after missing out on the '72 Series because of injury.

[@mikelliteras397]

I was 7 during this series. Big Met fan from NJ with my dad watching the games. I thought Willie Mays was always a Met. I’m amazed at how much I remember. Rusty Staub was my favorite player along with Felix Millan. What a pitching staff they had. Too bad they didn’t keep Nolan Ryan. Imagine Ryan, Seaver and Koosman on the same team. I don’t remember how to spell his name, but he was amazing

[@michaelleroy9281]

Darold Knowles pitched in all 7 games

[@howie9751]

Rollie Fingers always got the credit and Knowles is all but forgotten. But not by me.

[@bernardoconnor1502]

Love the Maroon jackets on the American League umpires

[@ogrebattle22763]

Those were the days with Curt Gowdy ....

[@mainman127]

Everybody always talks about Willie Mays falling down in the outfield ...what about Joe Rudi and Cleon Jones ? They fell down too on fly balls in the blinding sun

[@samuelmoulds1016]

yeah, I didn't get to see the series and was told Mays was the only one not seeing the flyballs and falling down. THEY WERE WRONG!.

[@Anthony-hu3rj]

Back when the World Series meant everything. The only series. None of the present-day playoff-for-profit stuff.

[@Muddyrich]

there had already been league championship series for 5 years by then.

[@joesakic91]

The last time the Athletics won a winner-take-all postseason game: 1973 World Series Game 7 against the New York Mets. Since then, the A's are 0-9 in those playoff games.

[@stephanierae650]

I've heard and don't doubt that, but there's some sort of qualifier involved-as they have won 2 more World Series('74, '89) since.

[@ronmackinnon9374]

Those were won in 5 and 4 games respectively, so what proved to be the final games of those series were not winner-take-all. The OP means postseason series that have gone the limit--the 5th game of a best 3 out of 5 series, the 7th game of a best 4 out of 7 series. The A's have been in such postseason games since' 73, they just haven't won any of them.

[@michaelleroy9281]

They were upset by the Dodgers in 1988 Reds in 1990

[@hippiecolleen1352]

I was there! Cant believe i got to see Yogi, Willie,hank Aaron and Reggie all in one series! Not to mention that entire As team Rollie catfish,vida, campy ..,...

[@johnmichaelniemela9557]

Tug Had The Screwball,He Was Amazing

[@musicoldies83]

Freeze the video @15:43, and you can see WHY the home plate ump blew the Harrelson call. Note that the ump's head is totally fixated on home plate, based on how low his head is when crouching down, and staring right in the direction of the plate itself, which means that only the corner of his eye was able to catch Ray Fosse's glove swiping at Harrelson. The ump then saw the swipe occur right before Harrelson's right leg touched home plate; but because of his head angle, was not able to tell that the glove never actually touched Harrelson, whereby he only assumed that it did. Unfortunately the ump, for whatever unknown reason - possibly because he was too lazy - never got up from his crouched position once the ball was hit into the outfield by Felix Milan, and remained in his crouched position as the outfielder threw the ball to the plate. The ump should have already been in a standing position once he saw the thrown ball go to the left of Fosse towards the third base side, and immediately position himself to the right of home plate - a little towards the first base side and away from the basepath - so that he could have had a clear level view of the play once Fosse caught the ball. Had that happened, he would have clearly seen the miss, and Harrelson would have been called safe.

[@darkstarharry2947]

This was Home Plate Umpire Augie Donatelli's last season as an umpire. He retired after the series.

[@stardaddyo9]

Huge respect for that Mets team for hanging in there with Oakland.

[@ronmackinnon9374]

And for rising all the way from last place to first by going 20-8 over the last month of the season; and for knocking off the heavily favored Reds in the NLCS.

[@jimirwin5623]

Now THAT is baseball !!

[@steventesta6782]

How about playing world series games during the day. It was fun being 10 years old in 73!!!

[@lincolnmaceachern2410]

I was 11; no cable TV in eastern Canada in those days, but our networks carried the World Series ( but not the playoffs ). I loved the day games too; were they just the weekend games or all the games?

[@steventesta6782]

@@lincolnmaceachern2410 they were during the week to. I remember coming home from school on a Monday afternoon and watching the 1978 one game playoff between the Yankees and red sox when bucky dent hit the winning home run.

[@ronmackinnon9374]

@@steventesta6782 The question was about World Series games, that 1978 game was a game 163 divisional tie-breaker game (which, by the way, as a 12-year-old Red Sox fan at the time, I will excruciatingly recall to the end of my days). The answer is, by '73, there were no more weekday World Series games played during the day. The last World Series to consist entirely of day games was 1970. In 1971, to begin getting bigger TV audiences, they had one of the three weekday games played at night. For the '72 series, all three of the weekday games were scheduled to be night games; but because bad weather forced a postponement of Game 3, it threw the schedule off and necessitated rescheduling Game 5 for Friday afternoon--so there was one weekday day game in the '72 series, it just happened to be an unscheduled one. By '73, though, the plan of maximizing TV revenue with all the weekday games taking place at night was in place. In '76, they even experimented with a Sunday night game (Game 2). Starting in '77, while keeping weekend games during the day, they began scheduling World Series to begin and end (should it go the full 7) during the work week, so that there'd be just one pair of weekend day games to work around, rather than a pair at the beginning and another at the end. And then, mid-to-late '80s, they even phased out the weekend day games, started having them at night too (thus they were OK with starting and ending World Series on weekends again, too, didn't matter either way). And that's how it's been ever since.

[@armorybrunotjr.3204]

After the Oakland A's won the 1973 World Series, manager Dick Williams resigned because he and owner Charlie Finley had personal differences the entire season. Alvin Dark moved behind the bench and gave the A's their third World Championship. Williams returned as manager of the then-California Angels in midseason of 1974.

[@ronmackinnon9374]

The Yankees wanted to hire Williams (Ralph Houk had unexpectedly resigned at the end of the '73 season), but Finley wouldn't let him out of his contract unless the Yankees gave him top prospects. They wound up hiring Bill Virdon (who'd been let go by the Pirates in September) instead. By spring training '74, Finley had brought in Al Dark as a replacement (his second go-round as A's manager), and (as you mentioned) Williams had to settle for the Angels job in mid-'74. No luck there, but he later had success turning losers into contenders in both Montreal and San Diego, even getting back to the World Series with the latter.

[@michaelleroy9281]

Finley and Steinbrenner and their many managers

[@michaelleroy9281]

​@@ronmackinnon9374 1984 against the that Tigers team that began the year 35-5 they had no chance

[@ronmackinnon9374]

@@michaelleroy9281 Yup. A thankless job for the Padres, having to be the opponent of that Tigers team. Same managers as in the '72 series, but Sparky Anderson won this time.

[@drbonesshow1]

Dick Williams went from the 1967 Red Sox to the Oakland A's mini-dynasty.

[@billfilice6408]

Until 74 when Alvin Dark won it

[@michaelleroy9281]

Dick Williams resigned after the 1973 World Series because of the Andrews thing and he couldn't work for Charlie Finley anymore

[@acitoneroyal6002]

I watched em all a starry eyed 13 year old. These were great days for baseball.

[@mikevanriel7573]

The 1973 Oakland A’s did something no team never before or since: Win 2 Game 7 World Series games. Not even the world famous Yankees have done this.

[@Mryrhodesian]

You must mean back to back Cards did it in 64 & 67.

[@jamesmatthew3681]

No. What he meant was win two World Series in both in 7 games in two years.

[@willdrucker4291]

Ehhh..the Mantle/Berra/Ford Tankees usually finished off their opponents by game 6...no need for a game 7..

[@ronmackinnon9374]

@@willdrucker4291 Tell that to the '52, '55, and '56 Dodgers, the '57 and '58 Braves, the '60 Pirates, the '62 Giants, and the '64 Cardinals.

[@Wixom2200]

@@davidcadwallader434 LOL

[@thomaswolf723]

Mays’ difficulties in center field have become a metaphor for a once great player sticking around too long. However, from these highlights and Curt Gowdy’s commentary, it is evident that the sun caused havoc with all the outfielders in day games. Until 1971 all WS games were played in the daytime and the sun had to have played a role in a good number of plays. See game two of the 1966 WS in which another Willie, Willie Davis, lost two fly balls in the Los Angeles sun.

[@drbonesshow1]

Vida Blue (209 - 161) ERA 3.27 SO 2175 was Dwight Gooden (194 - 112) ERA 3.51 SO 2293 before Gooden and they both fell short of the HOF.

[@kellymikoloff3763]

Could not agree more. Sadness of substance abuse.((((

[@flame-sky7148]

THey are trying to put Curt Schilling in the HoF, but look up his numbers and achievements, they are very similar to that of Vida Blue.

[@stardaddyo9]

Joe rudy has a knack for making routine catches look spactacular.

[@ronmackinnon9374]

*Rudi

[@lawrenceehrbar8667]

My Dad liked Willie but kept saying he shouldn't have been hovering around the plate during that play on Buddy.

[@flybob63]

Hard to overstate just how good the 73 Mets played that September; especially with all the injuries. Shows just how good underdogs can be.

[@flybob63]

Harrelson and Campy. Two of the best defensive shortstops of the era.

[@jamesmatthew3681]

37:08 The A's were the first team to do the traditional dogpile after winning the WS.

[@jeremydavidson9194]

And yet, 4 years later, in NY, Reggie Jackson was running off Yankee Stadium field like a line backer looking to level fans to the ground as he tried to escape the on-field chaos caused by thousands of fans.

[@pst702]

@@jeremydavidson9194 that's because A's fans were a lot more civilized than those savages from the south bronx...if you were rooting for the opposing team, I heard that you were pelted with stuff...I guess the only way to watch a game as a fan of the opposing team was to get your John Rambo suit out of the cleaners...a M60, a rocket launcher and a couple of hand grenades to sit in Yankee Stadium...things have changed of course over the decades...you're NOT mugged physically any more just financially at Yankee Stadium

[@ronmackinnon9374]

Didn't the Phillies doing that in 2008 wreck Brad Lidge's career?

[@howie9751]

@@jeremydavidson9194 Your point?

[@demogog3449]

The A's team on the arcade RBI baseball was second only to the Yankees and had a lot of the players from this era on it.

[@FreeSociety1]

Jerry Koosman pitches shutout ball in game 5.

[@charlessmith263]

What was that psychedelic waltz we heard at the end of that highlight video? I do not know who were the musical artists behind it. (It was also heard when the highlights of Game 4 started when the A's and Mets were in New York).

[@ronmackinnon9374]

It may be listed under the description of the video (click the down arrow beside the video's title).

[@pmsfar-outgrooviness8025]

Taking Off by Jean Bouchety

[@TheGeoScholar]

RIP Vida Blue.

[@mariocisneros911]

I wish they returned with day world series games

[@michaelleroy9281]

Since I'm retired that would be OK with me

[@scoobycarr5558]

Tug McGraw - that name rings a bell. Wasn't he with the Phillies when they won it all in 1980?

[@dariowiter3078]

Yup, the very same player. ⚾ 😁

[@darrinbaker00]

His son is trying to hit it big in show business.

[@bretthoward9314]

Tug McGraw was with the Mets (1965-1974) and then Phillies (1975-1984)...

[@michaelleroy9281]

Yes he was I believe he got save in game 6 won by Phillies 4 to 1

[@alfredohipolito2262]

@@dariowiter3078 y

[@lawrenceehrbar8667]

In '69, game 3, Tommie Agee led off bottom 1st and homered. Garret in '73.

[@chucksnyder1623]

I went to game 2. We didn't have to buy a ticket in advance. It wasn't even sold out!

[@Muddyrich]

i was at Game 2 as well!

[@Wixom2200]

A's fan's just not into it. I was in Highschool in 1973. I still could'nt believe they made the playoffs. They were almost in the basement on Sept 1st , 1973. Crazy

[@rd9793]

The Mets losing this series broke my heart.....all these years later and it still hurts.

[@pst702]

Yeah, I was a 10 year kid who cried for the only time for a baseball outcome... but '86 relieved the memory of this series...one thing, loved Yogi for ALL he did as a manager but he had a hot pitcher in... George Stone and didn't use him... could have started him in game 6 and have Seaver, Matlack, MaGraw, and even Koosman for the 7th game... they had a 3-2 lead going to Oakland... has nothing to lose with Stone in game 6... in fact, his era stats were great in the postseason... yeah, I get it you want Seaver for the clincher BUT you would have gotten an extra days rest for Seaver by sending him on game 7

[@rd9793]

@@pst702 Cried in front of the tv when Garett popped out to end the series. I was 10 as well. Was a magical season....and I will remembrr 1973 as my favorite summer.

[@scoobycarr5558]

Cubs fan here. This kind of reminds me of 1945 when the favored Cubs lost in 7 games to the Tigers. But this debacle of a game in my point of view was pretty much a disaster.

[@domxem5551]

I felt the same when the reds lost in 72. But I recovered in 75 and 76.

[@michaelleroy9281]

Yes losing a World Series can be heartbreaking how do you think the players feel

[@danielharford1864]

I know Yogi is cracking his classic jokes at home plate . Listen closely, he tells one at the beginning.

[@myutoob2011]

During that heartbreaking 7th game I was getting upset and couldn't hold back some tears, the inevitable was coming. Wasn't feeling well and by the end of the game I watched the final pop out in bed, now with a fever which turned out to be the flu.

[@hmhm856]

An unreal stat is that the light-hitting 1973-Mets had outhomered the power-hitting 1973-Athletics in the World Series, especially in the first 6 games. Mets had four home runs in the first six games (which is OK, nothing impressive, especially coming from a light-hitting-team), while the Athletics had zero home runs in the first six games (which is unreal). But then in game 7, Oakland's power offense woke up and hit many home runs