[ifspuds]

Worth the Wait: Pirates Outlast Red Sox in Game 1 Classic
by Jack McKinley
Pittsburgh Post Gazette (issue of October 5, 1966)

The baseball world took some time believing that the Red Sox, who had not won a pennant since 1949, were taking the field in Pittsburgh, where there hadn't been a World Series game played since 1912. So much time, in fact, that these two teams nearly played two full games before the outcome of the first game of the 1966 World Series became known. You wait long enough, you get rewarded with extra baseball, it would seem. In the end, however, the star-crossed Pittsburgh Pirates stunned onlookers and sent fans into a frenzy on a 2-run, game-winning homer off the bat of Al Mahoney in the bottom of the 14th inning.

Levi Sellers and Charley Harrington faced off as the starters in this game, but both men were long gone by the time the winning runs scored. Sellers, the long-time ace of the Pirates' staff, was touched up by the powerful Red Sox offense over the course of 7 innings, allowing three home runs and 5 runs despite walking only one and striking out ten. The Red Sox took a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the 5th, when Pittsburgh's Alberto Val snuck a drive down the right field line that just crept over the outfield fence for a solo homer, but the Sox had answers in the top of the 6th with solo homers from the powerful Jory Akridge and Jim Alan to pad the lead back to 5-1.

That's when the Pirates offense got on track, as Ben Trome led off the bottom half of the 6th with a ringing double off the right field wall. Al Mahoney stepped to the plate next and gave right fielder Jim Alan something else to think about, roping a liner down the line in right that rattled around in the corner, giving Mahoney time to lumber all the way around to third with a run-scoring triple. Harrington settled down after that, fanning both Asa Booker and NL RBI champ Fletcher Jones, but Tim Crusher fought off a tough pitch and dumped an RBI single into center to cut the lead back to 2 runs.

Reenergized, Levi Sellers worked a perfect 1-2-3 7th, highlighted by swinging strikeouts of leadoff man George Adams and phenom Troy Dameron. Alberto Val got things going again in the bottom half, doubling and scoring on pinch-hitter Vic Stokes' 1-out triple. With Trome and Mahoney due up, a tie looked likely, but Red Sox reliever Les Kramer got a comebacker for the 2nd out and fooled Mahoney on a curveball to end the threat. The threat would return in the bottom of the 8th, when Fletcher Jones took advantage of Forbes Field, tripling into right-center with one down and scoring the tying run one batter later on Tim Crusher's RBI single. The score would stay knotted at 5-5 into the 14th.

After Jack Hassery completed his third inning of hitless relief, the bottom half of the inning started innocently enough, with Hassery being pulled for pinch hitter Ray Eshelman, who popped harmlessly into left field. Boston's Thac Mac then lost the strike zone, walking Ben Trome and sending him to second on a wild pitch. Mahoney found himself in a 3-1 hitter's count and, expecting the fastball, got just what he was looking for. Swinging from the left side, Mahoney's drive followed a majestic trajectory deep into right field, gone from the moment it left his bat. Mahoney, who hit 16 home runs in the regular season in his 2nd year with the team, rode off the field on his teammates' shoulders to chants from the fans, and was nearly breathless after the game. "I honestly don't remember anything between touching first base and finding myself in the clubhouse after the game. It was all such a blur. I wish I could remember it better. This kind of moment may never happen again," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

Manager Vic Gorin had nothing but praise for his young left fielder. "Wasn't long ago that people were already talking about the kid as a bust, but I think he proved today not just the kind of talent he has, but the kind of poise. Never underestimate a young man with something to prove to the world."

The same might be said for the Pirates, who have been expected to reach this lofty perch for several seasons, only to fall short. Now on the biggest stage of the baseball world, they have proven that they're not just here to enjoy the experience, but bring a title home to Pittsburgh.