1972 Tigers-A's ALCS, Game 5

[lordstanley]

I was only 5 in 1972 and a year away from attending my first game at Tiger Stadium, so I have no recollection of this best-of-five series. But my interest in it was piqued again recently by a couple of things:

a) with all the talk of the Stanley Cup Final being the first Game 7 of a championship final hosted by a Detroit pro sports team since the '50s, it got me thinking of other big games in Detroit in my lifetime. A one-game winner-takes-all for the AL pennant is pretty huge, even though it seems we rarely hear much about this series apart from the Campaneris bat incident against Lerrin Lagrow; and

b) this YouTube clip with audio (presumably from the A's radio broadcast) of the final couple of batters of the Tigers' bottom of the 9th of Game 5, trailing 2-1 versus Vida Blue but with Norm Cash reaching 1st base with 1 down. The Tigers had scored 3 in the bottom of the 10th inning the day before to force a Game 5, so another 9th inning comeback must have seemed quite possible.

YouTube - wild last out of 1972 ALCS Oakland at Detroit

Was anyone here at this game? Or remember watching this game on TV? Or have listened to an old Harwell broadcast of it? My main question is whether you recall the Tiger Stadium fans being as unruly that day as the A's broadcasters were describing them. Of course we know about the Ducky Medwick disturbance and the bleachers being rowdy in the '70s and closed for awhile in the '80s, but the broadcast makes it sound like the place was a zoo that day with 2 out in the 9th. People throwing garbage and bottles and toilet paper and somebody's shoe onto the field, a fan running onto the field and sliding into 2nd base, cops chasing people with billy clubs, the CF fence being torn down before the final out, firecrackers and smoke bombs being set off, a firebomb into the A's bullpen, a cop being hit with something. True?

"50,000 Tiger fans came here ready to explode today and they brought live fireworks with them"

"What a riot on the field now, but the riot is not by the Tiger fans, it's by the Oakland A's players mobbing Vida Blue who has pitched the greatest game of his life"

[Tyrus]

I vaguely remember everyone complaining about Campy throwing his bat at LaGrow...and I seem to remember going to an important game against Boston that year with my grandma.

[DTroppens]

Originally Posted by lordstanley

I was only 5 in 1972 and a year away from attending my first game at Tiger Stadium, so I have no recollection of this best-of-five series. But my interest in it was piqued again recently by a couple of things:

a) with all the talk of the Stanley Cup Final being the first Game 7 of a championship final hosted by a Detroit pro sports team since the '50s, it got me thinking of other big games in Detroit in my lifetime. A one-game winner-takes-all for the AL pennant is pretty huge, even though it seems we rarely hear much about this series apart from the Campaneris bat incident against Lerrin Lagrow; and

b) this YouTube clip with audio (presumably from the A's radio broadcast) of the final couple of batters of the Tigers' bottom of the 9th of Game 5, trailing 2-1 versus Vida Blue but with Norm Cash reaching 1st base with 1 down. The Tigers had scored 3 in the bottom of the 10th inning the day before to force a Game 5, so another 9th inning comeback must have seemed quite possible.

YouTube - wild last out of 1972 ALCS Oakland at Detroit

Was anyone here at this game? Or remember watching this game on TV? Or have listened to an old Harwell broadcast of it? My main question is whether you recall the Tiger Stadium fans being as unruly that day as the A's broadcasters were describing them. Of course we know about the Ducky Medwick disturbance and the bleachers being rowdy in the '70s and closed for awhile in the '80s, but the broadcast makes it sound like the place was a zoo that day with 2 out in the 9th. People throwing garbage and bottles and toilet paper and somebody's shoe onto the field, a fan running onto the field and sliding into 2nd base, cops chasing people with billy clubs, the CF fence being torn down before the final out, firecrackers and smoke bombs being set off, a firebomb into the A's bullpen, a cop being hit with something. True?

"50,000 Tiger fans came here ready to explode today and they brought live fireworks with them"

"What a riot on the field now, but the riot is not by the Tiger fans, it's by the Oakland A's players mobbing Vida Blue who has pitched the greatest game of his life"

I think I have both radio broadcasts of that game - for Oakland and Detroit. I know I have the Oakland one because I've had that for a long time and I enjoy listening to the 1972 games with the BoSox that I have and the 3 games I have of that ALCS. Game #4 is a great great game to listen to as a Tigers fan.

I bet it's been 3 years since I listened to that game. Usually I pop out one of the wins. But I think there were firecrackers going off and you could kind of sense a little craziness just hearing the crowd in the background. I have tons of games at Tigers Stadium on tape and it's not at all uncommon to hear that a firecracker went off or a smoke bomb. In fact, you hear about that stuff in a lot of games during that era. My guess what they said was probably right to a degree.

[DTroppens]

Originally Posted by Tyrus

I vaguely remember everyone complaining about Campy throwing his bat at LaGrow...and I seem to remember going to an important game against Boston that year with my grandma.

He did do that. I think it was early in the series. I don't think I have a tape of the game this happened in.

[Sports_Freak]

I remember that game and that whole series very well. Most people thought Campy should have immediately been suspended but the suspension didn't start until the first few games of the '73 season.

As a kid, one of the biggest games I went to was when the Tigers beat Boston in the 2nd to last game of the year. My future brother in law took me. He was a fireman in Detroit and got us pretty good seats. It was great seeing Al Kaline, Mr. Tiger, catch the final out to clinch the division. Fans stormed the field and ripped out the grass. On the walk back to the car, a kid about my age at the time (12) had a big chunk of the grass. He turned to me and asked me if I wanted a piece of "Genuine Tiger Turf"

[Bambino Lino]

Oh come on now. The fans were running onto the field, throwing smoke bombs, firecrackers, shoes, and other random garbage at the Oakland outfielders while they were trying to make a play? I highly doubt that. I'm sure maybe some stuff might've been thrown onto the field, maybe a firecracker, but if it was anything near as bad as that announcer made it out to be, the umpires would've definitely stopped the game and the Tigers would've forfeited.

[guy incognito]

Originally Posted by Tyrus

I vaguely remember everyone complaining about Campy throwing his bat at LaGrow.

According to Curt Smith's Voices of the Game, Tony Kubek defended Campy on the NBC telecast, which led to the chairman of Chrysler (which sponsored the games, and was clearly mindful of its employee and customer base in Michigan) to try and pressure the network to drop Kubek from the rest of the series. They didn't, of course.

[DTroppens]

Originally Posted by Bambino Lino

Oh come on now. The fans were running onto the field, throwing smoke bombs, firecrackers, shoes, and other random garbage at the Oakland outfielders while they were trying to make a play? I highly doubt that. I'm sure maybe some stuff might've been thrown onto the field, maybe a firecracker, but if it was anything near as bad as that announcer made it out to be, the umpires would've definitely stopped the game and the Tigers would've forfeited.

I think you'd be surprised what seemingly happened in games during earlier eras and it was just considered "part of the game atmosphere." The occasional firecracker or smoke bomb was something you could expect for any given game. I'm not saying every game, but it certainly isn't a shock when you hear that something like this happened during a broadcast. I hear it happening fairly frequently on the limited tapes I own from past eras.

[Anup_Sinha]

Wow, it sounds like it was quite a mess at the end. I hope MLB Network or somebody decides to show the TV telecast one day, I'd love to watch it. It must have been a great series. By all accounts, he A's had a much better team, but the Tigers had a lot of good veterans who knew how to win.

[davidsb]

Originally Posted by Anup_Sinha

By all accounts, he A's had a much better team, but the Tigers had a lot of good veterans who knew how to win.

...and the Tigers had a scrappy manager who knew how to get every ounce of talent out of every one of his players!! I doubt any other manager besides Billy Martin could have got that team to the playoffs.

[Anup_Sinha]

Originally Posted by davidsb

...and the Tigers had a scrappy manager who knew how to get every ounce of talent out of every one of his players!! I doubt any other manager besides Billy Martin could have got that team to the playoffs.

I can believe you 100% on that! Watching what he did with the A's and Yankees in my early fanhood (1980s), it was genius.

[Waterfallguy59]

Game 2 is the only game of the 1972 ALCS that has been on tape trading sites; and it is missing the bat throwing part of the game. It is poor quality; but it does show Fred Scherman zip 2 or 3 fastballs at Reggie Jackson's noggin - Martin was retaliating against Creepy Campy.
Game 3 or 4 would be awesome to see again:
Joe Coleman K'd 14 A's in Game 3 & Detroit won Game 4 with 3 in the 10th inning to tie the series at 2-2.

[FloridaTigers]

I think I would've broken some things had I been around to see the Tigers lose that Game 5 after that miraculous Game 4.