1975 World Series
Team (Wins) Managers Season Cincinnati Reds (4) Sparky Anderson 108–54, .667, GA: 20 Boston Red Sox (3) Darrell Johnson 95–65, .594, GA: 4+1⁄2
Dates	October 11–22
Venue(s)	Fenway Park (Boston) Riverfront Stadium (Cincinnati)
MVP	Pete Rose (Cincinnati)
Umpires	Art Frantz (AL),Dick Stello (NL),George Maloney (AL),Satch Davidson (NL),Larry Barnett (AL),Nick Colosi (NL)
Hall of Famers	Reds: Sparky Anderson (mgr.) Johnny Bench Joe Morgan Tony Pérez Red Sox: Carlton Fisk Jim Rice (injured) Carl Yastrzemski
Broadcast
Television	NBC
TV announcers	Curt Gowdy (Games 1, 3, 5, 7) Joe Garagiola (Games 2, 4, 6) Dick Stockton (Games 1, 6; in Boston) Ned Martin (Games 2, 7; in Boston) Marty Brennaman (in Cincinnati) Tony Kubek
Radio	NBC
Radio announcers	Joe Garagiola (Games 1, 3, 5, 7) Curt Gowdy (Games 2, 4, 6) Marty Brennaman (in Boston) Ned Martin (Games 3, 5–6) Dick Stockton (Games 4, 7)
ALCS	Boston Red Sox overOakland Athletics (3–0)
NLCS	Cincinnati Reds overPittsburgh Pirates (3–0)
← 1974 World Series 1976 →

The1975 World Series was thechampionship series ofMajor League Baseball's (MLB)1975 season. The 72nd edition of theWorld Series, it was abest-of-seven playoff played between theAmerican League (AL) championBoston Red Sox and theNational League (NL) championCincinnati Reds. The Reds won the series, four games to three. In 2003,ESPN ranked it the second-greatest World Series ever played, trailing only the1991 series,^[1] while in 2020, Sam Miller of ESPN named it the best World Series ever.^[2]

The Reds, at the height of theirBig Red Machine dynasty, recorded a franchise-high 108 victories in 1975 and won theNL West division by 20 games over theLos Angeles Dodgers, then defeated thePittsburgh Pirates, three games to none, in theNL Championship Series. The Red Sox won theAL East division by4+1⁄2 games over theBaltimore Orioles, then defeated the three-time defending World Series championOakland Athletics, three games to none, in theAL Championship Series. The sixth game of the World Series was a12-inning classic at Boston'sFenway Park, which culminated with awalk-off home run byCarlton Fisk to extend the series to seven games. The Reds rallied from a 3–0 deficit to win the seventh and deciding game of the series on a ninth-inningsingle byJoe Morgan.

It was Cincinnati's third World Series appearance in six years, losing in1970 toBaltimore and in1972 toOakland. It was the first of back-to-back championships for the Reds. For the Red Sox, the 1975 World Series was their first World Series appearance since losing toSt. Louis in seven games in1967. It would be 11 more years until Boston returned to the World Series in1986, in which they suffered another seven-game loss to theNew York Mets.

This was the fourth time in five years that a seven-game World Series winner (following Pittsburgh in1971, and Oakland in 1972 and1973) was outscored.

Reds third basemanPete Rose was namedWorld Series MVP. Rose batted .370 with 10 hits and two RBIs and scored 3 runs.

None of the six umpires in this World Series worked a previous Fall Classic, and two,Art Frantz andGeorge Maloney, would not umpire in another.

NLCincinnati Reds (4) vs. ALBoston Red Sox (3)

†: postponed from October 18 due to rain

Ace pitchersLuis Tiant andDon Gullett were locked in a scoreless duel until the seventh inning. Tiant led off with a single and later scored Boston's first run on a single byCarl Yastrzemski. Then the floodgates opened: Reds relieverClay Carroll walkedCarlton Fisk to force in a run,Rico Petrocelli slapped a two-run single,Rick Burleson had an RBI single, andCecil Cooper ended the scoring with a sacrifice fly. Tiant finished with a five-hitter against a team that had scored an MLB-high 840 runs during the regular season.

Game 2 proved to be a very pivotal game as the Reds were on the brink of being down two games before rallying for victory in the ninth inning. Red Sox starterBill Lee held the Reds to four hits and a run through eight innings.Johnny Bench led off the ninth with a double to right field. Lee was then replaced by right-handed closerDick Drago. Bench moved to third on a groundout byTony Pérez. AfterGeorge Foster popped out for the second out,Dave Concepción hit a clutch single up the middle that Boston second basemanDenny Doyle fielded behind second base, but had no play at first as Bench scored to tie the game. After Concepcion stole second base,Ken Griffey hit a double into left-center field scoring Concepcion with the game-winner.Rawly Eastwick retired the Sox in the ninth to get the win and even the series.

The Reds' only other run scored in the fourth whenJoe Morgan walked, went to third on a Bench single, and scored on a Pérez force out.

The Red Sox sandwiched the Reds' run with single tallies of their own in the first inning on an RBI single byCarlton Fisk, and in the sixth on an RBI single byRico Petrocelli.

At home, the Reds prevailed in another squeaker in a game that featured the first major controversy of the series that involved the umpires.

For nine innings, the game was a homer-fest as each team put three over the wall. Fisk put the Sox on the board in the second with a homer off Reds starterGary Nolan. The Reds countered by taking a 2–1 lead in the fourth whenTony Pérez walked andJohnny Bench hit a two-runshot off Sox starterRick Wise. The Reds then chased Wise in the fifth whenDave Concepción andCésar Gerónimo hit back-to-back home runs.Pete Rose followed with a one-out triple and scored onJoe Morgan's sacrifice fly to give the Reds a 5–1 lead. The Sox scratched back in the sixth when Reds relieverPat Darcy issued consecutive walks toCarl Yastrzemski and Fisk, wild-pitched Yastrzemski to third, and then gave up a sacrifice fly toFred Lynn. In the seventh, former Cincinnati RedBernie Carbo closed the gap to 5–3 with a pinch-hit homer offClay Carroll. In the top of the ninth, with Reds closer Eastwick on the mound,Rico Petrocelli singled and Evans hit the game-tying home run, sending the game intoextra innings.

After the Red Sox failed to score in the tenth, the Reds sent the bottom of the order to lead off the bottom of the tenth.Cesar Geronimo led off with a single offJim Willoughby. Reds managerSparky Anderson then sent pinch-hitterEd Armbrister up to sacrifice in place of relieverRawly Eastwick. Armbrister's bunt bounced high near the plate toward the first-base line. Boston catcherCarlton Fisk was quick to pounce on the ball in front of the plate as Armbrister was slow to get out of the box. He hesitated before running and appeared to collide with (or at least impede) Fisk as he was retrieving the ball. Fisk's hurried throw to second base to force out Geronimo sailed over shortstopRick Burleson into center field as Geronimo went to third base and Armbrister to second. Fisk and Boston managerDarrell Johnson argued that Armbrister should have been ruled out forinterference, but home plate umpireLarry Barnett ruled otherwise. The play stood and the Reds had the potential winning run on third with no outs. Willoughby then intentionally walkedPete Rose to load the bases and set up a force play at any base. Johnson then brought in left-handerRoger Moret, to faceKen Griffey, but Anderson countered with right-handed hittingMerv Rettenmund. Rettenmund struck out for out No. 1, butJoe Morgan knocked in Geronimo with the game-winner by hitting a deep fly to center over adrawn in outfield.

With the Reds leading the series 2–1,Luis Tiant pitched his second complete game win of the Series. More importantly, this win forced the Reds to win at least one of two games atFenway Park to win the Series.

The Reds struck first off Tiant in the first on RBI doubles byKen Griffey andJohnny Bench. The Sox, however, would get all the runs they needed in the fourth.Dwight Evans tied the game with a two-run triple, thenRick Burleson put the Sox ahead by doubling in Evans off Reds starterFred Norman. Tiant, continuing his surprising hitting, singled Burleson to third. Burleson then scored on aTony Pérez error on a ball hit byJuan Beníquez, while Tiant went to second.Carl Yastrzemski drove in Tiant with a single for what would turn out to be the winning run.

The Reds were able to counter with two runs in their half of the fourth on an RBI double byDave Concepción and an RBI triple byCésar Gerónimo. The Reds had a shot at winning the game in the bottom of the ninth when, with two on and one out,Ken Griffey sent a deep drive into left-center thatFred Lynn made an over the shoulder catch.Joe Morgan then popped out to first on Tiant's 163rd pitch of the game. Boston's win tied the series at two games apiece and guaranteed a return to Fenway.

Reds' leftyDon Gullett pitched like an ace as the Reds won their final home game in Game 5 to put Cincinnati on the brink of their first World Series championship in 35 years. Cincinnati first baseman and cleanup hitterTony Pérez broke out of an 0–for–15 World Series slump with a pair of home runs while driving in four runs off Boston starterReggie Cleveland.Pete Rose contributed an RBI double andDave Concepción hit a sacrifice fly for the other Reds runs, while Gullett pitched8+2⁄3 innings, limiting the powerful Boston lineup to five hits. Reds closerRawly Eastwick came on to strike out Boston third basemanRico Petrocelli for the game's final out.

With a travel day followed by three days of heavy rain in Boston, both pitching staffs got four days of rest. Red Sox managerDarrell Johnson was afforded the luxury of having his top two starting pitchers,Luis Tiant andBill Lee, available for Games 6 and 7, respectively, while the Reds were able to have their ace,Don Gullett, available for a potential Game 7 after pitching a gem in Game 5.

With the Red Sox in a must win situation, Boston'sFred Lynn opened the scoring in the first with a two-out, three-run homer off Reds starterGary Nolan. Meanwhile, Tiant breezed through the first four innings, holding the Reds scoreless. The Reds finally broke through in the fifth. WithEd Armbrister on third andPete Rose on first,Ken Griffey tripled to deep center field on a ball that Lynn just missed making a leaping catch against the wall. He suffered a rib injury, but remained in the game; Lynn told moderatorBob Costas during MLB Network's "Top 20 games in the last 50 years" that, for a short time, he was barely conscious and couldn't feel his legs.^[10]Johnny Bench singled Griffey home to tie the game at 3–3.^[11]

With two outs in the seventh,George Foster put the Reds ahead with a two-run double high off the center field wall. In the top of the eighth,César Gerónimo led off and hit the first pitch down the right-field line for a home run to chase Tiant and give the Reds a 6–3 lead.

In the bottom of the eighth, Reds relieverPedro Borbón gave up an infield single off his leg to Lynn, and then walkedRico Petrocelli to bring the tying run to the plate.Rawly Eastwick replaced Borbón, struck outDwight Evans, and retiredRick Burleson on a line-out to left.Bernie Carbo was called on to bat for relieverRoger Moret.Sparky Anderson was on the top step of the dugout, ready to call in left-handerWill McEnaney to pitch to the left-hand hitting Carbo. Anderson said later that he was concerned that the Sox would call on right-handedJuan Beníquez to pinch hit for Carbo if he made the move. Carbo looked overmatched by Eastwick, missing on a swing for a 2–2 count; he fouled off two more pitches late, the latter just barely fought off to avoid a strikeout. On the next pitch, Carbo tied the game with a three-run home run to center field. It was his second pinch-hit homer in the series, tying the record set byChuck Essegian in1959.

As Carbo approached third base on his home run trot, Carbo yelled out to former teammate Rose, "Hey, Pete, don't you wish you were that strong?" To which Rose replied, "This is fun."

In the bottom of the ninth, the Red Sox appeared poised to win.Denny Doyle walked on four pitches and went to third on aCarl Yastrzemski single; McEnaney, the Reds' seventh pitcher, replaced Eastwick and intentionally walkedCarlton Fisk, loading the bases with no outs to face the left-handed hitting Lynn. He flied out to Foster in foul territory in left; Doyle tagged up and attempted to score but was thrown out as Bench caught the ball on a bounce and made a sweeping tag from fair territory to nip him just before his hand touched the plate. With runners at first and third, McEnaney retired Petrocelli with a ground ball to end the jam.

Rose led off the top of the 11th and was awarded first base after a pitch lightly grazed him. Griffey bunted, but Fisk's throw forced out Rose at second base.Joe Morgan hit a deep drive to right offDick Drago that looked to be for extra bases. Evans made a leaping catch near the visitors bullpen in deep right to rob Morgan and doubled-up Griffey at first.

In the top of the 12th, Boston'sRick Wise caught Gerónimo looking with two men on to end the threat. In the bottom of the inning,Pat Darcy, the Reds' eighth pitcher, remained in the game after retiring the previous six batters in order. As the game passed four hours, Fisk led off; with a 1–0 count, he lifted a sinker down the left-field line and the ball struck the foul pole well above theGreen Monster.^[11] In what has now become an iconic baseball film highlight,NBC's left-field game camera (in the scoreboard)^[12] caught Fisk wildly waving his arms to his right after hitting the ball and watching its path while drifting down the first base line, as if he was trying to coax the ball to "stay fair." The ball indeed stayed fair and Fisk triumphantly leaped into the air as the Red Sox tied the Series. (The cameraman in the scoreboard was supposed to follow the flight of the ball but was distracted by a nearby rat and ended up capturing Fisk instead.)^[13][11] This would be the last time in World Series play that a catcher hit a home run in extra innings untilJ. T. Realmuto did so in the2022 World Series, 47 years later.^[14] To date, this is the last World Series game the Reds have lost.

This game ranked No. 7 inESPNSportsCentury Greatest Games of the 20th Century in 1999.

The game was scoreless until the third inning when Reds starterDon Gullett experienced control problems. After giving up an RBI single toCarl Yastrzemski, Gullett walkedCarlton Fisk to load the bases. He then walkedRico Petrocelli andDwight Evans to force in two more runs before striking outRick Burleson for the final out. Gullett pitched a scoreless fourth before being relieved byJack Billingham. The Reds bullpen pitched five scoreless innings to give the offense a chance to rally.

Boston starterBill Lee was again sharp, as he shut out the Reds through five innings. In the sixth, withPete Rose on first base and one out,Johnny Bench hit a routine grounder that appeared would be an inning-ending double play. Shortstop Burleson fielded the grounder and under-handed the ball toDenny Doyle covering second base to force Rose out at second. But as Doyle pivoted to make a throw to first base, Rose slid high and hard into Doyle to force an errant throw that sailed into the Boston dugout preventing the double play as Bench moved onto second base. On a 1–0 count, Lee threw a blooper pitch toTony Pérez who slammed the ball over theGreen Monster and onto Lansdowne Street for a two-run home run, his third home run in the final three Series games, to draw the Reds to within 3–2.

The Reds tied it in the seventh when Lee walkedKen Griffey, who stole second and scored on a two-out single to centerfield by Rose off of relieverRoger Moret.

In the ninth, Boston left-handed rookie relieverJim Burton entered the game and began by walking the leadoff man Griffey, who was sacrificed to second byCésar Gerónimo, and went to third on a groundout byDan Driessen. Burton then walked Rose to set up a forceout, butJoe Morgan reached down and blooped a low breaking ball into center field to score Griffey with the go-ahead run. It was the second time in the series Rose was intentionally walked prior to Morgan driving in the game-winning run. Morgan, the 1975 National League MVP, also knocked in the game-winner in Game 3.

Will McEnaney retired the Sox in order, with Yastrzemski flying out to center fielder Geronimo to end the game, clinching a World Series championship that had eluded the Reds for 35 years, and extending theCurse of the Bambino to 57 years. It would not be broken until2004, after the Red Sox went 86 years without a championship.

1975 World Series(4–3):Cincinnati Reds (N.L.) beatBoston Red Sox (A.L.).

For the fourth time in five years, the Series went a full seven games and the champions were outscored.

Note: GP=Games Played; AB=At Bats; R=Runs; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home Runs; RBI=Runs Batted In; BB=Walks; AVG=Batting Average; OBP=On Base Percentage; SLG=Slugging Percentage

Note: G=Games Played; GS=Games Started; IP=Innings Pitched; H=Hits; BB=Walks; R=Runs; ER=Earned Runs; SO=Strikeouts; W=Wins; L=Losses; SV=Saves; ERA=Earned Run Average

Note: GP=Games Played; AB=At Bats; R=Runs; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home Runs; RBI=Runs Batted In; BB=Walks; AVG=Batting Average; OBP=On Base Percentage; SLG=Slugging Percentage

Note: G=Games Played; GS=Games Started; IP=Innings Pitched; H=Hits; BB=Walks; R=Runs; ER=Earned Runs; SO=Strikeouts; W=Wins; L=Losses; SV=Saves; ERA=Earned Run Average

NBC aired the series on television and radio.Curt Gowdy andJoe Garagiola alternated theplay-by-play between the two mediums along with local team announcersDick Stockton andNed Martin (Red Sox) andMarty Brennaman (Reds), whileTony Kubek providedcolor commentary on the telecasts.

This was the final World Series play-by-play assignment for Gowdy, who had been NBC's lead baseball announcer since 1966. Garagiola took over full-time as NBC's primary play-by-play voice for baseball the following season. It was the only World Series broadcast for Stockton (who later became a prominent national sportscaster forCBS,Fox, andTNT) and for Martin.

This was also the last World Series broadcast for NBC Radio, which had retained exclusive rights to the event since1957.CBS Radio became the exclusive national radio network for MLB beginning the following season.

This is the earliest World Series for which telecasts of all games survive today in their entirety. While portions of many previous Series telecasts also survive, the general practice of the networks in earlier years was toreuse old tapes to save money and space. All subsequent World Series telecasts since this one also have had all their games preserved.

• 1975 Japan Series

• Adelman, Tom. (2003).The Long Ball: The Summer of '75—Spaceman, Catfish, Charlie Hustle, and the Greatest World Series Ever Played. Boston, Massachusetts: Little, Brown.ISBN 0-316-06899-3.
• Frost, Mark. (2009).Game Six: Cincinnati, Boston, and the 1975 World Series: The Triumph of America's Pastime. New York: Hyperion.ISBN 1-4013-2310-3.
• Gammons, Peter. (1985).Beyond the Sixth Game: What's Happened to Baseball Since the Greatest Game in World Series History. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin.ISBN 0-395-35345-9.
• Hornig, Doug. (2003).The Boys of October: How the 1975 Boston Red Sox Embodied Baseball's Ideals—and Restored Our Spirits. New York: McGraw-Hill.ISBN 0-07-140247-0.
• Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. (1990).The World Series. 1st ed. New York: St Martins.ISBN 0-312-03960-3. (Neft and Cohen 355–360)
• Posnanski, Joe. (2009).The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds. New York: William Morrow.ISBN 0-06-158256-5.
• Reichler, Joseph, ed. (1982).The Baseball Encyclopedia (5th ed.), p. 2197. Macmillan Publishing.ISBN 0-02-579010-2.

• Finn, Chad (July 5, 2025)."NESN's homage to the 1975 World Series, which included a look at the epic Game 6, was a home run".The Boston Globe. RetrievedJuly 5, 2025.
• Lowitt, Bruce (November 23, 1999)."Rats! Fisk's homer a landmark (TV) shot".St. Petersburg Times. RetrievedJuly 5, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
• Wasserman, Matty (July 2, 2025)."The 1975 Red Sox remembered on the 50th anniversary of their legendary World Series vs. the Reds".The Boston Globe. RetrievedJuly 5, 2025.

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