1972 World Series
Team (Wins) Managers Season Oakland Athletics (4) Dick Williams 93–62 (.600), GA:5+1⁄2 Cincinnati Reds (3) Sparky Anderson 95–59 (.617), GA:10+1⁄2
Dates	October 14–22
Venue(s)	Riverfront Stadium (Cincinnati) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum (Oakland)
MVP	Gene Tenace (Oakland)
Umpires	Chris Pelekoudas (NL),Bill Haller (AL), Mel Steiner (NL),Frank Umont (AL), Bob Engel (NL),Jim Honochick (AL)
Hall of Famers	Athletics : Dick Williams (manager) Reggie Jackson (DNP) Catfish Hunter Rollie Fingers Reds: Sparky Anderson (manager) Johnny Bench Joe Morgan Tony Pérez
Broadcast
Television	NBC
TV announcers	Curt Gowdy Al Michaels (in Cincinnati) Monte Moore (in Oakland) Tony Kubek
Radio	NBC
Radio announcers	Jim Simpson Monte Moore (in Cincinnati) Al Michaels (in Oakland)
ALCS	Oakland Athletics overDetroit Tigers (3–2)
NLCS	Cincinnati Reds overPittsburgh Pirates (3–2)
← 1971 World Series 1973 →

The1972 World Series was thechampionship series ofMajor League Baseball's (MLB)1972 season. The 69th edition of the World Series, it was abest-of-seven playoff between theAmerican League championOakland Athletics and theNational League championCincinnati Reds. The Athletics won in seven games for their sixth World Series championship.^[1][2][3] It was the first World Series championship for the Athletics since1930. This was the first major professional sports championship won by a team from theSan Francisco Bay Area.

This was the first World Series in which both teams wore pullover uniforms, a style that remained the norm until 1982, after which at least one team in the fall classic would wear them until 1990, when the Cincinnati Reds wore them. Coincidentally both this World Series and the1990 World Series featured the same two teams, the Athletics and the Reds, both far different results. The Athletics won this one in a hard fought seven games, while the Reds swept the defending champion Athletics in four games in 1990.

The Athletics won theAmerican League West division by5+1⁄2 games over theChicago White Sox, then defeated theDetroit Tigers three games to two in theAmerican League Championship Series. TheCincinnati Reds won theNational League West division by10+1⁄2 games over both theLos Angeles Dodgers and theHouston Astros. The Reds dethroned thedefending World Series championPittsburgh Pirates three games to two in theNational League Championship Series, marking the first year in which an LCS series in either league went the full five games since divisional play was introduced in1969. The Reds (95–59 (.617)) won one fewer game than the Pirates (96–59 (.619)) during the strike-reduced regular season and became the first team in MLB history to reach the World Series without having the best record in its respective league. In each of the first six League Championship Series, the team with the better record advanced to the World Series. (The Athletics' (93–62 (.600)) had the best record in the American League in 1972, but the AL pennant winner the next three seasons did not.)

This was Cincinnati's second trip to the World Series in three years, previously falling toBaltimore in five games in the1970. It was Oakland's first-ever trip to the Series, and the first for the franchise since1931, when the team was located inPhiladelphia.^[4]

This was a matchup of the two premier MLB dynasties of the 1970s, with the Reds winning two World Series (1975–76) in four WS appearances, while the Athletics wonthree straight (1972–74). Iconoclastic club ownerCharlie Finley's "Swingin' A's" featured day-glo uniforms, white shoes, much facial hair, colorful nicknames, and explosive personalities, while "TheBig Red Machine" was a more traditional franchise with a more traditional look (including a facial-hair ban)—and an everyday lineup with three future Hall of Famers as well as all-time hits king,Pete Rose. The Series was dubbed "The Hairs vs. the Squares."^[5]

Oakland played the Series without its star outfielderReggie Jackson, who was injured (pulledhamstring) stealing home in the second inning of the final game of the ALCS at Detroit onOctober 12.^[4][6][7] Left-handed relieverDarold Knowles was also missing for the Athletics, breaking his thumb on September 27, less than three weeks before the Series opener.

With Jackson out, the Athletics were decided underdogs.^[8]George Hendrick was inserted into center field for Jackson. And while Hendrick only went 2-for-15 (.133), unheralded catcherGene Tenace stepped up. Tenace had a poor regular season, hitting only .225 with five home runs. He was even worse in the AL Championship series against Detroit, going 1 for 17 (.059), although his one hit drove in the go-ahead run in Game 5. In the World Series however, Tenace was spectacular, hitting four home runs equaling theWorld Series mark set byBabe Ruth,Lou Gehrig, andHank Bauer. He also had nine RBI in the Series—no other Oakland player had more than one. Tenace was voted World Series MVP.

By contrast, the stellar Oakland pitching kept the middle of the Reds lineup quiet for most of the series.Johnny Bench (.270 avg., 40 HR, 125 RBI, NL MVP),Tony Pérez (.283 avg., 21 HR, 90 RBI), andDenis Menke (9 HR, 50 RBI), combined for only two homers and five RBI the entire Series. Perez did lead both teams with 10 hits and a .435 batting average, but 8 of his 10 hits were singles. It didn't help that the Reds' "table-setters,"Pete Rose andJoe Morgan were a combined 1 for 28 through the first four games, when the Reds lost three of those games.

The teams were fairly equal statistically, each club totaling 46 hits with the same .209 batting average (the combined batting averages were the lowest recorded in a 7-game World Series). The Reds outscored the Athletics by five runs,21–16, but all four of their losses were by a single run. Six of the seven games in the series were decided by one run, marking perhaps the most closely contested World Series in history.

ALOakland Athletics (4) vs. NLCincinnati Reds (3)

†: postponed from October 17 due to rain

Oakland jumped out to a one-game series lead behind catcherGene Tenace, who hit a home run in each of his first two at-bats. Tenace became the first player ever to homer in his two initial Series plate appearances, a feat later matched byAndruw Jones of theAtlanta Braves in1996. Only two Oakland players collected hits, a pair each from Tenace andBert Campaneris. The Athletics received a combined four innings of shutout relief fromRollie Fingers andVida Blue to secure the victory for starterKen Holtzman. Blue stranded the potential tying run at third base to end the game by inducingPete Rose to ground out to second base.

The Game 2 hero was Athletics left fielderJoe Rudi, who smacked a home run and added a sparkling, game-saving catch up against the wall in the ninth inning on a ball hit byDenis Menke.Catfish Hunter pitched eight strong innings, consistently wiggling out of trouble, and also added an RBI single in the second offRoss Grimsley. The Reds' failure to produce in the clutch was as much the story as Rudi's heroics as Cincinnati had leadoff baserunners in five innings but only scored a run in the ninth.

The Athletics scored a run in the second whenGeorge Hendrick beat out a double-play grounder afterSal Bando led off with a single. Hendrick went to second on aDick Green single and scored on a close play at the plate on a Hunter single.Bert Campaneris followed with a hit and Green attempted to score, but was successfully thrown out at the plate byPete Rose. The Athletics had four hits in the inning, but only scored one run. Rudi extended the lead to 2–0 with his home run in the 3rd.

In the ninth,Tony Pérez led off with a base hit before Rudi's catch of Menke's drive for the first out. Oakland first basemanMike Hegan then made another great defensive play whenCésar Gerónimo, the next Reds hitter, lined a shot that appeared headed down the line for extra bases. Hegan dove for the ball, knocked it down, and dove for the bag, barely beating Geronimo. Pérez took second and scored on aHal McRae single through the middle.Rollie Fingers then relieved Hunter and induced pinch hitterJulián Javier to pop out to Hegan in foul territory to end the game. The World Series home loss was Reds' seventh-straight, which included three in the 1961 World Series against the New York Yankees (atCrosley Field) and two in the 1970 World Series against the Baltimore Orioles.

Prior to the gameJackie Robinson, the first black major league player of the modern era, made his final public appearance (he died nine days later) in an on-field ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of his breaking of thecolor line. Former Reds radio announcerRed Barber, who had been with theBrooklyn Dodgers' broadcast crew for Robinson's inaugural 1947 season with that team, hosted the ceremony. In a brief speech (following introductory remarks by MLB commissionerBowie Kuhn), Robinson expressed his desire to see a black manager in the majors, a color barrier that hadn't yet been broken. Two years later,Frank Robinson was hired in October 1974 to manage theCleveland Indians to breakthat barrier.^[16][17] It would take until1992 before another black manager,Cito Gaston, would win theWorld Series with theToronto Blue Jays (Gaston would repeat this for Toronto thefollowing year.)

Heavy storms delayed Game 3 by a day, but the Reds got back into the series behind a strong performance from starterJack Billingham, who held the Athletics to three hits in eight innings. The Reds pushed across the game's only run in the seventh whenCésar Gerónimo singled homeTony Pérez. Pérez scored despite slipping on the still damp grass as he rounded third. Oakland shortstopBert Campaneris was apparently unaware that Pérez had slipped; otherwise, it appeared Campaneris may have had a play at the plate.Clay Carroll pitched the ninth for the save.

A rare trick play occurred in the eighth inning. The Reds hadJoe Morgan on third andBobby Tolan on first base withRollie Fingers pitching to NL MVPJohnny Bench. Fingers pitched carefully to Bench before Tolan stole second base on ball three. After the stolen base, with the count 3–2 on Bench, Athletics managerDick Williams visited the mound. After a long discussion, he motioned for anintentional walk to Bench. Athletics catcherGene Tenace stood to catch ball four, but at the last second returned to his crouch as Fingers delivered a strike on the outside corner. Bench watched the pitch go by for strike three.

Gene Tenace and Oakland non-starters put the Athletics up 3 games to 1.

The game was a pitchers' duel between a pair of left-handed starters: Cincinnati'sDon Gullett and Oakland'sKen Holtzman. Through seven innings, the game's lone run was a result of a fifth-inning home run by Tenace, his third homer of the series. With two outs in the top of the eighth inning andDave Concepción on second base, Athletics managerDick Williams replaced Holtzman with left-handerVida Blue to face left-handed hittersJoe Morgan andBobby Tolan. Blue walked Morgan and allowed a clutch two-run double to Tolan, giving Cincinnati the lead as the Reds seemed poised to tie the series at 2 games apiece.

In the bottom of the ninth, however, with one out, the Athletics strung together four consecutive hits to score two runs. Pinch hitterGonzalo Márquez singled, Tenace followed with a single,Don Mincher followed with another pinch-hit single scoring pinch-runnerAllan Lewis to tie the game before a third pinch-hitter,Ángel Mangual, singled offClay Carroll to score Tenace with the game-winner to put Oakland up three games to one. It was the first time that a team collected three pinch hits in the same World Series inning.

Up three games to one and with aceCatfish Hunter on the mound, the Athletics looked poised to close out Cincinnati. Compounding problems for the Reds, their ace pitcherGary Nolan, who had been battling shoulder and neck issues during the second half of the regular season, was unable to pitch Game 5, forcing part-time starterJim McGlothlin to start instead. But two of the struggling Reds,Pete Rose andJoe Morgan who were a combined 1 for 28 at the plate in the first four games, stepped up to make key plays. Rose led off the game with a home run, and he would also drive in the game-winning run in the ninth inning. The game ended dramatically when Morgan threw out the potential game-tying run at the plate as the Reds staved off elimination.^[18]

Trailing 1–0 in the second,Gene Tenace hit his fourth home run of the series, a three-run shot, to put Oakland up by two. McGlothlin was removed after pitching just three innings. The Reds cut the lead to 3–2 in the fourth on a home run byDenis Menke.Gonzalo Marquez put the Athletics back in front by two runs with a pinch-hit RBI single in the fourth.

The Reds continued to answer. With two outs in the fifth,Joe Morgan walked. With a 3–2 count onBobby Tolan, Morgan broke for second and was able to score when Tolan lined a base hit into right-center field. The speedy Morgan and Tolan collaborated once again in the eighth. Morgan again walked, stole second and scored on another Tolan single to tie the game at four.

In the ninth, Rose singled in the go-ahead run to give the Reds a 5–4 lead. Game 3 starterJack Billingham came in to relieve in the ninth, but the Athletics put runners on the corners with one out.Bert Campaneris hit a foul pop behind first base thatTony Pérez drifted back and appeared to call for. But second baseman Morgan raced over, waved Perez off, caught the ball, slipped on the grass but got up and fired a throw to nail pinch runnerBlue Moon Odom, who had tagged from third.

The Friday afternoon contest was the last non-weekend World Series day game. The three games in Oakland had all been scheduled to be played at night, but Game 3 was rained out, forcing Game 5 to be played on a Friday, originally scheduled as a travel day. The game was played in the afternoon (1 p.m. PT)^[19] to allow ample time for the teams to travel to Cincinnati for Game 6 the next day.

Back at the friendly confines ofRiverfront Stadium, the Reds tied the series at three games apiece with a rout.Johnny Bench, who had no RBIs in the series to that point, broke a scoreless tie in the fourth with a homer off starterVida Blue. The Athletics fought back on aDick Green RBI double in their half of the fifth, but from then on it was all Reds.Dave Concepción had a sacrifice fly in the fifth, andTony Pérez an RBI single in the sixth (his first RBI of the Series). The Reds then broke it open with a five-run seventh, an RBI single byJoe Morgan and a pair of two-run singles byBobby Tolan andCésar Gerónimo. The win was the Reds' first World Series victory at home since Game 7 of the1940 World Series, snapping a 7-game losing streak in World Series home games, which is tied for the longest such streak in MLB history (Cubs from 1918–1935). Prior to the game, an intoxicated Reds fan was caught trying to enter Riverfront Stadium with a loaded gun in his pocket, threatening to shoot Gene Tenace if he hit another home run.

Gene Tenace capped a spectacular World Series with two hits, two RBI and he also scored the game-winning run in the sixth inning onSal Bando's double.

Oakland scored an unearned run in the first inning offJack Billingham when Reds center fielderBobby Tolan misplayed a fly ball by Mangual into a three-base error. Mangual scored on a two-out single by Tenace on a ball that hit a seam in the Astroturf and bounced over the head of third basemanDenis Menke. The Reds tied the game in the fifth on a bases loaded sacrifice fly to the center field wall byHal McRae. However, McRae was pinch hitting for Billingham who had allowed no earned runs in13+2⁄3 innings in the series against the Athletics. His replacement in the sixth inning,Pedro Borbón, surrendered RBI doubles to Tenace and Bando. Bando's drive appeared catchable, but Tolan pulled up short of the wall due to a strained hamstring and the ball went over Tolan to the base of the wall. He was later removed from the game on a double switch. The Reds closed to within 3–2 in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Perez. In the ninth inning, Athletics closerRollie Fingers retired the first two hitters,César Gerónimo andDave Concepción, beforeDarrel Chaney was hit by pitch. That created a rare "golden pitch" situation whereby either team could win on the next pitch. However, on the first pitch of the at-bat,Pete Rose lined out to left field to end the game, and the A's clinched their first championship in 42 years.

1972 World Series(4–3):Oakland Athletics (A.L.) overCincinnati Reds (N.L.)

Source:^[21]
This was the second of three consecutive years in which the World Series went seven games and the champion was outscored. Six of the games were decided by one run, the sole exception was Game 6, an 8–1 Reds' win.

NBC aired the series on both television and radio.Curt Gowdy (on television) andJim Simpson (on radio) alternatedplay-by-play with team announcersAl Michaels (Reds) andMonte Moore (Athletics).

Tony Kubek, who had served as an in-the-stands reporter for NBC's four previous World Series telecasts, was promoted to the booth as acolor analyst, becoming the first former player to serve in that capacity sinceJoe Garagiola in1961.

Michaels was, at 27, the second youngest to call play by play telecast of a World Series. OnlyVin Scully who called the1953 World Series at 25 is younger.Joe Buck would tie Michaels when he called the1996 World Series also at age 27, but unlike Michaels and Scully who only called parts of the telecast, Buck did play by play for every inning.

Hall of Famer andCivil Rights trailblazerJackie Robinson died of a heart attack two days after the series ended. Robinson had thrown out the first pitch in Game 2 in the World Series. In addressing the crowd, he said he hoped to see a black MLB manager soon.Frank Robinson, no relation, achieved that in 1974.

The World Series victory for theOakland Athletics was the first for the franchise since the days ofConnie Mack when the team was in Philadelphia and had won in1930. The victory ensured managerDick Williams' return for another year. It was the Athletics' sixth World Series title, and the first of three consecutive titles. This was the last time to date that an American League team had won a World Series Game 7 on the road until2017, when theHouston Astros did so inLos Angeles.

The Reds would go on to form adynasty of their own, becoming the third NL team (following theChicago Cubs in1907–08 and theNew York Giants in1921–22) to win consecutive World Series in1975 and1976.

These two teams met again in the World Series 18 years later in1990. Their managers would meet again in the Fall Classic 12 years later in1984, helming different teams and swapping leagues.

• 1972 Japan Series
• Golden pitch

• Cohen, Richard M.; Neft, David S. (1990).The World Series: Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903–1989. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 340–344.ISBN 0-312-03960-3.
• Reichler, Joseph (1982).The Baseball Encyclopedia (5th ed.). Macmillan Publishing. p. 2188.ISBN 0-02-579010-2.
• Forman, Sean L."1972 World Series".Baseball-Reference.com – Major League Statistics and Information.Archived from the original on November 30, 2007. RetrievedDecember 9, 2007.

• 1972 World Series atWorldSeries.com viaMLB.com
• 1972 World Series atBaseball Almanac
• 1972 World Series atBaseball-Reference.com
• The 1972 Post-Season Games (box scores and play-by-play) atRetrosheet
• History of the World Series - 1972 atThe Sporting News. Archived fromthe original in May 2006.
• 1972 NLCS | Game 5 at MLB.com
• Mustaches All the Way at SI.com
• The 1972 Oakland Athletics at baseballlibrary.com
• The 1972 Cincinnati Reds at baseballlibrary.com
• Reds History at redshistory.com
• Joe Rudi's game-saving Game 2 catch
• 1972 World Series – MLB highlight film, narrated byCurt Gowdy

• World Series
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• Oakland Athletics postseason
• Cincinnati Reds postseason
• 1972 in sports in California
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• Baseball competitions in Oakland, California
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