April 27, 1972: Apollo 16, Ken Mattingly's 2nd Chance

April 27, 1972: Apollo 16 splashes down, returning safely to the Earth, about 200 miles southeast of the island nation of Kirimati in the Sooth Pacific.

It was launched on April 16. On April 21, Commander John Young and lunar module pilot Charles Duke walked on the Moon. At 36, Duke remains the youngest person to do so. Thomas Kenneth "Ken" Mattingly, who was supposed to be the command module pilot for Apollo 13, got that honor this time.

Young and Duke spent 71 hours, just under 3 days, on the lunar surface, during which they conducted 3 Moonwalks, totaling 20 hours and 14 minutes. The pair drove the Lunar Rover, the 2nd used on the Moon, for 16.6 miles. They collected 211 pounds of lunar samples for return to Earth, including "Big Muley," at 26 pounds the largest Moon rock collected during the Apollo missions.

During this time, Mattingly orbited the Moon, spending 126 hours and 64 revolutions in lunar orbit, taking photos and operating scientific instruments.

Young, who made more spaceflights than any American before him, 6, including commanding the 1st Space Shuttle mission in 1981, died in 2018. Duke and Mattingly are both still alive, at age 86. (UPDATE: Mattingly died in 2023.)

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April 27, 1972 was a Thursday. Football was out of season. The NBA, ABA and Stanley Cup Playoffs were all in progress, but none had any games played on this day. And, since Thursday is often a travel day in Major League Baseball, only 4 games were played:

* The New York Mets beat the San Diego Padres, 4-3 at San Diego Stadium (later renamed Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium). Gary Gentry outpitched Fred Norman, Rusty Staub hit a home run, and Jerry Grote went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-4 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Reds scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th, the Pirates only 1 in the bottom of the 9th, falling just short. Dave Concepción hit a home run. Pete Rose went 1-for-5 with an RBI. Johnny Bench went 0-for-4 with a walk. Roberto Clemente went 1-for-4. Willie Stargell had a pinch-hit RBI on a groundout.

These 2 teams, 289 miles apart on the Ohio River, both opened new stadiums in the Summer of 1970. In the 1970s, either the Reds or the Pirates made the Playoffs every year but 1977 and 1978, and they faced each other 4 times: The Reds won in 1970, 1972 and 1975, before the Pirates won in 1979. The Pirates won the Pennant in 1971 by going through the Giants rather than the Reds, while the Reds won the Pennant in 1976 by going through the Phillies rather than the Pirates.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-5 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And the Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 7-6 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Greg Luzinski hit a home run in the top of the 9th inning to win it. Willie Mays, as it turned out in his last 2 weeks of playing for the Giants, went 1-for-4 with a walk.