June 23, 1984: The Ryne Sandberg Game

June 23, 1984: The Chicago Cubs host their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, at Wrigley Field in Chicago. NBC broadcasts it as its Saturday Game of the Week.

The teams now known as the Cubs and the Cardinals have a history going back to 1885 and 1886, when they were the Champions of separate leagues, and faced each other in postseason series, both of which St. Louis won. But they've rarely both been good at the same time. From 1926 to 1946, a string of 21 seasons, they won 14 National League Pennants between them. But from then until 1983, the Cardinals had won 4 Pennants, the Cubs none.

The rivalry doesn't extend much into other sports as well. Neither of St. Louis' NFL teams, the Cardinals (1960-1987) or the Rams (1995-2015) had much of a rivalry with the Chicago Bears, and both moved. St. Louis hasn't had an NBA team since the Hawks moved to Atlanta in 1968. Fans of the NHL's St. Louis Blues consider the Chicago Blackhawks to be their arch-rivals, but Blackhawks fans cite the longer history with the Detroit Red Wings.

College sports doesn't help much: The Universities of Illinois and Missouri have always been in separate conferences, and the fact that UI is halfway between Chicago and St. Louis, and UM is halfway between St. Louis and Kansas City, would dull it a bit anyway. In basketball, Chicago's DePaul University and Saint Louis University (always with "Saint" spelled out, never "St.") have a rivalry, but it's not an especially notable one.

Ever since their 1969 "September Swoon," the Cubs had become "lovable losers." Their transmission across the country on "Superstation" WGN brought them fans from all over, as did the Atlanta Braves' games being broadcast on another superstation, WTBS. Harry Caray was their lead broadcaster, and it might shock Cub fans who came along in the 1980s to know that he had been with the crosstown White Sox in the 1970s, and with the hated Cardinals for a quarter of a century before that.

Caray -- born Harry Christopher Carabina in St. Louis in 1914, although later sources would move him up to 1917 or even 1920 -- became the voice of the Cardinals in 1945. In 1953, beer baron August Anheuser Busch Jr. bought the team, and loved Harry because he could really use those airwaves to sell that old Budweiser over the Cards' powerful (38-State-reaching) radio network, which is the real reason Gussie bought the team in the first place.

But in 1969, Gussie fired Harry. Not because he was declining as an announcer (that would come later), or because Bud sales were down (of course they weren't). It was because Harry was having an affair with Gussie's daughter-in-law. (To make matters worse, August Anheuser Busch III, a.k.a. Augie Busch, had married a woman named Susan Hornibrook. Maybe Augie should've seen it coming.)

After broadcasting for the Oakland Athletics in 1970, Harry went to the Chicago White Sox, and in 1976 owner Bill Veeck heard him leaning out of the Comiskey Park broadcast booth to lead fans in singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch. So Veeck had the public-address microphone piped in there, and a tradition was born.

In 1981, both Chicago teams' TV contracts expired at once. Seeing how the Cubs were helping to build WGN-Channel 9's "superstation," he realized if he stuck with the White Sox, "I'd soon be Harry Who?" And so he went to the team that both Cards fans and ChiSox fans hate the most. (Cards fans who once loved him, and hated Gussie for firing him, began to hate him, and remember only Jack Buck as "the Voice of the Cardinals.")

Like Phil Rizzuto, who was saying "Holy cow!" before he ever heard of Harry (though Harry said it on the air years before the Scooter stopped playing), Harry was a great broadcaster before I ever heard him, less so thereafter. But he was an institution, and was honored with the Ford Frick Award, the broadcasters' equivalent to election to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

While the Braves won the NL Western Division in 1982, and nearly did so again in 1983, the Cubs were way back in the NL East, despite their acquisition for the 1982 season of 2nd baseman Ryne Sandberg from the Philadelphia Phillies.

In addition, at the trading deadline, then June 15 (it became July 31 for the 1986 season), the Cubs obtained pitcher Rick Sutcliffe. He had been the 1979 NL Rookie of the Year with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and, for a weak Cleveland Indians team, had led the American League in ERA in 1982 and gone 17-11 in 1983. He was having a bad 1984 season, going 4-5, but the trade to the Cubs energized him, and energized the team.

On Friday afternoon, June 22, the Cubs beat the Cardinals, 9-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. At this point, the NL East was led by the New York Mets, with the Philadelphia Phillies were a game back, the Cubs a game and a half, the Montreal Expos 4, the Cardinals 5, and the Pittsburgh Pirates 9 1/2. In other words, aside from the Pirates, everybody was still in the race.

NBC put Bob Costas and Tony Kubek in the broadcast booth for the Saturday, June 23 game. Costas grew up in Commack, Long Island, New York, as a fan of the New York Yankees, for whom Kubek was an All-Star shortstop.

But Costas had gotten his big break in St. Louis, broadcasting for the Spirits of St. Louis of the American Basketball Association, and had also broadcast University of Missouri basketball. But he had a Chicago connection, too, calling games for the Chicago Bulls in the 1979-80 season, before NBC made him a national announcer for MLB, NFL and NBA games.

Steve Trout started for the Cubs, but he didn't get out of the 2nd inning, charged with 7 runs. Going into the bottom of the 5th inning, the Cards led, 7-1, and anyone expecting this game to become a classic appeared to be kidding themselves.

Sandberg had singled home the Cubs' 1st run, and he got their 2nd home on a groundout. The Cubs scored another in the bottom of the 5th. But a home run by Willie McGee in the 6th made it 9-3 St. Louis, and it looked hopeless.

It wasn't. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Keith Moreland led off the bottom of the 6th by drawing a walk on Card starter Ralph Citarella. Citarella struck Jody Davis out, then hit former Dodger 3rd baseman Ron Cey with a pitch. Manager Whitey Herzog replaced him with Neil Allen, who walked former Phillies shortstop Larry Bowa to load the bases. Richie Hebner singled home Moreland, Bob Dernier doubled home Cey and Bowa, and Sandberg singled home Hebner and Dernier. The Cubs had made it interesting: Now, it was 9-8.

It was still 9-8 in the bottom of the 9th, and the Cards brought in Bruce Sutter, one of the greatest relief pitchers of all time -- who had started his career with the Cubs. On December 9, 1980, the Cubs traded him for 1st baseman Leon Durham, 3rd baseman Ken Reitz, and utility player Ty Waller. Waller didn't do much for them, Reitz was finished, and both were out of the major leagues by the end of the 1982 season. Durham, at least, provided some power and a good glove. But Sutter was key to the Cards' 1982 World Series win.

Sandberg led off the bottom of the 9th. On the 1st pitch, he hit a home run to tie the game. The Cubs actually loaded the bases before Sutter worked out of it, but the game went to extra innings. The Cardinals scored 2 runs in the top of the 10th. Sutter got the 1st 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th. But, as I said, walks can kill you, and Sutter walked Dernier. The next batter was Sandberg. He hit another home run, and the Wrigley crowd went wild. It was 11-11.

Andy Van Slyke walked and stole 2nd for the Cards in the top of the 11th, but they couldn't get him home. Dave Rucker began the bottom of the 11th as the Cards' pitcher, but he walked Durham. Herzog took him out, and replaced him with Jeff Lahti. With Moreland up, Durham stole 2nd. Now, with the winning run in scoring position, and 1st base open, Herzog took a big chance: He ordered Moreland and Davis to be intentionally walked, loading the bases with nobody out.

That brought up the pitcher's spot in the order. Herzog knew that Cub manager Jim Frey would either have to send his closer, Lee Smith, to bat, or replace him with a pinch-hitter who wouldn't be much better. Frey sent up Dave Owen, who was entering the 29th of what would turn out to be 92 major league games.

But this was a miscalculation on Herzog's part: Owen was batting .304, having gone 7-for-23, with 3 RBIs. Owen singled Durham home. Final score: Cubs 12, Cardinals 11.

Owen, brother of major league shortstop Spike Owen, was the last Cub hero of the game, but a national audience remembers it as "The Ryne Sandberg Game." Sandberg finished it 5-for-6, with 2 home runs and 7 RBIs. For many 2nd basemen before him, 2 homers and 7 ribbies would have been a month's work at the plate. He accomplished that in a span of 3 hours and 53 minutes. Less than that, actually: His last at-bat, his 2nd homer, came in the 10th inning. He wouldn't have come up in the 11th, had it been necessary, for another 4 at-bats.

On September 24, 15 years to the day after they were eliminated from the NL East race by the Mets, completing their "September Swoon," Sutcliffe pitched a complete-game victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1 at Three Rivers Stadium. This clinched the NL East title for the Cubs, their 1st postseason berth in 39 years. Sutcliffe finished the season 20-6, 16-1 for the Cubs, winning the NL Cy Young Award, even though he hadn't even been in the NL until June 15.

And the Playoffs started so well for the Cubs. They beat the San Diego Padres 13-0 in Game 1, with Sutcliffe pitching a 6-hit shutout and hitting a home run. The Cubs also got home runs from Gary Matthews (2 of them), Cey and Dernier. They won Game 2, 4-2. All they had to do was win 1 game in San Diego, and they would have their 1st Pennant since 1945.

As Steve Goodman, songwriter and Cub fan, who had just died of leukemia, put it in his song "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request":

You know, the law of averages says

anything will happen that can.

But the last time the Cubs won a National League Pennant

was the year we dropped the bomb on Japan.

The Curse -- of the Billy Goat? of the Black Cat? -- of something else? -- reared its ugly head. The Padres won Game 3, 7-1. Game 4 was tied in the bottom of the 9th, but Lee Smith gave up a game-winning home run to former Dodger superstar Steve Garvey, 7-5. And the Padres won Game 5, 6-3. Durham backed Sutcliffe with a home run in the 1st inning, but made an error that led to a 4-run Padres rally in the 7th. The Padres had their 1st Pennant. The Cubs and their fans, heartbroken again, would have to wait.

But the season was not in vain. Between Sandberg, Sutcliffe and Caray, the 1984 season raised the Cubs to a new level, making them truly a national team. And the attention probably saved Wrigley Field for at least 2 more generations. The addition of lights in 1988, and the modernizations of the 21st Century, wouldn't have been possible without the '84 run. Without that run, the Cubs and Bears -- and maybe also the White Sox -- may well have ended up sharing some antiseptic dome out by O'Hare Airport. A Metrodome-like situation, in a Silverdome-like location. That wouldn't have been good for anybody.

So it's fitting that his statue is outside Wrigley, not the new Busch Stadium in St. Louis. After his death in 1998, the Cubs began inviting celebrities to lead the 7th inning stretch singalong.

Like the 1982 season for the Braves, the 1967 season for the Boston Red Sox, and later the 1989 season for the Baltimore Orioles, the 1984 season was the one that made the Cubs what they would become: An institution far beyond their home region.

UPDATE: The Cubs have a team Hall of Fame. Inducted from their 1984 team were 2nd baseman Ryne Sandberg, catcher Jody Davis, pitchers Rick Sutcliffe and Lee Smith, clubhouse manager Yosh Kawano, and broadcaster Harry Caray.

From between the 1984 Division title and the 1998 Playoff berth, they have inducted shortstop Shawon Dunston, pitcher Greg Maddux, and right fielder Andre Dawson.

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June 23, 1984 was a Saturday. Welsh singer Aimee Ann Duffy, who goes by only her last name, was born. These other Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-4 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Roy Smalley hit a home run off Tippy Martinez in the top of the 11th inning, to make a winning pitcher out of José Rijo, who had just turned 19. The game was started by Phil Niekro, who was 45. Former Oriole Don Baylor hit a home run for the Yankees. Dave Winfield went 2-for-5. Don Mattingly went 0-for-4. Eddie Murray went 2-for-4 with 2 walks and an RBI. Cal Ripken went 1-for-6.

* The New York Mets beat the Montreal Expos, 2-0 at Shea Stadium. Bruce Berenyi pitched 7 innings of 3-hit shutout ball, and Doug Sisk pitched 2 hitless innings to preserve the shutout. Danny Heep hit a home run. Pete Rose, in his brief tenure with the Expos, went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox, 9-3 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves, 10-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-5 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Mike Schmidt went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-2 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Tony Gwynn went 1-for-5.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Robin Yount went 0-for-3 with a walk. Paul Molitor did not play.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-3 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Tom Seaver ran out of gas in the 7th inning.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Houston Astros, 7-5 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the California Angels, 6-5 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). George Brett 2-for-5. Steve Balboni hit 2 home runs. For the Angels, Doug DeCinces hit 2 home runs. Reggie Jackson went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Texas Rangers, 5-1 at the Oakland Coliseum. Rickey Henderson went 0-for-3, but drew a walk and stole 2 bases.

* And the Cleveland Indians beat the Seattle Mariners, 11-4 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

This was during the 2nd of the 3 seasons of the United States Football League (USFL), and one game was played: The Arizona Wranglers beat the Los Angeles Express, 35-10 at Sun Devil Stadium (now Mountain America Stadium) in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona.