October 9, 1966: A World Series Sweep for Baltimore

Left to right: Brooks Robinson, Andy Etchebarren, Dave McNally

October 9, 1966: Game 4 of the World Series is played at Memorial Stadium. This could be the clincher for the home team.

From 1902 to 1953, the St. Louis Browns were one of the least successful teams in what would become known as Major League Baseball. They won just 1 American League Pennant, in 1944. In only 3 other seasons -- 1902, 1922 and 1945 -- did they even come within 10 games of 1st place at the end of the season.

For the 1954 season, they were sold and moved, becoming the Baltimore Orioles. In 1960, they got into their 1st Pennant race. In 1964, with Hank Bauer managing them, and 3rd baseman Brooks Robinson winning the AL's Most Valuable Player award, they came within 2 games of the Pennant, behind the New York Yankees, with whom Bauer had won 9 Pennants as a right fielder.

In 1966, they obtained right fielder Frank Robinson. Having won the National League's MVP with the Cincinnati Reds in 1961, he was immediately named team Captain, and he led the O's to win the Pennant by 9 games over the defending Champion Minnesota Twins. The clincher came on September 22, a 6-1 win over the Kansas City Athletics, at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Frank won the Triple Crown, and became the 1st player ever to win the MVP in both Leagues. Through the 2021 season, he remains the only one.

To win the World Series, they would have to beat the defending Champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and their lefty-righty combination of ace pitchers, Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. In Game 1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Polish-born reliever Moe Drabowsky had to bail out Dave McNally, and set a Series record for relief pitchers that still stands, with 11 strikeouts. Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson both hit 1st-inning home runs, and the Orioles beat the Dodgers, 5-2.

In Game 2, Dodger center fielder Willie Davis, having trouble seeing a white baseball against the smog-gray L.A. sky, committed 3 errors in 1 inning, enabling the Orioles to win 6-0, and head back to Baltimore with a 2-0 lead. Jim Palmer, 9 days short of his 21st birthday, outdueled Koufax, who struggled with the Oriole bats, Davis' fielding, and the pain in his elbow. Koufax hadn't told very many people yet, but he had already decided that this would be his last major league season, so this was his last game. He was not yet 31. This could be called a "generational hinge" game.

Game 3 was the 1st World Series game played in the State of Maryland. The host Orioles continued their shocking upset, beating the Dodgers, 1-0. Wally Bunker pitched a shutout.

Game 4 was decided by a home run, when Frank Robinson took a Drysdale pitch deep over the left field fence in the 4th inning. The lone run being scored on a homer for only the 5th time in the history of the Fall Classic, and the complete-game shutout thrown by McNally, Baltimore completed the 4-game sweep.

It was the 1st World Championship won by a Baltimore baseball team in 70 years, since the original version of the Orioles won the 1896 National League Pennant. For the Dodgers, 33 consecutive innings without scoring a run is a Series record for futility. Their streak would run to 38 innings before they scored in the 5th inning of Game 1 of the 1974 World Series, and remains a record.

The Orioles went on to win 4 Pennants and the 1970 World Series under manager Earl Weaver, and the 1983 World Series under manager Joe Altobelli. The Dodgers, however, went into rebuilding mode, winning the Pennant again in 1974.

UPDATE: In 2024, Shohei Ohtani, having already won the MVP in the AL, won it in the NL, joining Frank Robinson.

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October 9, 1966 was a Sunday. David Cameron, Prime Minister of Britain from 2010 to 2016, now Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton, was born on this day.

The only other scores on this historic day were in pro football. In the NFL:

* The New York Giants lost to the football version of the St. Louis Cardinals, 24-19 at the new Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Washington Redskins beat the expansion Atlanta Falcons, 33-20 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. (It was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.)

* The Los Angeles Rams beat the Detroit Lions, 14-7 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Baltimore Colts, 27-17 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. For once, Marylanders didn't care much that the Colts had lost.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 56-7 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Green Bay Packers, 21-20 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.

* And the night before, the Cleveland Browns beat their arch-rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, 41-10 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

And in the American Football League, only one game was played on October 9: The Oakland Raiders beat the expansion Miami Dolphins, 21-10 at the new Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

The other 3 games were played the day before. The New York Jets beat the San Diego Chargers, 17-16 at Shea Stadium. The Boston Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills, 20-10 at War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo. And the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos, 37-10 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Because there were 9 teams in the League that season, one team had to have a bye each week, and, this time, it was the Houston Oilers.