Manager Masaichi Kaneda and pitcher Masaaki Kitaru
October 23, 1974: The Lotte Orions beat the Chunichi Dragons, 3-2 at Nagoya Stadium in the Japanese city of the same name. This gave the Orions the Japan Series, 4 games to 2.
This ended a streak of 9 straight Japan Series wins for the Tokyo-based Yomiuri Giants. Although they took the name and the colors, black and oragne, of the New York (now San Francisco) Giants, their success has led to them becoming known as "the Yankees of Japan." Those 9, and 2 earlier ones, starred Sadaharu Oh, the 1st baseman whose 868 home runs set a worldwide professional baseball record.
But in 1974, the Giants were edged for the Central League title by the Nagoya-based Dragons, while the Chiba-based Orions won the Pacific League title by a slim margin over the Osaka-based Hankya Braves, the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. In the Japan Series, the teams split the 1st 2 games, at Nagoya Stadium. The next 3 games were played at Korakuen Stadium in Tokyo, with Game 6 back in Nagoya. The Dragons won Game 3, but the Orions took the next 3 games and the title.
Outfielder Sumio Hirota was named the Series' Most Valuable Player. The Orions were managed by Masaichi Kaneda, a former Yomiuri player, so perhaps there was a sense of revenge involved.
The Orions have been known as the Chiba Lotte Marines since 1992. This was their 2nd Japan Series win, having previously won in 1950. They won a 3rd in 2005, and a 4th in 2010. They've won 5 Pennants. The Dragons were the Champions of the Central League. They've won 9 Pennants, and won the Japan Series once before this, in 1954; have won it once after, in 2007.
Nagoya Stadium opened in 1948, and it was the home of the Chunichi Dragons from that year until 1996. In 1997, the Nagoya Dome opened, and the Dragons have played there ever since.
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October 23, 1974 was a Wednesday. The baseball season had ended 6 days earlier, when the Oakland Athletics beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series.
The World Football League, trying to avoid competing with high school football on Friday nights, high school and college football on Saturday afternoons, and the NFL on Sunday afternoons and Monday nights, often played on Wednesday nights. They played 3 games in this night:
* The Shreveport Steamer eat the Birmingham Americans, 31-0 at State Fair Stadium (now Independence Stadium) in Shreveport, Louisiana. Like the Providence Steam Roller of the 1920s NFL, the Steamer did not have an S on the end.
* And the Philadelphia Bell beat the Southern California Sun, 45-7 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).
There were 5 games played in the NBA:
* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Boston Celtics, 108-107 at the Boston Garden.
* The Washington Bullets beat the Houston Rockets, 99-95 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of
Landover, Maryland.
* The Kansas City-Omaha Kings beat the Chicago Bulls, 99-98 at the Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska.
* The Phoenix Suns beat the Detroit Pistons, 100-90 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.
* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat their arch-rivals, the Portland Trail-Blazers, 107-97 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.
There were 5 games in the American Basketball Association:
* The New York Nets beat the Memphis Sounds, 104-96 at the Nassau Coliseum. Julius "Dr. J" Erving scored 33 points.
* The Kentucky Colonels beat the Virginia Squires, 136-82 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.
* The Indiana Pacers beat the Spirits of St. Louis, 122-107 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. This was only the Pacers' 2nd regular-season game at their new arena. George McGinnis scored 32 for them, and grabbed 16 rebounds.
* The San Antonio Spurs beat the San Diego Conquistadors, 121-119 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio. George "The Iceman" Gervin scored 31 points for the Spurs. Dwight "Bo" Lamar scored 40 in defeat.
* And the Denver Nuggets beat their soon-to-be-former arch-rivals, the Utah Stars, 120-106 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah.
There were 6 games in the NHL:
* The New York Rangers beat the St. Louis Blues, 5-1 at Madison Square Garden.
* The Atlanta Flames beat the Detroit Red Wings, 10-1 at The Omni in Atlanta. Curt Bennett had 3 goals and 2 assists. Eric Vail had 3 goals an 1 assist. Tom Lysiak had a goal and 4 assists. Randy Manery had a goal and 3 assists. Bobby Leiter had 3 assists.
* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
* The Boston Bruins and the Pittsburgh Penguins played to a tie, 5-5 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.
* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Washington Capitals, 3-2 at the Chicago Stadium.
* The California Golden Seals and the Kansas City Scouts played to a tie, 4-4 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.
And the New York Islanders, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Minnesota North Stars, the Los Angeles Kings, the Buffalo Sabres and the Vancouver Canucks were not scheduled.
And there were 3 games in the World Hockey Association:
* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Michigan Stags, 6-2 at the Colisée
de Québec.
* The New England Whalers beat the Houston Aeros, 5-4 at the Eastern States Coliseum (now the Big E Coliseum) in West Springfield, Massachusetts.
* And the Vancouver Blazers beat the Cleveland Crusaders, 4-1 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.
