July 19, 1966: Aside from the 1950 win of the United States over England, this may be the greatest upset in the history of soccer's World Cup.
Italy has been one of the most successful countries in soccer. They have won the World Cup 4 times, reached the Final but lost twice, and reached the Semifinals twice. But the 1966 edition, in England, would not be one of those times.
North Korea, with a team made up entirely of soldiers in their army, made the World Cup for the 1st time. Their official name, when translated into English, is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Then as now, they were neither democratic nor a republic: They were, and are, an insanely repressive Communist nation, a pariah state -- except when it comes to sports. They always get invited to the Olympic Games, and, for this World Cup, they won the tournament to be the lone qualifier from Asia.
Italy, North Korea, the Soviet Union, and the South American nation of Chile were placed together in Group 4, with all games played at Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough, in the North-East of England. On July 12, the action opened with the Soviets beating their fellow Communists, North Korea, 3-0. On July 13, Italy beat Chile, 2-0. Neither of these results was a surprise.
But on July 15, North Korea managed a 1-1 draw with Chile. And, on July 16, the Soviets beat Italy, 1-0. So the July 19 match between Italy and North Korea turned out to be critical: The winner would qualify for the knockout stage, while the loser would be out -- unless Chile could manage an upset over the Soviets on July 20.
Italy had Fiorentina's Enrico Albertosi in goal, Inter Milan's Giacinto Facchetti leading the defense, and an attack led by Inter's Sandro Mazzola and A.C. Milan's Gianni Rivera. It didn't matter: In the 42nd minute, Pak Doo-ik, age 22, put the ball past Albertosi, and that goal held up: North Korea won, 1-0.
Only 17,829 fans could fit into Ayersome Park, most of them cheering the North Koreans for their pluck, despite the political differences between their nations. North Korea's 25 million people, hearing the broadcast on state radio, were ecstatic: For once, they were known for something other than Communism, starving their people, and starting a nasty 3-year war in 1950.
Italy's 50 million people went into shock, and their newspapers, always blowing sporting results out of proportion, went into overdrive with their recriminations. Some blamed Pierre Schwinte, the referee, from France, a nation often at odds with Italy, though the surviving film of the game does not suggest that he called the game inappropriately. Some blamed Edmondo Fabbri, the Italy manager.
The Soviets' 2-1 win over Chile the next day confirmed their position, and North Korea's, in the knockout stage. Italy were out. Fabbri was fired after the tournament, and later managed Torino, Bologna, Cagliari, Torino again, Ternana and Pistoiese, but never recovered from the disgrace of 1966, and died in 1995. Italy rebounded, and reached the Final in 1970, falling to the Brazil squad that might have been the greatest soccer team ever assembled.
North Korea advanced to the Quarterfinal, and nearly pulled off another upset, but Portugal came from behind to beat them. After that game, Pak never played the sport again, and became a gymnastic instructor.
In 2008, with China hosting the Olympic Games, they allowed the Olympic Torch Relay to pass through North Korea, and Pak was the 1st of his countrymen to carry the Torch. As of July 19, 2022, he is still alive.
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July 19, 1966 was a Tuesday. There were 3 other games played in the World Cup that day. Mexico and Uruguay played to a 0-0 draw at Wembley Stadium in London. Argentina beat Switzerland, 2-0 at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield. And Portugal beat their former colony of Brazil, 3-1 at Goodison Park, home of Everton Football Club in Liverpool.
And these baseball games were played:
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers, 13-3 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Eddie Watt was the winning pitcher, and helped his own cause with a home run. Frank Robinson went 3-for-4 with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs. Brooks Robinson went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Al Kaline went 0-for-1 with a walk, before leaving the game with an injury.
* The Minnesota Twins swept a doubleheader from the Washington Senators, 5-4 and 4-0 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington. (It was renamed Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in 1969.) Harmon Killebrew went 2-for-7 with an RBI. Jim Perry pitched a 2-hit shutout in the nightcap.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-4 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The game went 18 innings, risking getting called due to darkness at the last ballpark without lights, before Don Pavelitch hit a home run off Fergie Jenkins, who was in his 4th inning of relief. Joe Nuxhall, once the youngest player in baseball, was the winning pitcher in his last season as a player. Robin Roberts, in his last season before retiring, pitched 11 innings for the Cubs, while Jim Maloney pitched 10 for the Reds. Ernie Banks went 2-for-3 with 2 walks and an RBI before being replaced by a pinch-runner. Pete Rose went 0-for-7, but reached base on a forceout and scored.
* The St. Louis Cardinals also needed extra innings to beat the Atlanta Braves, 10-9 at Busch Memorial Stadium. Charley Smith singled home Bobby Tolan in the bottom of the 12th. Lou Brock went 2-for-6 with an RBI. Hank Aaron went 1-for-5 with a walk and an RBI. Joe Torre went 2-for-6 with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs.
Smith had homered earlier in the game. Tracy Stallard was the Cards' starting pitcher. Stallard was the pitcher who gave up Roger Maris' 61st home run of the 1961 season. After this season, the Yankees traded Maris to the Cardinals, even-up, for Smith.
* The Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-2 at the Astrodome in Houston.
* The Boston Red Sox and the California Angels were rained out at Fenway Park in Boston. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Red Sox won the 1st game, 6-1. The Angels won the 2nd game, 1-0. Buck Rodgers singled John Wyatt home with the winning run in the top of the 10th inning. The Angels got 10 shutout innings, with Dean Chance allowing 1 hit over 8, Minnie Rojas pitching a perfect 9th, and Jack Sanford allowing 1 hit in the 10th. Over the 2 games, Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-5, but had 4 walks and an RBI.
* The New York Yankees and the Kansas City Athletics were rained out at Yankee Stadium. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 19. The Yankees won the opener, 7-5. The A's won the nightcap, 1-0. Lew Krausse Jr. pitched 6-hit shutout ball for 8 innings, but needed Joe Grzenda and Jack Aker to pitch the 9th. Roger Maris went 3-for-8 over the 2 games, but Mickey Mantle didn't play in either one.
* And the New York Mets, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Francisco Giants were not scheduled.
