Part II: Down to the Wire: The Stunning Conclusion of the 1967 Pennant Race
The White Sox's Last Stand
As the season entered its third week of September, the American League pennant race became a pressure cooker. The four-team blanket had grown even tighter, with the Twins, Red Sox, and Tigers all trading blows and jockeying for position. But for the Chicago White Sox, the strain began to show. Known for their pitching and defense, the "Hitless Wonders" simply couldn't score enough runs to keep pace with the offensive firepower of their rivals. They entered the week of September 18th having lost three of their last four, falling two critical games behind the co-leaders, Minnesota and Boston.
The week saw a series of brutal head-to-head matchups. While the White Sox struggled against the Cleveland Indians, the Twins and Tigers played a monumental three-game series in Detroit. Minnesota took two of three in dramatic fashion, including a nail-biting 6-5 victory on September 20th that saw them rally late. Every game felt like a playoff. The White Sox, meanwhile, continued to slide, their hopes dimming with each passing day. By September 21st, they had fallen a devastating five games back. Their dream season was collapsing at the worst possible time, leaving the three other contenders to fight it out to the bitter end.
| GAME: September 20, 1967 - Tiger Stadium | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Twins | AB | R | H | RBI | ||||||||
| C. Tovar, CF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| R. Carew, 2B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| H. Killebrew, 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
| T. Oliva, RF | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| B. Allison, LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| R. Rollins, 3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| Z. Versalles, SS | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| J. Roseboro, C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| D. Boswell, P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Totals | 35 | 6 | 9 | 6 | ||||||||
| Detroit Tigers | AB | R | H | RBI | ||||||||
| D. McAuliffe, 2B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||
| A. Kaline, RF | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| N. Cash, 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| W. Horton, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| B. Freehan, C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| J. Northrup, CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| D. Tracewski, 3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| R. Oyler, SS | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| E. Wilson, P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Totals | 35 | 5 | 11 | 4 | ||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 0 |
| Detroit | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 1 |
| Minnesota Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ||||||
| D. Boswell (W) | 6.1 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 4 | ||||||
| A. Worthington (S) | 2.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||||||
| Detroit Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ||||||
| E. Wilson (L) | 4.1 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | ||||||
| P. Dobson | 2.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | ||||||
| M. Lolich | 2.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||||
The final weekend of the 1967 American League season began with a simple, yet impossibly tense, scenario. The Chicago White Sox had finally succumbed, leaving three teams locked in a desperate fight for the pennant. The Minnesota Twins held a one-game lead over both the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers. The schedule, however, was anything but simple. The Twins were headed to Boston for a two-game, head-to-head showdown at Fenway Park. Meanwhile, due to rainouts, the Tigers were facing two consecutive doubleheaders against the California Angels in Detroit. Every pitch, every at-bat, across two cities, would ripple through the standings.
The Agony of Detroit
For the Tigers, the path was brutal but clear: keep winning. On Saturday, they did just enough, splitting their doubleheader with the Angels. They won the first game 5-0 behind a gem from Mickey Lolich but dropped the nightcap 8-6 after a disastrous bullpen collapse. The split eliminated any margin for error. On Sunday, October 1st, they had to win their second doubleheader and hope for a specific outcome in Boston to force a playoff. In the first game, they held up their end of the bargain, winning 6-4. The entire city of Detroit, and the Red Sox and Twins clubhouses, then turned their attention to the second game. But the magic ran out. The Angels jumped on the Tigers early and never looked back, winning 8-5 and officially ending Detroit's season in the most heartbreaking way imaginable: one game short.
Showdown at Fenway
While the Tigers were battling in Detroit, Fenway Park became the center of the baseball universe. On Saturday, September 30th, the Twins asserted their first-place standing with a crucial 6-4 victory. The hero for Boston was, once again, Carl Yastrzemski, whose three-run homer in the seventh inning provided the winning runs. This set the stage for a final, winner-take-all game on Sunday. The stakes were absolute: the winner would clinch at least a tie for the pennant; the loser was going home.
| GAME 2: October 1, 1967 - Fenway Park | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Twins | AB | R | H | RBI | ||||||||
| C. Tovar, 3B | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| H. Killebrew, 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||
| T. Oliva, RF | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
| B. Allison, LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| Z. Versalles, SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| R. Carew, 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| G. Zimmerman, C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| T. Uhlaender, CF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| D. Chance, P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| Totals | 31 | 3 | 8 | 2 | ||||||||
| Boston Red Sox | AB | R | H | RBI | ||||||||
| J. Adair, 3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| D. Jones, 2B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| C. Yastrzemski, LF | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||||||||
| G. Scott, 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| R. Petrocelli, SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| R. Smith, CF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| R. Gibson, C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| K. Harrelson, RF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| J. Lonborg, P | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||||||||
| Totals | 31 | 5 | 10 | 3 | ||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Minnesota | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| Boston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 10 | 2 |
| Minnesota Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ||||||
| D. Chance (L, 20-14) | 5.1 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | ||||||
| A. Worthington | 0.2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| J. Merritt | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||||
| Boston Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ||||||
| J. Lonborg (W, 22-9) | 9.0 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 | ||||||
| 2B: T. Oliva (34), C. Yastrzemski (31). DP: Minnesota 3, Boston 2. E: H. Killebrew (12), G. Scott (19), C. Yastrzemski (7). | ||||||||||||
The Red Sox sent their ace, Jim Lonborg, to the mound on just two days' rest. The Twins countered with their own 20-game winner, Dean Chance. For five innings, the tension was unbearable as the Twins scratched out a 2-0 lead. But in the bottom of the sixth, the "Impossible Dream" came alive. Lonborg himself started the rally with a surprise bunt single. Four more singles followed, including a game-tying knock by Carl Yastrzemski that sent Fenway into a frenzy. The Red Sox scored five runs in the inning, fueled by clutch hits, two wild pitches, and a fielding error by Harmon Killebrew.
Leading 5-3 in the top of the ninth, Lonborg took the mound to finish what he started. After a leadoff single, rookie second baseman Rod Carew grounded into a double play. One out remained. Lonborg induced a pop-up from Rich Rollins, and shortstop Rico Petrocelli squeezed it for the final out. The field was mobbed. After finishing in ninth place the year before, the Boston Red Sox had won the American League pennant.
The Final Chapter: Carl Yastrzemski was otherworldly in the final two must-win games, going 7-for-8 with 6 RBI. His performance secured him the Triple Crown, leading the AL in batting average (.326), home runs (44, tied with Killebrew), and RBI (121). It remains one of the greatest clutch performances in baseball history.