1972 World Series

Lore & Background

This was the first World Series in which both teams wore pullover jerseys, a style that would remain the norm until 1982, after which at least one team in the Fall Classic would wear them each year through 1990, after which traditional button-front jerseys once again predominated. Coincidentally, both this World Series and the 1990 World Series featured the same two teams, the Athletics and the Reds, though with far different results; the Athletics won this one in a hard fought seven games, while the Reds swept the defending champion Athletics in four games in 1990. The Series was dubbed 'The Hairs vs. the Squares.' Oakland played the Series without its star outfielder Reggie Jackson, who was injured (pulled hamstring) stealing home in the second inning of the final game of the ALCS at Detroit on October 12. Left-handed reliever Darold Knowles was also missing for the Athletics, breaking his thumb on September 27, less than three weeks before the Series opener. Unheralded catcher Gene Tenace hit four home runs, equaling the World Series mark set by Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Hank Bauer, and had nine RBI in the Series—no other Oakland player had more than one. Tenace was voted World Series MVP.

In Their Own Story

The Coliseum was a sea of green and gold on that October night, the concrete bowl humming with a noise that felt less like a crowd and more like a living thing. Catfish Hunter stood on the mound, fingers working the spitball into his glove, and for a moment the roar faded to a low thrum. He looked up at the stands where his wife sat, then back down to the batter. The pitch was a curveball that broke like a question no one could answer. The batter swung. The bat cracked. And somewhere in the stands, a man in a green cap who had followed this team from Kansas City to Oakland, through the lean years and the doubt, let out a sound he couldn't quite call a word. The A's were champions. The city was theirs.

Reader's Guide

The Athletics won the American League West division by 5+1⁄2 games over the Chicago White Sox, then defeated the Detroit Tigers three games to two in the American League Championship Series. The Cincinnati Reds won the National League West division by 10+1⁄2 games over both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Houston Astros. The Reds dethroned the defending World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates three games to two in the National League Championship Series. The Reds (95–59 (.617)) won one fewer game than the Pirates (96–59 (.619)) during the strike-reduced regular season and became the first team in MLB history to reach the World Series without having the best record in its respective league. This was Cincinnati's second trip to the World Series in three years, previously falling to Baltimore in five games in the 1970 World Series. It was Oakland's first-ever trip to the Series, and the first for the franchise since 1931, when the team was located in Philadelphia. The teams were fairly equal statistically, each club totaling 46 hits with the same .209 batting average (the combined batting averages were the lowest recorded in a 7-game World Series). The Reds outscored the Athletics by five runs, 21–16, but all four of their losses were by a single run. Six of the seven games in the series were decided by one run.

Did You Know?

• Gene Tenace became the first player ever to homer in his two initial Series plate appearances in Game 1.
• Jackie Robinson made his final public appearance prior to Game 2, in an on-field ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of his breaking of the color line.
• The Reds' Pete Rose and Joe Morgan were a combined 1 for 28 through the first four games.
• This was the first World Series in which both teams wore pullover jerseys.