The long-awaited World Series trophy finally belonged to the City of Philadelphia. Mike Schmidt earned the World Series MVP Award.
BACKDROP: It was a good time to be a sports fan in Philadelphia. In May 1980, the 76ers reached the NBA finals, the Flyers reached the Stanley Cup finals, and the Eagles reached the Super Bowl in January 1981. All three of those teams lost, but the fact that all four of the Philadelphia sports teams made it to the finals during those eight months, with one winning, is quite impressive. In 1983, the Phillies secured their fourth National League pennant but lost to the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series. Since then, they have captured four more pennants and another World Series title in 2008.
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1980 National League Championship Series
Greg Luzinski (photo courtesy Crave the Auto)
The Phillies would now play the Houston Astros in the NL Championship Series. In Game One, Steve Carlton pitched seven complete innings and allowed only one run. Tug McGraw pitched the final two innings without allowing any runs. Greg Luzinski hit a two-run blast in the sixth inning, and Philadelphia won Game One 3–1. The home run turned out to be the only one of the series.
Game Two was a back-and-forth battle that went into extra innings. In the tenth inning, with the game tied 3–3, Houston scored four runs, while Philadelphia could only manage one. The Astros’ victory tied the series one game to one.
Game Three was a pitcher’s duel, going into the 11th inning with neither team scoring. The Astros finally triumphed 1–0, leaving Phillies fans bracing for another postseason disappointment.
Game Four was another back-and-forth battle filled with controversy, as managers and players passionately contested the umpires’ decisions. It was the third consecutive game to go into extra innings, but this time, the Phillies emerged victorious, winning 5–3.
Game Five was far from a pitcher’s duel as the two teams combined for 27 hits. It didn’t look promising for the Phillies, who trailed 5–2 after seven complete innings with Nolan Ryan on the mound for the Astros. However, the Phillies weren’t ready to go down without a fight. They scored five runs in the top of the eighth inning to take a 7–5 lead. The Astros responded immediately with two runs in the bottom of the eighth. Neither team scored in the ninth inning, so once again, these two determined teams would battle it out in extra innings.
In the top of the tenth, a double by Del Unser was followed by a double from Garry Maddox, giving Philadelphia an 8–7 lead. In the bottom of the tenth, reliever Dick Ruthven retired the Astros in order, and the Phillies were headed to their first World Series since 1950.
It was arguably the most fiercely contested Championship Series ever, and some questioned whether the Phillies would have anything left in the tank for the World Series.
1980 World Series
The Phillies’ opponent would be the Kansas City Royals. The two teams had a lot in common. The Royals, like the Phillies, had struggled to reach the World Series, losing the ALCS three years in a row to the Yankees (1976–1978) before finally beating them in 1980.
Rookie pitcher Bob Walk would start for the Phillies, and he struggled early, allowing a two-run homer in the second inning and another in the third. If there was any doubt about how much the Phillies had left after their tough series with the Astros, they erased all uncertainty in the bottom of the third inning, scoring five runs off Royals pitcher Dennis Leonard. Three of those runs came from a three-run homer by Bake McBride. Philadelphia added a run in the bottom of the fourth and another in the fifth inning to take a 7–4 lead.
Tug McGraw (photo courtesy Philadelphia Inquirer)
Pitcher Bob Walk, who had struggled earlier in the game, kept the Royals from scoring in innings four through seven. However, the Royals’ Willie Aikens hit his second two-run home run off Walk in the top of the eighth inning, narrowing the score to 7–6. Closer Tug McGraw then entered the game and ensured Kansas City wouldn’t score any more runs, sealing the 7–6 victory for Philly.
After four and a half scoreless innings, the Phillies drew first blood in the bottom of the fifth inning of game two, scoring two runs. The Royals got their first run due to an error in the sixth inning.
Steve Carlton pitched six complete innings without allowing an earned run, but the Royals finally broke through in the seventh, scoring three runs to take a 4–2 lead. However, the never-say-die Phillies fought back in the eighth, scoring four runs. Ron Reed replaced Carlton in the ninth inning to shut down the Royals. The Phillies won 6–4 to take a two-to-zero lead in the series.
American League MVP George Brett put the Royals on the scoreboard first in Game 3 with a solo home run in the first inning, but the Phillies tied it in the second. Kansas City regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth, only for Mike Schmidt to equalize with a home run in the fifth.
Amos Otis put the Royals back on top with a solo shot in the seventh, but Pete Rose tied the game again in the eighth with an RBI single. In another extra-inning game, the Royals scored the winning run in the bottom of the tenth.
The Royals came out swinging in game four, sending starting pitcher Larry Christenson to the showers after scoring four runs in the first inning. Willie Aikens hit his third home run of the series. The Phillies scored a run in the second inning but gave it right back when Aikens hit another home run. The Royals were held scoreless for the rest of the game, but those five runs were enough for a 5–3 victory.
Mike Schmidt (photo courtesy This Day in Baseball)
After three scoreless innings in game five, Mike Schmidt hit a two-run home run to give Philadelphia the lead. The Royals narrowed the gap to 2–1 in the fifth inning. After an Amos Otis home run tied the game in the sixth, the Royals scored another run on a sacrifice fly RBI by UL Washington. The Phillies added two runs in the top of the ninth to take a 4–3 lead. Kansas City had the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, but Tug McGraw struck out the final batter, giving the Phillies a three-games-to-two lead in the series.
With Game Six at Veterans Stadium and Steve Carlton on the mound, the Phillies aimed to clinch the series. Philadelphia held a 4–0 lead after seven complete innings, and Phillies fans could hardly contain their excitement, but the Royals silenced the crowd by loading the bases in the top of the eighth inning. Closer Tug McGraw, however, allowed only one run, leaving the Phillies three outs away from winning their first World Series in team history.
The Phillies went down in order in the bottom of the eighth, but the Royals would not back down easily, loading the bases again in the top of the ninth with only one out. The next batter fouled out, leaving the Phillies one out away from what some believed might never occur. McGraw struck out the following batter, and the long-awaited World Series trophy finally belonged to the City of Philadelphia. Mike Schmidt earned the World Series MVP Award.
