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A Very Good Year: Remembering the 1965 Minnesota Twins (with Wayne and Al Damerow) · Hangin' Out with Bob

0:06
okay welcome to hanging out with Bob a podcast
0:09
hosted by me Bob at home thanks for joining us
0:16
and let's get started well baseball fans more
0:20
specifically Minnesota Twins fans this podcast
0:23
is for you because in this episode we're going
0:26
to talk about the 1965 Twins team that won the
0:29
American League pennant and went to the World
0:31
Series. Joining me for this podcast about the
0:34
Twins' 1965 season are brothers Wayne and Al
0:37
Damrow. All three of us grew up in Columbia Heights,
0:40
Minnesota. Both Wayne and Al appeared with me
0:43
on a previous podcast about the glory days of
0:45
professional wrestling on TV, all -star wrestling,
0:48
back in the 60s and 70s. Welcome back to Hanging
0:53
Out with Bob, guys. Great to have you here. Thank
0:55
you very much. Good to be here. Some quick background
1:02
on my two returning guests. Wayne Damro and I
1:05
have known each other since we were both nine
1:06
-year -old boys. Wayne worked nearly 40 years
1:09
with the Minnesota DNR in the forestry department
1:12
and included assignments all across the state
1:14
of Minnesota. He's married and lives in suburban
1:17
Shoreview. And his brother Al, five years younger
1:20
than Wayne and me, is retired from the US Postal
1:23
Service, where he worked for 35 years. Al now
1:27
works for his kids on a part -time basis. Is
1:29
that Theresa? Good. All right. Good. Good. He
1:31
lives in suburban New Brighton and has five grown
1:34
children. Is it three grandkids? Yep. Okay. All
1:37
right. All right. Very good. Well, guys, I'm
1:40
really looking forward to today's podcast. That
1:43
1965 Minnesota Twins season was really a special
1:46
one for the team and for its fans. The three
1:49
of us were just kids then in 65. Wayne and I
1:51
were 12 year old seventh graders at the Lake
1:54
Great Central Junior, excuse me, Columbia Junior
1:57
High School. And Al, you were, I'm trying to
2:00
figure out, you probably would have been in about
2:01
second grade at Highland. Yep. because we're
2:03
like five years apart, so wow. But even then,
2:06
as young as we were, it was still an exciting
2:07
time for kids, at least in our neighborhood.
2:09
Everybody knew about the Twins and followed them.
2:11
Exactly, exactly. Some background on that 65
2:16
-Twin season. It was the fifth season for the
2:18
Twins franchise in Minnesota, also their fifth
2:21
season at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington,
2:24
and the 65th season overall in the American League.
2:27
Because for the first 60 years of the franchise
2:30
guys the twins played where? Washington DC. Yep.
2:33
Yep, the Washington Senators before they moved
2:36
up here Anyway, the twins won the American League
2:39
pennant in 65 with an impressive record of 102
2:42
wins and 60 losses It was a team's first pennant
2:45
since moving to Minnesota and the 102 wins in
2:48
the regular season is still a team record Do
2:52
you guys remember going to any twins games during
2:54
that 65 season? I think my dad took a group of
2:58
us, he and several other fathers, to the Nothull
3:02
Gang. We sat in the bleachers in left field.
3:04
Yep, yep, yep. I remember that too. I went to
3:07
one game in 65 that I can remember, and it was
3:10
a Thursday evening, June 10th, 1965. And thank
3:14
you, Baseball Almanac, for helping me to pin
3:16
down the date and the box score for that game.
3:18
I remember the game. I couldn't remember exactly
3:20
when it was. I looked it up. But it was a beautiful
3:22
summer night, June 10th, at the Old Met. The
3:26
twins were hosting Cleveland. I went with my
3:29
dad, who I believe got the two tickets from somebody
3:32
at his workplace. They were great seats, those
3:34
box seats along first base line, not too far
3:37
behind the dugout, literally, the Twins dugout.
3:39
So it was great atmosphere, great night for baseball.
3:43
But unfortunately, the Twins lost that game that
3:45
night, four to one. Cleveland had a pitcher named
3:48
Sam McDowell on pitching that night. Sudden Sam.
3:51
Sudden Sam, yep, yep, yep. And he made the All
3:54
-Star team that year, and he was actually at
3:57
the top of several American League leader list.
4:00
ERA was 2 .18. Strikeout's 325. In fact, that
4:05
strikeout total in 65 -325 still stands as the
4:09
second highest. in Cleveland franchise history
4:11
to the 348 strikeouts by a guy named Bob Feller.
4:15
You guys read my mind. The heater from Ben Meter,
4:18
that was his nickname, because the legend was
4:20
that when he was a kid, he could throw baseball
4:21
through the side of a barn wall. He was that
4:24
powerful in his arm. Yeah, Bob Feller. Yep. But
4:27
anyway, that night against the twins, Sudden
4:30
Sam had a great night. He went eight innings,
4:32
scattered eight hits and allowed just one run,
4:35
walked five batters, but he also struck out nine.
4:37
Well, he was big lefty and if you were left handed
4:40
batter that had to be scary seeing him you know
4:42
so you guys remember uh twins pitcher Dave Boswell
4:45
sure he was the one pitching that night for the
4:47
twins he it was only 20 years old i didn't realize
4:50
he was that young 21 year he was a good pitcher
4:53
69 he was very good yeah yeah he was just coming
4:55
up now with he had 100 innings during the 65
4:58
season he was like six and five yeah yeah he
5:01
contributed but yeah 20 years old um he gave
5:04
up only four hits in that game but two of them
5:06
were solo homers And then the four runs you dig
5:08
that up were all earned, so. So, on to the 65
5:14
season itself. The top highlight of the 65 season,
5:17
of course, was going to the World Series. But
5:19
before we talk about that, I want to list some
5:21
highlights that I've listed. Feel free to whatever
5:24
you want to add to that as well, guys. And my
5:27
primary source for these highlights as I was
5:29
looking this stuff up, which was really fun,
5:30
that's the most fun I've had just digging into
5:32
stuff, you know, because it's something I was
5:34
interested in. It was a website called the Society
5:37
for American Baseball Research or sabr .org.
5:42
Saber metrics. Yeah, but it's great. They've
5:45
got articles of games. I mean, it's like it was
5:47
yesterday. Baseball does a magnificent job of...
5:50
of records. I mean, they've always been a stats
5:52
oriented sport, but if you want to find history,
5:56
there is no shortage anywhere online or in the
5:58
library. So YouTube has hundreds and hundreds.
6:01
Yes, yes, yes. OK, the first highlight that I
6:06
listed was actually the Twins home opener, the
6:08
season opener Monday afternoon, April 12th, 1965,
6:12
they beat the Yankees five to four in 11 innings.
6:17
I definitely remember this one. But before we
6:19
get to the game, let's back up just a little
6:22
bit. And I think you guys remember this. You
6:24
remember the winter of 64, 65. We were like sixth
6:28
graders. And I just remember it seemed like it
6:30
was just really cold and we had a lot of snow.
6:32
And it just never stopped. And we got a lot in
6:35
March. I remember they always talked about state
6:37
basketball tournaments would always be snowing.
6:40
And we certainly got that in 65. And what happened
6:43
is in April, when we started getting the rain,
6:45
then all that stuff started melting and it just
6:49
caused rapid rise in both the Minnesota and Mississippi
6:51
rivers. By opening day on that Monday of April
6:55
12th, Minnesota the state was suffering through
6:57
some of the worst flooding on record with numerous
7:00
areas across the state dealing with more than
7:02
20 feet of water, sometimes higher. And so I
7:05
think Chaska is someplace like that. It was like
7:07
34 feet, just unbelievable. And you probably
7:10
remember watching the news like I did, because
7:13
my folks were watching that stuff on TV. It's
7:14
like, Oh my God. So the night before on Sunday,
7:18
April 11th, the twins would usually hold their
7:20
annual welcome home baseball dinner. But because
7:23
several of the players lived south of the Minnesota
7:26
river. they couldn't get to the welcome home
7:29
dinner. And so it changed plans, you know, dramatically.
7:35
And Wayne, you had mentioned this before we started
7:37
recording. Tell us about the actual opening day,
7:41
what it meant for some of the players that live
7:43
south of Minnesota River. Jim Cotts, specifically,
7:47
was supposed to be the opening day starting pitcher
7:49
for us. And he couldn't get there. So he called
7:55
CCO and the twins dealt with the radio station
7:59
and borrowed the helicopter and started ferrying
8:03
players to the game. Yeah, that's just amazing.
8:07
Well, and then it makes you wonder because I'm
8:10
gonna ask you guys a trivia question. Maybe you've
8:12
got it. Do you know what the size of the crowd
8:13
was for that opening day? I don't. What would
8:16
you guess? I mean, I think the stadium could
8:20
hold about 40 ,000 plus then. because we're going
8:25
to talk about this a little later but remember
8:26
in the left field they were building those new
8:27
bleachers it was like a two level or two decks
8:30
it was for the viking football i think more than
8:32
anything but so that was closed up but they still
8:34
could hold up to 40 000 but because of the weather
8:38
or whatever like that the opening crowd was only
8:40
15 300 is that right yeah that's all that we're
8:43
able i'm thinking a lot of them couldn't get
8:45
there You know, if they live south of the Minnesota
8:47
River, it's like, what are we going to do? They
8:50
probably, with the weather, probably got most
8:52
of the people from Bloomington. Yeah, yeah. It'd
8:54
be like north of the metro. Like, for some of
8:56
us, we could have probably gotten to Bloomington.
8:58
But yeah, it didn't work. Less than 16 ,000 people
9:02
for 40 ,000 capacity. And it was also not the
9:07
greatest day I learned as I was researching this.
9:10
It was cold and windy. It was only 44 degrees.
9:15
And there's nothing more miserable than being
9:17
cold at a baseball game, I think. I just, you
9:19
know, you think it should be nice and sunny,
9:20
but even if it is sunny, it can be cold, so it'd
9:23
be pretty miserable, so. And I guess the reason
9:26
that those bleachers I read about that, the Vikings
9:29
actually paid for that. They wanted to be able
9:31
to get more people in the seat. And they were
9:33
able to pay for it and it cost a grand total
9:36
of $1 .2 million to build that. But they did
9:39
that so they could get a reduction in their rent.
9:42
Okay, we'll pay for that if we reduce our rent.
9:45
So that's what they went ahead and did that.
9:47
But they were close to the spectators on opening
9:49
day. They just couldn't get there. So and then
9:51
think about what the ground screw had to go through.
9:53
I mean, it's what I was looking at, they had
9:55
to remove about 40 inches of snow. You know the
9:59
week before the opener, you know, but they did
10:02
what they could and you know Mother Nature helped
10:04
a little bit But you can imagine just to get
10:05
the grass and the field and everything ready
10:08
to play So that was quite a big deal for them
10:10
just to to get the game ready. You're ready for
10:12
the game So I'm gonna like the Packers Volunteers
10:15
who yes when they get snow, right? Right. Yeah.
10:18
Yep. And of course the Yankees that's really
10:20
open against, you know, they'd won the last five
10:24
parents And they were I think they were favored
10:26
to win again I know the twins weren't. I think
10:29
they were picked to maybe finish in the upper
10:32
half of the American League, but nobody thought,
10:34
oh, the twins are going to win this year. There's
10:35
no way they aren't going to win the American
10:37
League. And then they had also kind of plummeted
10:41
in 64. I think they were below 500 in 64. They
10:45
had won 91 games in the two seasons before that,
10:48
I think. at night 62 and 63, but they kind of
10:51
fell off to these weren't on the radar as far
10:53
as who they were picking to win, so. The Yankees
10:57
won 29 out of the last 44. Yeah. Leading up to
11:01
that year. That's amazing, the dominance that
11:03
they had, so. But let's get to the game itself.
11:07
The twins had a 4 -0 lead after four innings,
11:10
and as you said, Jim Cott was the starting pitcher.
11:11
He retired the first 10 batters that he faced.
11:14
And he even helped his own cause with a two run
11:16
single in the bottom of the fourth. He's a good
11:18
hitter. Yeah, he was a very good hitter. And
11:20
again, this is 65. This was it would be eight
11:23
more seasons before the American League would
11:24
even introduce the designated hitter. So every
11:27
pitchers or every team's pitcher had to bat.
11:30
Remember how great Dean Chance was? Lifetime
11:34
batting averages zero point six seven or something
11:36
like that. But they had to bat. They had to go
11:38
out there and hit. So but then in the top of
11:41
the fifth inning. With that 4 -0 lead, Cott gave
11:44
up a solo homerun to Yankee Ketchum. Do you remember
11:47
who that was? Hylston Howard. 12 -time All -Star
11:52
and the American League's most valuable player
11:54
in 63. And somehow he's not in the Major League
11:57
Baseball Hall of Fame. I don't know. I have a
11:59
surprise. I thought he was. I don't know what
12:00
it was. But an account that, excuse me, that
12:03
I read of this game was that he hit into those
12:05
left field bleachers. and you know the only people
12:08
out there were like construction workers and
12:10
some guy some hard hat out there actually caught
12:12
it and he got cheered you know because he got
12:16
the home run so that made it four to one and
12:18
then the top of the seventh inning the yankees
12:20
got two more runs on the ground out in the sacrifice
12:23
fly so it's four to three then they tied it four
12:26
to four in the in the top of the ninth so they
12:29
had to go to extra innings and then in the 11th
12:31
inning there's a fly ball that was hit by bob
12:34
allison But it was mishandled, so he advanced
12:37
all the way to third. So I think, yeah, he's
12:39
90 feet away from a win. Well, the Yankees intentionally
12:42
walked the next two batters. So he had bases
12:45
loaded, nobody out, but then he got the next
12:48
two batters, the next two batters, was a pop
12:51
fly and a strike out. So you got bases loaded,
12:53
two outs, and then some guy who came up to bat,
12:58
they got the winning single. He had a single
13:00
out of center field. Second the 5 -4 win. Do
13:03
you remember who that player was? Cesar Tovar.
13:07
And he went in because Rich Rollins, I think
13:10
he got hurt in the game. He was playing third
13:11
base. So Cesar went in and played for him. Cesar
13:14
played all the positions. Yeah, he one year he
13:17
played like all positions in the game. Yeah,
13:20
he pitched and he caught and he did everything.
13:22
But that was his first game and he got the winning
13:24
hit. So that's kind of a cool way to start. So
13:26
it's a good start for the twins and for Kitty
13:29
and he got his helicopter ride home after the
13:31
game and he got him off to a good start. OK,
13:34
the next highlight. I've got this. This is on
13:36
Wednesday evening, May 12th, 1965. That's when
13:40
Harmon Kilibrew hit two home runs, including
13:42
a game winner in the eighth inning against the
13:45
Los Angeles Angels. And full disclosure, I don't
13:50
remember that game. I had to look that up. But
13:52
what I do remember is that May 12th was just
13:55
six days after one of the worst tornado outbreaks
13:58
in Minnesota history. And the three of us grew
14:01
up in the Heights, so we certainly remember what
14:02
happened next door in Fridley. and I just remember
14:05
hearing sirens going off when we were in our
14:07
basement and all this stuff. We were watching
14:09
from the upstairs. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We were
14:12
up the hill from you. Right, yeah, just a crazy
14:15
night. But this is just six days later, this
14:17
game. But anyway, they were about a month into
14:20
the season. The Twins record was 15 -7. They
14:24
were in first place, the game in front of the
14:25
White Sox, and the game and a half against the
14:28
Angels, I should say. A crowd of only 10 ,000.
14:32
711 showed up for that game. It was a beautiful
14:34
night for baseball. And the twins were trailing
14:36
three to one going into the bottom of the sixth.
14:39
But then Killebrew hit a solo home run to make
14:41
it three to two. And then with two outs and a
14:44
runner on base in the bottom of the eighth, he
14:45
hit that, he had like a 450 foot shot over the
14:49
Senate field fence to give the twins a four to
14:51
three lead and their fifth straight win. There's
14:54
a sidebar about the Angels and you kind of remember
14:57
this too. I think they originally started out,
14:59
they were the Los Angeles Angels. and they played
15:01
in the same stadium with the Dodgers. Chevez
15:04
Ravine. Now they just call it Dodger Stadium,
15:07
right? But it was that same stadium. But they
15:10
were also at the same time building a stadium
15:12
for themselves in Anaheim. And so at the end
15:15
of that same season in 65, they changed their
15:17
name from the Los Angeles Angels to the California
15:20
Angels, just to distinguish them, I guess. I
15:25
think it's had, they've had a few different names
15:26
over the years. They were the California angels,
15:29
the Anaheim angels, the Los Angeles angels of
15:32
Anaheim. And then they finally said screw it.
15:34
And then they just go to hell angels. So, all
15:37
right. Third highlight that I wanted to bring
15:39
up. You remember Jim Perry, of course. He was
15:43
actually not being used very much at the start
15:46
of that season. I don't know if he was having
15:48
a rough spring training or not, but they weren't
15:49
using him much. He was brought into. replace
15:53
Pasquale. Yeah, Camillo was having, he kept having
15:56
arm problems, shoulder problems. This game in
15:58
Boston, it was May 26th, Pasquale had to leave
16:01
and Perry came in and pitched like three or four
16:05
innings of solid relief and did a great job and
16:08
Twins ended up winning the game and that kind
16:10
of got him going. I think he won like the next
16:13
seven starts or something. He just needs some
16:15
confidence. We all knew he was going to be good.
16:17
We all knew he was a good pitcher because he
16:19
proved it. When did he win his 20th? Well, he
16:22
won the Cy Young in 1970. So it was a 23, 22
16:28
games? Yeah, I don't remember exactly what it
16:30
was, but he turned out to be a really solid pitcher.
16:33
But that game kind of was a big one for him because
16:38
Pascual was going to be struggling with our problems
16:40
and he'd get this third reliable starter coming
16:42
in. So the next one I'm going to mention, this
16:46
was the Sunday afternoon, July 11th. It was just
16:51
before the All -Star break. Kilbrough smacked
16:54
a walk -off homer to beat the Yankees. It was
16:56
at the Met. And there were like 35 ,000 fans
17:00
there. And he hit this two -run homer with two
17:03
outs in the bottom of the ninth for a 6 -5 win.
17:06
Yep, yep. And so heading into that game, they
17:09
had kind of a mediocre June, as it turned out.
17:12
They were like, well, they were 16 -13. I take
17:15
that with today's twins, but you know as well
17:18
as they had played in April and May they kind
17:19
of started a little bit in June but they got
17:22
hot just before the All -Star break and that
17:23
was you know Killebrew's home run to beat the
17:27
Yankees. I guess that got a lot of national exposure
17:29
too because the Yankees of course are going to
17:31
get the ink and they said that the blow by Killebrew
17:34
was probably the biggest you know biggest jolt
17:37
of the Yankees all season so it kind of gave
17:40
the twins established them as leaders I guess.
17:45
And the next highlight I want to bring up, again,
17:47
we got a couple I'm going to go through before
17:48
we get to the actual World Series, was the All
17:51
-Star Game itself. And that was played on July
17:53
13th, 1965. Obviously the first time Minnesota
17:56
had hosted an All -Star Game. What, I was going
18:00
to ask you guys, you know, we were going in seventh
18:02
grade, Al was going to second grade. Do you remember
18:05
watching that game on TV? I did. Yeah? Yeah,
18:07
we did. Yeah. As far as any memory specific,
18:11
I don't have any. All I have is the TV, you know.
18:14
But I remember seeing it because, and it was
18:16
a black and white TV in my folks' house, but
18:18
they did some fancy things, even the bass lines.
18:21
They had the regular white line, you know, to
18:25
go to first base, but they had red on one side
18:27
and blue on the other. And then they had those,
18:30
not flags, but what they hang in the seats. Bunting?
18:33
Yeah, bunting, thank you. And then they even
18:35
had... They were the, they called them the fungal
18:38
circles or on deck circles. They had stars and
18:40
stripes. So they really played, you know, they
18:42
went all out for that. Fancy stuff for the sixties.
18:45
Yes. Yes, it was. It was. Uh, but, uh, and I
18:48
was very excited about the game cause the twins
18:50
in the first place. And I thought, man, we're
18:52
going to the world series. And I can remember
18:53
my dad and my grandpa and uncle to say, It's
18:56
a long season. Don't get excited. There's a lot
18:59
of baseball left to play. But the All -Star game
19:03
was just, it was great that they were having
19:04
the All -Star game the same year that they were
19:06
having their best season. It was just a fun year
19:08
to watch that. And they had six players. Yeah,
19:11
team. Yeah, it was. Yeah, the All -Star game
19:14
was amazing itself. The National League got off
19:17
to a big start. It was like 5 -0. Here we go
19:20
again, because they'd won like 13 of the last
19:22
20 or something. They just said they've got it.
19:25
But then it was exciting because in the bottom
19:27
of the fourth inning, the American League tied
19:29
it up. There were a couple of two -run homers.
19:33
One was hit by, remember Dick McAuliffe? He actually
19:35
started at shortstop ahead of Zoilo, but he had
19:39
a two -run homer. He had that open stance. I
19:41
remember he's the left -handed batter and he
19:42
held the bat way up in the air and he was actually
19:44
facing the pitcher. But then as the pitch was
19:47
coming, he turned more, you know, that was just
19:49
his way. His timing. Yeah, the timing thing.
19:51
And of course, the other two run homer was by
19:53
Harmon. He got the other one. So they tied the
19:57
game up and then the National League finally
20:00
won it in the seventh inning. that Sutton Sam
20:03
McDowell was actually on the mound. But it was
20:06
great reading this, because when you mentioned
20:08
the names that he faced, it's like, wow, this
20:10
is like a who's who. He walked Willie Mays. Henry
20:14
Aaron reached based on a single ground out by
20:18
Roberto Clemente advanced both runners. And then
20:22
they an infield hit by Ron Santo, and the Cubs
20:26
brought in the go ahead runners and infield hit,
20:28
but it's not all these names. It's like men name
20:30
droppers. And then to save the game from the
20:32
National League with two innings relief was Bob
20:34
Gibson of the Cardinals. And he made it interesting
20:38
on the ninth inning, you probably know to show
20:40
that to Wayne, Tony Oliva got a double. So they
20:43
had the tying run on second base, but then Gibson
20:47
struck out Killebrew and then he struck out a
20:50
Yankee named Joe Pepton. Joe Pepton. Do you remember
20:53
Pepitone? Oh yeah, that was such a cool name.
20:56
Pepitone was a center fielder who was supposed
20:58
to replace DiMaggio and be a superstar. Very
21:00
popular, but his popularity fell when they realized
21:03
that all the times that his hat would fall off
21:06
his head when he was running and he was looking
21:08
so fast, he was purposely putting his hat on
21:11
so tight, a small hat, so it would fall off.
21:13
And the media just ripped him to shreds up after
21:16
they found that out. And you know what he owned
21:18
in Minneapolis, actually Golden Valley, a liquor
21:21
store. Toe Pepitone Wow. Oh, I was Johnny Blanchard.
21:27
It was one of those. Oh wait Yeah, cuz blanchard
21:29
was from Minnesota, right? Yeah Well, the thing
21:32
that I was cracking up and I just happened to
21:34
watch a Seinfeld episode the other day where
21:36
Kramer was helping a guy who had a carriage like
21:40
a handsome cab and Kramer is driving these uh
21:43
four people in the carriage and they must have
21:46
been foreign uh like from asia or something because
21:48
there's like an interpreter saying what kramer's
21:51
saying kramer's is this these weren't a top hat
21:53
and he's going what was his line i had writ this
21:55
down he said that central park was designed in
21:58
1850 by joe pepitone and built during the civil
22:02
war so the northern armies could practice fighting
22:04
on grass It sounds like Kramer. I think they're
22:12
really Japanese in this case, interpreting all
22:15
the Kramer's singing, but Joe Pepitone. All right,
22:18
but back to the All -Star game itself. The announced
22:20
attendance for that was 46 ,706. I don't think
22:24
there was an empty seat in the house that day.
22:27
A beautiful day, as I recall. The double deck
22:29
bleachers were done in time so people could sit
22:31
there. And that increased the capacity of the
22:33
stadium by about 5 ,000 having the second deck.
22:36
Because I remember sitting in left field before
22:38
that double deck thing for not whole games. So
22:41
not only were the twins in first place at the
22:43
All -Star break in 65, but they also had the
22:46
most players, as you mentioned, Wayne, with six.
22:49
Included Earl Batty, who started at catcher.
22:52
Harmon, who started at short. And then you've
22:55
got your notes, too. Go ahead, Wayne, tell us
22:57
who the others are. Jimmy Haller. Yep. And Leffield.
23:00
Yeah. Versales. Yep. And Earl Batty. Well, we
23:05
mentioned Batty. There were two other guys. Mudcat
23:08
Grant. Yep. Yep. Killebrough Hall versus Sally's
23:12
baddie, Oliva. Oliva. Yep, Tony. So, so they
23:15
had two starters and the other four reserves
23:16
they all got into play. So, and Sam Mealy, the
23:19
manager, he got to be one of the coaches. And
23:21
then do you remember Hal Narragon? He was Earl
23:24
Batty's backup catcher for the first couple of
23:26
seasons, and then he became a coach. He got to
23:30
be part of the coaching staff of that game too.
23:32
Just a fun fact. And then do you remember a lefty,
23:35
a reliever named Bill Plice? He was learning
23:41
batting practice. He was a total batting practice
23:44
pitcher. So he got to be in the game too. I've
23:47
heard Pat Royce talk about this over the years
23:49
and I'm sure you guys realize it too, but he
23:51
said that 65 All -Star game was amazing because
23:54
there were a total of 14 players from the National
24:00
League and seven from the American League who
24:02
ended up in the Hall of Fame. It's just amazing.
24:05
Let's just try this for fun. I'm cheating because
24:07
I got the notes, but there were four pitchers
24:09
from the National League. Can you name the four
24:10
pitchers? Bob Gibson. Yep. Kofax. Mm hmm. Is
24:16
Drysdale? Yep. Yep. And there's one more. He
24:18
was a starter this year. Juan Marischal. Yes.
24:20
Juan Marischal. Yep. Yep. Good job, guys. Good
24:23
job. And then the players, I'll just go through
24:26
these quick, and you've heard of all of them.
24:28
Joe Torre, he was a catcher for the Milwaukee
24:30
Braves at the time. Ernie Banks, first baseman
24:33
with the Cubs. Richie Allen, third baseman with
24:35
the Phillies. Ron Santo, who ended up getting
24:38
the winning hit. Hank Aaron, from the Braves.
24:42
Roberto Clemente. Willie Mays. Frank Robinson,
24:46
he was an all -fielder with the Reds. Willie
24:48
Stargell. He was a young Willie Stargell then,
24:50
you think about it, that was 65. Because he's
24:53
on that 79 team, the We Are Family group. And
24:57
then remember Billy Williams, he was an outfielder
25:00
with the Cubs. 521 career home runs. Yeah, great
25:04
player. And then I mentioned one other player.
25:07
He started second baser in the national league,
25:09
that's Pete Rose. And now that he's... might
25:12
be reinstated in baseball, he could get elected
25:14
posthumously to the Hall of Fame, maybe. There's
25:17
been talk about that, even talk about shoeless
25:19
Joe Jackson, so we'll see. But that would have
25:23
been another Hall of Fame in the play. Now the
25:25
American League only had seven, but let's see
25:27
if we can guess who those are. Killibrew. Yeah,
25:30
Killibrew, yeah. Mickey Mantle. Yep, yep. You
25:33
know, he was actually injured for that game,
25:34
but he was named to the All -Star team. I think
25:36
that's why Oliva got to be in the game. And then
25:38
L .K. Lane, I think. Yep, yep. Baltimore. Oh,
25:45
Brooks Robinson. Yep. Third baseman. Yep. Yep.
25:48
And the Red Sox had an outfielder. Oh, Yusramski.
25:51
Yep. Yes. And then, and Tony. Tony Jones. And
25:56
then the seventh Hall of Famer, he was the manager
25:59
there. It was Al Lopez. He, normally I think
26:03
what you did is the manager of the previous year's
26:06
pennant winner would be in it, but the Yankees
26:08
had fired Johnny Kane. as manager or something,
26:11
because they lost in the World Series to somebody
26:13
in 64. And so somehow Al Lopez, I don't think
26:16
you'd pull him by the name of a hat, but he ended,
26:18
maybe because the White Sox were second. They
26:21
finished second the year before. So that's what
26:22
it was. So he got to be the manager. But he,
26:25
he was, he's in Hall of Fame and I never, I wasn't
26:27
aware of that. That'd be a great pub trivia question,
26:31
you know, Al Lopez. So, but you just talk about
26:35
style, star power. I mean baseball, the mortals.
26:38
And like Bryce's Stadium, because that's probably
26:39
one of the greatest all -star games ever, just
26:42
for names. And my father -in -law was at that
26:44
game. Oh, he was? Yeah. They had season tickets.
26:48
My father -in -law was one of the first five
26:49
people to order season tickets from the Twins
26:51
when they moved. Wow. And so they were behind
26:53
home plate in that area down there for the entire
26:56
time that the Twins are at Met Stadium. So I
26:59
don't think my wife was with him at the game.
27:01
I think it would have been the two, my father
27:03
-in -law and his brother that were at it. Wow.
27:05
Wow. Remember how guys used to dress for baseball
27:07
games? I mean, guys with white shirts and ties,
27:12
hats, I mean, fedoras. You don't see that now.
27:18
Now everybody's got jerseys. You know, like you
27:20
pretend they're football players. I like that
27:24
Al is wearing a shirt that says Bomba Squad.
27:26
Boy, that's going back to three years ago. Who
27:30
was in the Bomba Squad? Who was in the players?
27:32
Oh, Lord. It's easier to remember the old guys
27:35
than what I had from yesterday, much less the
27:37
players. The bomba squad, okay. That was fun.
27:42
Now the next thing, this isn't really a highlight,
27:44
this will be what I would call a low light. It
27:48
happened on Monday, August 2nd, 1965. That was
27:53
the first thing. There was another thing that
27:56
happened. It didn't happen in the field, but
27:57
it was also a big day because you kind of wondered
28:00
what's going to happen. Camilo Pascual actually
28:03
underwent his shoulder surgery that day. He had
28:07
some kind of shoulder muscle that was bothering
28:10
him. That's why he kept leaving games. He was
28:13
injured all the time. He had his shoulder surgery
28:16
that same day. Will he be able to play again
28:20
for the season's over? Is he done for the year?
28:22
They weren't really sure, you know, what was
28:23
going to happen. So you've got two key players,
28:26
you know, a key starting pitcher. And then, I
28:28
mean, Killeber was having almost an MVP year,
28:30
I mean, before he got hurt. Pasquale was nine
28:32
and three. Yeah. Yeah. But he missed about a
28:36
hundred innings. I mean, what he could have offered,
28:38
you know, I mean, he still did great, but I mean,
28:40
you know, they missed him there. So, but I want
28:41
to talk about that Killeber injury because I
28:43
didn't, I don't even know if I had the radio
28:45
on it was, you know. an afternoon in the summertime,
28:49
but Rich Rollins had fielded a bunt. And when
28:52
he threw it to first base, he kind of threw it
28:54
to Killebrew's left, kind of toward the dugout,
28:57
and he had to reach for it. And just as he caught
28:59
it, the Baltimore player's name is Russ Snyder.
29:04
Yeah, Russ Snyder. He bumped into, he hit Killebrew,
29:07
because Killebrew was in the baseline. I mean,
29:09
he's got to run. And I think Mudcrank Grant was
29:13
quoting the story saying that you could actually
29:15
hear almost like pop when it just you know a
29:19
dislocated elbow makes me cringe anyway but i
29:22
remember you know they run out there and grab
29:24
him and you know he ended up well i don't think
29:27
he came back till like late september so he missed
29:30
all of august and a good part of september yeah
29:32
seven weeks yeah but with a dislocated elbow
29:36
you don't really put it in a casty i mean you
29:38
just have to Well, maybe it's wrapped or something,
29:40
but you can't really do anything. So he wasn't
29:43
swinging a bat or anything like that. So they
29:45
just, they just missed him. He's on the shelf
29:47
for a long time. So you can figure he'd lost
29:50
about 20 home runs. Yeah. Cause he had, he would
29:53
have had almost 600. Yeah. if he had not been
29:56
hurt. He had 22 at the time. He ended up with
30:00
25 for the year. That's a down year for him.
30:03
Good year for anybody else, but down year for
30:05
him. Yeah. I'm realizing as I'm looking, you
30:08
know, going through that season, just what a
30:10
great player he was. I mean, he was a real deal.
30:12
I mean, the swinging hand is still one of the
30:15
prettiest I've ever seen, you know. Oh, man.
30:18
But I remember when that injury happened in like
30:20
my My dad and my grandpa and some of my uncles,
30:23
the sky was falling. There's no way they can
30:26
hang on. That's just so typical of Minnesota,
30:29
all this stuff. Well, it is, kind of. It was.
30:34
But fortunately for the twins, a lot of guys
30:37
stepped up. I remember Don Mincher became the
30:40
regular first baseman. They didn't really miss
30:44
a beat. They continued to play well. Well, we
30:47
had three people who had 20 home runs besides
30:50
Killebrew. Yeah. Don Mincher, Jimmy Hall, and
30:53
Bob Allison. Yeah, yeah. So guys stepped up.
30:56
And then, and you know, I'd mentioned Jim Perry
30:58
earlier, even without Pescual. I mean, the guys
31:00
were playing really, really good ball. It's just
31:04
too bad that they had to get hurt, though. I
31:05
mean, because it could have done even more. Then
31:08
finally at the last highlight before we get to
31:10
the World Series and this happened on Sunday
31:12
September 26 1965 when they actually clinched
31:15
the pennant They beat the Senators 2 to 1 was
31:19
a Sunday afternoon in DC I remember watching
31:23
that at home with my dad too. It was a it was
31:26
a slow game for the twins They they were losing
31:28
You know late in the game, but then they tied
31:31
it up. I think so I love her Sally's Let things
31:34
off in the six with the triple to left -center
31:36
field scored on a pass ball to tie the game at
31:39
one to one and then Frank Quillesey led off at
31:42
the double and advanced the third on a wild pitch
31:44
and then he was able to score a fly ball to center
31:49
field deep enough to get in score and they won
31:52
two to one and then Cot came through he he shot
31:57
out the Senators for the last two innings and
31:59
then they won the game. I just remember it was
32:03
fun because that broadcast, they went into the
32:06
Twins locker room after the game. I can remember,
32:09
oh yeah, they had champagne, they were doing
32:11
all that. That's the first time I'd seen something
32:13
like that, you know, told you, okay, but I thought,
32:15
is this what happens when you do something big?
32:17
And he goes, yeah. Can't wait for high school.
32:21
Why don't you do this every year? You know, that's
32:24
so much fun, you know, but I read we're He was
32:27
vice president of the tent. Hubert Humphrey actually
32:29
came into the locker room. He had secret servicemen
32:31
with him, but he got to go in there and congratulate
32:33
him. Because, you know, after all, he was mayor
32:35
of Minneapolis and senator from Minnesota and
32:39
a big Minnesota sports fan. Vice president. And
32:41
he was vice president. And he lived in D .C.
32:43
You know, that was where his job was. So it was
32:45
perfect. You could see his team win and that
32:47
stuff. So did you guys watch the game too then
32:50
or do you remember having the TV on? I don't
32:54
recall. Okay, because I did. Well, my dad, you
32:56
know, he never missed a game. It was on TV. And
32:58
I just thought that was really cool. I remember
33:00
Sam Mealoo actually swore coming in the locker
33:03
room because it was live TV. But he said, way
33:06
to go. But, you know, it was it was a big, big
33:11
moment for them. So there was one person we really
33:15
haven't talked about much was for Sally's and
33:18
how actual dominant he really was. He's an unknown
33:23
to most people outside of Minnesota, but he tied
33:28
or led the entire league or the majors and runs
33:33
doubles, triples, total bases. Yeah, his amazing
33:37
year. You know, I was gonna bring this up later,
33:41
but I'll bring it up now. Another guy that we
33:42
haven't mentioned, but I think should get some
33:44
credit, is the guy that was the third base coach
33:46
that year. Martin Billy Martin that he was given
33:50
a lot of credit. He was also mentioned as one
33:52
of the reasons that for size has such great year
33:54
He worked with him a lot because he was an infielder
33:56
himself And I think he gave soil a lot of confidence
33:59
and he was also an aggressive third base coach.
34:02
He had guys, you know He was more aggressive
34:04
about stealing bases and advancing runners and
34:07
you know almost wait for the defense to make
34:09
a mistake You know, so he is his is that into
34:12
tour playing? seemed to really help the team.
34:14
And he ended up becoming a manager, what, four
34:16
years later? Yeah, it was only one year, but
34:20
he got in a fight with Boswell and he hated Griffith,
34:25
you know, Cal Griffith, so he was not the easiest
34:27
guy to get along with. I'm getting the feeling,
34:30
you know. He knocked out Boswell, though, so
34:31
he could throw a punch. Yeah, he could, yeah.
34:35
There's some notorious stories about him and
34:37
Mickey Mantle when they were Yankees, too. Wild,
34:41
wild guys. Much alcohol was consumed. Yeah, quite
34:44
a bit. All right, let's get to the biggest highlight
34:46
of all, the World Series itself against the Los
34:48
Angeles Dodgers. That first game was a Wednesday
34:52
afternoon, October 6th, 1965. Interesting thing
34:56
about this, as I researched it, I'm sure you
34:58
came across it too, Wayne, is that the ace of
35:00
the staff of the Dodgers was Sandy Colfax. But
35:04
he didn't pitch that game because it was a Jewish
35:06
holiday. It was Yom Kippur. And you said, I'm
35:09
not going to play. I'm not going to play that
35:11
day. And so Drysdale, Don Drysdale got the nod
35:15
instead. Not a bad alternative. No, as you say,
35:19
he would have been an ace on just about every
35:22
other team in baseball. But when you're with
35:23
Colfax, you're number two. But the Twins had
35:27
a great game. They won that game 8 -2. And Mudcat
35:30
was the pitcher, went the distance. Something
35:33
funny about thing about cofax, it was Yom Kippur
35:37
and that's why he didn't play but Have you guys
35:41
ever watched Kirby enthusiasm? Larry David is
35:44
the star but he and Seinfeld were the ones that
35:47
created Seinfeld but he did an episode I just
35:49
thought last week and I'm still laughing thinking
35:51
about it but there was a he invented a verb he
35:56
called it cofaxing and And in this episode, one
36:00
of Larry's friends, another Jewish player, his
36:03
name was Marty Funkhouser. There was supposed
36:06
to be a golf tournament on a Saturday, but he
36:08
wouldn't play because he had this rabbi that
36:11
told him he shouldn't be golfing on Saturday.
36:14
And so when he told Larry David he can't play,
36:17
so Larry David says, you're co -faxing us? And
36:21
then Funkhouser says, well, if you're saying
36:23
that your best player isn't able to play because
36:25
it's the Sabbath, yes, I'm co -faxing you. I've
36:31
never heard that. Well, Larry David. It was probably
36:35
his thing. So back to that game one. In our class,
36:39
Wayne, I don't know if it was the speaker above
36:43
the teacher's desk or if her teacher had her
36:45
own radio, but we were listening to the game.
36:47
Do you remember hearing the game? Did Mr. Grandjean
36:49
let you guys hear the game at Highland? I don't
36:52
think so. You were in second grade. I was in
36:53
second grade, yeah. I listened to as much as
36:56
we could when we could, and watched when we could,
36:59
but I don't recall. I thought that it was coming
37:02
through the speakers, like every teacher's desk.
37:05
I don't recall that. Because, I mean, that just
37:06
shows what a big deal it was for us to have the
37:09
World Series. So they were actually piping the
37:11
game. And because I remember hearing, you know,
37:14
like, game one, the highlights of that. And I
37:17
thought that this is so cool, you know, so. Well,
37:21
the next day was also it was the next day As
37:24
nice as it was on game one. It was like 70 degrees
37:26
and sunny. It had rained that night So the field
37:30
wasn't in the greatest shape on that Thursday
37:33
afternoon on October 7th. In fact, it was downright
37:35
muddy Jimcott, you know started for the twins
37:38
and Sandy Goffax pitched that day because it
37:40
was the day after the holiday and the twins won
37:43
5 -1 It was just a great game But the thing I
37:46
remember most about that game was a certain play
37:50
and the twins are out in the field. Yeah. It
37:53
was, it was, it was a left handed batter for
37:56
the Dodgers. What was his name again? The Fever.
37:59
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yep. And, and it was, it was,
38:03
it was drifting away toward the foul line, but
38:05
it was still in fair territory. And Bob Allison,
38:08
I see you got a picture up there, made just a
38:10
great catch, which surprised me because I never
38:12
thought of Bob Allison as you know making a play
38:14
like that because he was a big guy he wasn't
38:17
you know and it was just a beautiful catch but
38:19
it saved uh we could have been oh at least yeah
38:22
i mean and and then they got to that inning and
38:25
didn't score and then the twins came up and and
38:27
got their their runs and i said they they won
38:29
the game decisively but um yeah i i actually
38:32
was looking at that on youtube the other day
38:34
the allison catch it has gotten brought up through
38:37
the years one of the better catches in world
38:39
series yeah covered a lot of ground yeah especially
38:42
for a big guy Yeah, just amazing. Allison made
38:45
some really good plays in their World Series.
38:48
I mean, you get some home runs and made a good
38:50
catch out too, so. So it was great. They were
38:54
up two games to none. You know, you think, oh
38:56
man, this is great. Let's win out in LA, you
39:00
know? So they go out to California. They played
39:03
a game on, it was on a Saturday afternoon, October
39:06
9th, 1965. but it didn't work out so well for
39:09
the twins. The Dodgers pitcher, the third guy,
39:13
Claude Osteen, he threw a five -hit, four -nothing
39:16
shutout. And it was just funny because the twins
39:20
had beat their two best pitchers. And you're
39:22
thinking, all right, we'll do a game lead. But
39:24
I think Osteen, I mean, he was a good pitcher.
39:26
I think he won 15 games that year. Yeah, he was
39:28
15 and 15 that year. And he had a 2 .7 that ERA.
39:31
So he was a good pitcher. And I also read that
39:34
when he played for the Senators before he got
39:36
traded to the Dodgers, he was like, undefeated
39:38
against the Twins. He had the numbers, so he
39:40
had it even with the Dodgers. Camille actually
39:43
started that game, Pasquale, but he got rocked,
39:48
so he wasn't able to, he didn't have the success
39:50
that Osteen had. Did you know that Claude Osteen,
39:54
I couldn't pick his face out of a lane, but he
39:56
had a nickname for the Dodgers when he played
39:58
there. They called him Gullmer. Because evidently
40:03
he looked a lot like Jim neighbors some Gomer
40:06
putt as I see but He dominated the twins in that
40:15
game and again, it was a four nothing shutout
40:17
twins didn't even score So so that made it two
40:20
to one and you think okay. Well, we'll get him
40:23
back. Yeah We'll get him back the next day. So
40:26
but that didn't happen either. But before I get
40:28
to the game I'm sorry. There's one thing I wanted
40:30
to bring up and I didn't see this live because
40:32
I was doing something on Saturday, but in that
40:35
game there was a fall ball and Earl Batty went
40:39
back to try to catch it. It was behind home plate
40:42
and he slammed into this. The doctor said kind
40:44
of like a under almost like a dugout for fans.
40:47
It hit his neck or his neck and he just went
40:50
down like he got shot and say oh no. So do you
40:54
remember who the catcher was that came in for
40:55
him? Well as soon as you say it I'll know it.
40:58
His first name is Jerry. Zimmerman. Yeah, Zimmerman
41:01
came in for him. I remember my dad said, I don't
41:05
know what happened to Baddy, but he just ran.
41:09
He wasn't running full speed, but he was running
41:11
and he hit that rail and the rail won. He did
41:16
come back later and we'll get to that. Now in
41:20
the Sunday game, the next day, game four, it
41:23
was October 10th, 1965. I'd rather not talk about
41:26
that one as well, but Drysdale was pitching that
41:29
game. They beat the Twins 72 in that one. So
41:32
that tied it at two games a piece. Come on, you
41:36
know, and Grant, but it was a rematch. Mudcat
41:38
Grant was pitching again for the twins, but he
41:41
didn't have as good a game as he had the first
41:43
time. And Drysdale was great. He had, uh, he
41:46
had 11 strikeouts and he struck out Jimmy Hall
41:49
and Don Mincher three times each. So that's kind
41:53
of tough. There's a chunk of your offense right
41:55
there. Production. So the twins got their two
41:58
runs on solo home runs by Killebrew and Tony
42:01
O. But that was it for that one. So it's tied
42:04
up, you know, two games apiece. Still plenty
42:07
of time. Still plenty of time. October 11th.
42:12
And that was another matchup with Cot and Kofax.
42:16
And this time Kofax really dominated the They
42:19
won seven to nothing. They didn't get it. When
42:21
he was on, he was on. Oh, yeah. He was the best.
42:24
He was like Bob Gibson. Yeah, he was the best.
42:26
So, yeah, in fact, Cott had to come out of there.
42:28
They took Cott out of the game, and Boswell came
42:30
into pitch for him, tried to stop things going,
42:32
and Jim Perry got into pitch. But in the end,
42:36
the Dodgers ended up with 14 hits, and they stole
42:39
four bases. They had a real fast team, as I recall.
42:41
I think the Twins had power. It was speed and
42:45
it was classic National League versus America.
42:47
Yeah, they were faster and they aggressed on
42:49
the bases and they stole bases and got the twins
42:51
to make errors. They won that pretty convincingly.
42:54
So all of a sudden, after going out there two
42:56
and now they're down three games to two. It's
42:59
like, oh, you know. So they had Monday, Monday
43:05
off or Tuesday off. They flew back here and they
43:08
played on Wednesday afternoon the 13th. And it
43:11
was, it was good to be home, I guess, because
43:13
that might have been, well, they played almost
43:15
a perfect game. Mudkink was pitching. Not only
43:19
did he do a great job on the mound, but he even
43:20
hit a three run homer. Yep. Allison had one also.
43:24
Yep. And so they really, in fact, that was, I
43:27
think, I have it here somewhere, but. there weren't
43:31
a whole lot of pitchers that actually hit home
43:33
runs in the World Series. He was only like the
43:34
seventh of all time to do something like that.
43:37
So it was a big, it was great for the Twins fans
43:40
because the stadium was packed and Earl Batty
43:43
got to play. He was already back in the lineup
43:45
and it was exciting because in the bottom of
43:49
the first inning or second inning, he hit a triple.
43:53
And for Batty to hit a triple, that's... We got
43:56
to be pretty hard. You figure Outfield has got
43:57
to dive for it, miss it and then has to run back
44:00
and catch it. So he goes sliding in head first
44:03
and the third and with all that excitement they
44:06
still didn't score. But the later in later innings
44:09
then you know Allison got that home running grand.
44:11
So like I said it was a convincing win. I think
44:12
five to one is the final. So okay game seven.
44:17
This is all the marbles. That was a Thursday
44:19
afternoon. And, you know, for thinking, oh, come
44:22
here and do it. Well, again, they had to face
44:24
Sandy Koufax. And he and Cot were both going
44:27
on two days rest. You know, so think about it.
44:29
They'd never do that. Yeah. Oh, no, no, no. And
44:33
the twins, I think, threatened in the bottom
44:35
of the fifth inning. They had runners on first
44:38
and second. And Zoila hit this shot to third
44:40
base, but the third baseman, his name is Jim
44:43
Gilliam. He made a great backhanded stop. got
44:46
the ball, stepped on third base and they weren't
44:49
able to get any runs out of it. So, and you remember
44:51
how the Dodgers scored? No, it was a guy named
44:54
Lou Johnson. He hit a home run and it hit the
44:58
left field foul pole. So I made it one nothing.
45:01
Then the next batter came up, I think it was
45:03
the next pitch. He hit it like a double. Then
45:06
the next pitcher after that, next hitter after
45:09
that got a single and that scored the runs. I
45:11
made it two nothing, but there's three straight
45:13
pitches. And they get all the runs. Yeah. Three
45:16
straight hits. And he said it was just a tough
45:20
break. And then Colfax really settled down. I
45:22
think he retired 13 of the last 14 battles that
45:25
he faced and had 10 strikeouts. Well, he was
45:29
MVP of the series and he was just awesome. But
45:32
as I recall, that game you know every and every
45:36
game was in the afternoon this is way before
45:37
they were playing night games so i remember taking
45:39
the bus home from central from columbia junior
45:42
high and the game was still on uh my dad had
45:45
it out in the tv and the living room and we saw
45:47
the end of the game but it's disappointing you
45:49
know see the dodgers celebrating and it's like
45:51
oh that's no fair but um it you know they lost
45:54
a really good team and a great pitcher so i can
45:57
see herb with the transistor radio or grandfather
46:01
holding the radio up to his ear to make sure
46:03
he could hear it Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Great
46:06
memory. The interesting thing about this series,
46:10
maybe you came across this too Wayne, is that
46:12
no relief pitchers were used by the winning team
46:15
in any of those games. Every winning, every starting
46:18
pitcher went the distance. They didn't bring
46:21
in a closer for the ninth inning. You know, Grant
46:23
and Cot. Went the whole way in their games and
46:26
Drysdale and Colfax and this thing didn't use
46:28
one relief pitcher for the winning team, right?
46:31
So and that had hadn't happened since 1940 and
46:34
it hasn't happened since nobody does it never
46:36
will. No, it will never happen. Yep. There were
46:39
too much money the pitchers. Yeah That and that
46:44
loss in game seven is still well, they've only
46:47
had three World Series But that's still the only
46:49
home game they've ever lost and they won all
46:51
the home games made seven and then you want so
46:53
Yep, and it would be, after that 65 series, it
46:56
would be another 22 more years before they'd
46:59
get back to the World Series. 69, they were close.
47:01
They were close. 69 and 70. Yeah, because they
47:04
won divisions. Baltimore. Yeah, the Orioles.
47:07
But in 87 they got back and they won and then
47:10
they did it again in 91. They waited a long time,
47:15
but when you think about it, that's a shorter
47:16
time than what we're waiting now. I mean it's
47:19
been 34 years. It's been a drought. It doesn't
47:25
look like it's going to happen this year. No,
47:28
I'm pretty sure it's not. That 65 season, it's
47:31
interesting. They drew 1 .4 million and that
47:34
led the American League. And last year the Dodgers,
47:38
they had 3 .94 million. That's what you get though,
47:40
the playing in the afternoon versus playing at
47:43
night. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then even last year
47:46
when the Twins collapsed, because they looked
47:49
like they were going to win the division or at
47:50
least go to the playoffs, they had 1 .95 million.
47:54
So they drew almost a half million more than
47:56
that 65 team did. But I remember going to games,
47:59
you know, except for maybe World Series, you'd
48:02
get decent crowds, but it's never... like sold
48:04
out stuff it just you know maybe baseball just
48:07
wasn't attended as as well as it is now i don't
48:09
know i don't know so you mentioned earlier though
48:12
a couple more highlights or individual honors
48:15
Zoylo just had a great year. He was an American
48:18
League MVP. You mentioned his 126 runs scored.
48:23
He even won a gold glove. He was great in the
48:26
field too. Tony Oh won the American League batting
48:29
championship. He had a 321 average. Sam Mealy
48:32
was manager of the year. Mudcat Grant led the
48:35
American League with 21 wins. Became the first
48:38
African -American pitcher in the history of the
48:40
American League to win 20 games in a season.
48:44
In the American League, yeah. And Jim Cott won
48:46
a gold glove for pay. He always had a good glove,
48:48
Cott. He was always good at that. And in Killebrew,
48:51
we mentioned earlier, even though he missed all
48:53
those games, he still had 25 home runs and 75
48:56
RBIs. Like you said, Al, that'd be a career year
48:58
for a lot of guys. So he was a special player.
49:01
And we talked about Billy Martin. He was a big
49:05
part of that team, you know, his aggressive coaching
49:08
at third base. And he was like Zoilo's mentor
49:10
that year and helped him have his best year.
49:13
So are there any other guys that we've been going
49:15
through this week, going through fast? Any other
49:17
twins that you thought of from that year that
49:20
we haven't talked about yet? I'll mention Al
49:23
Worthington. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yeah. I mean, some
49:27
of the other pitchers that they had were guys
49:29
who... no one's ever given a thought to after
49:32
that season. Right, right. Pete Cimino and Mel
49:35
Nelson, who could forget Mel Nelson? Me? Bill
49:41
Place, that was the name from the past, and Johnny
49:43
Klipstein, he was another reliever. And, you
49:46
know, Dave Boswell was a starter and only 20
49:50
years old, which still surprised me. I didn't
49:51
realize that he was that young. Jim Merritt was
49:55
with them too. Yes. Yes. He ended up winning,
49:57
you know, like on the 69 or 70 season. He won
49:59
17 games. Yeah. One of those, I forget which
50:02
one, but he was a fairly solid pitcher. Yep.
50:05
I've got some fun stuff here, guys. Maybe we,
50:07
Wayne, you've got this in your notes too, but
50:09
there are still... And remember, this was 1965,
50:12
so this is 60 years ago. I mean, we were just,
50:14
we weren't even teenagers. And now we're aging
50:17
boomers. But those players, those are still alive.
50:21
They're all in their 80s and 90s now, if they're
50:23
still alive. But I've been listening because
50:25
I think it's cool that they're still alive. And
50:27
I do remember this. You just mentioned Jim Merritt.
50:30
He turned 81 last December, 2024. After the 68
50:34
season, he was traded even up to the Reds for
50:37
a shortstop named Leo Cardenas. Who played for
50:40
the Twins also. Did he actually succeed Zoilow
50:43
then or was it somebody in between him? I can't
50:45
remember. This would have been 68 or 69. I think
50:49
he came in right after. He was a pretty solid
50:54
hitter and a pretty decent fielder in a couple
50:56
years. Another former twin is still with us,
51:01
Joe Nossick. He actually started more games than
51:03
Jimmy Hall did. I don't know why Jimmy Hall was
51:05
in the dog house or didn't start, but he played
51:08
a lot in the World Series. He turned 84 last
51:11
November, 2024. Tony Oliva, he'll be... turning
51:17
87 next month in July. His uniform number was
51:22
retired in 91, but it was only last year that
51:25
he finally got elected to the Hall of Fame. If
51:27
his darn knees had... He was a Hall of Fame player
51:30
who got done in by his knees. And you forget
51:32
just what a great outfielder he was too. He had
51:34
a great arm, great range. You know, he just,
51:36
he was great. So I'm glad he's in the Hall of
51:38
Fame. And then Jim Cot, he turned 86 last November.
51:42
One of my all -time favorite announcers. I've
51:46
got his hook too. Yeah, he just seems like a
51:49
great guy. He played for 25 seasons. Twins gave
51:53
up on him and he goes to Chicago and wins 20
51:55
games. Yeah, he played a long time. He played
51:58
for the Yankees. He was around a long, long time.
52:01
And he got voted into the Hall last year with
52:04
Tony, which was great. And then you mentioned
52:06
before Jimmy Hall, the center fielder. As a rookie
52:10
in 63, he had 33 home runs. Which is still the
52:13
all -time record for the rookie. Yes. And they
52:15
said it was, he got another record. He said it
52:19
stood for more than 50 years as the American
52:21
League record for the most home runs by a first
52:23
-year player with not even one game of prior
52:26
major league experience. So I mean, it just...
52:29
You know, some guys come up for a little bit
52:31
and, you know, go back down, but he came up that
52:33
year and hit 30 -feet all in, so. You mentioned
52:36
he might have fallen out of favor this year.
52:39
Well, his production dropped from 33 to 25 to
52:42
20. Yeah. And it was just. Well, my dad, it's
52:46
funny, I think back then, it's now when Sudden
52:49
Sam McDowell was pitching. I remember my dad,
52:51
because my dad was a left -handed hitter, and
52:53
he said, I think. Jimmy Hall got hit by a pitch.
52:56
Right in the face. Yeah. And I think it psyched
52:59
him out. And it was a lefty that hit him. And
53:00
he was left handed battered. And he said, watch,
53:03
watch Jimmy Hall's right foot. And I swear every
53:06
time McDowell would wind up pitch, that right
53:08
foot would almost be, they always say he put
53:10
his foot in the bucket. because he was afraid
53:12
you know he kind of bail out and he was just
53:14
he was intimidated by by lefties he just couldn't
53:17
hit him and i i think that kind of did a number
53:19
on him i don't remember what year he got hit
53:22
well it was probably after his rookie year because
53:24
that's when he got all his home runs he dropped
53:26
off to it was at least a second year probably
53:29
i don't think it happened as the rookie but um
53:32
he's still alive he's still with us he turned
53:34
87 in march And I mentioned him before, Bill
53:38
Place. He's still around. He'll be 88 in August.
53:43
And he also actually notched the first twins
53:46
ever at Met Stadium. He was a pitcher on April
53:49
22nd of 61. He got the first win. It wasn't Pascual
53:53
or Pete Ramis or... Bill Place got the first
53:56
win. Jim Perry. It's kind of too bad. He only
53:59
pitched in relief in the World Series as well
54:01
as he pitched in all... During the 65 season,
54:04
he only got injured as a reliever. He'll be 90
54:07
in October this year. Is Gaylord still alive?
54:10
That's a good question. I'm just thinking of
54:12
that. I don't know. I don't know. And I don't
54:16
think Perry or Jim Perry ever had a spitter.
54:19
I never heard about him being, you know, Gaylord.
54:22
That's all he did. And then another guy that
54:25
surprised me, he's still with us, Camillo. He
54:28
turned 91 in January. Yeah, good for him. twins
54:33
number or he's in the twins Hall of Fame. But
54:36
he didn't, I think his arm problems prevented
54:38
him from getting enough wins. For two or three
54:41
years, he was so down. Well, I remember my dad
54:43
saying he had like one of the best curve balls
54:45
I've ever seen. I've seen some of that. Yeah.
54:48
It's like ball falling off the table. Yeah, yeah,
54:53
yeah. Unfortunately, they both developed the
54:55
elbows. That's right. Retire. And he he never
54:57
got the Tommy John search. ever had that problem.
55:01
I know well I you guys remember Burt used to
55:05
hate pitch college he just thought that was he
55:07
just didn't oh he's not nuts but yeah he's brave
55:09
about that. And then the last twin that I'm aware
55:13
of that is still with us from that team is Al
55:16
Worthington. He turned 96 in February so he's
55:20
he's getting up there he was born the same year
55:22
as my dad in 1929 so 96 years old. And then I
55:26
want to just mention one other guy because I
55:28
always liked him. I always said he's a good player.
55:31
He passed away in just in May and that was the
55:33
third baseman, Rich Rollins. He was 87 when he
55:36
died, so. What about Bernie Allen? I don't know.
55:40
He wasn't on the team. He wasn't on the team.
55:43
They had, they had, Jury Kindahl was the second
55:44
baseman. Yeah. But then Quillesee sort of beat
55:47
him out. In fact, Quillesee set a record. I didn't
55:49
mention this. That game when they beat the Dodgers
55:52
in game one, he had two hits in one inning. It
55:55
was a long ending where they got all those runs
55:57
and he slid off of the single and then he came
55:59
up later in the ending and got a single. So it
56:01
was some kind of record that is really tough
56:03
to beat. Kindle was a classic good field no hit.
56:07
So it was easy to beat him up when you had someone
56:10
who could come up and field about as well and
56:12
hit 50 points better. I mean, for the season,
56:15
Kindle was below the Mendoza line. and even knows
56:22
it. Wapping 196 average. Yep. Good fielder though.
56:29
What do you guys think of a takeaway or two about
56:32
this season that impressed you, the 65 season?
56:35
What do you probably remember most about it or
56:38
do you think about the most? If somebody asked
56:39
you about the 65 twins. For myself, I had started
56:43
getting hooked on baseball as a kid. You were
56:45
the only seven right? That got me... hooked on
56:49
baseball. Yeah. We threw a lot of balls in the
56:51
driveway. We played catch. Yeah. Wayne and I
56:54
played a lot of catch. Nice. My dad would come
56:56
out and play ball with us and it just really
56:59
got got the love affair with baseball going.
57:02
Yeah. And it's it's never diminished ever since
57:04
then. Yeah. And then we'd go down to the park.
57:07
Yeah. We had a little sandlot, our own sandlot
57:09
there. So yeah, oh gosh, I can't imagine how
57:13
many times we played baseball there. Yeah, and
57:16
it was nice being in a neighborhood where there
57:18
were kids. Your group had kids. We had, from
57:21
my bracket, same thing. We'd go down to that
57:23
park that had that nice triangle layout where
57:25
you could... Yeah, it was almost a diamond shape,
57:28
you know, it was perfect. Yeah, we had a lot
57:30
of baseball there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. How about
57:32
you, Wayne, like the 65 season? I've got a couple
57:35
takeaways, but I want to hear if there's one
57:37
lasting impression or one thing that sticks out
57:39
most in your mind about that season. It was Mudcat
57:41
Grant hitting that three run home run. Yeah.
57:45
Specifically... picture that yeah and how big
57:47
was our black and white tv yeah back then it
57:50
was probably about a about an 18 inch screen
57:53
maybe it wasn't yeah yeah just glued to it oh
57:57
yeah yeah that that's probably the biggest takeaway
57:59
home runs they were off that year as far as home
58:03
runs compared to the previous year i think they
58:06
had 150 yeah and 221 the year before wow yeah
58:10
man yeah they had some they had some bats in
58:13
that lineup man Yeah, Jimmy Hall, Bob Allison,
58:17
Killebrew. Killebrew with a full year. Yeah,
58:19
Don Mincher. I mean, all those guys, they could
58:22
hit the long ball. Kind of like La Bamba. Yeah.
58:30
Well, I just remember the 65 season was fun because
58:33
that's when I first started to really get into
58:35
it. I mean, every game was on the radio, every
58:38
game that was on TV. must -see TV for us. That
58:43
was a year, I was 12, Al, so I started consciously
58:47
reading the paper every day. In fact, I read
58:50
both papers. The morning paper would give you
58:54
the summaries of the game and then the afternoon
58:55
game would kind of... Yeah, they'd more analyze
58:58
it. And think about that for a second. Both Minneapolis
59:02
and St. Paul had two daily newspapers. And nobody
59:06
does that anymore. Yeah, the Minneapolis Star
59:10
in the afternoon and Pioneer Press. and now you
59:15
know you can get your information on your phone
59:16
i guess but it's just i just remember how how
59:18
much that meant i still like holding a newspaper
59:21
same here same here i still get it every day
59:23
i still look at box scores from other teams to
59:25
this you still take the paper for you i've got
59:29
an online subscription to the pioneer press because
59:31
i got some kind of special on it so i do that
59:33
but uh well i went to a library um a month or
59:37
so ago and i remember sitting down and actually
59:39
saw Minnesota Tribune, Star Tribune. I actually
59:44
sat down and looked at it because I hadn't held
59:45
a Star Tribune newspaper and I don't know how
59:48
long. It was almost nostalgic. It's like I got
59:50
to do this more often. The sports section is
59:53
still... top -notch. Yeah, yeah. The rest of
59:55
the paper has shrunk and shrunk. It's literally
59:58
smaller. They aren't even as wide. It's like
1:00:00
the pages are, I don't know. In the comics you
1:00:03
have to have a magnifying glass stick. And there's
1:00:06
not as much ads in it, you know, because there's
1:00:08
not as many subscribers and it's just it's a
1:00:10
smaller, it's a different world I guess. The
1:00:13
other takeaway I was going to say, and not to
1:00:15
be a buzzkill, but because they had lost that
1:00:18
seventh game, it kind of conditioned me or got
1:00:21
me kind of prepared for all Minnesota sports
1:00:24
teams just to expect heartbreak, get used to
1:00:29
disappointment, hope for the best and expect
1:00:31
the worst. Until 87. Yeah, well, 87 and 91. But
1:00:35
I read somewhere my brother pointed this out
1:00:37
to me. you think of the Vikings for Super Bowl
1:00:40
losses. The two times the North Stars did get
1:00:43
the Stanley Cup, they didn't win it. The Timberwolves
1:00:47
are kind of sort of knocking at the door, but
1:00:50
can't get over the hump to get to the NBA Finals.
1:00:53
So it's like, and there was a stat saying of
1:00:55
the four major men's pro sports teams, you know,
1:00:59
NFL, NHL, NBA, Major League Baseball, Minnesota
1:01:03
has gone. like 33 years without getting any team
1:01:07
to the finals and they call it a drought you
1:01:09
know of the big four so it's been a long time
1:01:13
it's just been a long time the the women have
1:01:16
had some success the basketball team has done
1:01:19
well and that hockey team um the frost i think
1:01:22
they're called they won they've won their two
1:01:25
championships but the men just can't seem to
1:01:26
get over the hump so anything else or i mean
1:01:31
we've covered a lot um It was a really magical
1:01:36
season. Yeah, it was fun. It didn't maybe end
1:01:38
the way we wanted, but it gave a lot of fun during
1:01:40
the year. Well, and I also think, I'll just say
1:01:42
this, I think if they had won that year, that
1:01:47
that might be considered. the best twin team
1:01:49
of all time. Absolutely. 87 and 91 were great,
1:01:52
and I'm not taking, you know. Well, you look
1:01:54
at like the 67 team, the 68, the 69 team, they
1:01:58
were very, very good on all of those years. Yeah.
1:02:01
Couldn't, there was always one team clearly better.
1:02:04
The decade of the 60s. Yeah. We had, I think,
1:02:07
the second best record of all baseball. Wow,
1:02:10
wow, and just one pennant. Well, you didn't have
1:02:14
divisions, you didn't have wild cards, you didn't
1:02:17
have playoffs. The best team at the end of the
1:02:19
season went to the World Series, and that was
1:02:20
it. And they were truly the best. Yeah, they
1:02:22
were. There's no doubt. You had 160 games. 160
1:02:26
games you can't say they snuck in. The one thing
1:02:30
that was funny about that too is like at the
1:02:32
start where you said the Yankees were predicted
1:02:34
to win it just because they had for the previous
1:02:36
several years and they ended up finishing sixth
1:02:39
with a record below 500. Below 500 seasons. Those
1:02:43
yearbooks, how much do you think they cost? Oh
1:02:46
gosh, was it like a dollar? 50 cents? 50 cents,
1:02:50
wow. Money well spent. Oh yeah, 50 cents right
1:02:53
in the cover. great that's great so well this
1:02:58
has been fun guys I'm glad we could get together
1:03:01
again I enjoy I really love talking to you guys
1:03:03
and sharing memories of this stuff that we're
1:03:05
all baseball fans and that's 65 season for young
1:03:08
kids it's it was just a great time I still wish
1:03:11
they could have pulled out that game seven but
1:03:13
still a great season so thanks again for joining
1:03:16
me guys I'm glad to be here And again to our
1:03:23
listeners, thanks again for hanging out with
1:03:25
me, Bob Edholm, and my guests, Wayne and Al Damro.
1:03:28
We hope you'll join us for the next episode of
1:03:30
Hanging Out with Bob, wherever you listen to
1:03:32
your podcasts. Until then, bye.