The onset of this year’s World Series and the recent deaths of Luis Tiant and Pete Rose revived my memories of the 1975 World Series which Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy calls The Greatest World Series Ever. The two teams that played that year were Tiant’s Boston Red Sox and Rose’s Cincinnati Reds.

Known as “The Big Red Machine,” the Reds won the National League West by 20 games and swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Championship Series. The Red Sox had won the American League East by 4 games then swept the three-time defending World Series champion Oakland As to win the American League Championship Series.

Game 1 opened in Boston on Saturday, October 11, 1975, and was won by the Red Sox by a score of 6 to 0. Luis Tiant was the winning pitcher and Don Gullett took the loss. The Red Sox scored all six of their runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Here’s the Cincinnati lineup for the opening game:

Pete Rose at third base
Joe Morgan at second base
Johnny Bench at catcher
Tony Perez at first base
George Foster in left field
Dave Concepcion at shortstop
Ken Griffey Sr. in right field
Cesar Geronimo in center field
Don Gullett pitching

Here’s the Red Sox lineup had:

Dwight Evans in right field
Denny Doyle at second base
Carl Yastrzemski in left field
Carlton Fisk at catcher
Fred Lynn in center field
Rico Petrocelli at third base
Rick Burleson at shortstop
Cecil Cooper at first base
Luis Tiant pitching

A couple of relevant notes: The American League had adopted the designated hitter in 1973 but it was not used in the 1975 World Series. Also, for most of the 1975 season, Jim Rice played left field for the Red Sox with Carl Yastrzemski playing first base or designated hitter, however, late in the regular season, Rice was hit by a pitch that broke his wrist so he missed the World Series due to injury. One of the great What Ifs of Boston sports history is that had Rice had played, he would have boosted the Red Sox enough to have won four games.

Boston up, 1 game to 0.

Game 2 was played on Sunday, October 12, 1975, at Fenway Park. Jack Billingham started for the Reds; Bill Lee for the Red Sox. Lee made it through eight innings with a 2 to 1 lead, but reliever Dick Drago gave up two runs in the top of the ninth which gave Cincinnati the win and tied the series at one game each. Series tied at 1 game each.

Game 3 was played on Tuesday, October 14, 1975, at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Rick Wise started for the Red Sox and Gary Nolan started for the Reds. Although Boston scored first, the Reds jumped out to a 5 to 1 lead after five innings, but Boston clawed back, tying the game with two runs in the top of the ninth. But Cincinnati scored a walk off run in the bottom of the tenth and went up in the series, 2 games to 1. The game featured three home runs by each team with Jonny Bench, Dave Concepcion, and Cesar Geronimo homering for the Reds and Carlton Fisk, pinch hitter Bernie Carbo, and Dwight Evans homering for the Red Sox. Cincinnati up, 2 games to 1.

Game 4 was played on Wednesday, October 15, 1975, at Riverfront Stadium. Behind a complete game pitching performance by Luis Tiant, the Red Sox won by a score of 5 to 4. The losing pitcher for the Reds was Fred Norman. Series tied at 2 games each.

Game 5 was played on Thursday, October 16, 1975, at Riverfront Stadium. The winning pitcher was Don Gullett who made it through two outs in the top of the ninth before being relieved by Rollie Eastwick who got the final out. The losing pitcher for the Red Sox was Reggie Cleveland. Tony Perez hit two home runs off Cleveland. Cincinnati up, 3 games to 2.

Game 6 was played on Tuesday, October 21, 1975, at Fenway Park. Gary Nolan started for the Reds and Luis Tiant started for the Red Sox. The Red Sox got off to a fast start with three runs in the first inning on a Fred Lynn home run, but the Reds clawed back with three runs in the fifth inning and took the lead with two runs in the seventh and one run in the eighth. Things looked dire for the Red Sox in the eighth inning when pinch hitter Bernie Carbo came to bat with two on and two out. Just as he had done in game three, Carbo smacked at three run homer to centerfield which tied the game. The Red Sox were on the verge of winning the game in the bottom of the ninth when they loaded the bases with no out. Fred Lynn popped a ball into foul territory behind third base which was caught by leftfielder George Foster. For some inexplicable reason, Denny Doyle, the Red Sox runner on third base, tagged up and tried to score but he was thrown out making it a double play. The Reds got the third out and escaped a walk off win by the Red Sox, for a time, at least. The Reds nearly went ahead in the top of the eleventh inning when Joe Morgan hit a fly ball deep to right field that looked like an extra base hit. But Red Sox right fielder Dwight Evans sprinted back and lunged for the ball and made an incredible catch. Then in the bottom of the twelfth inning, Carlton Fisk led off and hit a high fly ball down the left field line. In one of baseball’s most iconic video clips, the NBC camera zoomed in on Fisk urging the ball to stay fair which it did and the Red Sox won what many consider to be the greatest game in World Series history. Series tied at 3 games each.

Game 7 was played on Wednesday, October 22, 1975, at Fenway Park. Don Gullett started for the Reds; Bill Lee for the Red Sox. The Red Sox jumped out to a 3 to 9 lead in the third inning but the Red scored two in the sixth and one in the seventh to tie the game. In the top of the ninth, the Reds second baseman Joe Morgan blooped a single to score a run and give the Reds the lead. In the bottom of the ninth, the Reds Will McEnaney retired the Red Sox in order giving the Reds the win and their first World Series win in 35 years. Cincinnati wins the Series, 4 games to 3.