World Series Goof Made Owen a Hero

Bill Buckner can take heart. Mickey Owen, who committed a World Series blunder even more infamous than Buckner’s, not only lived to tell about it but became something of a hero his hometown of Springfield, Mo., where they made him the county sheriff.

In the 1941 World Series between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees, the Dodgers were on the verge of tying the series, 2-2, when Owen dropped what should have been a game-ending pitch by Hugh Casey to Yankee outfielder Tommy Henrich. The Yankees went on to win the game and wrapped up the Series the next day.

Owen, 72, and a great-grandfather, remains a popular figure in Springfield where he still works as a livestock auctioneer. He told Dave Anderson of the New York Times, “I would have been completely forgotten if I hadn’t missed that pitch.”

Said Henrich, 75: “Right away, I thought, ‘He’ll never get over this.’ But you never know. Look at the way Mickey has handled it. He turned it into a big plus.”

Add Owen: He said he didn’t even get chewed out after the game, even though he worked for two of baseball’s more volatile characters, Manager Leo Durocher and General Manager Larry MacPhail. Apparently, Durocher was too stunned and MacPhail was too stoned.

“I don’t remember Leo saying much,” Owen said. “We were still in shock when Larry came in. He always had something to say and I thought, ‘I’m going to hear something now.’ But he was feeling no pain. He came over and hugged and kissed me. I thought, ‘I can’t believe this.’ ”

Trivia Time: What pitcher has come closest to matching Johnny Vander Meer’s consecutive no-hitters in 1938? (Answer below.)

Said Chicago White Sox pitcher Rick Horton after taking over as the club’s player representative: “My first order of business is to lower the national debt.”

Red Auerbach, who always claimed that Bill Russell was the best ever, switched to Larry Bird this year. Apparently, Bird doesn’t agree.

Jan Hubbard of the Sporting News quotes him as saying, “You can’t tell me that Magic Johnson isn’t the best player in the world. He’s the best player I’ve ever played against, and he’s the best player I’ve ever seen. He does things with a basketball nobody else can do. There’s nobody I’d rather watch play than Magic Johnson.”

Add Magic: Alan Goldstein of the Baltimore Sun quoted him after Game 4 as saying, “The war was brought to us and we retreated like Gen. Cluster, or whatever his name was.”

Said Tom Watson, after calling the U.S. Open course at Brookline, Mass. a fair test: “Now please don’t write that the course is easy. The USGA might come in here with a one-ton truck tonight and do something about it.”

Trivia Answer: Ewell Blackwell of Cincinnati in 1947. After pitching a no-hitter against Boston, he had another going against Brooklyn until Eddie Stanky broke it up with one out in the ninth inning.

Quotebook

Mychal Thompson of the Lakers, asked how it is that he and Detroit’s John Salley, a couple of forwards, are leading the NBA Finals in one-liners: “The centers don’t have a sense of humor. It’s from a lack of oxygen, because they’re so tall.”