1965 All Ohio World Series: CLE Indians vs CIN Reds

The 1965 Cincinnati Reds defeated the Indians 4 games to 2 to win the 1965 World Series. Cleveland took the first 2 games of the series and headed home for what long suffering Tribe fans were hoping would be their first World Series win since 1948. But alas those hopes were dashed as the Reds pitching staff righted themselves and led them to four straight wins and the championship. Let’s take a look at each of these memorable games from the 1965 classic.

Game 1

Cleveland 4 - Cincinnati 0

Sam McDowell vs. Jim Maloney

The aces of both staffs met up in game 1. Cleveland’s Sam McDowell bested Jim Maloney as he went 8.1 innings with 11 strike outs and only 3 walks. The Sudden one was just wild enough to keep the Reds hitters of balance all evening. Gary Bell came in to close it out as Sam had thrown 140 pitches. Cleveland scored 2 runs in the 3rd on a walk, a couple of singles, and an error. That was all Sam would need as he earned MVP honors and gave Cleveland a 1-0 lead. 

Game 2

Cleveland 5 - Cincinnati 1

Sonny Siebert vs. Sammy Ellis

Another strong pitching effort by Sonny Siebert gave the Tribe a 2-0 lead. Siebert went the distance allowing 1 run on 3 hits. The only run came on a Johnny Edwards homer in the 5th. Leon “Daddy Wags” Wagner provide all the offense support that Siebert would need as he went 3-4 with 4 RBIs including a 2-run homerun in the 1st. Siebert earns MVP honors.

Manager Burnette was so upset with the Reds effort in the first two games that he made them take a Greyhound bus up to Cleveland. Would it wake up the struggling offense? Only time will tell.

Game 3

Cincinnati 7 – Cleveland 3

Luis Tiant vs. Joe Nuxhall

That bumpy bus ride was just what the doctor ordered.  The Reds offense struck quickly scoring 3 runs in the 2nd to take the early lead and knock starter Tiant out of the box. Cleveland then went through a myriad of pitchers of the next couple of innings but to no avail. Cincy added 2 runs in the 6th and 7th innings to pull out a comfortable lead. Deron Johnson, Vada Pinson and game MVP Leo Cardenas each had 2 hits while Nuxhall went 7 innings for the win. Cleveland leads 2-1.

Game 4

Cincinnati 7 – Cleveland 3

Ralph Terry vs. Joey Jay

Cleveland struck first on a Leon Wagner 2 run homer in the 1st giving the Tribe faithful a glimmer of hope that they could still win the series at home. But the Reds brought their big bats to the game. Home runs by Cardenas, Johnson, Gordy Coleman and Pete Rose, easily offset the early blast by Wagner to lead the Reds to victory. Jay wasn’t great but he was good enough to last 8 innings giving up 3 runs. Rose earned MVP honors. Series is now tied at 2 apiece.

Game 5

Cincinnati 1 – Cleveland 0

Sam McDowell vs. Jim Maloney

Every great series has that game or moment that everyone can recall years after. Willie Mays making the catch and throw off the blast by Vic Wertz in 1954. Bill Mazeroski’s game winning homerun in the 1960 series. Bobby Richardson somehow catching that line drive off the bat of Willie McCovey to give the Yankees the World Series in 1962.

This was that game for the 1965 series. Two great pitchers performing at the top of their game. McDowell went 8 innings giving up only 1 run while striking out 10 Reds batters. His only mistake was a hanging curve to Vada Pinson in the second that Vada deposited in the right field bleachers. 

Jim Maloney, game and series MVP, was at his best. He went the distance allowing no runs on 6 hits, 2 walks and 6 strikeouts. He was so dominant that Cleveland could only move one runner to second and that was way back in the second inning. Maloney went 5-1 for the playoff series with an ERA of 1.86. McDowell, who deserved a better fate in this game, was 3-1 with 1.67 ERA. For those of you who like pitcher’s duels you could not have asked for more than you saw in this game.

Game 6

Cleveland 0 - Cincinnati 3

Sonny Siebert vs. Sammy Ellis

Game 6 saw another pitching gem, this time by the Reds’ Sammy Ellis. Ellis, game MVP,  went 8 innings giving up only 2 hits before tiring in the 9th and turning it over to Billy McCool for the save.  Up until the 9th inning Cleveland again could only get one runner to second as Ellis was in top form. A Pete Rose solo home run in the first gave the Reds the only run they would need. They tacked on 2 more in the 4th on RBIs by Frank Robinson and Deron Johnson. Cincinnati wins the series 4-2

--submitted by Ron Burnette--

1965 ALCS: Tribe outlasts Pale Hose in 7 games

GAME 1 - Comiskey

Luis Tiant vs Joe Horlen

Indians 4, White Sox 3

Fireballing Cuban Luis Tiant went the distance allowing 3 runs off of 6 hits.  Horlen exited in the middle of the 4th due to blisters.  The Tribe scored a solo run in 4 consecutive innings (2-5).  Max Alvis' double in the 5th off of Bob Locker scored Leon Wagner and held up to be the game winner as nobody scored over the final 4 frames.

Indians lead series 1-0

GAME 2 - Comiskey

Sonny Siebert vs John Buzhardt

Indians 10, White Sox 5

The upstart Tribe outslugged the Pale Hose en route to a 2-0 series lead.  Leadoff hitter Vic Davalillo went 4 for 5 with 3 runs scored and one RBI.  Rocky Colavito had a 3 for 4 day as the Tribe blistered Buzhardt and company with 10 runs on 13 hits.

Indians lead series 2-0

GAME 3 - Municipal

Tommy John vs Ralph Terry

White Sox 5, Indians 2

The number #2 seeded Pale Hose found themselves in desperation mode.  Down 2-0 in the series and heading to the road is not the ideal way to win a pennant.  With young Tommy John and veteran Ralph Terry dueling to a 2-2 tie after 7 innings of play the Chisox cashed in off of reliever Don McMahon thanks to consecutive throwing errors by Tribe catcher Joe Azcue.  Mighty Mite Al Weis singled home Don Buford and with 2 outs Ron Hansen delivered the knockout punch with a 2 run double to make it 5-2 visitors.  Hoyt Wilhelm came on board as John tired and got the final 5 outs to get the Chisox back into the series.

Indians lead series 2-1

GAME 4 - Municipal

Gary Peters vs Sam McDowell

White Sox 10, Indians 2

Max Alvis' single in the bottom of the first gave the Tribe a quick 1-0 lead that had no chance of making it to the finish line once the Chisox exploded offensively in the 4th and 5th.  Six huge runs broke the game wide open in the 4th as Sudden Sam became Sullen Sam.  Johnny Romano's grand salami signaled the end for McDowell.  Three more runs in the 5th salted away the victory as the Pale Hose evened up the series.  To this point the home team had not gained a victory.  Hail to the Road Warriors.

Series tied 2-2

GAME 5 - Municipal

Joe Horlen vs Luis Tiant

Indians 4, White Sox 2

A virtual replay of the series opener.  An RBI single by Moose Skowron and a bases loaded walk to Johnny Romano gave Joe Horlen a 2-0 lead even before he threw his first pitch.  Horlen would throw just 12 pitches on the day and not record a single out as the Tribe battered him to the tune of 4 runs on 3 hits.  Leon Wagner's grand slam off reliever Horlen gave the Tribe a 4-2 lead and marked the end of Horlen's abbreviated stint.  After combining to score 6 runs in the first inning the Tribe and the Pale Hose settled into a scoreless tie the rest of the way.  Tiant would toss 5 of those scoreless innings before yielding to veteran reliever Don McMahon, who pitched 3 scoreless innings in relief for the save.  Chicago trotted out 4 relievers to hold the Tribe in check and give the offense a chance to mount a comeback that never came.  Finally a home team won a game in this series !

Indians lead series 3-2

GAME 6 - Comiskey

Sonny Siebert vs John Buzhardt

White Sox 3, Indians 1

After having his first bad stint in the tournament in game 2, John Buzhardt (4-0, 1.54) rebounded with 7 innings of shutout ball before handing the ball over to Bob Locker.  Chicago scored right out of the starting block when Buford and Floyd Robinson led off the bottom of the 1st with singles and Al Weis bunted home Buford to make it 1-0.  Moose Skowron, who is hitting .362 in the tournament once again turned back the clock to his Yankee glory years with a solo blast to lead off the 4th to make it 2-0.  Floyd Robinson's RBI single in the 5th gave Buzhardt a solid 3-0 lead.  Cleveland put together a two out rally in the 9th off of Locker to score Alvis on Azcue's single.  After weak hitting shortstop Larry Brown worked out a walk to load the bases tension began to mount.  Locker needed 1 more out to force a decisive game 7.  After working the count to 2-2 Davalillo hit an elevator in a silo that dropped neatly into Romano's glove in front of the plate to end the game.

Series tied 3-3

GAME 7 - Comiskey

Ralph Terry vs Tommy John

Indians 3, White Sox 2

Game 7's come with a built in tension all to themselves.  Throw in 4 scoreless innings of baseball to start the game and you have yourself a big time pressure cooker.  Chicago's youthful southpaw, Tommy John was going pitch for pitch with the wiley veteran Ralph Terry, who is no stranger to game 7 pressure.  For those of you not up on your history, Terry had the misfortune of standing on the hill back in 1960 when Bill Mazeroski hit a series clinching homer to lead off the bottom of the 9th.  In 1962 he was on the mound when Willie McCovey hit a missile to Bobby Richardson to end that series, this time with better results.  Terry, who is now an old 29, is trying to turn back the clock and recreate the magic of his pinstripe years.  Who would crack first ?  They young lefty for Chicago or Cleveland's crusty veteran ?  The answer would be that they would both crack.  John cracked first in the 5th when he issued a leadoff walk to Brown who scored on a Pedro Gonzalez double to make it 1-0.  Terry figured into the offense by squeezing home Gonzalez to make it 2-0.  

As the day began to grow shorter and shorter the Chisox needed to get something going and solve Terry soon.  After Moose Skowron singled off of his former teammate to lead off the bottom of the 7th Johnny Romano followed suit and Danny Cater worked out a walk to load the bases with nobody out.  Tommy McCraw dropped down a perfect squeeze bunt to make it a 2-1 game and Ron Hansen grounded weakly to second to score Ken Berry, who pinch ran for Romano, to tie it up at 2-2.  Did Chicago sell themselves short by playing small ball in the 7th ?  Should they have gone for the gusto and played for the big inning ?  The answer came just a half inning later when Rocky Colavito lined a 2 out double off of Hoyt Wilhelm.  With first base open and Max Alvis on deck the Chisox elected to pitch to Leon Wagner, who promptly lined a single to right to score Rocky and give the Tribe a 3-2 lead.  By this point Terry was sitting squarely on the bench a spectator to the festivities.  Gary "Ding Dong" Bell was not on board for his second inning of relief.  After Don Buford reached first on a Gonzalez error Al Weiss hit a bullet to right that Colavito caught off his shoetops.  Since Buford was moving on the hit and run Rocky, who has the best arm in the business, rifled a throw back to first to easily double up Buford.  Floyd Robinson worked out a 2 out walk, but was stranded on base when Moose Skowron's blast succumbed to the depth of the big ballpark on 35th street.  Skrowron got all of it, but between the wind and Comiskey's size the ball landed safely in Colavito's glove one stride from the base of the wall.  Bell would have an easier time in the bottom of the 9th when Ken Berry was thrown out stealing and McCraw grounded back to the box.  Ron Hansen attempted an ill advised bunt for a hit that Alvis barehanded and nipped Hansen by a stride to end the game and the series.  Bell would be awarded the win for his 3 scoreless innings of work and the Tribe would make an improbable march to an all Ohio World Series vs the Reds.

Indians win series 4-3

NLCS - 1965 Tournament - "The Bucs stopped here"

Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

The Reds defeat the Pirates 4 games to 1. This series was much closer than the final game count indicates as each Reds win was by 1 run. In fact, the Reds were outscored by the irates but came up with the clutch hit or pitch to prevail.

Game 1

Pittsburgh 2 - Cincinnati 3 – 11 Innings

Vern Law vs. Jim Maloney

Just like in game one of their series against the Astros, the Reds had to go extra innings to win the first game of the series in Pittsburgh. What looked like a high scoring affair, each team had scored 2 runs by the end of the 3rd, turned into a fantastic pitcher’s duel. Vern Law went 10 innings giving up only 2 runs. Jim Maloney went 9 and kept the Bucs off the scoreboard after they scored 2 in the 1st. The Reds scored the go-ahead run in the 11th after a lead-off double by Pete Rose and single by Frank Robinson moved him to 3rd with no on out. A young Willie Stargell dropped a fly ball in his haste to throw out a hustling (sorry about that) Pete Rose, who scored the winning run. Billy McCool, the Reds closer made it interesting in the bottom of the 11th allowing the 1st two men of the inning reach base. But Stargell, still smarting from the dropped fly ball grounded into the 463 double play giving the Reds the win. Maloney was MVP.

Game 2

Pittsburgh 6 - Cincinnati 7

Bob Friend vs. Sammy Ellis

This game looked to be a blowout as the Reds scored 4 runs in the 1st and led 7-2 heading into the bottom of the 8th. Leo Cardenas and Johnny Edwards came up with key hits in the 1st and Frank Robinson, game MVP, added a 3 run shot in the 8th to give the Reds a seemingly insurmountable lead.  But these Pirates never give up. Ellis who was cruising up to this point suddenly lost it. He allowed 4 hits including a couple of triples and all of sudden it was 7-6 heading to the 9th. Wilbur Wood pitched a 1-2-3 9th for Pittsburgh. Ted Davidson pitched the 9th for the Reds and really made things interesting.  After retiring the 1st two batters, Bill Mazeroski singled and pinch hitter Bob Bailey coaxed a walk. That brought Donn Clendenon to the plate. Donn was batting .367 up to this point and already had a couple of hits and an RBI. After working the count, Donn meekly grounded out to Davidson giving the Reds the 1st two games of the series heading home to Crosley Field.

Game 3

Cincinnati 1 – Pittsburgh 7

Bob Veale vs. Joe Nuxhall

The Pirates took out their frustrations in game 3 as they pounded the Reds for 7 runs and 16 hits. Bob Veale was fantastic as he held the Reds to 1 run on 5 hits while going the distance. And what a distance it was. Bob threw 152 pitches for the complete game. Take that you pitch count counters of the 21st century! Andre Rodgers and Bill Mazeroski led the Bucs attack with 2 RBIs each and 4 Pittsburgh starters had 3 hits apiece. Bob Veale was game 3 MVP and the Pirates sense some cracks in the soon to become big Red machine.

Game 4

Cincinnati 3 – Pittsburgh 2

Don Cardwell vs. Joey Jay

Game 4 was just a hard fought close game all the way. With both teams fielding bottom of the rotation starters, one would have expected a high scoring game. Au contraire. Both Cardwell and Jay were dominant. The key inning was the 6th when the Reds pushed across two runs to take a 3-2 lead. They held on with great relief work from Dom Zanni and Ted Davidson, game MVP. The Pirates had their chances. A 2 out error but weak fielding 3rd sacker Deron Johnson allowed pinch hitter Bob Bailey to reach second in the top of the 9th. Donn Clendenon, who was 3-4 with 2 RBIs up to this point, again had a chance to tie or give the  Pirates the lead. But Davidson struck him to preserve the win and give the Reds a commanding 3-1 lead.

Game 5

Cincinnati 4 – Pittsburgh 3

Vern Law vs. Jim Maloney

The Reds played long ball in a rematch of game 1 starters. Solo shots by Cardenas in the 1st, Gordy Coleman in the 2nd and Vada Pinson in the 3rd staked the Reds to 3-0 lead. But as they showed time and time again in this series, the Bucs were not going to give up. They scored 2 runs in the 4th on a 2 run shot by Willie Stargell. Stargell ended the series with a .414 batting average, second only to Roberto Clemente. Another solo shot by the Reds’ Johnny Edwards in the 6th gave the Reds a 4-2 lead. That was the score going to the 9th. Billy McCool relieved Jim Maloney, who was the MVP for the game and series in my estimation. But the Pirates did not go quietly. As they did in each of their loses they battled back and almost pulled this one out. McCool quickly got the first two men he faced out. Then consecutive singles by Mazeroski, Bailey and Clendenon plated 1 run and had the tying run at 3rd and the go-ahead run at 1st with Roberto Clemente coming to the plate. The fans were at the edge of their seats. They wanted to see the home boys win the series and avoid the train ride back to Pittsburgh. Clemente grounded out sharply to Rose who threw to Cardenas for the force and the series clinching win.

A well-played series by both teams and one that could have easily gone the either way.
--submitted by Ron Burnette--