Les Levine
Posted: Wednesday, December 4, 2013 10:00 am
I used to have a running bit on radio where listeners would tell me about the greatest sporting event they attended or the one they wish they had attended. I have had the good fortune to be present at several World Series games, going back to Game 4 of the New York Giants sweep of the Indians in 1954, as well as the 1997 All-Star Baseball and All-Star Basketball games, both of which were in Cleveland. I have also been to the NBA Finals, and have had the pleasure of being there for “Red-Right-88,” ‘The Drive” and ‘The Shot.”
Notice that, other than the All Star-Games, the games listed above, and the six home World Series games in 1995 and 1997, among which were three wins, all these ended dramatically, badly, and painfully. The one that didn’t end that way came on New Year’s Day 1969 when I had a great seat at the Rose Bowl, watching The Ohio State Buckeyes win the national championship with a come-from-behind 27-10 win over O.J. Simpson and the University of Southern California.
USC went out to a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter, after a field goal and an 80-yard run by Simpson, the 1968 Heisman Trophy winner. When coach Woody Hayes asked his defensive coordinator, Lou Holtz, why O.J. was able to run 80 yards on the play, Holtz gave the proper answer. Holtz, now an ESPN analyst, said, “Because he started on the 20.” The Buckeyes came back to tie the game at 10-10 prior to halftime, eventually scoring 27-unanswered points before letting USC get a TD in the final minute.
As for going back in time to a game I wish I had seen, one that took place long before I was born has always fascinated me: Game 3 of the 1932 World Series in Wrigley Field, featuring the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs. The game was tied 4-4 in the fifth inning, with three of the Yankee runs coming in the top of the first with a Babe Ruth home run off Charlie Root.
Root was still in the game when Ruth came to bat in the fifth, and several Cubs players and many of their fans loudly heckled the Sultan of Swat. Then came the reason I wish I could get in that time machine. With one strike on him, Ruth pointed his finger at the Cubs dugout, Charlie Root or the center-field bleachers, as if to indicate where he would hit the next pitch. Instead, he took a strike. And then he repeated his gestures, depositing the 0-2 pitch deep into the center-field bleachers, right where he allegedly pointed.
Root threw one more pitch in that game – to Lou Gehrig, who blasted it deep into the right-field stands. The Yankees went on to win 7-5, and then routed the Cubs in Game 4 the next day to complete the sweep. Some film has surfaced over the years that does not prove or disprove the meaning of Ruth’s “point.” And I’m glad we don’t know for sure. I just wish I could have seen it.
This discussion of great sporting events came to mind for me after seeing the Ohio State-Michigan game on Nov. 30. It was one of the greatest games I have ever seen. That is, until that game was over and the Auburn-Alabama game began. Reality settled back in 24 hours later when I sat through the Browns-Jaguars game. I guess you don’t understand and enjoy the great games without suffering through a lot of not-so-great ones.
Les Levine can be seen statewide on “More Sports and Les Levine” on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (1311 or 311) from 6 to 7 p.m. weekdays, with replays at 10 p.m. and 7 to 8 a.m. the next day. He can be reached at llevine@cjn.org, editorial@cjn.org, on Facebook at ClevelandJewishNews, or on Twitter @LesLevine.
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