I know this is a site devoted to college sports, but forgive me as I pay tribute to a childhood hero who, nearly 60 years after his greatest act, is still top of mind to a generation (or more) of Detroit sports fans. The death of a childhood sports hero is never easy. It often […]
I know this is a site devoted to college sports, but forgive me as I pay tribute to a childhood hero who, nearly 60 years after his greatest act, is still top of mind to a generation (or more) of Detroit sports fans.
The death of a childhood sports hero is never easy. It often hits harder than you would expect. You may not have known them personally, but you grew up with them. They became a part of your life. And they forever remain a part of your memories.
Like most sports fans, the deaths of some of my childhood sports heroes have hit me hard. None, however, have hit as hard as that of former Detroit Tiger Mickey Lolich. Lolich was my first favorite player, and a fellow lefty at that. That’s enough to make him special to me. But it’s what he meant to a franchise and a city that made Lolich special to so many others.
Lolich didn’t have the career of players like Ty Cobb, Charlie Gehringer, Hal Newhauser or Al Kaline. He didn’t have that one shining season like Hank Greenberg, Denny McClain, Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera or Tarik Skubal. But he was as instrumental as any player has ever been in bringing a championship to Detroit.
The 1968 baseball season remains one of the greatest seasons in Detroit Tigers history. A seminal memory for a generation of fans. A 103-win season that culminated with a game seven victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, giving the Tigers their third world championship and first in a generation.
The Tigers won the 1968 World Series for many reasons. They won because four-time gold glove centerfielder Mickey Stanley made the unprecedented move to shortstop so Detroit could find a place in its lineup for a 33-year-old Al Kaline. They won because Kaline, in his only World Series appearance, hit .379 with two home runs and eight RBIs. They won because Bill Freehan tagged out St. Louis speedster Lou Brock at the plate, saving the series and the season. But more than anything, the Tigers won because of Mickey Lolich – who authored the greatest pitching performance in World Series history.
With the lights their brightest and his team in desperate need of a lift, Lolich pitched three complete game victories for the Tigers in the 1968 Fall Classic – outdueling Hall of Famer Bob Gibson in the decisive game seven. And if that weren’t enough, Lolich also batted .250 and hit the only home run of his career.
If there’s been a greater performance by any athlete in any sport when so much was on the line, there can’t have been many. And for that performance, Lolich earned his place as one of the most consequential and beloved players to ever don the Olde English D.
1968 wasn’t Lolich’s greatest statistical season. In 1971, he finished runner-up in Cy Young voting, with 25 victories, more than 300 strikeouts and an almost unfathomable 376 innings pitched. But it’s what he did in 1968 that makes Lolich a Detroit legend. Delivering a championship to a city that was in desperate need of some good news.
There’s a case to be made for Lolich being in the Hall of Fame. And with 217 victories and 2,832 strikeouts (fifth most among left handers), you could argue that it’s a strong case. But Hall of Fame or not, Lolich’s legacy is cemented. And his passing is mourned.
Mickey Lolich brought me to tears twice in my life. Once as a young child, when I learned that the Tigers had traded him to the New York Mets. And a second time earlier this week, when as a not-so-young man, I learned of his passing. I doubt I was the only one who reacted in such a way.
RIP Mickey.
Category: General Sports
