October 14, 1980
The excitement for the 65,000+ in attendance that night must have been palpable. The excitement was no less real for the thousands more in the Philadelphia area that watched the festivities from the comfort of their living rooms. For the first time in thirty years, a team from Philadelphia was represented in the Fall Classic. After the grueling NLCS against Houston, Phils manager Dallas Green chose rookie Bob Walk to against the favored Kansas City Royals against their ace, Dennis Leonard. While Walk didn't exactly pitch well, he gutted his way through seven innings and managed to beat the 20-game-winning Leonard. It was the Phils' first World Series victory since Grover Cleveland Alexander defeated the Boston Red Sox and Ernie Shore in the old Baker Bowl... in 1915.
Quotes
"I was pretty shaky at the start and they were on my fast ball. I had to change plans. I turned the ball over more." - Bob Walk
"I think a lot of fans thought we'd lose with Walk. But the players didn't feel that way." -Larry Bowa
"Aikens hit two balls very well. We'll have to go over him a little more." - Bob Boone
"As soon as I hit it, I dropped my bat and watched. I could tell it was going. I wasn't guessing, I just wanted to make contact." - Bake McBride
"You can fault 65,000 screaming fans for that one (Boone scoring from 3rd while Smith was caught in a run-down). In a normal game you can hear your teammates yelling. But you couldn't hear anything out there tonight. I thought Frank White made the right play." - Jim Frey
"When guys like Bowa and Boone get on, it just created so much more pressure on the other team. We're extra strong with the DH now and when our 7, 8 and 9 hitters are going well, that makes us ever tougher. I think we proved that we don't have to rely on Schmidt and The Bull to win ball games." - Pete Rose
From "The World Champion Phillies and the Road to Victory"
It's the Philadelphia Phillies versus the Kansas City Royals in the 1980 World Series, the first ever to be played totally on artificial surfaces.
Jim Frey, the rookie Royals manager, named his biggest winner, Dennis Leonard, to oppose the Phillies at Veterans Stadium. Dallas Green, fresh from starting a rookie in the last playoff game, is going the same way again... first-year pitcher Bob Walk.
For the sixth straight game, the Phillies fall behind.
Amos Otis followed a lead-off walk in the second inning with a two-run homer to left field on a 2-1 pitch. Walk is rocked for another two-run homer the next inning, this one by Willie Aikens to right center.
The Phillies rookie then settled down, allowing only one base runner over the next four innings.
The Comeback Kids' pattern has been to catch up late in the tame.
Tonight was an exception as they sent eight men to bat in the third, five of them scoring.
Larry Bowa got the Phillies started again. He singled with one out and stole second. Bob Boone doubled into the left-field corner and Bowa scored easily.
Lonnie Smith came throug with a single, Boone stopping at third. Smith, however, was caught in a run-down between first and second. Boone alertly scored while the Royals chased Smith for the second out.
Pete Rose kept the inning going by getting hit on his right leg by a Leonard pitch. Mike Schmidt worked a 3-1 count and walked. The Phillies vaulted into the lead and Veterans Stadium erupted as Bake McBride sent a 1-1 pitch over the fence in right-centerfield for a three-run homer.
The Phillies upped the lead to 6-4 in the next inning. Manny Trillo beat out an infield hit and moved to second on Leonard's errant pick-off attempt at first. Boone came through again with another double.
Rene Martin, who relieved in the fourth, was touched for the Phillies' seventh run in the fifth. The effort started with a walk to Schmidt, a single to left by McBride and Greg Luzinski getting hit by a pitch. Garry Maddox hit a sacrifice fly to make it 7-4 Phillies.
But, the Royals weren't finished. Aikens hit his second two-run homer in the eighth to make it 7-6.
Walk was lifted following the home run and replaced by Tug McGraw.
Again, McGraw did the job. Darrell Porter flied to left. Otis singled but John Wathan bounced into an inning-ending double play.
The ninth was a breeze. Frank White grounded to Schmidt. U.L. Washington was called out on strikes and Willie Wilson struck out swinging to end the game before 65,791, the largest Vet crowd ever.