Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 39

Detroit jtfcttVttss SECTION In This Section The Inside of Sports Page 6 Outdoors with Opre Page 7 Want Ads Pages 8-20 Racing Results Page 20 Sports Want Ads SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1968 emnmv 9 IDe Wins BY GEORGE CANTOR The Tigers won Denny McLain his 30th game Saturday and sent goose pimples down the back of the entire country. Roaring from behind in the ninth inning, just like Denny tells Joe Falls all about it Pgr. 1A All 30-game winners since 1900 Pg. 4C How Denny won his 30 games Pg. 4C team had merely tied the game, the decision would have been in the hands of another pitcher and Denny would have had to wait until next Wednesday.

BUT AS STANLEY danced across the plate, the Even then several hundred fans stayed outside the Tiger clubhouse chanting "We Want Denny" long after the players had gone. Going for the 30 victories was supposed to be drama enough. But the way it all ended made the whole affair vaguely unreal as if McLain suddenly would strip off his false" face, reveal that he was really Paul Newman and the whole thing was a gigantic Hollywood put-on. Reggie Jackson, the young Oakland rightfielder, looked as though he were going to steal the spotlight from Denny. He 'belted two home runs, cut down one runner at the plate and made a leaping catch in right personally to account for the 4-3 score as the Tigers came up in the ninth.

DIEGO SEGUI, who had entered the game in the fifth, had choked off Detroit on three singles. The only runs scored on a three-run Norm Cash homer in the fourth that had given Detroit a brief lead. But Al Kaline came up to bat for McLain to start the they've done all year, Detroit pulled it out for McLain in a win-it-or-bust rally, 5-4, The victory made McLain the first man to win 30 games in 34 years, as the whole country and 44,087 fans at Tiger Stadium watched the drama unfold in spellbound fascination. Willie Horton capped the two-run surge by belting a drive just out of the reachc of Oakland's pulled-in left-fielder, Jim Gosger, to knock in Mickey Stanley and touch off the wildest scene at Tiger Stadium in 30 years. i Detroit had to pull it out in the ninth because McLain was removed for a pinch hitter in the inning.

If the Tigers exploded from the dugout, led by McLain. First they mobbed Stanley at the plate, then the entire team rushed to grab Horton. Stanley finally picked up McLain bodily and hauled him off the field. But the fans wouldn't go home. They stood at their seats yelling for McLain until the pitcher came back on the field to take a bow.

ninth inning and worked Segui for a 3-2 walk. Dick McAuliffe foaled off two sacrifice bunts and finally fouled out to third baseman Sal Bando In front of the silent Detroit dugout. But Stanley ripped a solid single right over second base as Kaline, showing no trace of his leg injury, darted around to third. The next hitter was Jim North rup. He tapped a slow roller down the first base line, and in the game's biggest play, Kaline broke for the plate.

Danny Cater raced in for the ball and made an off balance throw that sailed over the head of catcher Dave Dun-Turn to Page 4C, Column 1 a if- I aa III 4 1 J- efs is 'uZs Damascus Is Upset BY AL COFFMAN Nodouble, the only three-year-old in the field of 12, buried horse-of-the-year Damascus Saturday in the $123,000 Michigan "Mile," a race which has become a graveyard of champions at the Detroit Race Course. Going into the 20th running of the state's richest horse race, Damascus had all the prized ribbons of the turf; Nodouble had only far-fetched hopes. But at the end it was Nodouble who was the hero and Damascus the loser. Before an unbelieving crowd of 25,961, Nodouble coasted home by 2 lengths over Damascus, an overwhelming favorite at odds of 3-10. Nodouble, who raced at the DRC without distinction as a two-year-old in 1967, returned in triumph to pay $37.20 for $2.

Jockey Martinez Heath, riding the homebred colt of Arkansas rancher Gene Goff for the first time, waited and waited for the challenge that never came. Damascus, battling it out with Dr. Fager for horse-of-the-year honors again, followed in the disastrous footsteps of his older stablemate Tom Rolfe, who was upset by Stanislas in the 1966 Michigan "Mile." AT THE END of the iy8 miles Damascus was flying, but it was too late. For most of the distance jockey Turn to Page 20C, Column 5 OAKLAND ab bi Campris, ts 4 0 11 DETROIT ab bi McAulif, 2b 5 0 10 Stanley, cf 5 12 0 Northrup, rl 41 00 4 1 4 1 2 3 Horton. If 5 12 1 4 2 2 3 Cash, lb 4 12 3 4 0 0 0 Freehan, 3 0 10 Monday, cf Caterd, lb Bando, 3b R.

Jcksnf R. Green, 2b Keoush, If Gosger, If Duncan, C. Dobson, Aker, Lindblad, Donldsn, ph Segui. Matchick, ss 4 0 10 Wert, 3b 2 0 0 0 G.Brown, ph 10 0 0 Traeski. 3b 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 10 0 10 0 0 McLain, 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kaline, pb 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 AP Photo 10 0 0 Totals 34 3 4 Denny McLain is surrounded by well-wishers, including Dizzy Dean (left), after it's all over at Tiger Stadium Totals 30 4 4 4 OAKLAND DETROIT 000 211 0004 OOO 300 0025 Bando.

Cater, Matchick. DP DE TROIT 1. LOB Oakland 2, DETROIT 10. HR-R. Jackson (2) (28), Cash (21).

Bando. Donaldson. McLain. If tK BD iU Dobson 3s 4 3 3 2 4 Nobody MaDBier Than Dizi Aker 0 0 0 0 0 0 ndbad Vj 0 0 0 0 1 Seoui (L, 5-5) 4W 2 1 2 1 McLain (W, 30 5) i 4 4 1 10 JL M. Aker faced 1 man in 4m.

WP Aker. 'Amazing How He Stands It' 111 SI1 be the same kinda series as it was in '34, real tough." Earlier, Ol' Diz had fretted through 8 innings as the Tigers twice fell "I'd hate to see him lose with all these people here and all this publicity," said Dean, clad in a big white cowboy hat and a western string tie with a huge blue ornament. "Besides, I gotta be in Pascagula Wednesday that's 110 miles from Biloxi, podnuh and I couldn't be here. I hope to hell he wins. I came 1400 miles to see this." DEAN WAS seeing McLain for the fifth time this season, two "live" and three via TV, and is most impressed.

"I'll ya, I think he's a great pitcher," he said. "You know, I saw him back when Bob Scheffing had him he was wild as a March hare, but Scheffing told me he reminded him of me when I came up. ya know, confident and all that. "He pitches a lot like me. throws it hard and light although he's not as fast as Turn to Page 4C, Column 1 BY JACK SAYLOR Denny McLain wrote a new page of baseball history Saturday and nobody was any happier about it then Jerome Herman Dean, a similar author of 34 years ago.

Or Diz threw his arms around McLain amid the wild scene after the Tiger wonder boy had joined Dean in the 30-game winner's circle and offered his congratulations. "I got a great thrill out of it," the old Cardinal superstar shouted to Denny. "And to win it in the ninth inning like a that. it's one of the greatest games I ever saw." McLain was almost too overcome with excitement to reply. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," he repeated.

"This is the greatest team I could ever play for the way they came from behind to win it for me. DENNY'S voice trailed off, but there was no stopping the effervescent Dizzy. "They don't give up," Dean enthused about the pennant-bound Tigers. "They take advantage of every break that's why they're 9 games ahead. "They're just where we were in '34.

it'll 1 iIlilEltp lililliBllp32, Dizzy Dean 'Just Hit It and Run Like Hell Race at a Glance Games to GB Play 13 9i2 12 Pet. 95 54 .638 86 64 .573 DETROIT Baltimore Double-A ball. Now he's got his 30 and I just think it's great. I'm proud to play ball with him. Horton, McLain and Stanley were part of the out pouring of talent form the farm system that turned the Tigers into a contender three years ago.

It was Horton and Stanley, along with Al Kaline, a guy who was a batting champ while they were in grade Turn to Page 2C, Column 1 BY GEORGE CANTOR Fre Press Sports Writer "Plan?" asked Willie Horton, an island of calm in the mad, mad Tiger lockerroom. "I didn't have any plans. "I just decided that I was going to hit the ball and run like hell." That turned out to be pretty sound strategy, although Willie could have spared himself the running. His drive to deep leftfield in the ninth fell beyond the reach of outfielder Jim Gosger and Mickey Stan- BY JACK SAYLOR Thirty games? World Series? This was the World Series, Mardi Gras and Academy Awards all wrapped up in one. Also D-Day for Denny Day.

Celebrities were all over the place Dizzy Dean. Tommy Smothers, Julie Nixon and David Eisenhower. Julie and Dave were on the campaign trail, but this day everybody was voting for Denny. Even Smothers got off the Pat Paulsen bandwagon. Photographers shot enough film to re-make Gone With the Wind.

It was some hullaballoo and the wonder of it all is how McLain could stand it. "It was a storybook finish," said a beaming John Fetzer, the Tiger owner. They'v been doing it all year. I got to the field to congratulate Denny the poor guy; I don't know how he stands it all." BILL FREEHAN, who has caught all but a couple of McLain's historic 30 victories, echoed the sentiments. "We joked with him before the game," he said.

"This is a pretty loose club a guy like Norm Cash, for instance, helps keep it that way. We never really tighten up. "But so much of pitching is concentration I really don't know how Denny has stood all this. He wasn't real sharp he hasn't been real sharp lately, but he's been good." The A's tried their best to turn D-Day into V-J (for Jackson) Day as spoil-sport Reg. gie blasted two homers.

McLATN CALLED Jackson's first homer, a two-run shot in the fourth inning, "a typical Tiger Stadium-Jim Campbell Homer." He was pressed for an explanation. "Oh, heck," he said. "We've asked Mr. Campbell to screen-in that lower deck out in right-field, but he won't do it. You get cheap home runs out there." McLain stuck the prized Turn to Page 2C, Column ley could have walked in from third with the winning run of Saturday's game.

THE REST of the dressing room was full of cameras, bodies and noise, but Willie sat at his locker with a towel draped around his middle. "This is a great, great thing for Denny," he said, with a little smile. "I've known him for a long time, you know. "We came up together in the farm system and I've been with him since we played Step by Step to History NOON Leaves for the ballpark with his brother Tim. 12:25 Arrives in the clubhouse.

Takes No. 2 Pepsi from the soda pop cooler. Starts hanging up his clothes and sees a six-leaf clover at the bottom of his locker. Who else but Dennis D. McLain can find six-leaf clovers? 12:45 Batting practice.

Oakland catcher Jim Pag-liaroni is parading around the field with a cardboard sign strapped to his back: "Chuck Dobson goes for No. 12 today." McLain looks at the sign and smiles. 1:00 McLain takes his cuts in the batting cage. He breaks a bat. Mickey Stanley quickly retrieves it.

"Here," he says, tossing it toward the dugout. "Somebody save the bat Denny McLain broke on the day he won 30." Turn to Page 2c, Column 1 BY JOE FALLS Free Press Sports Editor Here's the countdown to Denny McLain's magical No. 30: 10:30 "Denny," says his wife Sharyn. "It's time" to get up." It sure is. Denny's been in the sack since 11" o'clock Friday night 'I slept likea baby," says Denny.

"I always sleep like a baby." 10:45 Breakfast. Two eggs up, sausages, one Pepsi. 11:00 Business meeting. A representative from the Hammond Organ Co. visits McLain.

They talk about another meeting that's coming up Wednesday. f'How about that? I gotta be something. I'm having business meetings on the day I'm gonna try for 30." Free Press Photo by Chief Photographer TONY SPINA Denny's face mirrors strain of -No. 30 1.