Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 77

DETROIT FREE PRESSMONDAY. OCT. 1964 14F 111 Here's my team of all-time Tigeni chatter Iffy the Dopester began covering the Tigers for the Free Press in 1934. For the next 20 years, the Great Prognosticator scribbled about politics, city life and business, but his first love remained Detroit 's baseball team. Iffy is back for post-season play; watch for his Whitaker has extra reason to celebrate Born on victory day: Loo Whitaker's wife, tlffy tho jBopastor reports each day.

And then there were none. Iffy came home, head still pounding from last night's hoo-ha, only to find his mail box overflowing with invective, hate mail and letter bombs. All because this old-timer had the J' 1 I I 1 I nerve to waste valuable newspa- I I per space by calling the '84 Ti-17 gers something less than the 25 crystal, gave birth to a daughter, Sarah, at 8:45 Sunday morning. Whitaker said winning the championship on the day his daughter was born was "the greatest feeling of my life. I told her (Crystal) not to worry.

After she had the baby I knew everything would work our way today." Crystal phoned Lou during the Tigers' clubhouse celebration following the, game. Whitaker said after: the phone conversation, and RBIs four times each and nearly top Ruth's record in 1938. Give Greenberg back the five years he spent fighting WWII and he'd rank about eighth today in career home runs. ALL THESE Whitaker partisans aside, anyone who ever wore knickers knows that Charlie Gehringer was the best second baseman ever for fhe Tigers. Iffy needn't even explain why.

But this Trammell youngster, he was the top Tigers shortstop even before those two homers Saturday. I hope Mr. Billy Rogell who graduated from Tiger Stadium to city hall doesn't order Iffy's Rambler stuffed with parking tickets for saying this. Iffy can't go with Marty Castillo at third base, although he admires anyone with bravura enough to endorse the boss's competitor. George Kell played only five full seasons and part of two others for the Tigers, but he hit .325 those years and wasn't afraid to field Ted Williams' liners with his forehead.

Has a nice voice, too. Give me an outfield of Ty Cobb, Al Kaline and Harry Heilmann and I'll win the World Series every year. It used to infuriate Cobb how Heilmann managed to win the batting title every other year ('21, '23, '25, '27), mostly because that meant Ty wasn't winning it. Cobb, if you recall, was as loyal a teammate as Benedict Arnold. Any pitching staff could win with the team I've just listed, but a team that never wanted to lose would use Tommy Bridges, Hal Newhouser, George Dauss and Mickey Lolich.

Schoolboy Rowe was the Denny McLain of his day, which is why neither makes Iffy's all-time Tigers squad. Did I forget to mention Nate Colbert? greatest baseballers ever to study the game at Mr. Rickey's knee. Is there a priest present? Iffy must make a confession: These Tigers are better than I expected; certainly the class team in base 1956 Flic Photo Trumbull and Cherry (they changed the name to Kaline Street?) since Iffy cast his first vote for the Roosevelt Administration, and I ain't talking FDR. IN THE midst of all this pandemonium about Loooooooo and Rooooooop (imagine how Lu Blue would go over these days), Iffy wants to replace this hysterical perspective with an historical perspective.

So sit still for a moment, students, while Iffy presents his own, personal, all-time Tigers team: At catcher, there's a lot of sentiment but there for young Mr. Parrish. But those among us who are so old that our back goes out more than we do, remember Mickey Cochrane. "Black Mike," as I told you 50 years ago, was possessed of the keenest competitive spirit ever seen in any sport In a ball game, he was as sentimental as Gen. Grant at the Battle of the Wilderness.

By the time Cochrane got to the Tigers at 31, he had spent most of his homers in Philadelphia, but he still had enough to give us four great years behind the plate and five as a manager. I don't think anyone will slander Iffy if he sticks with Hank Greenberg at first base. Bucky Harris wanted to trade young Henry before the 1934 season. He predicted the so-called "Hammer-in' Hank" would never live up to his nickname. All Greenberg did was lead the league in homers George Kell IM Crystal Whitaker bne an ngnt.

bhe as happy as I am." The Whitakers have another daughter, Asia, 4. Teammate Marty Castillo still was awaiting the birth of his first child. The due date for his wife, Julie, was Friday. Who's that delivering pizzas? After the crowd had been cleared from the field, Tom Monaghan airlifted 200 pizzas into Tiger Stadium for the post-game celebration. Domino's Pizza landed a helicopter in center field to deliver some of the pizzas.

As the helicopter prepared to leave for a second load, Jack Morris, in full uniform, hitched a ride to help pick up the rest of the pizzas. Good company: Sparky Anderson has moved into seventh place on the list of World Series games managed with 28. He's in pretty good company; the six managers ahead of him on each list are among the most famous in baseball history: Casey Stengel, John McGraw, Connie Mack, Joe McCarthy, Walter Alston and Miller Huggins. It hurt: One Padre with mixed emotions after ball today. Of course, batting against the San Diego Chicken Wings, anyone might be able to pop one out of Navin Field, but that's not the point.

The real question now is how will they go down through the ages? Five centuries from now, when archeologists uncover the hardbound edition of "Baseball in the 20th Century," will these Bengals be ranked closer to the '27 Yanks or the '44 Brownies (by far the worst pre-Padres team to make the World Series)? Or, more importantly to us foreign-car haters, how will the boys of '84 rank with those who have brung it at Champions! It's the thrill of your lifetime Former Tiger Jim Northrup, a starting outfielder with the 1968 world champions, covered this year's World Series for the Free Press. 7 As a player who has been 'there, I can tell you it's exciting just to get into the World Series. But when you rT- T2. rrtf THE TI6EAS PjDDE KIRK N. ij 6BS0N5 TWO THUNDERBOLT Jf i SHOTS TO "THEIR.

SERES Ir ll oinchng poum WIN i Iff Sunday's loss was Champ Summers, who was with the Tigers from 1979-81. "I watched this team (Tigers) grow and mature," he said. "They just got better and better." Summers played in just one of the five Series games, striking out in a pinch-hitting assignment. "It really hurt I didn't play more. I'm so disappointed," Summers said.

Asked if he expects to be 'J come out world champions like the Tigers did Sunday night, it's the climax of a career, the biggest thrill in your life. At first you're almost in a fog. You're happy that you won the game and the pressure's off. The next morning you have to pinch yourself. You read the papers to see if it's really true.

You look at the box score to make sure you actually played the game and won it. It doesn't really hit you until later on. Then, for a year, you know you're the Jim Hcrthrop Champ Summers Wltn San Die8 next vear-ne shrugged and said, "That's beyond me. I don't get to make those decisions." More on Summers: Before Sunday's game, Summers blasted Padres manager Dick Williams and vowed not to return to the Padres next season unless he had assurances he would play more. "It's ridiculous," said Summers, 36.

"It just doesn't make any sense to stick with those young kids who are not hitting when you've got a proven hitter on the bench. "It's especially hard for me to sit here in Tiger Stadium. This is my park!" San Diego center fielder Bobby Brown was 1 -for-1 5 (.067) and left-fielder Carmelo Martinez was 3-for-17 was hitting .176. "I'm slandered if the man doesn't think I can do better than that," said Summers, who hit .185 during the regular season. Summers, who becomes a free agent at the end of the season, said Williams wouldn't discuss the matter with him.

Summers said he had told Linda Smith, wife of Padres' president Ballard Smith, how he felt. "We'e got a center fielder that hasn't been hitting, but he was instrumental in getting us where we are," Williams said when asked to respond to Summers' best in the world. As time goes by, it becomes more and more important. You spend your Series money. Eventually you're out of baseball.

But you have a World Series ring, and nobody can take that experience away from you. You treasure that the rest of your life. ONCE YOU WIN, you may think you're going to win two or three World Series in a row, but you can't be sure of that. So I know these Tigers will truly enjoy this victory. In the final game, Kirk Gibson and Lance Parrish showed what they're capable of.

They had been like time bombs, ready to explode. They really let it loose Sunday night. All three home runs were hit hard. That's what every player dreams of when he's a little boy: hitting a home run in the World Series and winning it. Gibson also scored an important go-ahead run on the short fly ball to right field.

Tony Gwynn seemed to lose the ball. The minute Gibson saw Alan Wiggins take it instead, he took off from third and scored. He probably would have run anyway, but there's no way the infielder is going to throw him out. The outfielder, who has the momentum coming toward the plate, is the one who has to make the play. The other thing that surprised me was when the Padres pitched to Gibson in the eighth with two men on and first base open.

I thought there was no question. They should have walked Gibson to get a force-out at any base. Even though Parrish had hit a home run the last time up, the odds are in the Padres' favor if they walk Gibson. THE TIGERS had a big play in the first inning when Lou Whitaker threw out Wiggins at the plate. That kept them out of a hole.

Aurelio Lopez looked very sharp. And then, as he has all year, Willie Hernandez finished the game with a save. The Padres must be feeling about as low as anybody could right now. But they have a fine team and they don't have anything to be embarrassed about. They played hard and never gave up.

And I know some people in Chicago who feel a whole lot worse than the Padres do. blast. "Quite frankly, he (Summers) hasn been hitting well." the roar of '04 booh It's been a season to remember and more memories are on the way. Within days after the World Series, the Free Press will publish a colorful, 96-page book that will become a collector's item for Tigers fans. Written bv senior manaeine editor Neal Shine, with half of this season, and I think it's going to be more difficult for the Tigers to repeat than it was for them to win this year.

It's always tougher to stay on top than to get there. But all that's in the future. Right now Detroit should celebrate especially the players who won it. As a little boy I had dreamed of hitting a home run in the World Series and winning it. I didn't quite get the home run I got a triple but it was still a dream come true.

I'm sure each of these Tigers feels the same way. They're all men playing a little boy's game but they have championship rings. PEOPLE ASK if the Tigers, as world champions, should make any changes. They can improve at third, and possibly at first, and you always look to improve your ball club. You have to.

The general manager, Bill Lajoie, already has said that. Detroit is in the toughest division in baseball. If the Yankees and the Blue Jays get some relief help, they'll be awfully good. Boston has one of the finest offensive clubs around, and the Orioles are no slouches. Any time you're a champion, they're going to come at you.

THOSE FOUR TEAMS played very well in the second contributions from columnists Mike Downey and Bob. 1 aioert, oaseoaii writer Bill McGraw, sports photographer Mary Schroeder and the Free Press photo staff, Just another joyful day at the office for Vin Scully 1 ne Koar 01 84 will cover this remarkable Detroit year from the first sunburn of spring training to the last sip of post-World Series clubhouse champagne. It's a keepsake graced with the most memorable photos of this memorable season: Jack Morris hugging Lance Parrish after Morris' April no-hitter Sparky Anderson taking a curtain call after the 100th win Willie Hernandez's unforgettable leap after the strike that clinched the East. You can reserve a copy now, and have it mailed to you, by sending $4.95 in check or money order with the coupon below to P.O. Box 77971, Detroit 48277.

yry Lapointc (f- sports on the all "The Roar of '84" costs $4.95 by mall, postage and handling Included. Name Address City State. ZIP. More than three hours before Sunday's game, in Tiger Stadium's second-deck broadcast booth, NBC announcer Vin Scully pulled up a chair, cracked jokes and spoke of friends while a makeup artist covered the laugh lines that grow in the face of a broadcaster whose career dates to the dawn of commercial television. Below Scully, on the field, were more than the usual Stadium security forces.

Vice-President George Bush was to visit and the Secret Service was making the stadium safe. Bush may be a successful politician now. But when Scully first knew him, Bush was just an Ivy League baseball player. "He was the first baseman at Yale," Scully said, "and I was the center fielder for Fordham. Yale beat Fordham that day, 2-1.

We both went 0-for-3. 1 grounded out, struck out and flied out. When I grounded out, he made the putout at first. You're talking 1947." Although Scully's amazing mind tends to remember even the most obscure baseball facts, was he really able to instantly recall parts of the box score from a college game 37 years past? Not exactly. He and Bush played golf two years ago and they refreshed their memories on the last six holes.

"He autographed a picture for me To the Fordham Flash, well, er, uh, um George Tp CARAMEL voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers, in the midst of another All-Pro World Series performance, was relaxing minutes after the limousine had delivered him to Their performance was smooth, with neither announcer "stepping on" the words of the other, because "there was no competition. It's as if were were sitting down to dinner and having a conversation." SCULLY SIGNED a few autographs, joked with a few technicians, then turned serious. With less than three hours to go until game time, it was time to prepare. Maybe this broadcast he'd read another verse from "Casey at the Bat" or tell the viewers that former Tigers World Series hero Mickey Lolich was sitting in a distant seat where the view of the pitcher's mound was obstructed. (Lolich's seats, the Free Press learned, were in the second-to-last row of the upper deck between home plate and third base.

A post partially obstructed parts of the infield.) Scully said he'd learned about the seats In a conversation he'd had with Lolich, according to an NBC spokesman. "Funny, how when you dig, you find out things," Scully said. But instead of heading for the field, with all the other writers, broadcasters and Secret Service men, Scully headed for a private spot in the upper-level press box to do more homework. "I've got too many friends" dowiLm the field, Scuffy said. "If I go down there, all I'll do lazuli s-." his working environment.

That particular environment this day was a booth that hangs over the shoulder of the home plate umpire. He broke into the big leagues with the Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. "When Ernie (Harwell) left Brooklyn to go to the New York Giants, I took his place," Scully said. "I followed him into the Hall of Fame. Kind of nice." Scully said Tigers announcer Harwell, also one of the giants in the business, is "a joy, a gentle man, a very worthwhile human being." "I love him," said Scully.

And then there's Sparky Anderson, the Tigers' manager who used to be Scully's partner for World Series broadcasts on CBS radio. "It was absolutely sensational," Scully said of their working experience. "I've known him forever. We have a wonderful relationship. When CBS asked me if I had any suggestions, I said, 'I'll tell you, the guy to get get Sparky Anderson.

There isn't anybody who knows more about both How many books? How much enclosed? Make your checks payable to The Detroit Free Press. Please send checks or money orders only. Do not send currency, coins or stamps. Send to: Detroit Free Press World Series Book P.O. Box 77971 4 48277.