1968 World Series-- Tigers v. Cardinals and "Roley Poley Mickey Lolich"

I realize I'm dating myself.

I vividly remember the 1968 World Series when the Tigers played against the Cardinals, so this World Series is a trip into nostalgia for me. I was in seventh grade and my brother was in eighth. We were good buddies and he was an avid Tiger fan. Under his influence I knew all the players' names and shared in his excitement at the World Series.

Denny MacLaine (sp?) was the Tigers' star pitcher and had even broken a record for wins that year. But when the World Series started, he had an injury or had blown out his arm from the season, or something. He may have won one of the games, but for the most part the Tigers relied on Mickey Lolich. Lolich had been an average pitcher during the season. He was like the Tigers' second or third best pitcher.

The Tigers were losing three games to one when they headed to St. Louis. It didn't look good. But Lolich went on to pitch three of the four winning games!!! And in what I believe was the last game, Lolich came up to bat. Had less than a .200 batting average and the sportscasters were all commenting on how they were surprised the Tigers had not put in someone else to bat. According to my brother's memory, they were still talking about what an unusual decision it was to put the pitcher in to bat himself when Lolich hit a homerun with men on base. His homer helped win the game!!!

Mickey Lolich became Detroit's beloved hero. He was just an average player and even a below average batter. He didn't look like an athlete. He had kind of a pudgy build. But he did better than his best and, more than anybody else, brought World Series victory to the Tigers. Someone wrote a song about him called "Roley Poley Mickey Lolich" that detailed his achievement. He was the unlikely guy who rose to stardom when it really mattered to Detroit. Lolich made Detroit's victory all the sweeter.

Perhaps the lesson to be learned is that we all have more in us than we think.

Go Tigers!!!!!!