Historically significant baseball games I have attended #1

Who was playing? Los Angeles Dodgers versus St. Louis Cardinals

Where did they play? Busch Memorial Stadium, St. Louis, MO

When did they play? October 14, 1985

Did I know this game might be significant before it started? Yes. It was Game Five of the National League Championship Series. The series was tied 2-2 (best of seven format).

What happened? Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith came up to bat in the bottom of the ninth with the game tied. Ozzie hit his first career left-handed home run off Dodgers reliever Tom Niedenfuer to win the game. On the radio, St. Louis announcer Jack Buck intoned his now-famous line, "Go crazy, folks! Go crazy!"

The Cardinals went on to wrap up the National League Championship Series in Game Six in Los Angeles on a Jack Clark home run off, again, Dodgers reliever Tom Niedenfuer.

Ultimately, the Cardinals lost the World Series to the Kansas City Royals in seven games after having been up three games to one.

What do I remember? It was warm for October and so muggy and humid that you could practically see the water hovering in the air. Back then, they still played important playoff games in the afternoon, so I got to miss school to go see the game. My father got excellent tickets - row 13 behind the first base dugout - and we sat right in front of Ron Glass, the actor who played Detective Harris on the television show Barney Miller.

At one point during the game, I turned around to stare at Ron Glass and I think he gave me a shrug of the shoulders and a sheepish grin.

When Ozzie Smith came up to bat in the ninth inning, I turned to my father and said, "Ozzie has never hit a home run left-handed." (Back then I knew a lot about baseball.) Right after that, as if on cue, the scoreboard operating people posted the same fact on the giant scoreboard out in right-center field. When Ozzie Smith hit his home run - a line drive that barely cleared the fence in right field - the ball struck a concrete pillar and bounced back onto the field, so, for a split-second, no one was sure if it was a home run or not.

Then the stadium erupted - still the loudest noise I think I have ever heard. My father and I high-fived each other and I turned to try to catch the reaction on Ron Glass's face, but he had already disappeared into the crowd. My father and I sprinted out of Busch Memorial Stadium and back to our parking space under the highway bridge as if we were lifted on a cushion of really humid, semi-visible air.

Click here for the box score.