Hall of Fame Game History: 1980-1989
"Pops" Homers as Pirates Pull Past Pale Hose, 11-8, August 4, 1980
The 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates swept the nation with "we are family" excitement, as the steel city embraced their hometown World Series champions. In 1980, that enthusiasm reached a fever pitch in Cooperstown, as the Pirates' loveable leader, Willie "Pops" Stargell made the most of his cameo appearance. The Pirates would win, 11-8, on 16 hits, but it was one hit in particular that sent the Doubleday crowd into a frenzy. With Pittsburgh leading 7-2 after five innings, and with the crowd chanting "We want Willie" for two innings, Pirates skipper Chuck Tanner permitted Stargell to pinch-hit with a man on base. "Pops" promptly powered a 400-foot home run to centerfield, extending the Pirates lead to 9-2, with his only at-bat of the game. Chicago collected five runs in the bottom of the sixth, three coming on a Harold Baines blast, but Pittsburgh again extended its lead with two in the seventh. Keith Thibodeaux earned the win for the Pirates.
Players' Strike Halts 1981 Game
The 1981 Hall of Fame Game, scheduled for August 3, 1981, between the Oakland Athletics and Cincinnati Reds, was cancelled due to a players strike.
Rain Ends New York's Comeback, 4-4, August 2, 1982
Appearing for the second time in three years, the Tony LaRussa-led Chicago White Sox were determined to collect a Hall of Fame Game win. With the "Clown Prince of Baseball" Max Patkin in attendance, a victory for the Pale Hose appeared in hand. Rusty Staub, the New York Mets, and a heavy rain storm changed the landscape quickly, however. Trailing 4-2, the Mets added a run in the seventh to close to 4-3. As the rains began to fall in the eighth inning for the third time during the game, Staub launched a solo home run in the bottom of the frame to even the score at 4-4. The game would be called at the end of the inning. Hubie Brooks also homered for the Mets, with George Foster, Bob Bailor and Dave Kingman all reaching base for New York. Marc Hill homered for the White Sox.
Cards Contain Orioles, 4-1, August 1, 1983
The 40th edition of the Hall of Fame Game featured rising stars for the Orioles against a Whitey Herzog-led St. Louis squad that was coming off a World Series championship season. The Cardinals, behind a two-run home run from Ken Oberkfell, would defeat Baltimore, 4-1. Herzog, who had homered in the 1961 Game as a member of the Orioles, led his Cardinals team against his former squad. Danny Cox would pitch six innings to earn the win, as Baltimore collected just one run on five hits. Future Hall of Famer Eddie Murray had a single in his only at bat, and teammate Cal Ripken Jr. also singled.
Tigers Top Braves, 7-5, August 13, 1984
The Detroit Tigers were not to be stopped in 1984, winning nine consecutive games to start the season, going 35-5 through 40 games and eventually winning the World Series, beating the Padres. Sporting a 77-41 record entering the Hall of Fame Game with a nine-game lead over the Blue Jays, Sparky Anderson's club beat Joe Torre's Atlanta Braves, 7-5. It would mark the second time the Tigers would win the Hall of Fame Game and then the World Series, also doing so in 1968. Anderson was the only future Hall of Famer to be a part of the game. Even before the game began, the Tigers showed its meddle, as Kirk Gibson won the home run derby. Host Atlanta jumped to a quick 2-0 lead on Dale Murphy's two-run homer in the first inning, the first of five long balls in the contest. In the second frame, Larry Herndon singled before Chet Lemon's two-run blast, knotting the score at 2-2. Atlanta came up with a run in the bottom of the second, but Detroit tied it in the next inning on Doug Baker's home run. Atlanta took the lead, 4-3, in the bottom of the third as Milt Thompson hustled out a triple and was brought home on a groundout. The Tigers rallied in the sixth as Barbaro Garbey and John Grubb singled to begin the inning. Darrell Evans drove Garbey in on a ground rule double, Grubb scored on Herndon's sac fly and Evans trotted home when Ruppert Jones hit a two-run shot to give the Tigers an insurmountable 7-4 lead. The Braves Brad Komminsk homered in the bottom of the eighth to close out the scoring.
Astros Eclipse Red Sox in Extra Innings, 5-3, July 29, 1985
In only the second extra-inning affair in the Hall of Fame Game's 42-year history, the Houston Astros defeated the Boston Red Sox, 5-3 in 10 innings. In 1956, the New York Giants had defeated the Detroit Tigers, 11-10 in 12 innings. Bob Lillis managed the Astros and John McNamara, the Red Sox. The home run derby preceding the game was won by Astros slugger Jose Cruz, who knocked five baseballs over the fences and into yards of neighboring houses. Twenty-two year old right-handed fireballer Roger Clemens started for Boston while Mike Madden took the hill for Houston. Clemens pitched well, allowing a run and three hits in five solid innings, leaving with the score tied at 1-1. The score remained tied until Steve Lyons homered in the bottom half of the seventh inning, giving Boston a 3-1 lead. With their back to the walls, the Astros scored a pair of runs in the top of the ninth inning off Tom McCarthy, who would go on to pitch in 40 major league games for Boston and the White Sox, to knot the game at 3-3. Tim Tolman singled, Glenn Davis walked and then Kevin Bass delivered a run-scoring single. German Rivera then drove home the tying run with a single. With the Astros bats still hot, Phil Garner lined the first pitch in the 10th inning into the right filed bleachers and Harry Spillman followed with another home run, accounting for the final score. Charlie Kerfeld shut down Boston in extra innings and walked away from Cooperstown with a win.
First Intraleague Contest Leads to Texas Win, 11-4, Aug. 4, 1986
For the first time in Hall of Fame game history, two teams come from the same league. The Kansas City Royals were led to Cooperstown by acting manager Mike Ferrarro to play against Bobby Valentine's Texas Rangers, who came out the victors, 11-4. Rangers rookie Pete Incaviglia blasted seven homers to win the home run derby before the game. The Rangers scored a run in the bottom of first to take a quick 1-0 lead, which they held until future Hall of Famer George Brett homered in the fourth inning. The Royals scored twice more in the sixth frame to give starter Dennis Leonard a 3-1 lead, as Greg Pryor homered following a Lynn Jones single. Texas answered with four runs in the bottom of the sixth as Gary Ward and Darrell Porter set the table with walks. Tom Paciorek brought home Ward with a double and Geno Petralli plated Porter with a sacrifice fly. Toby Harrah singled to score Paciorek. Following a walk to Curtis Wilkerson, rookie Ruben Sierra delivered a two-run double, giving the Rangers a 5-3 lead. The Rangers added six runs in the seventh inning to put the game out of reach. Ricky Wright earned the victory for Texas.
Yankees Blank Braves, 3-0, July 27, 1987
The New York Yankees made their first visit to Cooperstown since 1972, and pitching was the name of the game in hitter-friendly Doubleday Field, as New York beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-0. With the win, the Yankees ran their Hall of Fame Game record is to 4-1. Atlanta Braves manager Chuck Tanner let former slugger and coach Willie Stargell be honorary manager for the day. Stargell's team would lose to Lou Piniella's Yankees. Dennis Rasmussen and rookie Al Leiter combined to limit the Braves to five hits. Henry Cotto provided all the offense the Yankees would need, homering into the right-centerfield bleachers in the fourth inning. Their lead was extended to 2-0 in the sixth inning when Juan Bonilla hit a towering shot to left center. Rasmussen pitched seven innings and Leiter pitched two hitless frames. The game marked only the third time in 44 Hall of Fame games that a team has been held scoreless. Dave Winfield of the Yankees was the only Hall of Fame player in the game.
Fit to Be Tied: Cubs, Cleveland a Light Scoring Affair, 1-1, Aug. 1, 1988
Just seven days before the lights were scheduled to be turned on for night games for the first time in the history of Wrigley Field, the Cubs came to light-free Doubleday Field and played to a 1-1 tied with the Cleveland Indians, in a game called after nine innings of play. The Cubs' Don Zimmer managed against Doc Edwards. The home run derby before the game went to a playoff round as Andre Dawson and Cory Snyder each hit four homers in the first round. In the playoff round, Dawson crushed two and edged out by Snyder's three home runs. The Cubs scored in the top of the first inning on Ryne Sandberg's home run. The Indians plated a run in the bottom of the eight inning, with Willie Upshaw singling home the run. After nine innings, the umpires chatted with managers Zimmer and Edwards and decided to call the game, with the Cubs traveling to Shea Stadium to play the Mets, and the Indians to Memorial Stadium to face the Orioles, the next day. The tie was the fourth in Game history and the first tie to be played in nine innings.
Plane Malfunction Creates Split-Squad Game, July 24, 1989
The game scheduled between the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds was cancelled. The Reds, who had just been swept in a four-game series in Montreal, encountered problems with the airplane's hydraulic system before getting off the ground in Montreal. Instead, the Red Sox played a split-squad game: Boston versus the "Yastrzemskis," in honor of Carl Yastrzemski, who had been inducted a day earlier. The two teams played even ball, tying at 4-4 in a seven inning game. Wade Boggs, Jim Rice, Nick Esasky and current Indians manager (then Red Sox catcher) Eric Wedge all hit home runs. Wedge joined the team after winning the NCAA Baseball tournament as a member of the Wichita State team, the previous month. Al Bumbry, a Red Sox coach at the time and four years retired, was 2-for-3 with a stolen base.
