They called it The Great Race, and through the final week the battle raged with the American League pennant at stake. Four teams fought, unable to shake off any of the others. The Boston Red Sox were the darlings of fans everywhere; rising up from ninth place in 1966, they were 100-to-one shots seeking The Impossible Dream. The Chicago White Sox had no batters as high as .250, but hung in the race on pitching, defense, and spirit. The Detroit Tigers were a strong team favored by the press to win it, and the Minnesota Twins came to life after manager Sam Mele was replaced in June by Cal Ermer. All four teams remained in the running into the final week, and the torrid chase set typewriters ablaze across the country.

Eddie Stanky's Hitless Wonders from Chicago were the first to drop out, losing a doubleheader to Kansas City on September 27, to end their hopes. Minnesota entered the final weekend one game up on Boston and Detroit. Rain caused the scheduling of back-to-back doubleheaders in Detroit with the California Angels, while the Twins came into Fenway Park to play two against the Red Sox. On Saturday, the Tigers split with the Angels, while an early Minnesota lead was lost after Jim Kaat had to leave the game with an injury, and Boston pounded Twin relievers for a 6-4 victory and a tie for the top. On Sunday, the capacity Boston crowd watched Jim Lonborg defeat Dean Chance to eliminate the Twins, while the Tigers won their first game to climb to a half-game behind the Red Sox. A Detroit victory would have ended the season in a tie, but all Boston-including the Red Sox-listened to their radios, and prayed as Detroit dropped the second game to the Angels 8-5. The Impossible Dream became a reality as Red Sox rooters floated in the celebration of their first pennant since 1946 behind freshman manager Dick Williams.

The story behind the Fenway Miracle rested on the bat, arm, and legs of Carl Yastrzemski, a good hitter with a touch of power, who spent the winter months lifting weights and the summer months converting hits into home runs and winning the coveted Triple Crown of batting and the league's MVP honors. Along with the advent of Boston's new superstar was the pitching of Jim Lonborg, who chalked up 22 wins after never having won more than 10, and the acquisition of Ken Harrelson, who finally made his way to the Red Sox after being made a free agent by the Kansas City A's owner Charley O. Finley. Harrelson called Finley "a menace to baseball" in the year's most famous off-the-field incident, which also included the suspension of pitcher Lew Krausse for misbehavior on the team plane and the firing of manager Al Dark.

What appeared to be a mediocre Red Sox squad responded to Yastrzemski's leadership with outstanding years by the cluster. George Scott and Rico Petrocelli shone in the infield, and Mike Andrews and Reggie Smith were stellar rookies. Catching was a problem until Elston Howard was obtained from New York in August. Tony Conigliaro was continuing his fine four year career until smashed in the face with a Jack Hamilton fastball that sidelined him for the season and left his eyesight in doubt. Infielder Jerry Adair was purchased from Chicago in June and proceeded to hit .291 and steady the infield. The parade of key acquisitions continued with Gary Bell, a key starter who won 12 games for Boston after joining them in June. Jose Santiago posted a 12-4 mark with a hot September, and John Wyatt provided a solid relief hand. The collection of odds and ends and stars blended together to win perhaps the most thrilling pennant chase in history.

The National League race proved to be a slaughter for the St. Louis Cardinals, as early challenges by the Giants and Cubs were beaten back. Orlando Cepeda, acquired a year before from the Giants, turned in an MVP performance with a .325 average, 25 homers, a league-leading 111 RBI's, and proved to be the inspirational leader of the Cardinals. Curt Flood and Lou Brock also sparked the offense, while Bob Gibson led the mound staff, until suffering a broken leg on July 15, as the result of a line drive off the bat of Roberto Clemente. The injury brought gloom over St. Louis, but the pitching staff took up the challenge, as young Steve Carlton won 14 games, 29-year-old rookie Dick Hughes won 16, and Nelson Briles came out of the bullpen to win 14 games. During the time Gibson was out, the Cardinals racked up a 36-20 mark.

San Francisco finished second to St. Louis but was hampered by poor years from Willie Mays and Juan Marichal. Jim Ray Hart took on the Giants' run-producing leadership, and Mike McCormick won 22 games in a strong comeback from a sore arm to win the National League Cy Young Award. Leo Durocher, in his second year as the Cubs manager, had his team in contention with an attack led by Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, and Billy Williams, and a hill staff aced by 20-game winner Ferguson Jenkins.

By the time the World Series got underway, there was still great excitement in Boston. But the outcome, which was not to be Boston's, was an anticlimactic matter after the torrid American League race. The Cardinals and Red Sox split the first six games of the World Series with Jim Lonborg and Bob Gibson both winning two games. Game seven saw the two aces pitted against each other, with Lonborg pitching on two days rest, and Gibson on three-a difference which was enough to have Lonborg pounded for seven runs in six innings, to give Gibson his third victory and the Cardinals their eighth Series title. Yastrzemski continued his inspirational batting in the Series with a .400 mark, but Lou Brock outshined him with a .414 average, 12 hits, 8 runs, and a Series record seven stolen bases.

Although Boston's dream fell short by a single game, they at least had the satisfaction of a pennant-something made possible in part by the temperament of Charley O. Finley. All Finley could muster out of a season was another move for his team-this time to Oakland for the season- the city on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge.

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