In light of the assassination of the man who was likely to become the next president of the United States, the man in the Oval Office declared a national day of mourning on June 9. Out of sadness and to share their respect for the assassinated senator, a group of players decided to boycott their games scheduled for that day.
Although such a situation sounds like something that could be happening in today’s sports world, when protests are frequent in the headlines, this case happened exactly fifty years ago. Robert Kennedy, the leading candidate to vote as the next president in the next election, was assassinated on June 9, 1968.
When Johnson announced a national day or mourning, members of the Cincinnati Reds urged baseball officials to postpone the double header scheduled for that day. Because his words fell on deaf ears, the players decided that they were going to boycott the games.
The protest was led by a multiracial tandem, white pitcher Milt Pappas and African American All-Star outfielder Vada Pinson. The two managed to get enough votes from their teammates to approve their idea of staying in the clubhouse instead of going to the baseball field, as a statement about the assassination of the top Democratic presidential candidate.
Like the head offices in today’s sports world, Cincinnati executives expressed anger at players’ refusal to participate in games. General Manager Bob Howsam was especially upset and asked Captain Dave Bristol to find nine volunteers to play with.
Future hitting king Pete Rose soon left the clubhouse glove in hand, along with Rookie of the Year Tommy Helms and starting pitcher Jim Maloney. Not long after that, the rest of the team showed up on the field and the games were played.
As hesitant as those players may have been, the Reds jumped to an eight-to-zero lead in the fourth inning. St. Louis rallied in the fifth, compiling ten own runs to win Game 1 10-8.
The Cardinals capitalized on that momentum until the second game, with a six-to-one lead. Cincinnati, like the Cardinals had done in Game 1, rallied in Game 5 to tie the game.
At a standstill for the next six frames, the score finally changed in a twelfth inning involving three future Hall of Famers. Left-hander Steve Carlton, in his third inning as a reliever for the Cardinals, allowed an opening single to Cincinnati’s first baseman, Lee May.
Third baseman Tony Perez reached base on fielder’s choice, but had to wait to advance because Carlton struck out catcher Johnny Bench. Perez made it to second, and all the way to the plate, after shortstop Leo Cárdenas hit a double with the winning run.
Although the Reds managed to split, Pete Rose might have wanted to stay at the clubhouse that day. The perennial .300 hitter had just one hit in times at the plate.
Vada Pinson, on the other hand, was probably glad she noticed his boycott. It was a combined four of ten with one home run and five RBIs during the twin bill.
