One inning after punching Cubs third baseman Bill Madlock in the face and sparking a bench-clearing brawl, Cardinals catcher Ted Simmons capped off his four-RBI day on September 22, 1974, with a walk-off single to give St. Louis a 6-5 win and a 1 ½-game lead in the National League East Division.
Simmons’ busy day was baseball’s equivalent of a Gordie Howe hat trick, if such a thing existed.
After splitting their first two games against the Cubs at Busch Stadium, the Cardinals entered the series finale with a ½-game lead over the Pirates in the NL East. Bob Gibson, now 38 and in his second-to-last season, took the mound for the Cardinals with a 10-12 record and a 3.82 ERA, while 26-year-old Steve Stone climbed the hill for the Cubs with an 8-5 record and 4.15 ERA.
Both pitchers allowed runs in the opening frame. Jose Cardenal drove in a run with an RBI single to left, and the Cubs loaded the bases before Gibson got Steve Swisher to ground out and end the inning.
In the bottom of the first, Stone retired the first two batters he faced before Reggie Smith doubled and Simmons homered over the right-field wall to give St. Louis a 2-1 lead. Two innings later, Smith tripled to right field to score Brock. Simmons followed with a sacrifice fly – and his third RBI of the game – to give the Cardinals a 4-1 lead.
The Cubs answered in the top of the sixth. With the bases loaded and one out, Rick Monday drove in two with a single to right field. A misplayed ground ball brought home the tying run and Madlock added a sacrifice fly to give the Cubs a 5-4 lead.
Chicago’s advantage was short-lived, as Joe Torre scored the tying run on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the sixth.
After seven innings of work, Gibson left the game with no decision and Al Hrabosky took the mound. He retired the Cubs in order in the eighth, though it required exceptional plays by McBride, Brock, and second baseman Tom Sizemore.
“I was struggling out there,” Hrabosky said.[1]
In the bottom half of the inning, home-plate umpire Shag Crawford drew the Cardinals’ ire with a controversial call that helped to snuff a potential rally. Torre led off with a single and was replaced by pinch runner Larry Herndon. Batting next, McBride attempted to lay down a bunt, but Dave LaRoche’s inside fastball kept sailing in on the lefthanded-hitting McBride and hit him on the left hand, leaving him with a gash on his forefinger that required four stitches.[2]
When the ball bounced into fair territory, Cubs catcher Steve Swisher threw to second to start a double play. McBride immediately argued that he had been hit by the pitch. Crawford insisted that the ball had also hit McBride’s bat.
“The ball was a fairly batted, bunted ball,” Crawford said after the game. “I don’t care whether his finger is bloody or cut or whatever.”[3]
Both McBride and Torre – who let his feelings be known from the dugout – were ejected.
“I really don’t understand why he couldn’t change his decision with a split hand in front of him and blood running all over the place,” Brock said.[4]
As a result, tensions already were high when things got weird in the ninth. Hrabosky was well known for his pre-pitch routine, which often included stomping around the mound, turning his back to the hitter, and psyching himself up before taking the mound to pitch. According to the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs planned to counter Hrabosky by taking their own time once the “Mad Hungarian” got ready to pitch.[5]
When Hrabosky slammed the ball into his glove and stalked to the mound to face Madlock, the Cubs’ first hitter of the ninth inning, the rookie third baseman backed out of the box. When he returned, Hrabosky went through his routine again, and Madlock once again stepped out. Finally, Madlock turned away and went back to the on-deck circle to grab pine tar for his bat. At this point, Crawford was tired of the back-and-forth.
“I said, ‘Bill, get back here,’” Crawford related. “I thought maybe he didn’t hear me because of the crowd noise and so I went after him and said it again.”[6]
When Madlock again ignored Crawford’s instructions, the umpire returned to the plate and signaled for Hrabosky to begin pitching. According to rule 6.02(c): “If the batter refuses to take his position in the batter’s box during his time at bat, the umpire shall order to the pitcher to pitch, and shall call ‘Strike’ on each such pitch. The batter may take his proper position after any such pitch, and the regular ball and strike count shall continue, but if he does not take his proper position before three strikes are called, he shall be declared out.”
As Madlock rushed back to the plate, Crawford called Hrabosky’s first pitch a strike. By the time Hrabosky threw his second pitch, Cardenal and Cubs manager Jim Marshall had both arrived at the plate, and Hrabosky nearly hit Marshall. Feeling crowded, Simmons shoved Marshall out of the way, then turned to Madlock and asked, “What are you looking at?”[7]
Madlock responded with a profane two-word answer and was immediately punched in the jaw.
“I must have hit him pretty good,” Simmons said. “I cut my knuckles.”[8]
Both teams raced onto the field.
“I did a 9.2(-second) hundred from the bullpen,” Cardinals reliever Mike Garman said.[9]
Cubs first baseman Andre Thornton was the first to reach the scene, tackling Simmons and driving him to the ground.
“I had to get Simmons because he took a free shot at Billy,” Thornton said afterwards with the pinky finger on his left hand in a split.[10] It was unclear how he injured his finger, although players reported that after Thornton tackled Simmons, Cardinals pitcher Lynn McGlothen “blindsided him” before Chicago’s Jim Tyrone, in turn, punched McGlothen and sent him to the ground.[11]
Cardinals manager Red Schoendienst said he tried to pull McGlothen away from two Cubs.
“I couldn’t budge the big guy – he wore me out,” Schoendienst said.[12]
The fight lasted two or three minutes and no one was seriously injured. Sizemore’s leg was scratched and Chicago’s Ray Burris was spiked. Ken Reitz’s shoulder was dislocated, but he noted that it had popped out of place multiple times in his career.
“It goes away in a day,” he said.[13]
McBride, who was in the clubhouse having his finger treated following his eighth-inning incident, ran onto the field when he realized what was happening.
“I’m running out there and everybody starts asking me, ‘How’s your finger?’” McBride said. “I said, ‘Hey, this is supposed to be a fight!’”[14]
Players and coaches from both sides were quick to break up the fisticuffs, and Sizemore expressed his appreciation for Chicago’s Don Kessinger and Monday.
“They said, ‘You’ve got too much to lose – let’s break this up,’” Sizemore said. “That’s real class. They’re veterans and they know we have a chance to win a lot of money (in the pennant race).”[15]
Incredibly, Marshall was the only one to get the boot. When the Cubs’ manager realized no one was going to be ejected, he asked Crawford, “Don’t you care about the players?”
“No, I don’t care about the players – they don’t care about me!” answered Crawford.
“That’s when I started cussin’,” Marshall said.[16]
“Marshall didn’t like my statement, but I don’t think players should be thrown out for fighting,” said Crawford, who had been aboard a U.S. destroyer that was hit by a Japanese kamikaze plane in World War II.[17]
When the game resumed, Hrabosky felt refocused. He struck out Madlock, got Cardenal to fly out to Simmons, then struck out Dave LaRoche.
“It was the greatest thing that could have happened for me,” Hrabosky said of the brawl. “It was a personal challenge. It really psyched me up. It was just what the doctor ordered.”[18]
With runners on first and second and two outs, Simmons ended the game in the bottom of the ninth, punching the ball back up the middle to score Brock from second base and give the Cardinals a 6-5 win.
The victory delighted Pat Dean, Dizzy Dean’s widow. She was in the audience after Dizzy’s number 17 was retired in a pregame ceremony.
“They must have done this for Diz,” she said. “It looked like the old Gas House Gang.”[19]
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[1] Dick Kaegel, “Blows By Simmons Send Cubs Reeling,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 23, 1974.
[2] Dick Kaegel, “Blows By Simmons Send Cubs Reeling,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 23, 1974.
[3] Dick Kaegel, “Blows By Simmons Send Cubs Reeling,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 23, 1974.
[4] Dick Kaegel, “Blows By Simmons Send Cubs Reeling,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 23, 1974.
[5] Richard Dozer, “Cards give Cubs ‘gas’ in 6-5 victory,” Chicago Tribune, September 23, 1974.
[6] Dick Kaegel, “Blows By Simmons Send Cubs Reeling,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 23, 1974.
[7] Dick Kaegel, “Blows By Simmons Send Cubs Reeling,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 23, 1974.
[8] Dick Kaegel, “Blows By Simmons Send Cubs Reeling,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 23, 1974.
[9] Dick Kaegel, “Blows By Simmons Send Cubs Reeling,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 23, 1974.
[10] Richard Dozer, “Cards give Cubs ‘gas’ in 6-5 victory,” Chicago Tribune, September 23, 1974.
[11] Richard Dozer, “Cards give Cubs ‘gas’ in 6-5 victory,” Chicago Tribune, September 23, 1974.
[12] Dick Kaegel, “Birds Avoided Fight Injuries,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 23, 1974.
[13] Dick Kaegel, “Birds Avoided Fight Injuries,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 23, 1974.
[14] Dick Kaegel, “Birds Avoided Fight Injuries,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 23, 1974.
[15] Dick Kaegel, “Birds Avoided Fight Injuries,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 23, 1974.
[16] Dick Kaegel, “Blows By Simmons Send Cubs Reeling,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 23, 1974.
[17] Richard Dozer, “Cards give Cubs ‘gas’ in 6-5 victory,” Chicago Tribune, September 23, 1974.
[18] Dick Kaegel, “Blows By Simmons Send Cubs Reeling,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 23, 1974.
[19] Dick Kaegel, “Blows By Simmons Send Cubs Reeling,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 23, 1974.