“I talk to the gypsy war gods,” he explained afterward. “I work myself into a controlled rage.”[1]

On May 9, 1977, Hrabosky and his gypsy war gods responded, striking out George Foster, Johnny Bench, and Bob Bailey to escape the ninth inning unscathed. After a game-saving play at the plate stopped the Reds in the top of the 10^th, Ted Simmons homered in the bottom of the inning to give Hrabosky and the Cardinals a 6-5 win.

“These 1977 Cardinals are shaking Busch Stadium like no St. Louis baseball team has done in perhaps a decade,” wrote Dick Kaegel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “The latest shock wave hit the Cincinnati Reds like a runaway mine train last night. It was a classic thriller, baseball at its spine-tingling best.”[2]

Ten years earlier, the Cardinals selected Hrabosky out of Fullerton (Calif.) College with their first-round pick (19^th overall) in the 1969 draft. The lefthander reached Double-A that season, and the following year he made his major-league debut, throwing a shutout inning in a loss to the Padres. Three days later, he earned his first major-league win, entering the game in the 16^th inning and throwing two scoreless innings in a 5-3 win over the Cubs.

In 1973, Hrabosky became a regular in the Cardinals’ bullpen and in 1974 he placed fifth in the Cy Young Award voting, going 8-1 with a 2.95 ERA over 88 1/3 innings. The following year he was even better, placing third in the Cy Young and eighth in the National League MVP vote with a 13-3 record, 1.66 ERA, and league-leading 22 saves.

Heading into the Cardinals’ May 9, 1977, game against the defending World Series champion Reds, Hrabosky had three saves and a 2.35 ERA in 13 1/3 innings. Earlier that season, Hrabosky had been forced to shave his beard and Fu Manchu mustache to adhere to new manager Vern Rapp’s edict that all Cardinals players be clean-shaven. As both Rapp and the Reds soon discovered, however, that didn’t mean that the Mad Hungarian had been tamed.

The Monday night game was being broadcast nationally and matched Cincinnati’s Woodie Fryman, a 37-year-old veteran lefthander and two-time all-star, against 27-year-old Bob Forsch, who won 15 games in 1975 but was looking to rebound from a tough 1976 campaign.

The two teams traded runs in the early innings as Cardinals right fielder Hector Cruz hit an RBI single in the first and Reds right fielder Ken Griffey answered with an RBI single of his own in the third.

In the bottom of the third, the Cardinals pushed two more runs across as Ted Simmons smacked an RBI double and Keith Hernandez scored Simmons with a single to left.

Forsch maintained the 3-1 lead until the sixth. After Forsch struck out George Foster to open the inning, Johnny Bench hit a solo home run and Cesar Geronimo tripled. Dave Concepcion scored Geronimo with an RBI single, and after Pedro Borbon laid down a sacrifice bunt, Pete Rose doubled to left field to score Concepcion and give the Reds a 4-3 lead.

Rapp replaced Forsch with Buddy Schultz, and Griffey greeted the lefthanded reliever with a single to right field that scored Rose and extended the Reds’ lead to 5-3.

Lou Brock led off the bottom of the seventh with a double to left field, then scored on a single by Tony Scott. One inning later, Keith Hernandez tied the game with a 400-foot leadoff home run[3] on the first pitch offered by reliever Rawly Eastwick.

Al Hrabosky Enters the Game

To pitch the ninth, Rapp turned to Hrabosky. It immediately became an adventure.

Griffey opened the inning with a single to left. Hrabosky walked Morgan, and Dan Driessen followed with a bunt single that loaded the bases.

“I thought with Foster and Bench coming up, there was no way,” Hernandez said. “I thought they’d at least get a fly ball and get a run in.”[4]

Between each pitch, Hrabosky turned his back to the plate. Then, slamming the ball into his glove, he stomped to the mound and went into his windup. Relying on the fastball, he struck out Foster, then Bench.

With two outs, Reds manager Sparky Anderson called on Bob Bailey, who hits .370 as a pinch-hitter the previous year, to bat for the lefthanded-hitting Geronimo. It didn’t make a difference. Hrabosky struck out Bailey to end the inning.

“It was unbelievable,” Brock said. “It was like seeing an instant replay over, over, and over. It was slugger against fastball pitcher … one-on-one and may the best man win.”[5]

“I’ve never seen anybody pitch that way in all my life,” Hernandez said. “I was so excited, I was watching Al more than the batter. I was completely in awe.”[6]

The Busch Stadium crowd was equally impressed, rewarding Hrabosky with a standing ovation as the inning ended.[7]

“It was the most incredible thing I’ve seen in my life,” Simmons said. “It was dark and all of a sudden, he groped around until he found the light switch and turned it on. … Every pitch was a fastball. They knew it was coming – they had to.”[8]

Things weren’t much easier for Hrabosky in the 10^th. After he retired the first two hitters, pinch-hitter Ray Knight singled to bring up Griffey, who already had three hits for the day. Griffey collected his fourth, doubling off the right-field wall, but Cardinals right fielder Mike Anderson relayed the ball to second baseman Don Kessinger, who in turn threw out Knight at the plate.

“When I got it and threw it to Kessinger, I saw the runner was just one step past third and I said, ‘No way he’s gonna score,’” Anderson said.

“Andy played it perfect,” said Kessinger. “He gave me a good, high relay throw where I could handle it. I knew if I could make a good throw, we’d get him.”[9]

Just a few pitches later, Simmons ended the game with his bat. With reliever Dale Murray pitching, Simmons homered to right field to give the Cardinals a 6-5 win. It was just the third home run Murray had allowed in 1,307 opposing at-bats.[10]

“I feel great about my home run, but the pitching performance Al gave was one of the finest I’ve ever seen in my life,” Simmons said. “Bench, Foster, and Bailey, three of the best fastball hitters in the game, and Al just blew ‘em away from the plate with the bases loaded.”[11]

“You couldn’t have put it on a piece of paper and designed it any better than that,” Simmons said.[12]

“It was an unbelievable game,” Kessinger said. “There was a little bit of everything. It’d be a great game even if you lose. But when you win, it’s even better.”[13]

With the win, the Cardinals improved to 17-9 on the young season while the Reds fell to 10-16 with their fifth consecutive loss.

“It’s something you’ve got to do if you’re going to win a pennant – come from behind,” Hernandez said. “It’s something Cincinnati has been doing for the last three or four years.”[14]

St. Louis finished the game with 14 hits, including two apiece from Garry Templeton, Scott, Cruz, Simmons, Hernandez, and Kessinger.

“I like ‘em – they’re aggressive,” Anderson said. “They’re gonna give the Pirates all they can handle this year, I’ll tell you that.”[15]

Despite their strong start, the Cardinals finished the year just 83-79, 18 games behind the National League champion Phillies and 13 games behind the second-place Pirates.

The 1977 campaign proved to be a contentious one for Hrabosky. Later that May, Rapp suspended Hrabosky for “sheer insubordination.” The Post-Dispatch referred to the suspension as “the culmination of a long series of disagreements” between Hrabosky and Rapp.[16]

Hrabosky was reinstated a few days later and finished the year with just 10 saves and a 4.38 ERA over 86 1/3 innings. It proved to be his final season with the Cardinals, as he was traded to the Royals for Mark Littell and Buck Martinez that December. In eight seasons in St. Louis, Hrabosky went 40-20 with a 2.93 ERA and 59 saves.

Hrabosky pitched two seasons in Kansas City, making the only postseason appearances of his career in 1978, then played his final three seasons in Atlanta. Over a 13-year major league career, he posted a 3.10 ERA and 97 saves.

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[1] Dick Kaegel, “Cardinals, Simmons Jolt The Reds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 10, 1977.

[2] Dick Kaegel, “Cardinals, Simmons Jolt The Reds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 10, 1977.

[3] Bob Hertzel “Baseball’s Day … Reds Make It 5 Straight,” Cincinnati Enquirer, May 10, 1977.

[4] Dick Kaegel, “Cardinals, Simmons Jolt The Reds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 10, 1977.

[5] Earl Lawson, “Cards, ‘Gypsy War God’ Beat Reds, 6-5,” Cincinnati Post, May 10, 1977.

[6] Dick Kaegel, “Cardinals, Simmons Jolt The Reds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 10, 1977.

[7] Earl Lawson, “Cards, ‘Gypsy War God’ Beat Reds, 6-5,” Cincinnati Post, May 10, 1977.

[8] Dick Kaegel, “Cardinals, Simmons Jolt The Reds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 10, 1977.

[9] Dick Kaegel, “Cardinals, Simmons Jolt The Reds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 10, 1977.

[10] Dick Kaegel, “1307^th Batter Doomed Murray,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 10, 1977.

[11] Earl Lawson, “Cards, ‘Gypsy War God’ Beat Reds, 6-5,” Cincinnati Post, May 10, 1977.

[12] Dick Kaegel, “Cardinals, Simmons Jolt The Reds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 10, 1977.

[13] Dick Kaegel, “Cardinals, Simmons Jolt The Reds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 10, 1977.

[14] Dick Kaegel, “Cardinals, Simmons Jolt The Reds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 10, 1977.

[15] Dick Kaegel, “Cardinals, Simmons Jolt The Reds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 10, 1977.

[16] Neal Russo, “Rapp Suspends Hrabosky For Insubordination,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 22, 1977.

The post Al Hrabosky and the gypsy war gods stifle Reds: May 9, 1977 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

Decades later, research found that Cobb’s career stolen base total was inaccurate, and added four stolen bases to his 1907 season and one to his 1921 campaign.[1] As a result, Cobb’s career total now stands at 897.

However, as Brock and the Cardinals prepared to face the Padres in San Diego, California, on August 29, 1977, baseball historians had credited Cobb with 892 stolen bases. Brock had pulled within one theft of the mark four days earlier in St. Louis, when he stole two bases against the Giants in a 4-2 loss (both players trailed Billy Hamilton, who stole 914 career bases while playing for the Kansas City Cowboys, Philadelphia Phillies, and Boston Beaneaters from 1888 through 1901).

As Brock and the Cardinals came to San Diego for the start of a three-game series, they sought to snap a four-game skid. The previous night, the Dodgers’ Don Sutton held Brock hitless in three at-bats while shutting out the Cardinals in an 11-0 St. Louis win.

The Padres entered the game on the heels of four consecutive losses to the Pirates. With a 56-76 record, San Diego was in fifth place in the National League West, 23 games behind the division-leading Dodgers.

The Cardinals sent John Urrea, a 6-foot-3 rookie right-hander they selected in the first round of the 1974 draft, to the mound to face San Diego right-hander Dave Freisleben, who had won 10 games with a 3.51 ERA the previous season. Heading into his August 29 match-up against the Cardinals, however, he was just 5-7 with a 4.97 ERA.

Freisleben opened the game by walking Brock, then slowed his pace and spent a long time watching Brock on first base.

“I didn’t have that big of a lead but he stepped off,” Brock said. “I don’t know why – unless he was as nervous as I was.”[2]

On Freisleben’s first pitch to Jerry Mumphrey, Brock took off.

“He had a great jump off first,” Padres shortstop Bill Almon said. “I don’t think any kind of throw would’ve got him.”[3]

Brock safely claimed his stolen base, then advanced to third on a throwing error by Padres catcher Dave Roberts, who was in his first season at the position after transitioning from third base. Mumphrey followed with an RBI single, then stole second base and scored on an RBI single by Ted Simmons. After another Padres error, Mike Phillips hit a run-scoring double into left field to give St. Louis a 3-0 lead.

After all nine Cardinals came to plate in the first, Brock led off the second inning with a double but was left stranded at third base. That seemed to mark a turning point for Freisleben, who didn’t allow another hit until the seventh inning.

After an RBI triple by Gene Richards and a run-scoring groundout by Almon had trimmed the Cardinals’ lead to 3-2, Urrea led off the Cardinals’ seventh with a single. Up to bat next, Brock hit a ground ball back to Freisleben, who threw Urrea out at first but was unable to get the double play. That set up Brock’s record-breaking stolen base. With Padres fans chanting, “Lou,” he again took off for second base with Mumphrey at the plate.

Roberts’ throw was off the bag again, and this time glanced off Almon’s glove as Brock slid into Almon and the bag.

“The throw was to the first-base side so I moved up the line,” Almon said. “As he started his slide he was starting to go by me so I knew I had to try to sweep at the ball to get him. It just went off the end of my glove. If I’d have caught it, it would’ve been a bang-bang play, but he stole it clean.”[4]

With the modern-day stolen-base record in hand, Brock’s first act was to check that Almon was OK.

“He was afraid he’d spiked me,” Almon said. “He asked me if I was okay. Here he is, he’s just set the record, and he’s turning around and showing concern. That’s just the kind of person he is.”[5]

The game was briefly halted while Brock’s teammates congratulated him and Padres pitcher Randy Jones presented Brock with the historic base. Even Freisleben admitted, “I kind of got goosebumps.”[6]

“It has not been an easy thing but the moment is here,” Brock said into a microphone that was brought onto the field before grinning at Jones. “Looking back on it, Randy, I did it my way.”[7]

When play resumed, Freisleben escaped the inning unscathed. When the Cardinals took the field for the bottom of the seventh, Rick Bosetti replaced Brock in left field. Brock left the field to a standing ovation from Padres fans.

“It just shows how much he’s appreciated in the sports world,” Padres manager Alvin Dark said. “It shows you don’t have to be at home to be appreciated. When you’re a great athlete and a great person, it doesn’t matter what town you’re in. People appreciate you.”[8]

Of course, the Cardinals and Padres still had a game to complete. Urrea led off the eighth by walking Gene Tenace. Cardinals manager Vern Rapp called on Al Hrabosky as part of a double-switch, and Hrabosky retired the first two batters he faced. With two outs, however, Padres third baseman Mike Ivie hit a two-run home run to left field to put San Diego ahead, 4-3.

In the ninth, the Padres turned to future Hall of Fame closer Rollie Fingers, who earned his 29^th save of the season with a scoreless frame. Rapp, whose Cardinals had just lost their fifth consecutive game, slammed the door to his office so hard that it jammed and stadium employees had to help him get it back open.[9]

Nonetheless, the day belonged to Brock and his legacy.

“I think a lot of Lou Brock as a ballplayer and a man,” said Hank Aaron. “You know, what a lot of people don’t realize is that he’s such a great hitter. There isn’t anybody yet who’s invented a way to steal first base, and he didn’t walk very much so you know he was hitting his way on there.

“I’ve seen people who could run faster, but none who studied the pitchers better or stole bases better. I still believe that if Lou wanted to, he could still lead the league.”[10]

Meanwhile, Cobb’s only surviving son, James Cobb, admitted he was hoping Brock somehow wouldn’t pass his father.

“I was kind of wishing he would fall into a ditch or something, but there was nothing I could do about it,” James Cobb said with a chuckle. “I hated to see it happen, but records are made to be broken. Congratulate him for me. We’re just glad he plays in the National League so my father still has the American League record.”[11]

Brock retired following the 1979 season with 938 career stolen bases to go along with 3,023 hits and a .293 career batting average. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.

In 1991, Rickey Henderson stole his 939^th career base to claim Brock’s total on his way to 1,406 career steals.

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[1] Joseph Wancho, “August 29, 1977: Lou Brock passes Ty Cobb as MLB’s stolen-base king,” Society for American Baseball Research, https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/august-29-1977-lou-brock-passes-ty-cobb-as-mlbs-stolen-base-king.

[2] Dick Kaegel, “Brock Steals Base No. 893,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 30, 1977.

[3] Dick Kaegel, “Brock Steals Base No. 893,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 30, 1977.

[4] Dick Kaegel, “Brock Steals Base No. 893,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 30, 1977.

[5] Dick Kaegel, “Brock, Man Of The Hour, Proves To Be Quite A Man,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 30, 1977.

[6] Dick Kaegel, “Brock Steals Base No. 893,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 30, 1977.

[7] Dick Kaegel, “Brock Steals Base No. 893,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 30, 1977.

[8] Dick Kaegel, “Brock Steals Base No. 893,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 30, 1977.

[9] Dick Kaegel, “Rapp Finds Defeat Is A Door-Slammer,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 30, 1977.

[10] Rick Hummel, “And The Praises Poured In … From Aaron …” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 30, 1977.

[11] Rick Hummel, “And The Praises Poured In … From Cobb’s Children …” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 30, 1977.

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