Famous Fall Classics #1

The drama and excitement of big league baseball's fall classic is at your fingertips ANYTIME, with the "Famous Fall Classics" card sets for HISTORY MAKER BASEBALL! With this set you get both teams from eight memorable fall classic match ups--sixteen vintage teams from baseball's past autumn glory, yours to enjoy again and again! Here's a capsule summary of each season's match-up…

1947A New York vs. 1947N Brooklyn: With both clubs winning their respective pennants with relative ease, New York and Brooklyn met in a classic trans-Gotham series that went the full seven games. New York won the first two games, before getting out-slugged 9-8 in the third. Game four was almost a New York no-hitter, but Brooklyn not only broke that up with two outs in the ninth, they plated the winning run off a last-gasp double, knotting the series at two games apiece. Following that, the clubs traded wins and losses, and the series ended with New York's 5-2 win in game seven. The first de-segregated fall classic, featuring Brooklyn's legendary "42!"

1954A Cleveland vs. 1954N New York: Cleveland stormed through the '54 season like no team ever had, racking up a record 111 wins with timely hitting and a star-studded pitching staff bolstered by a couple of rookie whiz-kids. New York headed to the series led by the "Say Hey" kid's 41 home runs and 110 RBI, and an equally impressive pitching staff. Amazingly, the series lasted only four games: a New York sweep, thanks to the aforementioned "kid's" heroics, both at the plate and in the field, giving the senior circuit its first series win in over a decade.

1965A Minnesota vs. 1965N Los Angeles: Making its first appearance in the fall classic since being transplanted in the Twin Cities, Minnesota won the junior circuit pennant with an explosive set of bats that displayed plenty of power. Los Angeles was the opposite: it had a pop-gun offense, but a pitching staff which delivered consistently great performances. L.A. had baseball's two best pitchers, and plenty of support for them from the bullpen, when needed, which was rarely. With that kind of pitching, Los Angeles went in the series heavy favorites, but Minnesota stunned the baseball world by winning games one and two. L.A. settled down to win three of the next four, though, then got a game-seven pitching gem--a shut-out win that claimed baseball's championship for the boys in blue.

1968A Detroit vs. 1968N St. Louis: The "Year of the Pitcher" concluded with a series that featured a Detroit team led by baseball's first 30-game winner since the 1930s, and a St. Louis squad whose headline-making hurler set a new record-low 1.12 ERA in recording 28 complete games and 22 wins, 13 of them shutouts. The St.Louis ace set records in the series, too--striking out 17 Detroit batters in a game one win. St. Louis went on to take a 3-1 series lead, but Detroit roared back to win three straight and take the series in seven games.

1971A Baltimore vs. 1971N Pittsburgh: Baltimore made its third straight series appearance, with an established club that featured big bats, brilliant fielding, and a pitching staff with four 20-game winners. Their series opponent was a Pittsburgh club deep in pitchers and long on power and heart. With their HOF right fielder ripping hits at a better than .400 clip, Pittsburgh bounced back from an 0-2 deficit to win the series in seven games. But it wasn't easy: the O's took game six in extra innings to force the series to the limit, and the Bucs needed everything they had to eke out the 2-1 series-clinching win.

1972A Oakland vs. 1972N Cincinnati: Seemingly more famous for their facial hair than for their baseball skills, Oakland's moustachioed crew delivered the franchise's first pennant since 1931. Oakland had one of the league's top pitching staffs, plenty of oomph in the offense and zip on the base paths. Cincinnati had a roster dotted with future hall of famers, and featured a club similar to Oakland's, without the mustaches. The result was a classic series that went the full seven games, with six of them decided by a single run. Game seven was one of those one-run thrillers--a 3-2 championship-clinching victory for Oakland's green and gold. A great series featuring two 1970s dynasties.

1985A Kansas City vs. 1985N St. Louis: This series was an instant classic, not only because of the geographical proximity of the two teams. Many experts had projected St. Louis to be in the league basement at season's end, but the Birds responded by consistently delivering speed, defense and pitching to edge Pittsburgh for the division and then defeat Los Angeles for the pennant. Kansas City was similarly lightly-regarded, but scratched out the division title winning a season-ending series against California and then knocked off Toronto, the club with the league's best record, aided greatly by a sudden, stubborn Toronto batting slump. This confluence of events produced the "I-70 Series," which went seven games and was notable for multiple pitching gems. In the seventh game, though, the story was offense as Kansas City broke loose for eleven runs in the first five innings enroute to an 11-0 series-ending win.

1986A Boston vs. 1986N New York: This was the capstone series of a post-season marked by non-stop drama. Boston was left for dead in the league championship series, down three games to one to California, and trailing 5-2 entering the ninth inning of game five. Somehow, Boston came back to win the game, 6-5, and the next two games of the series. New York had survived a difficult series of its own, against Houston, winning the last two games in extra innings. That set the stage for what followed: one of the most memorable fall classics ever played. Each team won two games at the other team's ball park. Boston won game five, and led game six by two runs in the bottom of the 10th, needing only a single out to pop open the champagne. Alas, New York put together a string of hits, tied the game, and then won it on a slow roller that inexplicably passed through the legs of the Boston first baseman. Game seven featured another come-from-behind New York win, and the series ended with the New Yorkers enjoying the champagne shower instead of the Bostonians.

Everything you need to re-live each of these great series is HERE, in two great vintage baseball-lover's packages! In each collection, you get 27 cards for each of the sixteen teams--over 400 cards in all, PLUS, you also get individual cards for each of the series' actual umpires, as well as ball park cards and suggested batting orders.