The 1984 World Series began on October 9 and ended on October 14, 1984….when the American League champion Detroit Tigers took on the National League champion San Diego Padres….which ended with the Tigers winning the series four games to one….for the city of Detroit’s first sports championship since the Tigers themselves won the 1968 World Series.
This was the first World Series that Peter Ueberroth presided over as commissioner….which began his tenure on October 1,,,,after succeeding Bowie Kuhn…..as Ueberroth had been elected as Kuhn’s successor prior to the 1984 season….but did not take over until the postseason…..as he was serving as the chairman of the 1984 Summer Olympics…..which ran from July 28 through August 12.
Our memorabilia section here at ImaSportsphile showcases a signed letter from Peter Ueberroth thanking Bone Daddy for his purchase of his 1984 Los Angeles Olympic tickets….and while you are there….you ought to take a look at our 1984 Olympic collection….it’s pretty incredible, since our Bone Daddy, the original Sportsphile, was as he puts it “on a mission from God”…..when he attended a live event of each and every sport that was competed at the 1984 Summer Games…..while setting an “Olympic fan record that can only be tied….never broken”….and we have his tickets, t-shirts, pins, programs and souvenirs in our memorabilia section….which just goes to show you what a Sportsphile is all about.
In Game 2, Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell and Kirk Gibson hit consecutive singles to lead off the top of the 1st and put the Tigers up 1–0….then after Gibson stole 2nd….and Trammell scored on Lance Parrish’s sacrifice fly….then Darrell Evans’s RBI single made it 3–0 Tigers. Padre stater Ed Whitson was pulled after just 2/3 innings….when In the bottom of the inning, the Padres cut the lead to 3–1 on Graig Nettles’s sacrifice fly….then in the 4th, Bobby Brown’s RBI groundout made it 3 – 2 Tigers….and Padres Kurt Bevacqua drove in the winning runs with a three-run home run in the 5th inning off Dan Petry…..which evened the series at 1 – 1.
To date, this remains the only World Series victory in Padres history….as P Andy Hawkins earned the win with 5 1/3 shutout innings….while Craig Lefferts pitched a three-inning save.
Game 2 at Jack Murphy Stadium marked the last MLB playoff game to date where the DH was used in a National League ballpark. Since then, any World Series game in an American League park uses the DH , while pitchers bat in the NL parks.
