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World Series Trophy (Matthew Sheppard, Wikimedia Commons)

Tonight is literally one of the greatest nights in sports. It’s Game 7. Winner takes all. For some reason, Game 7 of the World Series and Stanley Cup means more than Game 7 of the NBA Finals. But tonight either the St. Louis Cardinals or Texas Rangers will come away with a Championship.

I thought it would be a good time to take a look back in Major League Baseball online archives and look back at the previous game sevens in World Series history.

1909– Pittsburgh Pirates def. Detroit Tigers– Honus Wagner collected six stolen bases and six runs batted in during the Series. Pirates’ starting pitcher Babe Adams won three of the World Series Games, including game seven, where he threw a six hitter as Pittsburgh won 8-0. The Pirates won the 1909 World Series despite poor defense. They committed 12 errors in seven games.

1924–Washington Senators def. New York Giants–The Giants played in a record fourth consecutive World Series. In game seven, and the score 3-3 in the 12th inning, Giants third baseman Freddie Lidstrom had the ball go over his head and allowed Muddy Ruel to score the winning run. Washington won 4-3.

1925–Pittsburgh Pirates def. Washington Senators–In their first World Series win since 1909, the Pirates outslugged the Senators 9-7 in the deciding game. Played in pouring rain, this Game 7 was considered by many as the worst conditions ever for any World Series game. According to www.baseballlibrary.com, there are rumors that Kiki Cuyler’s game winning two run double in the eighth inning was foul, but the umpires couldn’t see it properly because of the heavy fog. Cuyler would later be inducted into Cooperstown in 1968. The Pirates also were the first team in baseball history to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the World Series.

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