*This post is part of an on-going series cataloging surviving broadcast footage from 1972.
Milt Pappas' no-hitter/near perfect game stood as a rare feat in two ways for nearly 43 years. In 1972, Pappas became the first pitcher since 1908 to lose a perfect game bid on the 27th batter without giving up a hit. Not since Hooks Wiltse's HBP in 1908 had a free base been issued to the 27th batter. The walk by Pappas would be the last of its kind until June 2015, when Max Scherzer's perfect game bid was spoiled with 26 outs by Jose Tabata's elbow pad.
Even with that inglorious drought ended, Pappas still held the distinction of throwing the most recent no-hitter in the 'friendly confines' of Wrigley Field. That feat now belongs to left hander, Cole Hamels, who no-hit the Cubs on July 25, 2015.
For Pappas, his day in the sun was near the end of a long, weird career. This eventful no-hitter was one of the final chapters in a career of prominent lowlights (being on the wrong lopsided end of the Frank Robinson to Baltimore trade/admitting to giving up Roger Maris' 59th homerun out of spite towards Ford Frick) and highlights (striking out the side on only 9 pitches).
The memorable 9th inning and more, after the jump.
*This post is part of an on-going series cataloging surviving broadcast footage from 1972 .
When rookie Burt Hooton took the mound on April 16, 1972 at Wrigley Field, he was likely just trying to solidify his spot in the Cubs pitching rotation. What he ended up doing was etched his name into the record books.
On that blustery Chicago afternoon, Hooton was not particularly sharp. While he struck out seven hitters and did not allow a hit, he issued seven walks. He also dodge a few bullets thanks to some defensive help. In fact, he may have only lived on in this game for as long as he did because manager Leo Durocher was sick and at home. After the jump, we will take a look at how much of the game survived and how a few key defensive stops made this day historic.
The charm of baseball exists in the peaks and valleys of a full season. If you catch a World Series or a playoff game, you are getting a truly small sample size. The six month scale of a season is what allows sabermetrics to have almost enough data to be relevant and allows fans to develop an opinion of their team’s players. The World Series or All-Star game does not tell us the narrative of the season. Instead, we get to hear the opinions of writers and broadcasters formulated through the lens of history, rather than as it is seen unfolding. If baseball broadcasts today were archived in the scattered manner of years past, fans 30 years from now wouldn’t get to appreciate the two month long phenomenon of Puig-mania from 2013 or other like stories that come and go during the marathon of a season.
When trying to find the most complete sampling of the oldest baseball season, it becomes a tough task with surviving baseball broadcasts. While there are a few seasons with the All-Star Game and the entire World Series (1965, 1968) very few regular season games exist to flesh out a season. Rolling back through the years, the 1972 season stands out, if for no other reason, because of the high volume of retained broadcast footage.
