1984 World Series

The 1984 World Series began on October 9 1984 and ended October 14. The American League champion Detroit Tigers played against the National League champion San Diego Padres, winning the series 4 games to 1.

Managers: Sparky Anderson (Detroit), Dick Williams (San Diego)

Umpires: Doug Harvey (NL), Larry Barnett (AL), Bruce Froemming (NL), Rich Garcia (AL), Paul Runge (NL), Mike Reilly (AL)

Series MVP: Alan Trammell (Detroit)

Television: NBC (Vin Scully and Joe Garagiola announcing)

Game 1
October 9, 1984 at Jack Murphy Stadium (San Diego Padres) Game 1 set the tone for the contest as Mark Thurmond managed to last five innings with a 2-1 lead, but surrendered a crucial two-out, two-run homer to Larry Herndon in the fifth. Graig Nettles and Terry Kennedy both singled to open the San Diego sixth, but the Tigers' Jack Morris (a nineteen game winner) snuffed out their momentum by striking out the rest of the side. Kurt Bevacqua continued the fleeting comeback with a leadoff double in the seventh, but was thrown out at third while attempting to stretch the bases. Despite the close call, Morris remained focused and sat down the last nine remaining Padre batters for the 3-2 victory.

Game 2
October 10, 1984 at Jack Murphy Stadium (San Diego Padres)

Game 3
October 12, 1984 at Tiger Stadium (Detroit Tigers)

Game 4
October 13, 1984 at Tiger Stadium (Detroit Tigers)

Game 5
October 14, 1984 at Tiger Stadium (Detroit Tigers)

Trivia

 * The Tigers were ahead of the rest of the league since the first day of the season, leading their division wire-to-wire, winning by 15 games, then cruising through the postseason. It was one of the most dominant single-season performances of the 1980s.
 * Kurt Bevacqua hit what proved to the game-winning home run in Game 2. To date, it is the Padres' only World Series victory in franchise history.
 * This was the first World Series that Peter Ueberroth presided over as commissioner.
 * Three players set World Series hitting records during the 1984 World Series.
 * While Alan Trammell won the Sport Magazine variation of the World Series Most Valuable Player Award, Jack Morris won the Babe Ruth variation.
 * After being unceremoniously dumped by the Cincinnati Reds in 1978, Tigers manager Sparky Anderson immediately vowed that he would win a World Championship for Detroit in less than five years. Anderson would become the first manager to win a World Championship in both the American and National League.
 * 20 years after winning the 1984 World Series Most Valuable Player Award, Alan Trammell would become manager of the Detroit Tigers.
 * The 1984 World Series was a rematch between managers Sparky Anderson (Detroit) and Dick Williams (San Diego). Anderson and  Williams previously faced off in the 1972 World Series between Anderson's Cincinnati Reds and Williams' Oakland Athletics.  Incidentally, Anderson and Williams were also minor league teammates while with the Dodgers organization.
 * The 1984 World Series was a battle of sorts between the multi-million dollar American fast-food chains. Domino's Pizza founder Tom Monaghan owned the Tigers while McDonald's founder Ray Kroc, who died several months before the 1984 World Series, owned the Padres.
 * During his pivotal at-bat against Goose Gossage in Game 5, Kirk Gibson made a $10 bet (flashing ten fingers) with his manager Sparky Anderson that Gossage would pitch to him. Padres manager Dick Williams initially wanted Gossage, who had dominated Gibson in the past, to intentially walk Gibson.  Gibson and Anderson successfully called the Padres' bluff as Gibson hit a game winning three run home run in what turned out to be the clincher.
 * Tigers first baseman Darrell Evans' three-year-old son Nicky (while dressed in his Tiger uniform) went around pouring champagne down players' pants during ensuing celebration after Game 5.
 * By the time the 1984 World Series rolled around, Tiger Stadium became the oldest ballpark to ever host a World Series.
 * The 1984 Padres adopted Ray Parker Jr.'s Ghostbusters as their theme song (a la the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates using Sister Sledge's We Are Family as their theme song). During their playoff series against the Chicago Cubs, the Padre fans turned Ghostbusters into Cubbusters.  Ironically, the movie Ghostbusters starred noted Chicago Cub fan Bill Murray.
 * The University of Michigan Men's Glee Club sang the National Anthem for Game 5.

Quotes of the Series
"He don't want to walk you!" - Sparky Anderson, yelling from the dugout, urging Kirk Gibson to "swing away" at Goose Gossage's offering in the eighth inning of Game 5. Gibson got the message, and planted the next pitch deep into the right field upper deck, for a 3-run homer that essentially iced the game and the Series for the Tigers.

"This is baseball's version of New Year's Day at Times Square" - Vin Scully, describing the scene on the field at Tiger Stadium after the Tigers won Game 5 and the World Series.