Buchholz no-hitter stirs up memories of ’67 season

I couldn’t help thinking about another rookie pitcher for the Boston Red Sox as I watched Clay Buchholz finish off the Baltimore Orioles in his no-hitter Saturday night.

Heck, that kid, Billy Rohr, who spun his near gem, a 1-hitter in the storied 1967 season, proved to be an April foreshadowing of great things to come in the “Impossible Dream” year.

Collectively, fans had suffered through another woeful performance in 1966 – the team finished 72-90, in a dismal 9th place – but we did see some hope.

Back then, I was beginning to make the transition from junior high to high school, no small deal for a young boy. The Bangor High School complex, which opened in 1965, seemed huge to all of us Fifth-Streeters, who were headed there in the fall.

And, 1967 meant picking up our beloved Sox in September once the first school bell rang. Baseball games were followed on the radio, for the most part, and television was a weekend extravaganza.

NBC’s Game of the Week was a real treat, primarily because of former St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Dizzy Dean, who did color commentary. And when the Sox were on TV, it was like the 4th of July.

The 1967 Sox boasted such stalwarts as left fielder Carl Yastrzemski, who would have a Triple Crown season, batting .326, hitting 44 homeruns, while driving in 121. Yaz seemed to always be getting the game-winning hit. In addition to his hitting, Carl seemed to catch anything hit his way. One of the 1966 stars, outfielder Tony Conigliaro, who hit .265 and drove 28 home runs over the fence, was beaned in August of the ’67 campaign. Until that fateful night in Boston, Tony C. had hit .287 with 20 homers.

But a funny thing happened to the Red Sox at that point. A cocky right fielder named Ken Harrelson helped pick up the slack, and the team maintained its balance, winning the league title on the last day.

Another reason for the revisal of the storied franchise was the pitching of gentleman Jim Lonborg.

The future dentist would improve upon a 10-10 season in 1966 with a 3.86 ERA, to a stellar 22-9 won-loss record in the pennant-winning year, garnering a nifty 3.16 ERA in ’67, no small feat in the tiny bandbox which is Fenway Park.

What I remember most about that Impossible Dream season is how all of New England took to the Sox.

If you follow this space, then you know I am not overjoyed with all this Red Sox Nation stuff. It’s hype, and I really wish the owners would drop “the Nation” and concentrate more on fundamental baseball. Shows such as Sox Appeal and other related poppycock add little to the proceedings. Granted, money is made off such stuff, but as an old school fan, I long for the days when baseball was the centerpiece on Yawkey Way.

The 1967 Red Sox lost a heartbreaking World Series to the highly-regarded St. Louis Cardinals. I was not alive in 1946, the last time the team played in the Fall Classic against the Cardinals, also. The hoopla surrounding the ’67 Series was incredible, and for my money, rivaled anything displayed today by the so-called “Nation.”

Today’s version of the Old Towne Team is certainly more expensive than the ’67 version. There are days I miss the old teams. Baseball has always been a game for the radio. Sunday afternoon drives and cookouts with my dad were always Red Sox oriented.

I have many fond memories of falling asleep in the back of his big Oldsmobile to sounds of Curt Gowdy and Ned Martin’s splendid summer lullaby: the crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, and those two melodious voices.

My father had Williams and Doerr. I had Yaz and Mike Andrews, but we both had what were the sounds of summer for generations of Red Sox fans.

And the aforementioned Rohr? He finished his career with just three wins. But if Buchholz’s gem foreshadows another World Series appearance, I’ll take it.

BDN columnist Ron Brown, a retired high school basketball coach, can be reached at bdnsports@bangordailynews.net