classic anniversaries

Looking back while we count down to the first pitch of the 2024 World Series: Forty years ago this month, a pair of Mississippi natives stood tall on the game’s biggest stage. Jackson native Chet Lemon and Sunflower’s Larry Herndon, playing center and left field, respectively, helped Detroit beat San Diego in five games to win the 1984 World Series. Lemon batted .299 and Herndon .335 with a homer for the Tigers, who have not won the Fall Classic since. … Drift back to 1934: Adopted Mississippian Dizzy Dean won Games 1 and 7 for St. Louis — the Gas House Gang — in a classic Series against Detroit. Gulfport native Gerald “Gee” Walker, 1-for-3 in the Series for Detroit, delivered a game-tying pinch single in the ninth inning of Game 2 and the Tigers went on to win in 12. … Fifty years ago, Belzoni’s Herb Washington — the so-called designated runner who stole 29 bases in 1974 — made three Series appearances for Oakland, getting no bags and scoring no runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was picked off in the ninth inning of Game 2, the only game the Dodgers won. He was released in 1975. … Twenty-five years ago, there was the curious case of Howard Battle, the Ocean Springs product who surprisingly made Atlanta’s postseason roster after playing very little in the regular season. In Game 1 against the New York Yankees — who swept the Braves in four — Battle was announced as a pinch hitter, then replaced when the Yankees changed pitchers. It was his last appearance in an MLB box score. … In 2004, Boston famously ended the Curse of the Bambino by sweeping St. Louis. There were no Mississippians on the Red Sox’s postseason roster, but two played for them that season and got rings: Vicksburg native Ellis Burks and Meridian’s Jamie Brown. The 40-year-old Burks, drafted by Boston in 1983, got the honor of carrying the championship trophy off the plane when the team arrived back in Boston after clinching the Series in St. Louis. … Ten years ago, San Francisco beat Kansas City — and McComb native Jarrod Dyson — in a dramatic 7-game Series. Dyson was a quiet 2-for-10 with no runs or RBIs. The next year, he got a second chance at a ring — and got a key steal in Game 5 as the Royals eliminated the New York Mets. P.S. In the 1944 Negro League World Series, Starkville’s Cool Papa Bell, at age 41, and Greenwood’s Dave Hoskins — who pitched and played the outfield that season — helped the Homestead Grays win the title in five games over Birmingham. Hoskins, who would go on to play in MLB, went 6-for-22 with a homer, five RBIs and three runs. Bell was 6-for-24 with a triple, three RBIs, a run and two steals.