Boog Powell, 1994 Upper Deck All-Time Heroes #195

On this date in 1966, the Orioles wrenched victory from the jaws of defeat with some timely pinch hitting. It was a run-of-the-mill Friday game pitting the first-place Orioles against the tenth-place Red Sox, and only 13,657 fans turned out to Memorial Stadium to witness it. They didn't have much to cheer about through eight and a half innings, as Boston pitcher Lee Stange had scattered six singles and a pair of walks while striking out only one batter. John Miller was even better for the O's, yielding just three singles and two walks and striking out seven. But the Sox bunched their runners together and scraped together single runs in the eighth and ninth innings, positioning Miller for a hard-luck loss.

With catcher Larry Haney and reliever Eddie Fisher due up against Stange in the last half of the ninth, manager Hank Bauer called upon his reserves. First he sent another catcher, Vic Roznovsky, up to bat for Haney. The result was a pinch-hit home run, spoiling the shutout. Bauer's next move was a true no-brainer. Curt Blefary had started the game for the Birds at first base, leaving Boog Powell free to bat in the pitcher's spot representing the tying run. Next thing you know, BOOM, the ball was gone, the game was tied, and Stange had been pulled. It was only the third time in major league history that two pinch hitters had slugged back-to-back home runs. The Orioles loaded the bases against reliever Don McMahon with one out, but Russ Snyder was forced at home on a Blefary grounder and Bob Johnson popped out to send it to extra innings.

Finally, in the bottom of the 12th, the O's were victorious against Boston relievers Dan Osinski and Jose Santiago. Paul Blair led off with a single, Roznovsky (who had stayed in to catch) bunted him to second, Boog was intentionally walked, and Luis Aparicio earned a free pass to load the bases. Santiago was summoned from the bullpen and promptly gave up the walkoff single to Snyder. Baltimore won 3-2 and extended their considerable lead over the second-place Tigers to 12.5 games. And so few were there to see it all happen!