Man, if only Twitter had been around on the afternoon of Oct. 10, 1926. If only talk radio had been invented. If only the sportswriters who stuffed the press box at old Yankee Stadium had been able to convert their typewriters into laptops for an afternoon, the better to field a million angry screeds.
This was the day Game 7 first arrived in New York City, the moment we (or our great-grandfathers, anyway) first learned the pull and the appeal and the schizophrenic emotions of the Ultimate Game: Cardinals versus Yankees, three games apiece, one game for all the proverbial marbles.
The old baseball Giants had tried to play one 14 years earlier, but thanks to a tie earlier in the Fall Classic, Game 7 with the Red Sox had really been Game 6, and Game 8 was really Game 7, and, well, it had never happened before so nobody really knew they were missing anything in 1912.
In ’26, they understood. In the seventh inning, they saw Grover Cleveland Alexander — Ol’ Pete, probably hungover, certainly exhausted after throwing a complete game the day before — trudge in from the bullpen, bases loaded, and strike out Tony Lazzeri, one of the iconic moments in baseball lore.
But the crazy stuff was still ahead: two outs, bottom of the ninth, the Cards still clinging to a 3-2 lead, when Alexander walked Babe Ruth. Up stepped Bob Meusel, with Lou Gehrig waiting on deck, the Yankees ready to flash some five o’clock lightning, ready to rally …
… and then Ruth took off for second …
… and Cardinals catcher Bob O’Farrell gunned him down …
… and, well, it’s hard to even fathom what that would be like now, if Babe Ruth (or Daniel Murphy, or Didi Gregorius) ever got thrown out ending game 75 in June, let alone Game 7 in October. It’s amazing the Internet doesn’t occasionally break retroactively in tribute just thinking about it.
That was 89 years and 71 New York Game 7s ago. Friday, we will get the 73rd Game 7 ever contested in our area, and it will involve the Rangers, who have one of the most unusual relationships with Game 7 you can have. For their first 66 years the Rangers never won a Game 7. Since breaking that streak in 1992, they are 9-1, and they have won all seven played at Madison Square Garden.
They are, in fact, the one team New York City would most like to see play a Game 7 because they are by far the most proficient at it, 9-5 overall, their 14 Game 7s second only to the Knicks’ 15 (they’re 7-8) and tied with the Devils (who are 7-7).
The Yankees? For all their many postseason Octobers, they have only had 13 series that have gone the full seven, and they’ve lost seven of them — often in bizarre (have we mentioned Babe Ruth’s Series-ending gaffe?) or excruciating (hello, Bill Mazeroski!) or heart-rending (two words: Luis Gonzalez) or historic (Who’s a Bum!) fashion. Does Aaron Boone offset that? Ask a Yankees fan near you.
But, really, that’s what Game 7 is supposed to be about, regardless of sport, regardless of season, exploring the essence of your fandom, its jarring depths and dizzying heights, often in the same hour. You can only hope the range evens out over times, over the years.
So if you are a Mets fan, while you still shudder about the Endy Chavez Game, you are also entitled to revel in 1986, when Game 7 provided a necessary epilogue to Game 6. If you are a Knicks fan, the memory of Patrick Ewing’s blown finger roll can be offset by his clinching dunk a year earlier (or, if you’re old enough, to May 8, 1970, the Captain limping out of the tunnel and the home team thrashing the Lakers). If you are a Devils fan, the Matteau Game can evaporate over memories of winning the ’03 Cup on home ice.
Yes, it’s true, the two most recent dynasties to call our area home — the Yankees of 1996-2000 and the Islanders of 1980-83 — never once had to endure a Game 7. Maybe you prefer your spectating that way. You probably have stronger cuticles, a healthier stomach and fewer scars to show.
But also fewer stories to tell. And, depending on how it ends Friday night, a little less fury to expel — or joy to exude. Only Game 7 gives us that. Seventy-two times we’ve gone through that wonderful wringer. Clear a path for No. 73. Stock up on the Rolaids and the Maalox. And enjoy the hell out of it.
Seven great Game 7s
1955 World Series: Dodgers 2, Yankees 0
Next Year finally arrives in Brooklyn, less than two years before the Dodgers would abandon the borough. Johnny Podres’ arm and Sandy Amoros’ glove bring the Bums their only East Coast championship in seven tries against the Yankees.
1970 NBA Finals: Knicks 113, Lakers 99
Hobbling captain Willis Reed only makes two baskets but they are an emotional lift; Clyde Frazier takes over from there, and his 36 points and 19 assists carry the Knicks to their first title.
1986 World Series: Mets 8, Red Sox 5
Though not as epic as the Game 6 that precedes it, the Mets spot the Red Sox three runs and need a dramatic rally in the sixth inning, as Ray Knight’s go-ahead homer in the seventh finally muffles the Sox.
1994 Stanley Cup semifinals: Rangers 2, Devils 1 (2 OT)
After all the ghosts and goblins of 54 years conspire to help the Devils tie the game just before the end of regulation, Stephane Matteau’s wraparound beats Martin Brodeur and sets off a forever celebration at the Garden.
1994 NBA Eastern Conference finals: Knicks 94, Pacers 90
Patrick Ewing dunks a John Starks miss with 26.9 seconds left, holds his breath as Reggie Miller can’t get a good look, then climbs on the scorer’s table in his signature game (24 points, 22 rebounds) as a pro.
1994 Stanley Cup finals: Rangers 3, Canucks 2
The famous sign says it all: “Now I Can Die in Peace.” The Rangers had a chance to wrap the series in five, but if the wait was going to end at all it seemed right that it should end in a Game 7.
2003 AL Championship Series: Yankees 6, Red Sox 5
Trailing Pedro Martinez by three runs with five outs to go, the Yankees engineer one of the truly remarkable comebacks of all time, capped by Aaron Boone taking Tim Wakefield deep in the bottom of the 11th.