October 9 is a pretty important day in the baseball career of Dave McNally.
After not making it out of the third inning of as the game one starter for the Baltimore Orioles in the 1966 World Series, McNally responded in his next effort.
McNally was the winning pitcher in the clinching contest as the Orioles swept the Los Angeles Dodgers to win their first championship on Oct. 9.
In game four, the 23-year old limited the Dodgers with four hits as the Orioles won 1-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.
A home run in the fourth inning by series Most Valuable Player Frank Robinson of Dodgers right-hander Don Drysdale backed up McNally’s performance on the mound.
The Montana native struck out four and walked two, while Lou Johnson got the first hit for the Dodgers in the fourth frame.
Dave McNally was on this Topps card.
A Better Opener
Five years to day, McNally was back on the Memorial Stadium mound in the 1971 World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates as the starter in the opener.
McNally survived surrendering three unearned runs in the second inning to earn the complete game victory in a 5-3 decision over the Pirates.
Robinson got the Orioles on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second with a solo homer.
One inning later, Merv Rettenmund blasted a three-run shot to put the Orioles in front to stay. McNally allowed three hits and fanned nine with a pair of walks.
Post-Season Success
Overall against the Pirates, McNally lost his next start in game five. However, he picked up a win out of the bullpen in game six as the Orioles won 3-2 in 10 innings to force a seventh contest, which the Pirates won to take the title.
In his post-season career, McNally was 7-4 in 14 appearances with a 2.49 ERA and six complete games. In addition to the 1966 world championship, the Orioles beat the Cincinnati Reds in the 1970 World Series.
McNally turned in another shutout during the 1969 AL playoffs in a 1-0 win over the Minnesota Twins. He worked all 11 innings of the contest as he gave up three hits with 11 strikeouts. He also pitched in the the World Series against the New York Mets in 1969. He also appeared in the AL playoffs in 1973 and 1974.
At the plate, McNally also had a memorable moment in 1970 as he became the only pitcher to hit a grand slam in a World Series when he connected off Cincinnati’s Wayne Granger during a 9-3 victory by the Orioles in the third game. Ironically, the only other grand slam in the post-season by a pitcher was by McNally’s teammate Mike Cuellar during the 1970 AL playoffs against the Twins.
McNally’s Resume
A three-time all-star, McNally was 181-113 in his 13 years with the Orioles from 1962 to 1974. He finished his time on the majors with the Montreal Expos in 1975 when he went 3-6.
From 1968 to 1971, the left-hander won over 20 games each season. McNally’s best year was in 1970 when he led the American League with a 24-9 record as he was second in the Cy Young Award voting to Jim Perry (24-12) of the Twins.
At the end of his career, McNally became a part of baseball history in 1975 when Peter Seitz decided in favor of him and fellow pitcher Andy Messersmith, which ended the reserve clause and set stage for free agency.