Happy 513 Day, Cincinnati!

The 1975 World Series Champions, the Cincinnati Reds, were the best baseball team ever. They were 108-54 in the regular season, they swept the Pittsburgh Pirates for the National League Pennant, and won the greatest World Series of all time in seven games against the Boston Red Sox. The Reds were 64-17 at home in Riverfront Stadium, which is still a National League record.

The Lineup of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds

Catcher: Johnny Bench

First Base: Tony Perez

Second Base: Joe Morgan

Shortstop: Dave Concepcion

Third Base: Pete Rose

Left Field: George Foster

Center Field: Cesar Geronimo

Right Field: Ken Griffey Sr.

Pitchers: Don Gullet, Jack Billingham, Gary Nolan, and more.

Manager: Sparky Anderson

Hitting Coach: Ted Kluszewski

I could write an article about each and every one of these guys, so for now I’ll stick to the highlights of 1975. Bench led the team in home runs with 28 and RBIs with 110 and was an All-Star. Perez was right behind him with 20 homers and 109 RBIs and was also an All-Star. Morgan was an All-Star and the National League MVP, batting .327 with 163 hits, 17 home runs, and 94 RBIs. Concepcion was an All-Star starter at shortstop. Foster batted .300 and had 23 home runs. Griffey batted .305. Geronimo saved his best for the postseason with two home runs against Boston. All eight starters had at least 129 hits that season.

The 1975 World Series

The Reds took the World Series in Game 7 in Boston from the Red Sox. Everyone always liked to talk about Boston’s Game 6 win (so much so that sometimes you wouldn’t know who won the Series). Game 7 was even more impressive. The Reds were down 3-0 going into the sixth inning. Tony Perez hit a home run over the Green Monster (take that Fisk!) with Johnny Bench on second to get the Reds back in the game and make the score 3-2. The Reds tied it in the seventh when Griffey scored. They took the lead and the win in the ninth when Joe Morgan would knock in the winning run again (he’d done so in Game 3). The Reds would retire Boston 1, 2, 3 in the bottom of the ninth and win the World Championship.

A Cincinnati Reds Family

While the ’75 Reds were before my time, the connection and fun the Big Red Machine gave my family and me stretched on for generations. My grandmother and I would talk about who was a better shortstop, ’75 Concepcion or ’90 Barry Larkin. I’d speak of Eric Davis and Paul O’Neill, and grandma would talk about George Foster and Johnny Bench. Grandpa would tell his WWII buddies in their unit newsletter about the Reds and farming tomatoes. My grandpa, on the other side of the family, went with my dad, uncle, and oldest brother to spring training in Florida and got most of the team to autograph a baseball for my brother. My folks have talked about the games they got to go to at Riverfront Stadium.

I remember collecting the baseball cards of Bench, Perez, Morgan, Concepcion, Rose, Griffey Sr., Geronimo, Foster, Anderson, and Gullet. That was no small feat for a ’90s kid whose only income was mowing lawns. Some of my most prized possessions are books and memorabilia they gave me commemorating that team. Big Red Machine baseball went beyond the diamond and was and is about family.

This 513 Day is about celebrating the 50^th Anniversary of the greatest team in baseball and their impact on Cincinnati, Ohio and Cincinnatians across time. The fun and memories they brought to families and a truly great city. Happy 513 Day! I look forward to making this an annual article covering the likes of the best of Cincinnati’s teams like the Reds, Bengals, and Bearcats and the legacy of sports in the Queen City.

Here’s where you can see all seven games of the 1975 World Series