The 1984 National League Championship Series was played between the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

and the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

from October 2 to 7. San Diego won the series three games to two to advance to the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

. It was the first postseason series ever for the Padres since the franchise's beginning in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

, and the first appearance by the Cubs in postseason play since the 1945 World Series. Chicago took a 2–0 lead in the series, but San Diego prevailed after rebounding to win three straight, which contributed to the popular mythology of the " Curse of the Billy Goat" on the Cubs. The series was the 16th

NLCS The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two National ...

in all -- in 1985 the League Championship Series changed to a best-of-seven format -- and one of only four League Championship Series (and the first of two NLCSs) in which the home team won every game. Due to a strike by major league umpires, the first four games of the NLCS were played with replacement umpires. The umpires originally scheduled to work the series were John Kibler, Frank Pulli, Harry Wendelstedt, Ed Montague,

Billy Williams Billy Leo Williams (born June 15, 1938) is a former left fielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from 1959 to 1976, almost entirely for the Chicago Cubs. A six-time All-Star, Williams was named the 1961 National League (NL) ...

and

Bob Engel Robert Allen Engel (October 11, 1933 – March 5, 2018) was an American professional baseball umpire who worked in the National League from 1965 to 1990. Engel wore uniform number 5 for most of his career. A former president of the umpires unio ...

. Kibler worked Game 5 behind the plate with fellow veterans Paul Runge, John McSherry and Doug Harvey.

Summary

San Diego Padres vs. Chicago Cubs

Game summaries

Game 1

Tuesday, October 2, 1984, at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Bob Dernier Robert Eugene Dernier (born January 5, 1957), also known as "Bobby", is an American former professional baseball center fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs, in the 1980s. The fleet-afoo ...

and Gary Matthews hit home runs in the first off Eric Show, then

Rick Sutcliffe Richard Lee Sutcliffe (born June 21, 1956), nicknamed "The Red Baron", is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Cardinals between 1976 and ...

also homered in the third. Later that inning, after a walk, single and fly out, Leon Durham's single and Keith Moreland's sacrifice fly scored a run each. The Cubs then blew the game open in the fifth off Greg Harris. A leadoff double and walk was followed by Matthews's three-run home run, then after a one-out walk and single, Jody Davis's single and Larry Bowa's groundout scored a run each. A walk and single loaded the bases before Ryne Sandberg's RBI single made it 11–0 Cubs. Next inning, Ron Cey's two-out home run off Harris made it 12–0 Cubs, then Davis doubled and scored the last run of the game on Bowa's single. Starting pitcher

held the Padres to two hits over seven strong innings. The Cubs took a 1-0 series lead in a shutout Game 1. This was the Cubs' first postseason win and appearance since Game 7 of the 1945 World Series.

Game 2

Wednesday, October 3, 1984, at

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Chicago's offense was considerably more subdued in Game 2, though their pitching remained almost as strong. Dernier again opened the scoring for the Cubs in the first off Mark Thurmond, singling to left and coming around to score on two groundouts. In the third, Keith Moreland singled with one out and scored on a double by Ron Cey, who moved to third on the throw to home and scored on Jody Davis's sacrifice fly. San Diego got one back in the fourth when Tony Gwynn doubled, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on a sacrifice fly by

Kevin McReynolds Walter Kevin McReynolds (born October 16, 1959) is an American former baseball player who was an outfielder with a 12-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1983 to 1994. A two-time All-America from the University of Arkansas, he played ...

off

Steve Trout Steven Russell Trout (born July 30, 1957) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played Major League Baseball (MLB) during the 1980s. He is the son of former MLB pitcher Dizzy Trout. He had the nickname " Rainbow". Career Chic ...

. But Chicago answered in the bottom of the fourth when Ryne Sandberg doubled in Dernier. San Diego cut the lead to 4–2 in the sixth when

Alan Wiggins Alan Anthony Wiggins (February 17, 1958 – January 6, 1991) was an American professional baseball player. He was a second baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and Baltimore Orioles between 1981 and 198 ...

walked with one out, moved to second on a groundout, and scored on a single by Steve Garvey, but the Padres could get no closer against the strong pitching of

. Lee Smith came on with one out in the ninth to get the save, and the Cubs were just one victory away from the World Series. The Cubs victory in Game 2 had Chicago's long-suffering fans dreaming of the franchise's first World Series championship since 1908, as they led the series 2-0.

Game 3

Thursday, October 4, 1984, at

Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadi ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

The series moved to San Diego, and the Padres staved off elimination with a convincing 7–1 win. During pregame ceremonies, the normally reserved Padres shortstop Garry Templeton encouraged the crowd by waving his cap. He ended a Cubs' rally in the first inning with an acrobatic catch of a line drive from Leon Durham. However, San Diego actually fell behind 1–0 in the second when Chicago's Keith Moreland doubled and came home on Cey's single to center. The Cubs threatened to score more that inning, but Templeton made another excellent play, diving to his right on a line drive from Dernier that appeared destined for left field. But the Cubs would get no more off Padres starter Ed Whitson, while San Diego's bats finally came to life with seven runs in the fifth and sixth off of

Dennis Eckersley Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3, 1954), nicknamed "Eck", is an American professional baseball pitcher and former color commentator. Between 1975 and 1998, he pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, ...

. Terry Kennedy and

led off the fifth with back-to-back singles, then scored on Garry Templeton's double, giving San Diego their first lead of the series at 2–1. One out later, Templeton scored on

's single to make it 3–1 Padres. Next inning, Tony Gwynn hit a leadoff single, moved to second on a groundout and scored on Graig Nettles's single.

George Frazier George Francis Frazier Jr. (June 10, 1911 – June 13, 1974) was an American journalist. Frazier was raised in South Boston, attended the Boston Latin School, and was graduated from Harvard College (where he won the Boylston Prize for Rhetoric) in ...

relieved Eckersley and allowed a single to Kennedy before McReynolds's three-run home run gave the Padres a commanding 7–1 lead.

Rich Gossage Richard Michael "Goose" Gossage (born July 5, 1951) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1972 and 1994. He pitched for nine different teams, spending his best years with the New York ...

pitched a dominating ninth inning to wrap up the win for San Diego, their first postseason win in franchise history. "It was the loudest crowd I've ever heard anywhere", said Gossage, a former New York Yankee. Gwynn agreed as well.

played "Cub-Busters", a parody of the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

from the 1984 movie '' Ghostbusters''. Cub-Busters T-shirts inspired from the movie were popular attire for Padres fans. Prior to the game, fans in the parking lot were lynching teddy bears, and singing the "We ain't 'fraid o' no Cubs" lyrics from "Cub-Busters".

Game 4

Saturday, October 6, 1984, at

Game 4 proved to be the most dramatic of the series, and it left many Cubs fans dreading another harsh disappointment for the franchise nicknamed the " lovable losers." The Padres jumped out to a 2–0 lead in the third off of Scott Sanderson on a sacrifice fly from Tony Gwynn with two on followed by a run-scoring double from Steve Garvey, but the Cubs took the lead in the fourth off of Tim Lollar on a two-run homer by Jody Davis after a leadoff walk followed by a shot by Leon Durham, who would later suffer ignominy in Game 5. The Padres tied the game in the fifth on an RBI single from Garvey, and took the lead in the seventh when Garvey singled in yet another run after two walks by Tim Stoddard. A passed ball allowed a second tally in the inning to make the score 5–3 San Diego. The Cubs bounced back in the eighth to tie the game off of

when Ryne Sandberg hit a leadoff single, stole second, and scored on an RBI single by Keith Moreland. Right fielder

Henry Cotto Henry Cotto (born January 5, 1961) is a former professional baseball outfielder. He played all or parts of ten seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1984 until 1993. He also played one season in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants in 1994, winning t ...

pinch-ran for Moreland and scored on an RBI double from Davis. With dominating closer Lee Smith on the mound for the Cubs in the bottom of the ninth, Gwynn singled to center with one out. Garvey then capped an extraordinary five-RBI game by launching a two-run walk-off home run to right center field at the 370 sign, just out of reach of leaping Cubs right fielder

. Previously, he had been hitless against Smith in eight career at bats. During the game, the Padres lost McReynolds for the season after he broke his wrist trying to break up a

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Lea ...

Game 5

Sunday, October 7, 1984, at

Leon Durham hit a two-run homer in the first after a two-out walk and Jody Davis added a homer in the second to give the Cubs a 3–0 lead off of Padres' starter Eric Show.

, who was 17–1 since joining Chicago in a mid-June trade, and had also beaten the Padres twice in the regular season, allowed just two infield hits through five innings. However, two singles and a walk loaded the bases with no outs for San Diego in the sixth before back-to-back sacrifice flies by Graig Nettles and Terry Kennedy cut the Cubs lead to 3–2. In the bottom of the seventh,

Carmelo Martínez Carmelo Martínez Salgado (born July 28, 1960) is a former professional baseball player who has been a member of the Chicago Cubs organization since 1997. He played all or part of nine seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily as a first basema ...

led off the inning with a walk on four pitches from Sutcliffe and was sacrificed to second by Garry Templeton. Martínez scored when

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...

Tim Flannery Timothy Fridtjof Flannery (born 28 January 1956) is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist, conservationist, explorer, author, science communicator, activist and public scientist. He was awarded Australian of the Yea ...

's sharp grounder went under Durham's glove and through his legs for an error.

singled Flannery to second. Gwynn followed with a hard grounder at Sandberg's feet, which the second baseman expect to stay low, but instead bounced over his head into right center for a double; Flannery and Wiggins scored to give the Padres a 5–3 lead as Gwynn reached third. Garvey followed with an RBI single to stretch the lead to 6–3. Steve Trout then replaced Sutcliffe and got out of the inning without further damage. The Cubs got three baserunners over the final two innings against Gossage but could not score, and San Diego took home its first National League pennant. They became the first National League team to win a Championship Series after being down 2–0. Garvey finished the series batting .400 with seven RBIs, and was named the NLCS Most Valuable Player for the second time in his career. The Padres would go on to lose the

to the dominant

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

in five games. The Cubs' inability to win the series after a 2–0 lead coupled with Durham's error added to the Curse of the Billy Goat lore regarding the Cubs' championship drought.

Composite box

1984 NLCS (3–2):

over

References

External links

Baseball-reference.com page for the 1984 NLCS
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