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 penna ...

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 located ...

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 World ...

. It was the first postseason series ever for the Padres since the franchise's beginning in 1969, 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 The Curse of the Billy Goat was a sports curse that was supposedly placed on the Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise in 1945, by Billy Goat Tavern owner William Sianis. The curse lasted 71 years, from 1945 to 2016. During game 4 of ...

" on the Cubs. The series was the 16th NLCS 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 John William Kibler (January 9, 1929 – February 18, 2010) was an umpire for the National League from 1965 to 1989. He wore uniform number 9 for most of his career. Early life Kibler was born in Piseco, New York, on January 9, 1929. He served ...

Frank Pulli Frank Victor Pulli (March 22, 1935 – August 28, 2013) was a professional baseball umpire, working in the National League from 1972 until 1999. He umpired many postseason games, including four World Series. Pulli wore uniform number 14 during ...

Harry Wendelstedt Harry Hunter Wendelstedt Jr. (July 27, 1938 – March 9, 2012) was an umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1966 to 1998. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He umpired in the World Series in 1973, 1980, 1986, 1991 ...

, Ed Montague, Billy Williams 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 union ...

. Kibler worked Game 5 behind the plate with fellow veterans Paul Runge,

John McSherry John Patrick McSherry (September 11, 1944April 1, 1996) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1971 until his death. McSherry wore uniform number 9 when he entered the National League, then wore num ...

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 Wh ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Bob Dernier and

Gary Matthews Gary Nathaniel Matthews Sr. (born July 5, 1950), nicknamed Sarge, is an American former professional baseball left fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through for the San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phill ...

hit home runs in the first off

Eric Show Eric Vaughn Show (; May 19, 1956 – March 16, 1994) was an American professional baseball player who was a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent most of his career with the San Diego Padres and holds the team record for most career ...

, 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 Leon "Bull" Durham (born July 31, 1957) is an American former first baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for 10 seasons. Durham was a longtime minor league hitting coach, and most recently served as the assistant hitting coac ...

's single and

Keith Moreland Bobby Keith Moreland (born May 2, 1954), nicknamed "Zonk", is a former outfielder, catcher and infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and San Diego Padres. In 1989, the final year of his career, ...

'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 Lawrence Robert Bowa (born December 6, 1945) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB), who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets. Bowa went on to ma ...

's groundout scored a run each. A walk and single loaded the bases before

Ryne Sandberg Ryne Dee Sandberg (born September 18, 1959), nicknamed "Ryno", is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies (19 ...

's RBI single made it 11–0 Cubs. Next inning,

Ron Cey Ronald Charles Cey (; born February 15, 1948), nicknamed "Penguin", is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from through , most notably as an integral member of the Los Angeles Do ...

'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 = Country , subdivision_name ...

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 Mark Anthony Thurmond (born September 12, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1983 to 1990. He was never on the disabled list in his career. Career San Diego Padres (1983–1986) Th ...

, singling to left and coming around to score on two groundouts. In the third,

singled with one out and scored on a double by

, 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 Anthony Keith Gwynn Sr. (May 9, 1960 – June 16, 2014), nicknamed "Mr. Padre", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played 20 seasons (1982–2001) in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres. The left-handed hit ...

doubled, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kevin McReynolds off Steve Trout. But Chicago answered in the bottom of the fourth when

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 Steven Patrick Garvey (born December 22, 1948) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres from 1969 to 1987. Garvey was the National ...

, but the Padres could get no closer against the strong pitching of Steve Trout.

Lee Smith Lee Smith is the name of: Arts, entertainment and media *Lee Smith (fiction author) (born 1944), American author of fiction * Lee Smith (film editor) (born 1960), Australian film editor * Lee Smith (musician) (born 1983), American drummer * Lee Sm ...

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 List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

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 Garry Lewis Templeton (born March 24, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player and minor league manager. He played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, and New York Mets from 1976 t ...

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

. However, San Diego actually fell behind 1–0 in the second when Chicago's

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 Kevin McReynolds led off the fifth with back-to-back singles, then scored on

'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,

hit a leadoff single, moved to second on a groundout and scored on

Graig Nettles Graig Nettles (born August 20, 1944), nicknamed "Puff", is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins (1967–1969), Cleveland Indians (1970–1972), New York Yankee ...

'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 so ...

from the 1984 movie ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, thr ...

''. 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 loser The lovable loser is a character archetype portrayed as a sympathetic, likable, or well-meaning person for whom bad luck continually prevents their various efforts from succeeding, and from obtaining the things they feel will bring them happiness,S ...

s." The Padres jumped out to a 2–0 lead in the third off of Scott Sanderson on a sacrifice fly from

with two on followed by a run-scoring double from

, but the Cubs took the lead in the fourth off of

Tim Lollar William Timothy Lollar (born March 17, 1956) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He was born in Missouri to Homer and Betty Jean (nee McHenry) Lollar. Tim was a graduate of Farmington High School in Farmington, Missouri, and Mineral Area Co ...

on a two-run homer by Jody Davis after a leadoff walk followed by a shot by

, 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 Timothy Paul Stoddard (born January 24, 1953) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is one of only two men to have played in both a World Series and a Final Four of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, along with fellow Eas ...

. 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

hit a leadoff single, stole second, and scored on an RBI single by

. 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 the ...

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 In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not ...

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 Leag ...

Game 5

Sunday, October 7, 1984, at

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

, 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

and Terry Kennedy cut the Cubs lead to 3–2. In the bottom of the seventh, Carmelo Martínez led off the inning with a walk on four pitches from Sutcliffe and was sacrificed to second by

. Martínez scored when

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

Tim Flannery Timothy Fridtjof Flannery (born 28 January 1956) is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist, Conservation biology, conservationist, Exploration, explorer, author, Science communication, science communicator, activist and p ...

'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 The League Championship Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players deemed to have the most impact on their teams' performances in each of the two respective League Championship Series that ...

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

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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National League Championship Series 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 ...

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