If there is one thing that unites St. Louisans more than anything else, it’s Cardinals baseball. We are also quite proud that the writer of Back to the Future, Bob Gale, is a native. In fact, I grew up not far from where Gale did. Still, there was no way that Gale, who is a Cardinals fan, too, could’ve predicted the future when he wrote the script. If he could, he might have picked a less infamous day in Cardinals history. That is because the day that Marty (Michael J. Fox) travels back to 1985 is the exact day that one of the worst calls by an umpire in baseball history happened. If you’re a fan of the Cardinals, you already know where this is going.
A Date That Lives In Infamy
I was a kid in the summer of 1985, but it’s a summer I remember well (even though I think 1986 is the best year in movie history). I don’t know the exact date I saw Back to the Future, but it was likely sometime in July, since the movie was released on July 3rd. At the same time, my team, the Cardinals, were dominating the New York Mets and the rest of the National League East. They won the division, then beat the Dodgers in dramatic fashion in the NLCS. Who can ever forget Ozzie Smith’s home run in Game 5? That set up the inter-state World Series between the Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals. More on that later.
Getting back to that date. The day Marty returns to 1985 is clearly shown in the famous DeLorean: October 26th, 1985. This may or may not be the same day that the Goonies went on their adventure (that theory has basically been debunked), but it is definitely the most auspicious day in the long, storied history of the Cardinals. It’s the day Don Denkinger called Jorge Orta safe at first base in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 6. It changed the fortunes of both teams forever.
Don Denkinger Made The Worst Call In Sports History
Orta was the first batter in the bottom of the ninth of Game 6. The Cardinals, who led the series 3-2, had broken a 1-1 tie with a run in the 8th and were leading 2-1. Three outs to go for the Cardinals to win their second World Series under legendary manager Whitey Herzog. Orta hit a little squibber towards first base, which was fielded by Jack Clark, who tossed the ball to pitcher Todd Worrell, covering the bag. Despite being clearly out by at least a foot, umpire Don Denkinger called Orta safe.
Things unraveled from there, as the Royals rallied and won the game on a single by former Cardinal Dan Iorg. Game 7 the next night was an unmitigated disaster for the Cardinals and their fans. It would be 21 long years before the Cardinals would win their next title. ESPN ranked Denkinger’s call the second-worst call in baseball history, but with all due respect to the Worldwide Leader, it’s worse than the Jeffrey Maier call at Yankee Stadium. This was the World Series!
And it all happened the same fateful day that lightning struck and Marty McFly got back to 1985, and you can rent Back to the Future with a Prime subscription to see for yourself!
