Jim Northrup

Jim Northrup died the other day, at the age of 71. He wasn't a great ballplayer, and unless you're a long-time Detroit Tigers fan you wouldn't know who he was. But when I was a kid, attending tons of games at Tiger Stadium, he was one of my favorite players. He always seemed to hit a home run whenever we went to the game.

He also made a key play in one of the best games I've ever been to. My brother and father and I have been reminiscing about it via e-mail the last couple of days, as we all remember some details. I was only eleven, but some of it is still fresh in my mind. I found the box score online to fill in the rest.

It was July 1, 1972. The Tigers and Orioles were battling for American League East title. Two of the best pitchers in the game, Dave McNally for the O's and Mickey Lolich for the Tigers, were on the mound. Al Kaline, the grand old man of the Tigers, hit a home run in the seventh inning, and the Tigers added another run in the eighth. It could have been more, but Northrup, in the game as a pinch runner, got picked off second base by Doyle Alexander.

Northrup received some catcalls when he stayed in the game, replacing Willie Horton in left for the ninth inning. Lolich was still on the mound (complete games were much more routine in those days). With one out he walked Brooks Robinson, who was pinch-run for by Tom Shopay. Dave Johnson was up, and hit a long fly ball to left. Northrup hoisted himself above the Tiger Stadium fence and hauled the ball in, then fired back into the infield. Shopay was doubled off first, and the game was over.

Northrup had an unspectacular but interesting career. He had a penchant for grand slams--in 1968 he hit four in the regular season, two of them coming on consecutive at-bats and three in one week. He also hit a grand slam in the World Series that year, in game six. But it was in game seven that he had what may have been the biggest hit in Tiger history (pictured above).

The Tigers were facing the Cardinals. The Cards had gone up three games to one, but Detroit won the next two, forcing a game seven. The Tigers had been unable to beat the Cards' ace, Bob Gibson. Lolich, going on two days' rest, pitched for Detroit. In the seventh, with no score and two on, Northrup hit a drive to centerfield. Curt Flood lost the ball for second, and initially moved in. He had to go back and to his right, and in the process stumbled slightly. The ball fell over his head, and Northrup ended up with a two-run triple. It was all the Tigers would need as they would win 4-1 and take the Series.

As I think about it, it's hard to argue that it's not the most important hit in the team's history. They have won only one other game seven--in 1945 against the Cubs--and that game was a laugher. Goose Goslin had a two-out, ninth-inning Series-winning hit against the Cubs in '35, but that was in game six. Al Kaline's hit in game five of the '68 Series, when the Tigers' backs were against the wall, was key, but the Tigers still had two more games to win. And Kirk Gibson's home run against Goose Gossage in the '84 Series was certainly dramatic, but it was in game five.

So Jim Northrup, may he rest in peace, has the biggest hit in Tigers history, says I. He certainly brings back a lot of great memories of my days going to games in green Tiger Stadium, where you could get a good seat at reasonable prices. Those were the days.