Twinight Doubleheaders and the Birth of a (Would-Be) Folk Hero

[JimSlade]

One of the things I'm trying to explore with this series on the baseball games I've attended that are most deeply burned into my brain is the role of facts vs truth. I'm not suggesting that people should go around telling blatant lies, but I respect the truth that each of us feels from our experiences, even if it means not being 100% accurate. Or, perhaps, even 75% accurate. This following set of memories and impressions from a 1973 game, if memory serves, is likely to be the one that strays furthest from reality. My fact-checking friends may want to shield their eyes.

This is what I refer to, when talking to myself, as the Bobby Pfeil Game, or more precisely the Bobby Pfiel Twinight Doubleheader.

Young readers, the twinight doubleheader was a thing of wonder for a young baseball fan without much going on in the summer, especially after one's Little League season ended. Some of you may have came of age after even regularly scheduled daytime doubleheaders were a thing. All you know are the rare, reluctantly scheduled split doubleheader, where teams with no other options to make up a rained out game play 1 game, then fans are cleared out, and hours later a second game takes place. When the legendary Ernie Banks said, "Let's play two!" in his 1960s' prime, he was talking about a real doubleheader, in which teams played a game, all the fans stayed in the park, then about 20 minutes later the teams played a second game. Relief pitchers might pitch both ends of the doubleheader. Around this time, in 1973, Chicago White Sox knuckleballer started - STARTED - both ends of the doubleheader!

The twinight doubleheader was different from the doubleheaders that might be scheduled on a Sunday. Whereas a regular doubleheader would start at normal day-game time, 1:00 pm or so, a twinight doubleheader would start around 4:00 pm, on a weekday. I think twinight doubleheaders, at least the regularly scheduled ones, would fall in the middle of summer, when the days were long. In 1973, I believe, my Uncle Joe took me to my first twinight doubleheader. Just knowing that I'd be sitting along first base at Veterans Stadium until late at night on a weeknight, when I was only 11 years old, was exciting.

I think the Phillies played the Houston Astros. At some point in the first game, a player came to bat for the Phillies whom I'd never heard of before (and I was already a nerd kid scouring the backs of baseball cards and every baseball article in Philadelphia's 2 daily papers at that time): Bobby Pfeil. I looked him up in the program. I think he'd recently been acquired from the Houston Astros, I think. He had some weird combination of positions, like catcher and second base. This guy was an oddity. I paid special attention to him during that first at-bat.

I don't remember a specific thing from that game or the nightcap. All I remember - I think - is that Bobby Pfeil played both games and hit, like, 3 home runs and drove in 5 runs. Something off the charts like that. In my mind, this new guy Pfeil was one to watch. The Phillies were terrible in 1973. Some more of their future 1980 world championship core had reached the majors, most notably Mike Schmidt, but even the mighty Steve Carlton was bad that year. He lost 19 or 20 games. I think this would be the season he stopped talking to the media, after being offended by stuff my first favorite baseball writer Bill Conlin (years before his miserable fall from, well, not exactly grace) had written about Lefty enjoying the high life a little too much after his historic 1972 breakout season. "Bobby Pfeil:" I filed away in my brain, "watch this guy!"

In the following couple of years, after Dave Cash joined the team from my beloved Pittsburgh Pirates and brought his "Yes We Can" optimism and World Champion experience, after Tug McGraw brought his World Champion experience, the Phillies started to become competitive. Along with the winning culture additions and the continued development of their homegrown stars, general manager Paul "The Pope" Owens acquired veteran role players with personality, guys like Downtown Ollie Brown and Jay Johnstone. Certain players of this ilk would roll into town, get hot for 2 weeks and have a walk-off hit, and become a "folk hero." That was the term that would be bandied about. I bet I'd never heard it until 1974, but baseball had the ability to generate folk heroes. Bobby Pfeil was a sort of proto-folk hero in my life. I watched him for the next couple of weeks. I don't think he made it through the season. I forget where he went next, maybe the Astros or the Mets. In fact, maybe he came from the Mets. I've never met anyone who had as deep memories of Bobby Pfeil as I had on the night of that twinight doubleheader. Now, to see if I can find the games, check the facts...

Game 1: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxe ... 7271.shtml

Game 2: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxe ... 7271.shtml

STOP THE PRESSES! These games happened on July 27, 1971, the season BEFORE what I thought was my first game, the Chris Speier game. For as long as I can remember, the Speier game in 1972 was my first game and this twinight doubleheader came a year after, when I was a more sophisticated, knowledgeable fan. My uncle was always a very patient, loving guy with me - and he wasn't the most sensible young guy on the planet - but he probably had the good sense not to take me to a twinight doubleheader at 8 years old for my first-ever game. I must have seen at least 1 other game earlier in 1971. Hell, for all I know, I might have seen a game at Connie Mack Stadium. Or the Baker Bowl. Can Michel Gondry crawl into my brain and help me get this straight? I was right about them playing the Astros.

As for the Bobby Pfeil's big night, he caught game 1, going 2-4 with 2 home runs and 3 RBI! The Phils won 8-3. Lefty Woodie Fryman pitched a complete game. He was one of the better starting pitchers on the 1971 Phillies, but I don't know if he was impressive enough for my uncle to have gone out of his way to buy box seats along first base. Rookie Willie Montanez played centerfield, batted third, and went 2-4 with a home run and 2 RBI.

The Astros beat the Phillies in the nightcap, 5-1. Wade Blasingame went the distance for the Astros. Ken Reynolds game up only 3 runs in 8 innings for the Phillies. A washed-up Jim Bunning (JIM BUNNING!) pitched the final inning for the Phils, giving up 3 runs on 4 hits. Pfeil caught both games of the twinight doubleheader, something that not even JT Realmuto would attempt today. Bobby went 0-3. No third home run, no additional 2 RBI. Still, 2-6 with 2 home runs and 3 RBI was not a bad night for a young kid to witness. Not a bad night for Bobby Pfeil, who did start out with the 1969 Miracle Mets, playing only 1 year in the majors before resurfacing with the 1971 Phillies for 44 games. Those 2 home runs were the only home runs he hit in his major league career. THAT, my friends, is the truth.

[Jwalk100]

Time of game 1 was 2 hrs 11 minutes.

Game 2 was 2 hrs 10 minutes

Waaaay before the pitch clock.

I was 5.

[JimSlade]

I meant to look up the times of those games, thanks! I was wondering if the whole night took less time than one of those weekly Yankees-Red Sox ESPN games from 10-15 years ago.

[Jwalk100]

I meant to look up the times of those games, thanks! I was wondering if the whole night took less time than one of those weekly Yankees-Red Sox ESPN games from 10-15 years ago.

They were about an hour shorter than Yankees-Red Sox lol

[Dington]

I think he'd recently been acquired from the Houston Astros, I think. He had some weird combination of positions, like catcher and second base.

Craig Biggio?

Love these stories!

[JRamirez]

awesome stories, thanks for sharing!

[trmmilwwi]

Love this "look back"!