Editor’s note: Second Chance Tournament games are being played with Strat-o-Matic cards and dice. The designated hitter is also being used for all games. The first and second rounds will be decided with a best of three series, while the championship series will be a best of five format.
Boston made the most of its opportunity.
The 1946 Red Sox claimed the title of the Second Chance Tournament with a 7-1 victory over the 1970 Cincinnati Reds at Fenway Park to earn a three games to one edge in the best of five championship series.
Red Sox starter Dave Ferriss held Cincinnati to a score in ninth as he stalled the Big Red Machine on four hits.
A RBI single in the third gave the Red Sox an early advantage against Reds starter Jim Merritt.
Merritt would leave in the sixth without getting an out. A two-run homer by Ted Williams put the Red Sox on top 3-0.
Cincinnati manager Sparky Anderson would call on Don Gullett to keep the Reds close, which he did for two innings.
After a RBI single by Pinky Higgins in the bottom of the eighth, Hal Wagner riled up the Boston fans into a frenzy as he tagged a Gullett mistake over the Green Monster for a three-run homer.
Ferriss, who didn’t allow a hit until Hal McRae led off the eighth with a single, surrendered a long solo blast to Lee May to begin the ninth that had fans fighting for the ball on Lansdowne Street, but that was all the Reds could muster against the Red Sox ace.
Second Chance Tournament Results and Schedule
Championship Series
1946 Boston Red Sox 4, 1970 Cincinnati Reds 2
1946 Boston Red Sox 4, 1970 Cincinnati Reds 1
1970 Cincinnati Reds 10, 1946 Boston Red Sox 6
1946 Boston Red Sox 7, 1970 Cincinnati Reds 1
Red Sox win series 3-1
Semifinals
1946 Boston Red Sox 6, 1954 Cleveland Indians 4
1946 Boston Red Sox 3, 1954 Cleveland Indians 2
Red Sox win series 2-0
1970 Cincinnati Reds 2, 1965 Minnesota Twins 0
1970 Cincinnati Reds 7, 1965 Minnesota Twins 3
Reds win series 2-0
First Round
1954 Cleveland Indians 5, 1935 Chicago Cubs 2
1954 Cleveland Indians 3, 1935 Chicago Cubs 0
Indians win series 2-0
1946 Boston Red Sox 9, 1962 San Francisco Giants 8 (10 innings)
1946 Boston Red Sox 9, 1962 San Francisco Giants 6
Red Sox win series 2-0
1953 Brooklyn Dodgers 8, 1970 Cincinnati Reds 5
1970 Cincinnati Reds 4, 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers 3
1970 Cincinnati Reds 7, 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers 2
Reds win series 2-1
1965 Minnesota Twins 2, 1969 Baltimore Orioles 1
1965 Minnesota Twins 13, 1969 Baltimore Orioles 7
Twins win series 2-0