The Orioles will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1970 World Series championship on Friday, September 18, during the 7:35 p.m. ET game against the Tampa Bay Rays. The celebration will recognize the 1970 team, which went 108-54 during the regular season and defeated the Cincinnati Reds, 4-1, to win the club’s second World Series title.
On Friday at 6:00 p.m., a special roundtable discussion featuring several Orioles Alumni who were on the 1970 World Series team will stream on Orioles YouTube. The conversation, which will be hosted by Orioles broadcaster ROB LONG, will feature Orioles Legends JIM PALMER and BROOKS ROBINSON, along with Orioles Hall of Famer and Community Ambassador BOOG POWELL and Orioles Hall of Famer DON BUFORD. The four former players will reminisce about the series and relive the winning moment when Robinson fielded a ground ball at third base and threw to Powell at first for the out, ending Game 5 and beginning a celebration in Baltimore.
Prior to Friday night’s game, Boog Powell will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. The pitch, which was recently filmed at Powell’s alma mater of Key West High School in Key West, Fla., will be shown at Oriole Park at Camden Yards as well as on the MASN broadcast. In celebration of the semicentennial anniversary, Orioles players and coaches will also wear a commemorative 1970 World Series patch on their right sleeve during Friday’s game.
As the Orioles celebrate the 1970 team’s journey to a World Series championship, fans will be able to experience the magic of the series by watching all four of the Orioles’ wins (Games 1, 2, 3, and 5) in full. Games will stream daily at 1:00 p.m. on Orioles.com and Orioles Facebook, beginning on Tuesday, September 15, and culminating with the team’s series-clinching Game 5 win on Friday, September 18. Fans will also be able to answer trivia questions about the 1970 World Series team as part of Orioles Trivia on the MLB Ballpark app. Additionally, the Orioles will feature a blog post about the 1970 World Series champion team on Orioles.com/BirdlandInsider. All of the Orioles’ digital anniversary content, including photos, full game streams, podcast episodes, and more, will be available at Orioles.com/1970WorldSeries.
During Friday’s game, Jim Palmer will join the MASN and Orioles Radio Network game broadcasts to reflect on the 1970 World Series championship. Special digital anniversary and World Series trophy logos will also be displayed throughout the ballpark and on MASN for fans at home.
As part of the celebration, the Orioles will auction items signed by members of the 1970 World Series team. Items will include autographed baseballs from BROOKS ROBINSON, JIM PALMER, BOOG POWELL, and DON BUFORD. The auction will benefit the Oriole Advocates Charitable Foundation, which is celebrating more than 50 years of giving back to the Birdland community. The auction will run from September 14 through the weekend of the celebration, with bidding closing on September 20 at 10:00 p.m. To bid on items, fans can visit Orioles.com/Auctions. To learn more about the Oriole Advocates, fans can visit OrioleAdvocates.org.
The 1970 season marked the Orioles’ second consecutive season with more than 100 wins, and their second year in a row representing the American League in the Fall Classic. The Orioles also swept the Minnesota Twins in the American League Championship Series for the second year in a row before jumping out to a 3-0 series lead over Cincinnati’s “Big Red Machine” in the World Series. After a 5-6 Game 4 loss, the Orioles won Game 5 by a decisive score of 9-3, clinching their second World Series title in four years. The 1970 team featured four of the six Orioles Legends who have their numbers retired and are enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown: JIM PALMER, BROOKS ROBINSON, FRANK ROBINSON, and Manager EARL WEAVER.
— Baltimore Orioles press release
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles