Daily News | The day the Phillies won the 1980 World Series
It seemed altogether fitting on the final night of the grand adventure — as the police dogs and the horse soldiers pranced in the background — that the two guys whose left arms had lifted the Phillies away from the gravitational pull of history would be out there one more time, reprising their disparate acts, flawlessly.
Entering the trainers' room, which is off-limits to civilians, Dallas Green found Steve Carlton as he knew he would. The two embraced and exchanged pleasantries while reporters peered through small panes of glass in the doors, the only available windows to Steve Carlton's special world. "The eighth inning was fun," he later recalled,"but my arm was so tired in the ninth all I wanted was for the Royals to please hit the ball at one of our guys. I could see the security people lining up, all the animals behind home plate. Tired as I felt, I wasn't about to go to the dogs."
But the Tugger was to be interviewed in the hallways, and the doorways, and in the manager's office, and on the way to the trainers' room, where he spent several minutes exchanging compliments with Steve Carlton and others who chose to lift their bottles within that sanctuary. From what little can be gleaned from his post-championship performance, Carlton - a professed connoisseur of the grape - seemed pleased by the results of the evening. I mean, fine wines seldom come in half-gallons.
"I live in Philadelphia now, and after six years of being here I think I've been able to get the feeling of the frustration this city has experienced. It's a very heartfelt thing for me to be part of the team that broke through after 97 years. I get the feeling that W.C. Fields is out of his grave tonight, celebrating with us. I got to believe that Benjamin Franklin turns over for this.
"I can remember seeing the dogs behind home plate and thinking, 'What I need out of this is one more K.' But my arm was so tired. And then Pete caught that ball off Boonie's glove, and all I could think was, 'God, there's one more pitch I don't have to make. ' It became, at the end, a matter of not throwing a klutz pitch. I'm exhausted, physically, mentally. I can't even think of anything clever to say.
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