MLB Network puts its own spin on tale of 1967 Red Sox
If you’re a New England baseball fan of a certain generation, a faithful dreamer of impossible dreams, you know Red Sox Nation was born 50 years ago this summer — even if said slogan was coined much later.
If you’re of any other generation of Red Sox fan, you should know it to be true even if you weren’t yet in existence during Fenway Park’s delightful summer of ’67.
It’s become too common for the under-50 purveyors of snark among us to dismiss all that happened in ’67 — namely Carl Yastrzemski’s triple-crown-winning brilliance, Jim Lonborg’s emergence as a bona fide ace, and a spectacular pennant race that was decided on the regular season’s final day — as sepia-toned nostalgia.
After all, the Red Sox didn’t win the World Series, losing in seven games to the great Bob Gibson and the St. Louis Cardinals, so how great could it have been?
The answer, as it has been since 1967, when the previously moribund Red Sox delivered day after day of joy to their fans, is beyond great. And there’s proof for you cynics; if you don’t understand the permanently lingering hubbub of ’67, you will now, if you want to.
Sunday night, a documentary on the ’67 Red Sox, titled The Impossible Dream: Red Sox Nation Begins, premieres on the MLB Network (8 p.m). It is produced by Bruce Cornblatt, a Newton native and lifelong Red Sox fan, and James Potocki, who, like Cornblatt, has been behind several superb MLB Network Presents documentaries. This one is as excellent as any they have done.
It’s sentimental and nostalgic, sure — how could it not be? — but there are no sepiatones to be found on this palette. The most striking thing you notice watching the documentary is how much crisp and spectacularly vivid original film and photos they have tracked down. It is a genuinely fresh look at a oft-told story a half-century old.
Related: Watch trailer for “Red Sox Nation Begins’’
It even includes footage of the Red Sox gathered in the clubhouse on the final day of the regular season, listening to the Tigers game on the radio after their own game had been completed. The Red Sox and Twins had begun the day tied for first place, with the Tigers a half-game back.
The Red Sox did their part, beating the Twins — Yastrzemski went 4 for 4, naturally — to clinch at least a tie with the Tigers, depending on the outcome of Detroit’s doubleheader with the Angels. The Tigers, who needed a sweep, won the first game, but lost the second, setting off a celebration back in the Boston clubhouse.
“That footage of them surrounding the radio is like Fort Knox for a producer,’’ Cornblatt said. “Nowadays, every locker would have a flatscreen television, or at the minimum every player would have his own phone.’’
Cornblatt, who said he was a Fenway regular during the ’67 season, was the driving force behind the documentary.
“I really wanted to do something on the ’67 Red Sox for a long time, but it had to be timely somehow. This year provides the perfect approach, so several months ago, I came to my boss and said, ‘Look, it’s the 50th anniversary of the greatest pennant race ever. I know this. Let’s do that. It’s Red Sox Nation’s birthday. It’s really October 1st in 1967.’ He looked at me and said, ‘That’s your story.’ ’’
Telling that story was a passion project for Cornblatt, but he wasn’t alone in that passion. Lonborg, Reggie Smith, Rico Petrocelli, Mike Andrews, and Hawk Harrelson are among the members of the ’67 Red Sox who are interviewed. Others include Stephen King, Theo Epstein (the architect of the ’04 Red Sox, who calls ’67 “probably the most important year in the history of the franchise’’), and Mike Eruzione. It is narrated by Massachusetts native and former Mad Men star John Slattery.
“Nobody we wanted said no,’’ said Cornblatt. “Somebody always says no. But no one said no.’’
That includes Yastrzemski, who usually isn’t one to partake of nostalgia.
“He’s like the legendary musician who has done all of these concerts,’’ Cornblatt said. “He’s not always interested in playing the favorite song over and over again.’’
Cornblatt said Peter Gammons convinced Yastrzemski to sit for an interview at Fenway Park. The result is a candid and engaged Yaz. He acknowledges that he was so frustrated with the losing during his first six years with the franchise that he nearly asked to be traded.
And he seems to really enjoy reminiscing about specific moments.
“That Yankees fight was something else,’’ he says, a smile creasing his face at the recollection of a brawl sparked by Yankees pitcher Thad Tillotson’s beaning of Joe Foy.
“Oh, Yaz was into it,’’ Cornblatt said. “At one point, he says, ‘I remember the time . . . ’ and I bet Carl Yastrzemski hasn’t said, ‘I remember the time,’ in the past 10 years.’’
For Red Sox fans who may be too young to remember the unexpected good times of ’67, this documentary is an entertaining way to get acquainted. For Red Sox fans who do remember it, it’s delightful flashback to a team and a time you will never forget.
Related: Part 1 of Eric Moscowitz’s look back at the summer of 1967
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