Editor: This is the eighth installment (of nine) of a year-long series by our resident Reds historian, John Ring. The series is examining the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Cincinnati Reds, a team on the brink (of huge success) playing during a year that it seemed the world was on the brink. Enjoy!
Part 1: Remembering 007’s Reds: a 50 Year Celebration
Part 2: King’s assassination delays 1968 Opening Day
Part 3: The Reds’ Raging Bull: Alex Johnson
Part 4: Another assassination, another baseball crisis
Part 5: The Battle for Rookie of the Year
Part 6: Jumpin’ Jack Flash — Reds get hot in ’68
Part 7: Chaos in Chicago, Rose on a roll, and “brainwashing”
On September 1, 1968 the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates were both out of the National League pennant race, buried hopelessly by the World Champion St.