1992 All Star Game Tribute – Cincinnati

Rebels 1978: A Memoir

Cincinnati Enquirer

June 21, 1992

by Jay O'Donnelly

The All Star Game hype and galantry has been bombarding Cincinnati for days now.  The Ballpark of Cincinnati is being primped and preened for the annual exhibition of Earl Weaver Baseball League's finest.  This is my fifth year as a beat writer and columnist, 8th year working at the Enquirer and 22nd year as a bonafide, die hard Rebel fan.

Some times the grind and pressure of covering and writing about the team everyday can take away from the awe and wonder that one feels as a fan.  With the All Star Game coming to Cincinnati I want to take an opportunity to reminisce about the magical year of 1978, when I was only a 14 year old fan.

The Rebels and EWB were still in their infancy in 1978, only eight years old.  It helps to know the factors that lead up to the 1978 Rebel Season.  Especially that the Rebels were almost the team that never was.  In 1969, when EWB was still in planning, there was only one Ohio team, the despised Cleveland Rockers.  In fact Cincinnati was shut out of a coveted EWB slot.  The sixth team in the Ohio Valley was to be in Nashville, Kentucky led by a conglomerate which included 40% stake by Elvis.  This rankled many Cincinnatians, since many consider it a historical home of baseball and the fact that Cleveland had a franchise fueled the fire.

When many in Cincinnati were writing letters to the editor and sulking about what could have been, one entrepreneurial spirit started rallying to find a way.  Marge Schott was a well known and somewhat disliked member of Cincinnati's business elite.  Known for being outspoken and misspoken, known for her racist leanings, and but also known as someone not be messed with.  Schott liquidated most of her assets and businesses in order to become a White Knight and rescue the Cincinnati populace from a nihilistic existence without their favourite past time.  Schott raised enough to propose an offer to the Kentucky congomerate which would double their initial investment.  The Kentucky group, including Elvis, was pleased to sell, considering the success of EWB was still highly in doubt.  In December of 1969 Ballpark of Cincinnati was finished and in April the first pitch was tossed.  In honor of Schott's moxy against the EWB brass the team was nicknamed the Rebels.

In 1971 the Rebels won 93 games and made the playoffs.  This would be their only postseason appearance until 1978.  In the 1970's Cincinnati was very mediocre, of course this didn't stop the fans from piling in.  Cincinnati populace love their baseball and chili.  Growing up a Rebel fan from the infancy of the organization I collected all their baseball cards, listened to their radio broadcasts, and savoured the few Saturday afternoons when they were broadcast on NBC's Game of the Week.  It was usually a game against rival Cleveland.  I remember getting the Rick "Cincinnati Kid" Mooney uniform on Christmas morning on my tenth birthday.  The following summer I wore my #16 uniform every day, literally!  Family trips to Ballpark of Cincinnati were a delight, it was a tradition to get some Cincinnati Rebel Chili every time we went, even in the searing dog days of August.

1978 was a watershed year in many respects for me.  I was now 14 about to enter high school, things were changing.  It was the year of Ted Bundy, The Hillside Strangler, Israel invading Lebanon, and the peak of Jimmy Carter's presidency.  The Soviets were evil and bomb drills were still held regularly.  Throughout all the changes in my pubescent life and in world affairs there was still one constant, EWB Baseball and the Cincy Rebs.

1977 was a bad year for Cincy.  In 1976 new manager Joel Daniel had turned around the 5th place club of 1975 into a winner, going 84-78 and claiming 3rd in the Ohio Valley.  1977 was a let down going 71-91.  Daniel was on the ropes as Schott was known for meddling quite often in the affairs of the team.  There were also several question marks.  Cincy acquired young catcher Pedro Rivera who was high on promise but short on production.  Dong-kyoon Kim, a lifetime Rebel, was to return at 1B after a horrible year in '77.  Old standy by Rick "Cincinnati Kid' Mooney was the only constant.  Mooney to this day owns most of the franchise records and was the face of the organization.

Star pitcher Willie Thomas was trying to recover from an injury plagued '77 where he went 13-11, 3.34.  SP Barry Brown was brought in from San Antonio to fill a much needed #2 role.  Finally, CL Pepe Salazar also was questionable.  After several excellent years as the Rebel closer Salazar was trying to recover from a 4.26 ERA in 1977.

Many outside of Cincinnati considered the Rebels an afterthought and who was to blame them.  The Washington Admirals were America's team, winning 3 of the last 4 World Series.  Within the Ohio Valley Division, the Blackjacks, Crusaders and Savages were dominating year in and out.  Only the firm, or fanatical, Rebel fans saw a chance.  "Mooney was done for," they'd whisper, "his legs are shot."  "You think ol' Willie Thomas can pitch?  Maybe, but him and who else?  Brown's a bum."  These were the conversations floating through my classrooms in March, and I assume in the Cincinnati taverns too.

I never doubted the Rebels and Mooney.  What 14 year old fan does?  This was the year, I would proclaim loudly to anyone who would listen.  What began as unabashed faith started to become reality.  The Rebels shot out of the gate in April and never looked back.  Sure, Indianapolis was playing well and trying to parry with the powerful Rebels.  In fact the Blackjacks were the only true threat to the Rebels that year in the whole NL.  Cincinnati kept chugging though, with the powerful 1-2-3 combo of Thomas, Brown and Valdez in the rotation.  All 3 won 20 games or more.  Both Thomas and Brown made the All Star team.

Thomas finished 23-9, 2.92 and 207 K's.  Brown finished 21-8 3.02 and Valdez 20-8 3.42.  Ace Closer Salazar had a career year with 41 saves and a 1.43 ERA.  On the offensive side Mooney was Mooney and had a good year .277/10/73.  Kim recovered from his poor 1977 going .279/12/105.  Pedro Rivera the 25 year old catcher coming from the Iron Horses finally broke out going .292/6/57.

The Rebels finish 100-62 the best record in the AL and only surpassed by the 113 win Admirals.  This was the year!  Who was going to stop a front 3 like Thomas, Brown and Valdez?  Indianapolis?  The Blackjacks finished 2nd going 92-70 to claim the Wildcard.  Philadelphia won the Colonial going 87-75 and El Paso won the weak Texas Division beatin Houston in a play in game and finishing 82-81.

Cincinnati was to host El Paso in the first round.  In those days the EWB playoffs were almost always day games.  My first month of high school was racked with anxiety, baseball anxiety that is.  The Rebels played tough and defeated the Iron Horses 4-2.  Better yet, Philly somehow managed to knock off the strongest threat to a Rebel AL pennant by beating Indianapolis in 7 games.  It was ours for the taking.

With the off days the Rebel rotation was set to go 1-2-3 with the Three Aces.  They did not let us down.  Cincinnati won the first 3 games handily, Philadelphia was on the ropes.  The Quakers were finished for!  They had no stars, no offense and no pitching.  Ron Day was the only player on the team that qualified as notable.  Their top starter had won only 17 games.  They had burnt through their best pitchers and now down 0-3 were floundering.

The next game in Philly we lost 4-2.  Perhaps it was a weak moment, the team looked off.  Mental errors occured, they looked lackadaisical.  They looked like it was already in the bag and the game was a formality.  Even Rick Mooney appeared more ready to pop champagne bottles than to catch a pop up.

Game 5 was abominable.  Philly, playing with a nothing to lose, hard nosed style destroyed the Rebels 18-4.  Panic crept into the hearts of all Cincinnati fans.  Manager Joel Daniel kept the players from the media and reassured everyone that they will wrap up the series.  Thomas was to start Game 6.  He would have the team ready mentally.  This team is too good to fold now he kept comforting us.  His words were what we wanted to hear.  This team was too good to lose.

Thomas started.  Thomas crumbled.  After giving up four runs in the 3rd, Thomas left the game complaining of a sore wrist.  Was this an excuse to get off the mound?  Could he not handle the pressure?  Our hero, the main candidate for the 1978 Bob Gibson Award leaving the mound when we needed him the most?  Mooney, to his credit, played on and hard.  Rallying the Rebs back to within one with his 3 run HR blast to CF.  I still had one hero to count on.  In the 9th the Quakers brought on Eric "E" Gibson, one of the most dominating AL closers of 1978.  Gibson was sporting a 1.76 ERA with 39 saves that year and had a slider that was nearly unhittable.  My heart bounced with every inflection in Rebel play by play man Al Michael's voice.  Finally Michael's shrugged, "...and he struck him out..."  Gibson had struck out the side, ending Game 6.

This was too much to take.  I could not attend school the next day, there was no way.  Somehow I knew that if I could cheer on my beloved Reds on TV I could coax them to victory.  This Philadelphia team was nothing, they were not worthy.

Game 7 arrived in Cincinnati.  The heart and soul of the city was at Ballpark of Cincinnati that day.  The city literally shut down.  I was not the only kid in high school to miss that day, apparently over 2/3 of the high school had a touch of the flu.  I invited my friends over to watch the game with my family.  The Rebels and Quakers kept it close all game, finally in the 8th Kim hit a 2 out double to drive in a run and take the lead by one.  Quakers got out of the inning and we went to the bottom of the ninth.  CL Pepe Salazar was brought into the game to close it out.  I felt it, 3 outs from the AL Pennant and a trip to the World Series, nothing could stop us.  Salazar quickly retired the first two batters before walking Raul Acosta.  Oh No, big mistake!  Acosta was a baserunning fiend, stealing 52 for the Quakers.  Of course Joel Daniel had to know that and be prepared.  The problem is the Rebs were too prepared.  The nervous young C Rivera was so ready for Acosta to steal that once Acosta jumped Rivera bobbled the pitch and made no throw.  Shit!  I yelled as my dad glared at the TV, apparently so pissed himself that he felt that he forgot to reprimand my epithet.

Now Salazar had Acosta at 2nd and the most dangerous Philly hitter up, Ron Day.  Joel Daniel decided to walk Day and put him on 1st and face Jimmy Clear instead.  This is a decision that still is avidly discussed this day.  In my favourite local pub, Leroy's, you can find Artie and Lenny argue every night after they get 3 shots of Jim Beam in them.  Jimmy Clear was no slouch, he hit .311 in '78 but had significantly less power than Day, only hitting 5 HR's.  Salazar and Clear battled to a 2-2 count when SMACK I heard the ball hit the bat as vividly as if I were there.  Clear had sent a shot back into center where Rick Mooney was chasing it down on a mission.  Mooney's excellent defense and Gold Gloves assured me he would get to it and in a snap second Mooney dove laying his body out like a hawk diving for prey.  The ball careened on the outside of his closing, coned glove....in and out.....FUCK.  With Mooney laid out in deep CF the ball kept going, the LF and RF racing towards it... Acosta scored, Day rounding third heading home.....the throw.......SAFE!

That game ended the most wonderful, magical baseball season ever for me.  Philly went on to lose the World Series to the Washington Admirals.  The Cincinnati Rebels went on to mediocrity, not reaching the playoffs again until 1986.  Joel Daniel eventually left the Rebels in 1979 and is now managing the hated Rockers.  Willie Thomas is in the Hall of Fame, a Rebel Legend.

Rick "Cincinnati Kid" Mooney, my hero, finished out a great career.  Mooney after missing that catch got up, walked to the clubhouse, addressed the press and stated  "I gave it my all, I came up short, I will return."  Mooney was my hero before the game in a juvenile admiration fashion, after that game, after his worst career moment, he became a hero in a different way.  I respected his dedication to his profession and his love for the game.  Mooney became an inspiration to how I want to work and live.  That season, 1978, is what inspired me to become a sports writer.  I made it my goal to watch the Rebels for a living and relate what I see and feel to my audience.

With the All Star Game coming, the Cincinnati Rebel fans should reflect on the history and impact this franchise has made.  My memories of the 1978 season is one part of this collective celebration of The Cincinnati Rebels.  GO REBS!!!

1978 Rebels