The Ball from 23-22, Phillies-Cubs Game

The Ball from 23-22, Phillies-Cubs Game

On May 17, 1979, a most unusual game was played at Wrigley Field in which the Philadelphia Phillies outlasted the Chicago Cubs 23-22. After the Cubs roared back from a 17-6 deficit, Mike Schmidt's 10th inning homer off of Bruce Sutter proved to be the difference in the 4 hour, 3 minute contest. The general manager of the victorious Phillies that day was Paul Owens. This ball, used in that game, comes from his collection.


The line score:

                           R H E

PHI 708 240 100 1 23 24 2
CHI 600 373 030 0 22 26 2

HRs in the game:

PHILLIES: Mike Schmidt (2), Bob Boone (2), Randy Lerch, Garry Maddox.

CUBS: Dave Kingman (3), Steve Ontiveros, Bill Buckner, Jerry Martin.

Interesting footnote: The 45 runs scored were not the most ever in a game. In a game, also (amazingly) played between the Cubs and Phillies, on August 25, 1922, the Cubs won 26-23 – 49 runs in one game.