On this day in 1966, the Baltimore Orioles clinched their first AL pennant with a 6-1 victory over the A’s in Kansas City. It was an amazing year for a very good team, as remembered by The Sun:
Yet when they formally clinched the pennant in Kansas City on Sept. 22 — Palmer beat the Athletics, aided by a sensational diving catch by outfielder Russ Snyder — they did not take the moment for granted.The victory touched off a celebratory food fight that lasted more than an hour. Egg salad, chocolate milk and shaving cream filled the air. Players tossed fully clothed teammates, and owner Jerry Hoffberger, into streaming showers and swirling whirlpool tubs. A champagne-addled Johnson, who’d go on to manage the Orioles 30 years later, nearly drowned in 8 inches of water.Powell cut off announcer Bill O’Donnell’s pants at the knee. An upended buffet table landed on reserve Charley Lau’s head.“Most outlandish thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Watt says.
Baltimore swept the LA Dodgers in October. They returned to the World Series in 1969, 1970 & 1971. The same team won the 1973 & 1974 AL East but lost to the A’s in the ALCS.
The 1966 Orioles started something that lasted over 10 years.
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