April 19, 1981. Easter Sunday morning, sometime after 2:00 a.m. The phone rings in the club house of McCoy Stadium, home to theTriple A affiliate Pawtucket Red Sox. It was for Joe Morgan, manager of the home team. His wife was calling.
Joe took the call in his office. He had been thrown out of that night's game with the Rochester Red Wings. He explained to his wife that the team was in an extra inning game and he would be home as soon as it was over. She flipped! "You never used that excuse before Joe! You promised you'd take us to church tomorrow. I know you're drinking beer and playing poker. Oh, and shut those lights off down there. The city can't afford those electric bills and I can't sleep with the lights flooding into the bedroom."
Yes, the east side of Pawtucket was like Times Square that night. After 2:00 a.m., the concession stands were open with free food to those still in the stands. At 4:07 a.m., league officials called the game. Paw Sox owner Ben Mondor issued life-time passes to the 19 souls that sat through a cold miserable night to watch history being made. The score was tied, 2-2.
Joe Morgan never made it home that night. He slept on his office couch. He did go to church.The marathon resumed on June 23 before 5,756 fans. Millions more listened or watched worldwide. Pawtucket, a sleepy old textile town on the banks of the Blackstone, had never seen such excitement. Rochester columnist Bob Minzesheimer wrote that day, “Not since the time they had to shoot the drunken camel at the city zoo has there been this much excitement in Pawtucket."
It took just 18 minutes on June 23rd to finally end the contest and rewrite history. The record still stands. Thirty three innings, twenty three days — the longest ballgame on record. The Paw Sox won, 3-2.
Washington Post
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