He hobbled to the plate like grandpa Walton his team down 4-3 with 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth. The 3-2 pitch from Dennis Eckersley was low and away. His swing looked more like a get-acquainted wiff than anything serious yet the ball fell head over heels for Kirk Gibson and sailed toward the outfield. It sailed and sailed and sailed before landing several rows up in the bleachers as the crowd went berserk, delivering the Los Angeles Dodgers victory in game 1 of the 1988 World Series over the heavily favored Oakland A's.

The fact that Gibson was available to bat at all was remarkable. He'd injured both legs during the NLCS and was battling a stomach virus. After hitting his historic shot he limped around the base paths pumping his fist, while in the announcers booth Jack Buck screamed the now immortal line "I don't believe what I just saw!" It would be Gibson's only plate appearance of the entire World Series but talk about making the most of your opportunities!

The shot seemed to invigorate the Dodgers and conversely spook the powerhouse A's (who'd won 104 games during the regular season) with LA going on to win the series 4-1.