There have been few series in the history of baseball which were better than the 1975 World Series. This series had it all: pitching, hitting, defense, memorable moments, and most importantly, great star-power. Every game was a great game and never was there a dull moment. When one considers all of the great World Series played in more than 100 years of baseball history, this series will consistently be mentioned with the very best.

It was no accident that the Boston Red Sox and the Cincinnati Reds met in the 1975 World Series. The powerhouse Reds, known simply as the Big Red Machine, had dominated the National League since the early 1970s, but everything peaked in 1975 behind MVP second baseman Joe Morgan, as the team won a club-record 108 regular-season games against just 54 defeats. The Red Sox had been a consistently good team throughout the early ‘70s, but had failed to make the playoffs, finishing second or third in the American League East a remarkable six years in a row from 1969-74. But things changed in 1975 with the arrival of rookie centerfielder Fred Lynn, who in unprecedented fashion won both the AL MVP and Rookie of the Year awards (a feat since matched only by Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki in 2001).

More than anything, on the surface, the 1975 World Series represents some of the greatest star-power ever assembled on one field for a postseason series. The Red Sox featured Hall of Famers Carl Yastrzemski and Carton Fisk as well as stars Luis Tiant, Dwight Evans, and Lynn. The Reds lineup, one of the greatest in history, was stacked from top to bottom with Hall of Famers Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Johnny Bench (the Krylon Man, “No runs, no drips, no errors”), and Morgan, as well as stars Ken Griffey Sr., Davey Concepcion, George Foster, and Cesar Geronimo (has there ever been a cooler name than Cesar Geronimo?). The Reds were also managed by another Hall of Famer, Sparky Anderson.

With all of this star-power on the field, one would certainly expect a great series. These guys didn’t disappoint. Each game was better than the last up to the amazing Game 6. This game, quite simply one of the greatest games ever played, will forever be remembered for its ending, Carlton Fisk’s game-winning home run over the Green Monster in Fenway Park in the twelfth inning as the Red Sox came back win 7-6 to force a climactic seventh game. Of course this is one of the most famous moments in baseball history, and rightfully so, but it overshadows what was before it an amazing game. The Red Sox trailed 6-3 in the eighth, and hopes appeared to be slipping away, when outfielder Bernie Carbo, pinch-hitting for Tiant, drilled a three-run blast to tie the game before it went to extra innings. In the top of the eleventh inning, Morgan hit a long drive which would have given the Reds a two-run lead, but rightfielder Evans made a spectacular catch to rob Morgan of the home run and preserve the tie. All this set up Fisk’s heroics the next inning. This game was amazing to watch just for how well it was played and for all of its drama, but when one considers the time and place and situation of the game and series, it’s simply one for the ages.

Every baseball fan has seen the footage of Fisk’s home run countless times, but it’s interesting to see it here in context of the game. Fisk’s dramatic animation, when it appeared as if he was willing the ball to stay fair with the frantic arm gestures, was not seen in the original broadcast until a couple minutes after it happened. This indelible shot, which will surely live forever, is clearly one of the great moments in the history of the game. And strictly speaking, it wasn’t even seen live.

While Game 6 is the game everybody remembers, it would be a shame to forget Game 7. The Red Sox took an early 3-0 lead before the Reds chipped away at it with two runs in the sixth and another in the seventh to tie. Morgan, in dramatic fashion, singled in Pete Rose with the game-winner in the top of the ninth inning as the Reds won both the game and the series, 4-3.

Sure, the Reds won this World Series, but I think it’s fair to say that this series belonged to the Red Sox just as much. Before the Sox won it all in 2004 to end an 86-year drought, Sox fans often called themselves the winners of the 1975 World Series. Fisk would say, “The Red Sox beat the Reds three games to four.” Yes, this doesn’t quite make sense, but it’s a way of understanding that this great series was for fans of both teams. Neither side should have been disappointed by its outcome.

When I watch a set like this I can only hope that the series features good announcers. Luckily this one doesn’t disappoint. The announcing teams varied from game to game with Curt Gowdy and Joe Garagiola doing play-by-play and Ned Martin, Marty Brennaman and Dick Stockton offering color commentary. These guys were all good, not as good as Vin Scully and Garagiola on the 1986 World Series set, but I suppose I’m just happy listening to any game which doesn’t feature that blabbermouth Tim McCarver.

One bit that I really found interesting was the commentary during one of the games about Pete Rose. They commented that Rose at that point had 2,547 career hits and that they thought he had a good chance to achieve 3,000 hits in his career. Little did they know that Rose would stick around long after he was a useful player in his personal vanity project, his attempt to surpass Ty Cobb. (He eventually finished with 4,256 hits, surpassing Cobb.)

A&E Home Video and Major League Baseball have once again teamed up to deliver a fantastic release of a complete World Series, just as they did with the 1986 World Series: New York Mets Collector’s Edition and the 2005 World Series: Chicago White Sox Collector’s Edition. Included are all seven games of this series, but not quite in their entirety. There are two games that are missing an inning each. Luckily, these were non-scoring innings which did not impact the series. I must give A&E and MLB kudos for mentioning this on the outside of the packaging. It’s unfortunate that they are not complete, but please do not let that deter you from purchasing this wonderful set.

Presentation
Unfortunately, the video quality throughout is rather poor. The surviving footage from videotapes over 30 years old is naturally lacking in sharpness, but I was really disappointed by how these games look. I can forgive A&E and Major League Baseball for not having the greatest source material, but it doesn’t lessen my disappointment. Very often, the picture is so washed out that the viewer cannot make out what is happening on the field because you cannot read the names on the back of players’ jerseys. There’s lots of static and everything is very fuzzy throughout. At times it’s much better than others, but too often, it’s simply not very good. That said, understand that we shouldn’t be expecting great video from these discs and you won’t be overly disappointed. Just be happy that the tapes survived for the most part in viewable form.

The audio has fortunately survived in a little better fashion than the video. Presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, this is really a mono track spread over two channels. Obviously, they weren’t broadcasting in stereo in 1975. It sounds alright. Dialogue is generally easy to understand and there were no sound drops as I noticed on the 1986 set. Once again, I am disappointed by A&E’s failure to include subtitles or closed captions on these otherwise terrific baseball sets. I cannot imagine it would have been cost-prohibitive to add one of these options.

Extra Features
Once again, A&E and MLB have managed to compile an impressive array of extra features for this set.

Introducing The Big Red Machine - This is simply the pre-game introduction of the Reds team before Game 3 in Cincinnati. This is nothing special and I really wonder why it couldn’t have been included on the disc for that particular game.

Pre-Game and Post-Game Interviews with Pete Rose, Carl Yastrzemski, Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk, Sparky Anderson, Darrell Johnson - These are also very typical pre and post-game interviews with the participants in this series. We’ve all seen stuff like this a thousand times, and there’s nothing new revealed here, but it’s still neat to see. Again, I think they could have easily included this stuff on each individual game disc, but I’m not complaining.

Downtown Rally - This is footage from the Reds’ post-series rally. We see Pete Rose and Tony Perez briefly address the crowd and the city is presented with the World Series trophy. It’s nothing special, but something a Reds fan will surely enjoy.

Interviews with Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, Pete Rose, Sparky Anderson, Ken Griffey Sr., Don Gullett, Bernie Carbo, Carlton Fisk, and Fred Lynn - Again, these are very typical interviews of this type, but if you’re a fan, they’re very enjoyable. It’s always a pleasure to hear people reminisce about the greatest moments of their lives.

The packaging claims that there’s a feature included called Clubhouse Celebration, but it was nowhere to be found on this set. Perhaps this simply was omitted on the screener set that was sent to me for review. It’s not something I would say is glaringly missing because there’s plenty of nice bonus material included in this set already.

Finally, just like the other World Series sets from A&E and MLB, this set has awesome packaging. The box is very solid cardboard and it features random facts about the series. Inside, each disc has its own translucent slimcase. The front cover of each case features facts about the game inside and the back cover features a box score of the game. Included on the inside is play-by-play for each inning. Just like the previous World Series releases, this is awesome stuff.

Parting Words
I’m a huge baseball fan and love the history of the game, but I was not yet two years old at the time of the 1975 World Series so I wasn’t sure just how much I would enjoy this series. Yes, it was a little before my time as a fan, but many of these players were still around at the time I really got into baseball in the early 1980s, so it was neat seeing them play this series. And to see them play a series of such importance in such a manner really was a delight. I think Red Sox fans can enjoy this DVD set in a way they probably cannot enjoy the 1986 set. And of course Reds fans should love it. But really, you don’t have to be a fan of either team (I’m not) to enjoy this set. I highly recommend it to all baseball fans despite its obvious flaws in video quality.