Carlton Fisk Waves It Fair

On October 21, 1975, Carlton Fisk hit a home run off the left field foul pole at Fenway Park in the bottom of the twelfth inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 7-6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in Game 6 of the World Series. The image of Fisk waving the ball fair as he bounced down the first base line became one of the most iconic moments in baseball history.

The game itself was a back-and-forth classic. Boston built an early 3-0 lead. Cincinnati tied it with three runs in the fifth, then scored three more in the seventh and eighth innings to take a 6-3 advantage. The Red Sox looked finished.

Bernie Carbo, pinch-hitting in the bottom of the eighth, launched a three-run home run into the center field bleachers to tie the game 6-6. It was Carbo's second pinch-hit home run of the Series. The game moved into extra innings. In the eleventh, the Red Sox loaded the bases with no outs but failed to score. The Reds threatened in the top of the twelfth but were turned back by a throw from right fielder Dwight Evans.

Leading off the bottom of the twelfth, Fisk drove a 1-0 sinker from Pat Darcy high down the left field line. NBC cameraman Lou Gerard, stationed inside the left field wall, kept his camera fixed on Fisk rather than following the ball. The resulting footage, showing Fisk desperately waving his arms to will the ball fair, gave the moment its lasting visual power. The ball clanged off the foul pole. Fisk leaped and the crowd erupted.

Game 6 forced a seventh game the following night. The Reds won that one 4-3, claiming the championship, but it was Fisk's home run and the body language that came with it that endured.