History
Forty Years Later: The Dave Henderson Homer That Saved Boston’s Season
On October 12, 1986, Henderson put Boston ahead with the Angels one strike from the pennant, then drove in the winning run in the 11th.
Forty years ago today, Dave Henderson changed the finish of an American League Championship Series that was almost over. On October 12, 1986, the California Angels were one strike from their first pennant when Henderson hit a two-run homer to put the Boston Red Sox ahead in Game 5.1
The homer gave Boston a 6–5 lead in the ninth inning. It did not finish the game: California tied it in the bottom half, and Henderson later drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the 11th. The Red Sox won 7–6 and took the series back to Fenway Park.
How Boston reached that at-bat
The Angels led the best-of-seven series three games to one and carried a 5–2 lead into the ninth. Don Baylor’s two-run homer off Mike Witt reduced the deficit before Dwight Evans made the second out.
California manager Gene Mauch then brought in left-hander Gary Lucas to face Rich Gedman. Lucas hit Gedman with his only pitch, putting a runner on base before Donnie Moore entered to face Henderson.
That sequence matters to the surviving film. Henderson’s swing came after Baylor had already brought Boston close, and after the hit batter had supplied the runner who made a two-run homer possible. Henderson’s home run put the Red Sox ahead; it was not a tying homer.
MLB’s original highlight preserves the home run and celebration.2
Henderson also finished the job
The Angels’ ninth-inning response extended the game, leaving more work for Boston. In the 11th, Henderson’s sacrifice fly scored Baylor with the run that stood as the winner.
His two late contributions are often compressed into the home-run memory. The complete result includes both: the swing that kept Boston in the series and the later fly ball that won the game.
Boston went on to win the ALCS. Henderson’s homer became the moment most often used to recall the comeback, and it was later recognized as a great Red Sox moment by the club’s Hall of Fame.3
The anniversary is an opportunity to return to the actual sequence. Boston’s season survived because the ninth-inning rally created Henderson’s chance, and because the team kept playing after California answered it.
- Allan Wood, SABR Games Project: the complete Game 5 account.
- MLB archive: Henderson’s ninth-inning home run.
- Boston Red Sox: Henderson’s postseason legacy.
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