Carlton Fisk’s game-winning home run in the 1975 World Series squares off against Cam Neely and his 50 goals in 44 games in the third round of Boston’s Greatest Sports Moment tournament.
Carlton Fisk knew it. Really, everyone watching knew. Fisk’s shot down the left-field line at Fenway Park in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series had the distance, but would it stay fair? Fisk hopped down the first-base line using both arms to wave the ball fair, and the ball clunked off the foul pole to give the Red Sox a walk-off win and force Game 7 against the Cincinnati Reds. The Sox lost Game 7, but Fisk’s home run lives on as one of the most iconic moments in Boston sports and baseball history. His shot off Pat Darcy changed the way television stations broadcast baseball games. Cameramen at the time were taught to follow the ball, but NBC cameraman Lou Gerard later said he was distracted by a rat so instead kept the camera pointed at Fisk, who was in the midst of his memorable wave. The rest, as they say, is history.
50 in 50. That may sound like another ESPN special, but to hockey fans, the numbers represent a very significant achievement that only eight players have ever accomplished — scoring 50 goals in a team’s first 50 games of an NHL season. Bruins great Cam Neely scored his 50th goal in his 44th game of the 1993-94 season, etching his name in Boston sports history. Neely may not be recognized across the NHL as an official 50-in-50 player because his 50th goal came in the Bruins’ 66th game overall (due to Neely’s injury battles), but the big forward with a knack for taking over games will always hold a special place in the hearts of Bruins fans. The great No. 8, who now serves as the team’s president, is tied with Mario Lemieux as the second-fastest player to reach 50 goals in a season behind Wayne Gretzky.
Which is a greater Boston sports moment?
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