Los Angeles Dodgers' Kirk Gibson celebrates after hitting the game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Oakland A's 5-4 in the first game of the 1988 World Series.
Oct. 15, 1988
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Kirk Gibson was up at bat in the last inning against the Oakland A’s during Game 1 of the World Series, with his team down by one run with two outs. He hit a home run into the right-field stands on a full count, the first time a team had been behind in a World Series game and hit a homer to win in the bottom of the ninth. While it was one of the most memorable home runs in baseball history, the status of the ball remains unknown. Team historian Mark Langill told the Los Angeles Times in April 2007, “It’s our biggest mystery. We have no idea where it ended up.” And while Gibson has said that a woman once sent him a picture of the bruise on her leg where the ball hit her, no one’s ever come forward with the ball itself.