The Cincinnati Reds won the National League West division by 10+1⁄2 games over both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Houston Astros.
The Reds [95–59 (.617)] won one fewer game than the Pirates [96–59 (.619)] during the strike-reduced regular season and became the first team in MLB history to reach the World Series without having the best record in its respective league.
[4] This was a matchup of the two premier MLB dynasties of the 1970s, with the Reds winning two World Series (1975–76) in four WS appearances, while the Athletics won three straight (1972–74).
Iconoclastic club owner Charlie Finley's "Swingin' A's" featured day-glo uniforms, white shoes, much facial hair, colorful nicknames, and explosive personalities, while "The Big Red Machine" was a more traditional franchise with a more traditional look (including a facial-hair ban)—and an everyday lineup with three future Hall of Famers as well as all-time hits king, Pete Rose.
"[5] Oakland played the Series without its star outfielder Reggie Jackson, who was injured (pulled hamstring) stealing home in the second inning of the final game of the ALCS at Detroit on October 12.
Tenace became the first player ever to homer in his two initial Series plate appearances, a feat later matched by Andruw Jones of the Atlanta Braves in 1996.
The A's received a combined four innings of shutout relief from Rollie Fingers and Vida Blue to secure the victory for starter Ken Holtzman.
The Game 2 hero was A's left fielder Joe Rudi, who smacked a home run and added a sparkling, game-saving catch up against the wall in the ninth inning on a ball hit by Denis Menke.
Catfish Hunter pitched eight strong innings, consistently wiggling out of trouble, and also added an RBI single in the second off Ross Grimsley.
The Reds' failure to produce in the clutch was as much the story as Rudi's heroics as Cincinnati had leadoff baserunners in five innings but only scored a run in the ninth.
Rollie Fingers then relieved Hunter and induced pinch hitter Julián Javier to pop out to Hegan in foul territory to end the game.
Jackie Robinson, the first black major league player of the modern era, made his final public appearance in Cincinnati before Game 2 (he died nine days later).
Heavy storms delayed Game 3 by a day, but the Reds got back into the series behind a strong performance from starter Jack Billingham, who held the A's to three hits in eight innings.
The Reds had Joe Morgan on third and Bobby Tolan on first base with Rollie Fingers pitching to NL MVP Johnny Bench.
Blue walked Morgan and allowed a clutch two-run double to Tolan, giving Cincinnati the lead as the Reds seemed poised to tie the series at 2 games apiece.
Compounding problems for the Reds, their ace pitcher Gary Nolan, who had been battling shoulder and neck issues during the second half of the regular season, was unable to pitch Game 5, forcing part-time starter Jim McGlothlin to start instead.
But two of the struggling Reds, Pete Rose and Joe Morgan who were a combined 1 for 28 at the plate in the first four games, stepped up to make key plays.
The game ended dramatically when Morgan threw out the potential game-tying run at the plate as the Reds staved off elimination.
But second baseman Morgan raced over, waved Perez off, caught the ball, slipped on the grass but got up and fired a throw to nail pinch runner Blue Moon Odom, who had tagged from third.
Johnny Bench, who had no RBI in the series to that point, broke a scoreless tie in the fourth with a homer off starter Vida Blue.
Gene Tenace capped a spectacular World Series with two hits, two RBI and he also scored the game-winning run in the sixth inning on Sal Bando's double.
Oakland scored an unearned run in the first inning off Jack Billingham when Reds center fielder Bobby Tolan misplayed a fly ball by Mangual into a three-base error.
Mangual scored on a two-out single by Tenace on a ball that hit a seam in the Astroturf and bounced over the head of third baseman Denis Menke.
Curt Gowdy (on TV) and Jim Simpson (on radio) alternated play-by-play with team announcers Al Michaels (Reds) and Monte Moore (Athletics).
This was the last time to date that an American League team had won a World Series Game 7 on the road until 2017, when the Houston Astros did so in Los Angeles.
The Reds would go on to form a dynasty for themselves, becoming the third NL team (following the Chicago Cubs in 1907–08 and the New York Giants in 1921–22) to win consecutive World Series in 1975 and 1976.