Remembering 1966: Best Orioles quotes, the year that was and Birds facts

The year that was

The war in Vietnam heats up, as do protests against it. In December, there are 385,000 U.S. troops there. Casualties for the year total more than 6,000 Americans dead and 30,000 wounded. The Surveyor spacecraft lands on the moon and sends back pictures. Surgeons complete the first successful artificial heart transplant. Medicare begins.

Spiro Agnew elected governor of Maryland and Ronald Reagan elected as governor of California. The Black Panther Party is founded. Two mass murderers make headlines. In Chicago, Richard Speck kills eight student nurses; at the University of Texas, Charles Whitman shoots and kills 12 from a tower on campus. Truman Capote writes "In Cold Blood."

A gallon of gas costs 32 cents; a first-class stamp costs a nickel. The minimum wage rises to $1.25. The Dow Jones Index hits 995. Orioles tickets range from 75 cents (bleachers) to $2.90 (box seats).

Maryland-born Kauai King wins the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. Texas Western, with five black starters, defeats all-white Kentucky for the NCAA basketball title in College Park. Golfer Jack Nicklaus wins the Masters and British Open. Heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali (nee Cassius Clay) wins five fights and declares himself a conscientious objector. Cleveland's Jim Brown, the NFL's career rushing leader, retires from football. The NFL and American Football League agree to merge by 1970.

"The Sound of Music" wins an Oscar for Best Picture. Television marks the debuts of "Star Trek," "Batman" and "The Monkees." Bill Cosby wins an Emmy for "I Spy," "The Dick Van Dyke Show" wins for Best Comedy. Billboard's No. 1 hit for the year is "The Ballad of the Green Berets," while the Grammy for Record of the Year goes to "A Taste of Honey" (Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass).

1966 Orioles facts

1. The last player cut by the Orioles in spring training was Don Larsen, who 10 years earlier had pitched a perfect game for the New York Yankees in the World Series. Larsen had originally pitched for the Orioles in 1954, going 3-21 and leading the majors in losses.

2. In June, Orioles relievers retired 38 consecutive batters, almost 1 1/2 games of perfect pitching.

3. The Orioles managed at least one base hit in 22 consecutive innings during a three-game sweep of the second-place Detroit Tigers in July.

4. Frank Robinson was in a 3-for-18 batting slump in July when rookie second baseman Davey Johnson told him he was standing 6 inches too close to the plate. Robinson took note and went on a 12-for-17 tear.

5. In an 8-6 win over the Cleveland Indians in August, Davey Johnson homered off the left-field foul pole — the Orioles' third such home run of the season.

6. The Orioles suffered a succession of injuries during the summer. At one point in August, the wounded included Davey Johnson (fractured toe), Boog Powell (broken finger), Andy Etchebarren (pulled hand muscle), Moe Drabowsky (bruised collarbone), Steve Barber (inflamed elbow) and Wally Bunker (tendinitis).

7. On Aug. 23, at a raucous team party at the Towson home of funeral director Leonard Ruck, Frank Robinson nearly drowned. Pulled from the pool to safety, Robinson recovered and, the next day, hit two home runs against the Cleveland Indians.

8. Two days later, trailing Boston 2-0 in the ninth inning, the Orioles tied the game on successive pinch-hit home runs — an American League first — by Vic Roznovsky and Boog Powell. Baltimore won, 3-2 in 12 innings

9. Shortstop Luis Aparicio, one of the team's lightest hitters, had three five-hit games and a 17-game hitting streak.

10. All World Series games were telecast in color on both WBAL and WJZ.