On this day 25 years ago, Team USA begins it’s quest for Olympic Baseball Gold
Today Marks the 25th Anniversary of the Start to USA Baseball’s Journey to Olympic Gold
As the 2024 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony unfolds in Paris and the competition gets underway, today marks the 25th Anniversary to the exact day that USA Baseball began a journey to earning arguably the greatest underdog team sport Olympic Gold Medal in American history.
A ticket to the USA vs Canada baseball game on July 26, 1999 (left), along with the ticket to the 1999 Pan Am Games Opening Ceremonies and a ticket to the USA Baseball game on July 27 vs Mexico.
It was July 26, 1999 in Winnipeg – the opening baseball game between the United States and the home team from Canada in the Pan Am Games, which was serving as the qualifying tournament for the 2000 Summer Olympics, that were to be played in Sydney, Australia. It was also the very first game that USA Baseball would be playing with professional players in international competition.
It was an incredible game in front of a sold out crowd. With the score tied 3-3, Team USA plated three runs in the top of the 11th inning to take what looked to be a strong enough lead. But amazingly, the Canadians mounted a rally and had the tying run at the plate with two outs, when Todd Stewart connected on a game-tying home run. I can still hear the deafening crowd going crazy, as I sat in the small press box at Canwest Global Park.
Three batters later, with our relief pitcher still rattled, Canada’s Stubby Clapp blooped a ball into shallow left field, and neither American shortstop Gookie Dawkins or left fielder Shawn Gilbert could catch it. As it fell to the ground, the winning run scored from second base, and Team USA was stunned.
Highlights of the USA vs Canada baseball game can be seen here in the Pan Am Games Daily News Show, beginning at the 14:40 mark.
The front page headline in the Winnipeg Free Press the next morning read “The Miracle on Grass”.
An online search turned up this image of the front page of the Winnipeg Free Press on July 27, 1999, but I don’t have a copy of the original. I wish I had kept it.
Needless to say, it was not the beginning the Americans had hoped for. Our backs were against the wall right away. I recall seeing Team USA manager Buddy Bell and our players sitting in the locker room, in shock.
How Team USA bounces back in Winnipeg, qualifies for the Olympics, and advances and all the way to the gold medal game in Sydney – is chronicled in my book “Miracle on Grass” - available for sale on Amazon.
