CONTENTS

6
NEWS OF THE WEEK
Jack Nicklaus won in Denver, and Kenya's Yobes Ondieki shattered a world record in Oslo

30
Classic
THE SEASON OF HIGH HEAT
In the tumultuous summer of '68, Denny McLain and Bob Gibson set baseball ablaze
BY STEVE RUSHIN

38
THE GREATEST GAME I EVER SAW
Five scribes, who among them have attended 10,000 ball games, recall their favorites

46
HELL-RAISERS IN HALOS
The 1961 Los Angeles Angels were an expansion team, but they didn't play like one
BY RON FIMRITE

58
THE SECRETS OF SAM
Hall of Famer Sam Rice came out of nowhere to play for the Washington Senators
BY STEVE WULF

66
DIMAGGIO: THE ENDURING IMAGE
A photographic portfolio of the Yankee Clipper, a national icon whose luster never fades

76
HIS OWN BIGGEST FAN
Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who was baseball's first commissioner, was part hero, all ego
BY RON FIMRITE

96
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN...
Baseball's tantalizing twists of fate make one wonder: What would have happened if...?
BY STEVE RUSHIN

DEPARTMENTS

13
SCORECARD

17
FACES IN THE CROWD

21
ANNIVERSARY

25
DATELINE

82
SPORTS PEOPLE

90
BASEBALL

106
POINT AFTER

COVER PHOTOGRAPHS BY JAMES DRAKE (GIBSON) AND WALTER IOOSS JR.

PHOTO

AP

Clipping the Clipper: You can be sure of one thing: This gaggle of starlets didn't charge Joe DiMaggio for a makeover in 1937 before his screen debut in Manhattan Merry-Go-Round. For more glimpses of this American hero from a bygone era, see page 66.