What began as a Vida Blue/Rudy May pitchers’ duel became an epic endurance test.

On July 9, 1971, the A’s and Angels played 19½ scoreless innings before Angel Mangual finally delivered a two-out RBI single in the 20th for a 1-0 Oakland victory. The game set an MLB record for the longest scoreless contest ever played, while the exhausted teams combined for another all-time mark with 43 strikeouts, with 17 delivered by A’s phenom Vida Blue in 11 innings.

🕵️ Inside The Original Newspaper Coverage:

  • Vida Blue flirted with history despite no-decision heartbreak

  • Also on the page: Giants vs Dodgers headline hinted at looming Dodgers collapse

🕵️ Replay Today: May 7, 1976

See one original newspaper page giving a snapshot of baseball as fans saw it that day.

  • A pair of Yankees shut down their former team in Anaheim — while another carried a hitting streak that stretched into double digits. Can you guess who it was?

  • Detroit had the American League Player of the Month… and still found themselves stuck in second place. See which Tiger was on fire in April 1976.

  • Rain wiped out the Tigers game, but one rumor buried in the sports page hinted at a baseball realignment idea that sounds shockingly modern today.

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