On August 13, 1969, few imagined the “Amazin’ Mets” were about to live up to their nickname.

As of that day, Houston had just swept the Mets, sending them to third place and 10 games behind the Cubs in the NL East. One reporter quipped that if not for the Astros, the Mets “may have won a pennant this season.” Little did he know that the Mets would finish the season 39-11, storming past the Cubs and going all the way to a World Series title—cementing one of baseball’s most improbable comebacks.