The mid-to-late 1960s are fairly regarded as a pretty brutal time in Yankees’ history. CBS infamously purchased the team in 1964, and the team almost immediately began to fall off a cliff. Between their poor ownership and the players of the 1950s and early 60s dynasties aging out, the team went from 1964 to 1976 between World Series appearances, which was unheard of considering the success of the prior decades.
However, that’s not to say that there weren’t bright spots among that darkness. For several
years in the down period, pitcher Al Downing provided some of that light, and he certainly earned a spot on our Top 100 Yankees series.
Alphonso Erwin “Al” Downing
Born: June 28, 1941 (Trenton, NJ)
Yankees Tenure: 1961-69
Downing was born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey attending Trenton Central High School. He’s listed as having college stints at both Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania and then-Rider College in New Jersey, but he signed with the Yankees as an 18, going on 19-year old in 1961.
The Yankees initially sent him to the Binghamton Triplets for the 1961 season, where he was electric. In 12 starts, he put up a 1.84 ERA, as he struck out 96 batters in 98 innings. That impressive start got him a late season call-up to the big leagues, where he appeared in five games.
Downing spent most of 1962 in the minors, only getting another cameo. However, he then put in a breakout campaign in ’63, and ended up spending most of the year in the bigs. Forming a battery with eventual AL MVP Elston Howard, he went 13-5 with a 2.56 ERA (138 ERA+), striking out 171 batters in 175.2 innings. That led to the Yankees giving him the nod on the mound in Game 2 of the World Series, only following Whitey Ford in the rotation. He ended up allowing three runs in five innings, and took the loss. It’s not as though he had much support behind him though, as the Yankees scored just four runs in total during the Dodgers’ sweep (and just one behind Downing).
In 1964, Downing wasn’t quite as good as the previous year, but he was still an important cog in the Yankees rotation, and even led the league in strikeouts with 217. He was again relied on in the World Series, including getting the start in Game 4. However, he struggled this time around, including failing to get an out while allowing three runs in a Game 7 relief outing. The Yankees again lost, as the Cardinals beat them in seven games.
The aforementioned CBS purchase happened following that season, beginning the Yankees’ decline. Downing had some ups and downs in that time, but he was still one of the brighter lights of that period. He and Mel Stottlemyre were a solid combination atop the rotation, even if the rest of the roster was lacking.
In 1967, Downing produced one of the best individual seasons of his career — tops if you use rWAR, 4.5 — getting named an All-Star for the first and only time of his career. However, as the 1960s came to a close, Downing began to struggle and dealt with injuries, as manager Ralph Houk began to use him out of the bullpen. After an average 1969 season, the Yankees traded him to the Athletics for Danny Cater and Ossie Chavarria. It would be an impactful deal though, as a couple years later, Cater was flipped to the Red Sox for relief ace Sparky Lyle.
Downing spent part of the year in Oakland before another trade sent him to the Brewers midseason. After that year, he was on the move again, getting traded to the Dodgers ahead of the 1971 season. There, Downing experience a career resurgence. In ’71, Downing won 20 games, joining a group of African-American pitchers who have been dubbed “Black Aces.”
With the Dodgers, Downing also returned to the postseason in 1974. He threw four innings of of the bullpen in LA’s NLCS victory over the Pirates. He then started Game 3 of the World Series against the A’s as the Dodgers lost the game and eventually the series.
Another notable thing happened earlier that year, when Downing allowed Henry Aaron’s record-breaking 715th home run. While some pitchers fear being the one to give up a record-breaking moment like that, Downing has never felt that way. About the moment, he’s said “It didn’t bother me. Hank did that to a lot of guys.” and “I feel that if you’re out on the mound and the manager hasn’t told you to intentionally walk someone, you have to do everything you can to get that batter out.”
Downing remained with the Dodgers through the 1977 season. Since the end of his playing career, Downing has spent time in the Dodgers and Braves’ broadcast booths.
The Yankees in the CBS ownership era weren’t particularly going good places. However with the likes of Al Downing, you could at least have some hope.
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
