Longest Professional Baseball Game One for the Record Books

Professional baseball’s longest game took place between the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings and Pawtucket Red Sox in April 1981.
Longest Professional Baseball Game One for the Record Books
Wade Boggs acknowledges the crowd prior to his number 26 retirement ceremony before the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Colorado Rockies at Fenway Park in Boston on May 26, 2016. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
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Imagine a 33-inning baseball game being stretched out over 66 days. It happened.

Saturday, April 18, 1981, is when it all began. Triple-A International League baseball, two clubs that were no strangers to fans in Western New York and New England, began their day as any during their 140-game season schedule. During a time when clubs charged $4 for box seats, and bleacher seats could be had for $1.50, anticipation ran high for a game between the rivals on the evening before Easter Sunday.

Donald Laible
Donald Laible
Author
Don has covered pro baseball for several decades, beginning in the minor leagues as a radio broadcaster in the NY Mets organization. His Ice Chips & Diamond Dust blog ran from 2012-2020 at uticaod.com. His baseball passion surrounds anything concerning the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and writing features on the players and staff of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Don currently resides in southwest Florida.