Dave Henderson was responsible for my first sports-fan memory

Dave Henderson passed away yesterday.  He's the man who created my earliest pro-sports memory:

On October 12, 1986, the Red Sox trailed the California Angels 3-1 in the ALCS.  Boston entered the top of the ninth inning of Game 5 down 5-2.

My father wheeled the TV from the living room into the dining room so we could watch it while we ate dinner.  It's the first (and maybe only?) time I remember that happening.

First, Don Baylor hit a two-run homer to make it 5-4.  Then three batters later, with the Angles a strike away from going to the World Series, "Hendu" did this:



That ankle-spraining jump on his way to first base is an image I can still see clearly in my head nearly 30 years later.  Henderson hit the game-winning sacrifice fly in the 11th inning as well.  Boston eventually came all the way back to take the series in seven games.

The crazy thing I'll never forget is that Henderson was also responsible for the Red Sox falling behind in the first place that day:



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