Game 5 — Detroit 1968 Part Two: Reconciliation Game 5 is a two-part novel that tells the story of how 12 people from diverse backgrounds come together to attend Game 5 of the epic 1968 World Series between the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals at Tiger Stadium. The idea for Game 5—a work of fiction inspired by real events—came to author William A. Baltz after the Fetzer Institute in Kalamazoo hired him to write a speech about the life of John Fetzer, owner of the Detroit Tigers from 1961 through 1983. He learned how this respected baseball executive worked behind the scenes to bring a World Series championship to Detroit as a means of healing a divided city after riots devastated Detroit in July of 1967. Against the backdrop of a city on edge, the escalating war in Vietnam, a growing civil rights movement and one of the most thrilling baseball seasons ever—the year of the pitcher—Mr. Baltz weaves a dramatic story using a mixture of real and fictional people. Part One: Sense of the Sacred , introduces you to the main characters and takes place from the golden age of baseball—for both the Major and Negro leagues—through 1967. Part Two: Reconciliation , mainly takes place in 1968 when the Tigers are the talk of Detroit as they march on during that tumultuous summer to win the American League pennant while people dance to the sounds of Motown, debate the Vietnam war, grieve the loss of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy, and tune in to hear Ernie Harwell announce the play-by-play featuring Mickey Lolich, Al Kaline, Dick McAuliffe, Gates Brown, Bill Freehan, Mickey Stanley, Norm Cash, Don Wert and other stars on that legendary Tiger team with strong ties to Michigan. Game 5 is a baseball epic and much more—it has a spiritual dimension and element of mystery. The story spans many of the major events of the twentieth century here and abroad, taking you to Africa, England, Japan, India and other foreign lands where baseball is still felt and in some cases proves a godsend. In many ways, Game 5 explores the meaning of home. Fictional characters include a reverend in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in search of a long-lost player in the Negro League; two couples—one white, the other black—whose friendship is tested when their sons join the U.S. Marines; a man from England enthralled with America and its national pastime; and a black Vietnam veteran who returns home only to be caught in the Detroit riot and assigned to assist a Marine casualty notification officer. Writer Ernest Hemingway, Tiger owner and mystic John Fetzer, his baseball savvy general manager Jim Campbell, African American baseball owner Effa Manley, Motown music star Diana Ross, renown singers Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, African bush pilot Beryl Markham, famed manager Lefty O'Doul, the colorful baseball executives Bill Veeck and Branch Rickey, Tiger great Willie Horton, and Baseball Hall of Fame players Charlie Gehringer, Hank Greenberg, Larry Doby, Monte Irwin, Eddie Mathews, Bob Gibson and Warren Spahn are among the many real people who interact with these and other fictional characters. No one knows for certain who sent them tickets to Game 5 or why. But on Monday, October 7, 1968, with the Tigers down 3-1 in the World Series against the favored St. Louis Cardinals—led by baseball greats Bob Gibson and Lou Brock—the main characters in need of healing and “a turning point” find themselves in prime seats at this do-or-die game. Although set in a different era, the novel deals with issues similar to those of today. Ultimately, Game 5 is a story about forgiveness, healing, hope and compassion—and above all, the triumph of love.