Kolchak is trying to finish a reporting assignment so he can go see the Chicago Cubs in the World Series. He, correctly, says the Cubs are in the World Series for the first time in 29 years. The last time the Cubs were in the World Series was 1945, which was 29 years before this episode aired. In reality, the 1974 Chicago Cubs finished last in the National League East Division with a 66-96 record. The Chicago Cubs were absent from the World Series from 1945-2016, when they won the World Series for the first time since1908.
In a bit of comedic irony, the World Series baseball game Kolchak is hoping to attend is being played between the Boston Red Sox (whose last World Series championship before this episode aired had been in 1918) and the Chicago Cubs (whose last World Series championship before this episode aired had been in 1908). The Red Sox would not win a World Series championship until 2004, and the Cubs would not win until 2016.
The 1974 World Series began in October and featured the Oakland A's vs. the LA Dodgers.
Dr. Winestock tells Kolchak that pandas are raccoons not bears. While this seems absurd to us today, at the time there was much debate about the classification of pandas as bear or raccoon, as it shares characteristics of both. With the advance of DNA technology it was firmly established that pandas are members of the bear family.
The story establishes September 2 as Game One of the World Series, with the Boston Red Sox playing the Chicago Cubs in Chicago and winning the game 1-0. This would seem to be a "goof" since neither team played in the actual 1974 World Series, which began on October 12.
However, in a historical fact that is too exacting to be just a freak coincidence, the 1918 World Series began on September 5 and ended on September 11. It is the only World Series ever to have been played completely in September; the regular season had been cut short on September 2 because of America's involvement in the First World War.
In 1918, the Game One visiting team was the Boston Red Sox. The home team was the Chicago Cubs. The Game One score was 1-0. Boston's winning pitcher was Babe Ruth as the Red Sox went on to win the World Series, the last time they would win a Series until 2004, with the 86-year drought dubbed "the curse of the Bambino" because Ruth would become a New York Yankee following the 1919 season.
Someone on the Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974) production staff must have been a serious baseball fan because the last time a World Series even began in September was 1955; Game One was played on September 28. As Casey Stengel, the losing manager that year, used to say, "You could look it up."
However, in a historical fact that is too exacting to be just a freak coincidence, the 1918 World Series began on September 5 and ended on September 11. It is the only World Series ever to have been played completely in September; the regular season had been cut short on September 2 because of America's involvement in the First World War.
In 1918, the Game One visiting team was the Boston Red Sox. The home team was the Chicago Cubs. The Game One score was 1-0. Boston's winning pitcher was Babe Ruth as the Red Sox went on to win the World Series, the last time they would win a Series until 2004, with the 86-year drought dubbed "the curse of the Bambino" because Ruth would become a New York Yankee following the 1919 season.
Someone on the Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974) production staff must have been a serious baseball fan because the last time a World Series even began in September was 1955; Game One was played on September 28. As Casey Stengel, the losing manager that year, used to say, "You could look it up."