After hitting his run-scoring single in the bottom of the 10th, the Dodgers mob shortstop Bill Russell. During the celebration, several fans also rushed the field. One was caught by Sharkey stealing second base as a souvenir. The unidentified fan ended up the next morning all over Southern California on the front page of the Los Angeles Times.

The Dodgers defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-3, winning the playoff series three games to one. The New York Yankees beat the Dodgers in the 1978 World Series in six games.

Additional information on the fan -- especially if he got away with second base -- was not found in The Times’ archive.

After this post was originally published on April 20, 2011, a reader commented that he stole the base and “continue to proudly display the base in my home.”


See more from the Los Angeles Times archives here