How Dayton reveled in the Cincinnati Reds’ 1990 World Series championship

The 1990 season has so many memories for Cincinnati Reds fans.

The Reds won the first nine games of the 1990 season, and by the All-Star break, they were 59-20. Five Cincinnati players — starter Jack Armstrong, relievers Rob Dibble and Randy Myers, and infielders Barry Larkin and Chris Sabo — were All-Stars.

The team won the NLCS series in six games, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In the World Series, the Reds took on the defending World Series champs, the Oakland A’s.

The Reds went on to sweep the A’s in four games. Pitcher Jose Rijo was voted World Series MVP.

Here are some Dayton-related tidbits from the series.

National Anthem

Shortly before the first game of the World Series, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3438 in West Carrollton was packed and alive with activity.

Capt. Alan Boykin from Dayton was going to sing the national anthem before the game.

The 31-year-old Air Force captain from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base sang strongly, his voice full of feeling to the last phrase.

Men and women in Post 3438 cheered, and member Dwight Tackett, who had a 22-year-old son stationed in Saudi Arabia called out, “That’s the way the national anthem should be sung.”

A few days later, Boykin, an instructor at the Air Force Institute, said it was a magical moment in his life.

“Once I got on the field and got started, I wasn’t worried at all. I just sang it from my heart.”

He said shortly after he began, he spotted a homemade sign in the stands.

“I looked up and saw these two women smiling, and they held up a sign that said, ‘Alan Boykin. You make us proud.’ It really touched me,” he said. “If I wasn’t going to give it my all before that, it sure inspired me to sing like I have never sung before.”

Reds superfan

Marty Prather of Bellbrook was considered a Reds superfan. He grew up as a fan of the Reds, Ohio State and the University of Dayton.

He was known for bringing large, clever and professionally painted signs to the ballpark. Game 2 of the World Series was no exception, and for this game, he brought eight different signs.

Only a couple things were off limits for him.

“I don’t hold up Bible verses and I don’t wear a rainbow wig,” he said.

Souvenirs

Vendors from as far away as Rhode Island ascended upon Reds country to sell Reds buttons, shirts, hats, pennants, baseballs and other souvenirs.

One vendor, John Shine, had set up a booth at Main and Stewart streets in Dayton.

“People shop around. They look for bargains,” he said at the time. “They drive around from stand to stand and ask about prices.”

Long flight home

The final game of the World Series was played in Oakland, so the Reds had a long flight home afterwards.

Hundreds of screaming fans met their chartered jet when it arrived back in Cincinnati at 9:56 p.m. The crowd of at least 500 cheered the team are the doors opened, chanting “Sweep, Sweep, Sweep!”

“It’s stirring. It’s just overwhelming for all these people to be out here at this hour of the night,” Reds owner Marge Schott said.

The celebration

A Dayton Daily News reporter went to downtown Cincinnati to report on the celebration that night. He found one fan from Dayton.

His trusty battery-powered television set on the car seat beside him, John Combs drove from Dayton just to be part of the Fountain Square celebration.

He ended up being one of about 50,000.

“I wanted to be here. I thought it would be more fun down here,” he said, as he stood on the corner of Fifth and Vine streets, watching the last out on a TV set inside the Fifth and Vine Street Bar in the Westin Hotel downtown.

After the game, Combs went over to Fountain Square to join the gathering crowd.

“I’m just gonna hang around here and watch everybody party. I like to see other people having fun,” he said.

Newspaper advertisements

Following the World Series, advertisements for Cincinnati Reds-related items filled full pages in the Dayton Daily News.