By CHUCK GORMLEY
Courier-Post Staff



A conversation with former Phillies relief pitcher Dickie Noles is like diving head-first into a fiction novel, only his stories are true and very much the fabric of his life.

Phillies fans most remember Noles for his infamous knockdown pitch of Hall of Famer George Brett in Game 4 of the 1980 World Series, a pitch some believe changed the entire tone of the series.

But there are painful and personal stories about Noles that he now offers regularly as a motivational speaker who has been invited to more than 3,000 schools across the country.

About how his mother, Doris Jean Tarbush, was raped at the age of 15 and that he was born nine months later.

About how he started drinking, smoking marijuana and taking drugs at 17 and hit rock bottom "seven or eight times" before he finally quit at age 26.

About how his life was changed on April 9, 1983 when he was arrested in Chicago for getting into a fight with bar bouncers and spent the next 180 days in a prison cell.

And how he started a SAVES program to counsel teenagers on the dangers of drugs and alcohol, so that they can avoid the addictions that robbed him of the most productive years of his life.

Noles was a fearless 23-year-old pitcher with the Phillies when he received that fateful call in the bullpen in the first inning of Game 4 of the 1980 World Series.

Phillies starter Larry Christenson was getting knocked around, allowing doubles to Hal McRae and Amos Otis, a triple to Brett and a home run to Willie Mays Aikens as the Royals jumped out to a 4-0 lead.

"It was kind of frightening," Noles said. "They were hitting rocket after rocket after rocket. Their swagger had changed. They were taking extra bases and it seemed like they were bullying us. It was almost like we weren't leading them in the World Series no more."

Noles turned to fellow reliever Kevin Saucier and said, "This is bull. Somebody needs to go down."

Noles entered the game and after issuing a walk to load the bases he coaxed Willie Wilson into an inning-ending groundout.

The next inning, Noles gave up Aikens' second home run of the game, which gave the Royals a 5-0 lead. Noles said Aikens stood at the plate and watched the ball sail into the stands.

Noles remembers telling Aikens he better run the bases "and run them real quick," or he'd get a baseball "upside the head."

"He just stood there and looked at me," Noles said. "And I thought, "I'm gonna knock somebody down or flat-out drill somebody.' "

Everyone in the ballpark expected Noles to throw a hard, high one at Aikens when he came up again in the fourth inning, but when George Brett took his time getting into the batter's box after a pair of early strikes Noles grew agitated.

"I don't know if he heard me, but I said, "If you don't get in the box, I might drill you instead,' " Noles said.

Brett paid no attention to the threat and when he dug in, Noles uncorked a fastball that narrowly missed hitting the Royals third baseman in the jaw.

"I thank God to this day that I didn't hit him," Noles said. "It probably would have broken his jaw."

Noles struck out Brett with a hard slider on the next pitch, then struck out Aikens and McRae to end the inning.

The Royals hung on to win the game 5-3 to tie the Series at two wins apiece. Noles quickly was portrayed as a sinister pitcher who nearly decapitated the best hitter in baseball.

Noles said he received a few death threats that night and his hotel room phone rang so often he had to take it off the hook. When he awoke, he saw a dummy hanging from a noose outside his room.

"Even the waitress at breakfast was angry with me," he said.

Brett had just three hits in 11 at-bats after that knockdown pitch and several Phillies have since suggested Noles' brave stand was the turning point in the Series.

"I disagree with that," Noles said. "We had the best left-hander in the history of baseball (Steve Carlton) pitching in Game 6 and they weren't going to win."

Noles, who admits now he was a heavy drinker at the time of the World Series, did not throw another pitch in that series and was traded by the Phillies a little more than a year later in a package for Chicago Cubs pitcher Mike Krukow.

Now 48 and a Certified Addiction Counselor, Noles has been sober for more than 22 years and works for the Phillies as an Employee Assistance Professional, counseling players at all levels of the organization. Reach Chuck Gormley at cgormley@courierpostonline.com
Published: August 29. 2005 6:00AM