Tom Niedenfuer
A flame-throwing reliever for the Dodgers whose career became defined by two fateful pitches in the 1985 postseason.
Born 1959 (age 67)·American baseball player·Birthday: August 13·Baby Boomers
Biography
Tom Niedenfuer threw the fastball that Ozzie Smith golfed over the right-field wall in Game 5 of the 1985 National League Championship Series. That home run — Smith's first left-handed homer in 3,009 career at-bats — tied the series, and Niedenfuer then surrendered the series-ending blast to Jack Clark in Game 6. Born in 1959, the right-handed reliever spent six-plus seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, earning a World Series ring in 1981 under manager Tommy Lasorda. His 95-mph heater made him a trusted late-inning weapon. Across a decade in the majors, he pitched for the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, and St. Louis Cardinals, posting a 3.29 ERA and 58 saves. Those two October pitches, replayed for decades, defined his public memory. His career numbers show a solid bullpen arm — 412 innings, 340 strikeouts — but baseball's margin between hero and heartbreak rarely spares the pitcher who throws the wrong pitch at the wrong moment.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Tom was born in 1959, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Tom Was Born
The biggest hits of 1959
#1 Movie
Ben-Hur
Best Picture
Ben-Hur
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Tom's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1959Born
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1964Started school
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1972Became a teenager
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1975Could drive
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1977Could vote
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1980Turned 21
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1989Turned 30
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1999Turned 40
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 50
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2019Turned 60
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2026Age 67 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won a World Series championship as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981.
- Recorded 64 saves and a 3.17 ERA over six-plus seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
- Pitched in three National League Championship Series (1981, 1983, 1985) for the Dodgers.
- Struck out 426 batters over his 10-year Major League career.
Did You Know?
He was drafted by the Dodgers in the 2nd round of the 1979 amateur draft.
The home run he gave up to Ozzie Smith in Game 5 of the 1985 NLCS was the first ever postseason home run hit by the Hall of Fame shortstop.
He was traded from the Dodgers to the Baltimore Orioles in May 1986 for pitcher John Habyan.
He attended Washington State University before being drafted.
“In relief, your job is simple: get the next out, no matter the situation.”
