Brooks Robinson, Jim Palmer and Boog Powell on the 1966 World Series

This figures to be a special night at Camden Yards. The Orioles will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1966 World Series four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was the first of three World Series wins for the Orioles.

There will be a pregame video tribute to that team that will begin at approximately 6 p.m.. Following the video, the Orioles will welcome back National Baseball Hall of Famers and Orioles legends Jim Palmer and Brooks Robinson, as well as Eddie Fisher, Dick Hall, Larry Haney, Bill Hunter, Bob Johnson, Davey Johnson, John Miller, Boog Powell, Vic Roznovsky, Russ Snyder and Eddie Watt.

At a luncheon today the players got to interact with some fans. What did they say to the players?

"Thanks for being here," Robinson said. "That was nice. You know in 1960 and '64 we had a chance, but didn't quite get there. Then we were the best team and we won. It was a dream come true.

"It is hard to win and there are so many players that never get a chance to experience that. To me that is what it was all about. You dream of it. You sign a contact, play in pro ball, play in the major leagues, get on a winner and then win."

"It was a pretty special time for all of us, the fans, the whole community," Palmer said.

The Orioles won Game 1 5-2 as Moe Drabowsky pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts in relief of Dave McNally, and Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson hit back-to-back homers in the first inning. The makings of an upset was underway.

Then, in Game 2, Palmer, just 20, pitched against the great Sandy Koufax. The Orioles won 6-0 and Palmer became the youngest to ever pitch a World Series shutout. A few players were asked how they felt going into that game with such a young pitcher facing such a great pitcher.

"I didn't have any reservations at all about Jimmy going out there," first baseman Powell said. "We watched him all year long. He could change speeds with his fastball, throwing it 97 (mph) or 94 or 93. He'd throw 160 or 170 pitches, until we could win it for him."

How did Palmer feel heading into that game?

"I went to Dodger Stadium as a kid," he said. "That was Sandy Koufax. I didn't want to embarrass myself for the club. You try not to change anything in the postseason. If you are prepared, you just go out and compete. As kids, you play with the big boys growing up. That was a big boy moment."

The Orioles allowed two runs in the first three innings of Game 1 of that World Series and then pitched three straight shutouts and 33 consecutive scoreless innings from that point on in a stunning display of pitching.

"I think (catcher Andy) Etchebarren was the one keyed in that the Dodgers weren't hitting fastballs," Powell said. "Moe (in Game 1), everything he threw was a fastball on the outer edge. Etch said we should just keep throwing fastballs."

The Orioles had a few winning seasons before that year, but Baltimore got to celebrate in 1966. That season would set the tone for a run of winning where the Orioles would play in four World Series over six years from 1966-1971.

"The disappointing thing was losing two of them," Brooks Robinson said. "If we had won all four, we would have gone down as the greatest ever, that is the way I feel. Winning 109, 100 and something and 100 and something games (from 1969-71). You have to win in this game, you can't be second-best. We didn't do it but we won a lot of games."

But that stunning World Series upset really got Baltimore excited about its baseball team and some of that excitement clearly exists to this day.

"We could go to any bar or restaurant in town and they would buy you dinner," Powell said.

More on the '66 Birds: Check out this story published by Brian Eller with some video from today's press conference.