Each moment of that memorable game was adorned by the commentary of ABC Sports announcers Al Michaels and baseball legend Jim Palmer (the Money Store dude, to us kids born in the mid-1980s).
It probably didn't sit easy for Sox fans across the country when the Boston bashers struck first blood, getting the early advantage with a 2-1 lead through five innings.
As Denis Leary said in the 2004 World Series DVD, "the more things seem to change, the more they stay the same."
In this case, the early Red Sox lead spelled trouble in the form of a 5-2 lead heading into the top of the ninth.
Baby boomers and old-time Sox fans were in collective disbelief.
How could it be, that a team that had the lead, and had gone this far, choke down the stretch?
Well, 1986 was going to shake things up with the world of normalcy. For once, a change was going to happen that would forever change the playoff complexion for both teams.
Mike Witt, who was California's reliable hurler throughout the season, just needed to close out the game for his second complete effort, and more importantly, a ticket to the World Series.
Future MLB manager Don Baylor had other things in mind, like a two-run homer on a two-strike count which made that apparent, insurmountable lead into a single run deficit.
Witt was eventually replaced by southpaw Gary Lucas after he retired the next batter.
Lucas had a bit of a snafu when he plunked Rich Gedman on his first pitch, immediately being sent to the dugout and putting California's hopes to close the game out with reliever Donnie Moore.
Unfortunately for Moore, Boston center fielder Dave Henderson had other ideas in mind for a great finish, going yard off the hurler for a two-run bagger that gave the Sox its second and one of its most pivotal leads of the game and ALCS.
Shocking the fans in attendance at Anaheim Stadium, Henderson dusted off his defensive goof-up from the early innings to become an instant Boston sports hero. Not quite Larry Bird stratosphere, but nevertheless, a likeable icon for the time.
If you're a history major, then you know what happened next. A common rule of thumb for a Boston sports fan is that no lead is safe, and just as they did so many times in this ALCS, this lead was short-lived.
California's Bob Boone would set the table up for his hungry teammates, as Rupert Jones, who pinchran for B-Squared, would run home via a sacrifice fly by Gary Pettis and a Rob Wilfong single.
Event-less would describe the 10th inning of play, with only teases by both teams highlighting what would eventually lead to the dramatics of the 11th.
Henderson, who had already made a defensive lapse earlier in the game and dialed long distance for two in the top of the ninth, made sure his heroics with Red Sox all over the bases.
Hitting a sac-fly which sent Baylor home from third base, Boston would finally grab a lead that it would never relinquish.
Sure, David Ortiz' homers and hits against the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS were magnificent, important, and special for Red Sox Nation.
His efforts, along with the fine pitching gems by Curt Schilling and Derek Lowe in that series, led the Sox to a fruitful World Series appearance with a trophy in hand that year.
Equally as impressive was Henderson's performance in Game Five in the '86 ALCS, which truly defined the rest of the series for both teams.
Boston's Calvin Schiraldi would close out the game by retiring the side in order, thus prompting Halo nation to feel a bit of nervousness and shock. After all, who else would blow a three-run lead over a team that was on its collective knees?
Despite the return back to friendly territory, aka Fenway Park, even an early lead for the Angels in Game Six did not change matters over their shocking defeat in the previous contest.
Journey could probably sum it up best for the Boston fans, as the Sox "didn't stop believin'" in emerging victorious from the hard fought contest.
To the tune of a 10-4 win in the sixth game, Boston would tie the series in incredible fashion, with Oil Can Boyd grabbing a victory for the Sox.
Game Seven could be best summed up by the lyrics of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," who famously sang that "good times never seemed so good."
In the case of this '86 Boston Red Sox roster, those were times that were as good as it got, as they would go on to win the final game with an 8-1 score over California.
Irony has a way of showing itself in untimely situations. Perhaps in a weird twist of fate of sorts, the Sox found themselves in the same position that the Halos were in a series ago.
This time, it was the BoSox who were just a strike away from a pennant, though this was for the World Series.
And just like their Golden State opponents, Boston would squander opportunities to win and seal the deal for a title. Then again, that tune has been played continuously for Bostonians since, well, 1986.
While these players didn't hoist a World Series title in the fall of '86, they would go down in Boston sports lore as one of the best Red Sox teams of all-time.
It was a year to remember for Bostonians, even if the Patriots were clobbered by Mike Ditka's Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX, or if the Red Sox choked down the stretch (and stop blaming Buckner!).
For it was indeed, the Spirit of '86 that forever lives with Beantowners who remember how close we were to not even realizing these great sports memories in a certain Game Five of the 1986 ALCS classic.
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