Most baseball fans remember 2001 Hall of Fame inductee Bill Mazeroski as the hero of the 1960 World Series. Whitey Ford, 91, pitcher who epitomized mighty Yankees, dies Ford is the Yankees' all-time leader in wins. He started on the varsity baseball team as a freshman and was named to the All-Ohio State basketball team as a senior. And, so, Pirates fans began to gather at its foot Tuesday at 11:15 a.m., at about the time Forbes Field's gates opened that long-ago Thursday for Game 7 of the World Series. Houston Astros and future Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan called Mazeroski "the gold standard" for infield defense. FILE - In this June 12, 2016 file photo, former New York Yankees pitcher Whitey Ford waves to fans from outside the dugout at the Yankees' annual Old Timers Day baseball game in New York. The great New York Yankees pitcher Whitey Ford has died. Murtaugh blamed poor seasons by Mazeroski, pitcher Bob Friend (8-19), Bob Skinner, and Bill Virdon as the culprits in the team’s poor performance. The legendary blast gave the Pirates their first World Series championship in 35 years and set off a wild celebration in Pittsburgh that lasted for days. It extended Pittsburgh's lead to 5–2 and proved to be the difference in a 6–4 victory. Years later, Mazeroski conceded that the demotion had a negative effect on his confidence as a young player. , Cronkite School at ASU Ruth’s single-season home-run mark stood until 1961. Locally, the barrier is usually referred to as "Mazeroski's Wall." This was the first World Series ending home run in the history of Major League Baseball. Mazeroski was the focus of a staged game-ending triple play as part of a cameo appearance in the 1968 Hollywood hit film The Odd Couple. His 19 home runs and 69 RBI each ranked second at his position in the major leagues. It wasn't long before Pirates broadcaster Bob Prince would refer to Mazeroski as simply "The Glove," as he set the standard for defense at the position that would remain in place decades later. In the fourth inning of Game 1, with Don Hoak on base, Mazeroski hit a two-run homer off Jim Coates that cleared the left-field scoreboard. Although this is technically not the actual section of wall that Mazeroski's famous home run cleared, a nearby plaque in the sidewalk of Roberto Clemente Drive does mark the spot where the sudden-victory homer cleared the wall. His son Dave is an atmospheric scientist who did not pursue a baseball career. Apologizing to those who "had to come all the way up here to hear this crap," he then sat down to a long and loud standing ovation from the audience and his fellow Hall of Famers. Mazeroski told reporters in the jubilant home team clubhouse afterward. He was also in a commercial for FSN Pittsburgh featuring former Pirates first baseman Sean Casey. DESCRIBING THE ninth-inning home run that beat the Yankees in the 1960 World Series in an Oct. 23, 2000, SI article, the former Pirate Bill Mazeroski (above) recalled his own boyhood fantasies: "It was the seventh game of the World Series ... then you hit the home run. Whitey Ford, who had the best winning percentage of any pitcher in the 20th century and helped the Yankees become baseball's perennial champions in the 1950s and '60s, has died. We beat the Yankees!'" With the score tied 9-9 Bill Mazeroski slammed Yankee pitcher Ralph Terry’s second pitch over the wall at Forbes Field, winning the game and the Series. 9 of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Bill Mazeroski, has just hit a pitch that is heading for the trees beyond the left field wall. Mazeroski forged his legacy in the 1960 World Series, when he slammed two game-winning home runs. Phoenix, AZ 85004 In 1987, Mazeroski ran for the Democratic nomination for County Commissioner in his home of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania but his bid was unsuccessful. 555 N. Central Ave. #416 Considered by some to be greatest home run of all-time, Bill Mazeroski connected on a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of game seven against Yankee pitcher Ralph Terry to win the 1960 World Series. In 1954, 17-year-old Bill Mazeroski signed with Pittsburgh as a shortstop and after one season in the minors was moved to second base by Pirates' President, Branch Rickey . Whitey Ford, Pitcher Who Epitomized Mighty Yankees, Dies at 91 Nicknamed the “Chairman of the Board,” Ford was a wily left-hander who pitched from … Mazeroski turned down college scholarship offers from Duquesne, Ohio State and West Virginia to pursue a professional baseball career. Leading off the inning for the Pittsburgh Pirates was 24-year-old second baseman Bill Mazeroski. At precisely 3:36 p.m. local time, on Terry's second pitch, Mazeroski slammed a high fastball just to the left of the 406-foot marker in distant left-center field. Mazeroski was recognized by Major League Baseball by being selected to throw out the first pitch of the Home Run Derby that preceded the 2006 All Star Game at Pittsburgh's PNC Park, receiving a long standing ovation. MLB held two All-Star Games from 1959 through 1962, List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders, List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise, "Former Point Breeze teen still wonders about lost Mazeroski ball", The Sporting News' Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments: Maz, Audio: Mazeroski's home run to win Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, Baseball's Last Hero: 21 Clemente Stories, National League Second Baseman Gold Glove Award, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_Mazeroski&oldid=994317030, Sportspeople from Wheeling, West Virginia, Major League Baseball players with retired numbers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, October 4, 1972, for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 15 December 2020, at 02:29. The manager felt that the extra pounds held back Friend and Mazeroski. Whether you think so or not, it is nothing short of classic and almost every fan would agree it was quite exciting. Home-plate umpire Bill Jackowski called it a ball. Mazeroski would have been the guest of honor at the first showing in 50 years of the previously-lost television footage of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, but he was unable to attend due to an undisclosed illness that left him hospitalized. He served in the same capacity with the Seattle Mariners in the 1979 and 1980 campaigns. Among the Major League records for second basemen Bill Mazeroski Complete splits including home/road, lefty/righty, clutch situations, vs. opponent, by month, by role, and many more 1961 Mazeroski turned the double play into an art form with Gene Kelly-like footwork, magical hands, sure arm and oak-strong legs that survived countless attempts by base-runners to break up the play. As a rookie, Mazeroski saw his batting average tumble below .200 in mid-August of the 1956 season. In reality, Mazeroski never suffered such an inglorious moment during his playing days, but according to the Society for American Baseball Research was part of triple plays in both 1966 and 1968 as a fielder. October 1960; Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: No. In 1979, Mazeroski was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.[4]. Was this the best game played in World Series history? Yes, Harris was there for the jubilant welcome Mazeroski received at the plate. Mazeroski was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001. He also earned his first Gold Glove Award. In September 2010, a statue of Mazeroski was unveiled outside PNC Park, depicting his famed celebration—running with both arms extended, ball cap in right hand—after his Game 7 walk-off home run to win the 1960 Series. And despite the Pirates being outscored in the series 55-27 by the Yankees, this was the only run that mattered. It wasn't long before manager Bobby Bragan dropped him to last in the batting order for 10 games. The Game 7 Gang’s 60th anniversary celebration of Bill Mazeroski’s World Series-winning home run was pushed to the current home of the Pittsburgh Pirates by the pandemic. After a Budweiser television commercial of the 1980s incorporated the original radio broadcast of the 1960 World Series Game 7, with announcer Chuck Thompson incorrectly naming Ditmar instead of Ralph Terry as the In 2003, the Ohio Buckeye Local High School in Rayland (which had since absorbed Warren Consolidated) honored him by naming their new baseball field after him, placing a monument behind home plate in recognition. And this was Mazeroski’s best regular-season performance at the plate, as he hit .275 with a .747 OPS, 19 homers and 68 RBIs. In the bottom half, however, the Pirates evened the score when Bill Virdon walked, stole second, advanced to third on an error by shortstop Tony Kubek, and scored on a double by eventual National League Most Valuable Player Dick Groat. Overall, he hit over twice as many home runs (93) on the road than at his home park (45). In the top of the first inning, New York right fielder Roger Maris, the eventual 1960 AL MVP, drilled a home run off Law to give the Yankees a 1–0 lead. Mazeroski spent his entire playing career with the Pirates before he joined the staff of manager and ex-teammate Bill Virdon as a third base coach in the 1973 season. He had a career-high 82 RBI in 1966, when he batted no higher than the sixth spot in all except 17 games. Mazeroski was a key member of two Pirates World Series championship teams, in the 1960 and 1971 seasons. FILE – In this June 12, 2016 file photo, former New York Yankees pitcher Whitey Ford waves to fans from outside the dugout at the Yankees’ annual Old Timers Day baseball game in … The crowd “sucked in their collective breaths” 1 as Terry delivered a shoulder-high fastball. Jubilant Pittsburgh Pirates fans rush onto the field to congratulate second baseman Bill Mazeroski as he rounds third base after hitting his World Series-winning home run … His ninth-inning home run in Game 7 against the mighty New York Yankees was the first walk-off home run in series history and secured the Pirates' first World Championship in 35 years. "Baseball men are saying that Mazeroski, with his great hands and range and arm, is perhaps the finest young infielder in the business," Sports Illustrated reported in its 1958 preseason analysis. "I don't know what the pitch was (to Bill Mazeroski in game seven). Ralph Terry still gets emotional about it now, his voice cracking a few times over the telephone during a conversation Thursday about Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. Phone: 602.496.1460 Contact SABR, 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, https://sabr.org/sites/default/files/pirates%20fans.png, /wp-content/uploads/2020/02/sabr_logo.png, October 13, 1960: Bill Mazeroski's heroic homer brings World Series championship to Pittsburgh, October 13, 1960: Bill Mazeroski’s heroic homer brings World Series championship to Pittsburgh, “Moments of Joy and Heartbreak: 66 Significant Episodes in the History of the Pittsburgh Pirates”. Mazeroski took part in 10 All-Star Games [a] and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001. No one … During his 17-year career with Pittsburgh (1956-72), the Hall-of-Famer won eight Gold Glove awards and earned a reputation as one of the finest fielding second basemen in the history of the game. ... won 10-9 by the Pirates after a Bill Mazeroski home run in the bottom of the ninth. Tied 9-9 in the 9th, Bill Mazeroski hits the only walk-off home run in a Game 7 in World Series history to give the Pirates the championship In the 1960 World Series, which the Pirates won, he slugged .640 and hit one of the most famous home runs in baseball history. Remarkably, Mazeroski was able to accomplish this even though he played nearly half of his games at Forbes Field, whose infield was widely thought to be the worst in the majors because of its alabaster-like surface and many errant hops. The Yankees threw Art Ditmar against the Pirates' Vern Law (the NL Cy Young Award winner) in Game 1. Mazeroski also was known for extraordinary durability, especially given his chronic leg problems and the physical demands of the second base position. Bill Mazeroski had hit a walk-off home run to hand the World Series championship to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Fourteen-year-old schoolboy Andy Jerpe retrieved the ball amid the cherry trees in Schenley Park, which was adjacent to the ballpark. It seemed that the second baseman had forgotten that he was to lead off the bottom half of the inning, and it wasn't until first base coach Lenny Levy reminded him that he hurriedly picked up a bat. Mazeroski hosts an annual golf tournament, The Bill Mazeroski Golf Tournament. William Stanley Mazeroski (born September 5, 1936) is an American former baseball second baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1956 to 1972 and hit one of the epic home runs in major league history, a dramatic ninth-inning blast that decided the 1960 World Series and remains the only walk-off home run in a World Series game seven. The last came on October 13 in Game 7 off New York Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, and it remains the only so-called walk-off homer to decide Game 7 of a Fall Classic in major league history. He also was picked to manage the National League during the All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball Game during the All Star week celebrations there. In 1966 and 1967, he was in the field for all except 32 of a possible 2,921 2/3 innings. His son Darren is a retired junior college baseball coach. 10/13/60: Bill Mazeroski wins the 1960 World Series for the Pirates with a dramatic walk-off home run against the Yankees in Game 7 He waited 23 years to gain admittance, which prompted Newsweek columnist George Will to remark six years before his election, "The exclusion of Mazeroski from Cooperstown is a case of simple discrimination against defensive skills.". In 1995, Harrison Central High school, located in Cadiz, Ohio had a field donated by Bill which would later be known as "Mazeroski Field". Icon SMI Mazeroski was elected to the Baseball Hall … And Pittsburgh will always have the Left-field Wall, the one Bill Mazeroski homered over at 3:36 p.m. on Oct. 13, 1960. While his stellar defense regularly overshadowed his contributions with a bat, Mazeroski had a number of productive offensive seasons with one of the most potent attacks in the majors. He hit .320 with team highs of five RBI, four runs scored and two home runs in the series. The blast, the first Game 7 walk-off home run in MLB history, gave the Pirates their first championship in 35 years and created an indelible moment in the annals of sports history. Bill Mazeroski’s home run in the Fall Classic still stands as the only walk-off home run in a World Series Game 7 to this date. He and Roberto Clemente were the last remaining Pirate players from the 1960 World Series winners in 1971, when they beat the favored Baltimore Orioles in seven games. "The home run took a while to sink in because all I could think of was, 'We beat the Yankees! Originally a shortstop, he was moved to second base and made his major league debut on July 7, 1956, against the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds. Second base: Bill Mazeroski, 1958 Seems like it makes sense to have the best defensive second baseman of all time in the infield. Rookie Status: Exceeded rookie limits during 1956 season Full Name: William Stanley Mazeroski The statue depicts Mazeroski as he rounds the bases after hitting the game-winning walk-off home run in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series to … In his prime years, he drove in more runs than any middle infielder in baseball even though he was frequently in the bottom third of the order.