Despite losing the series, the Yankees scored 55 runs, the most runs scored by any one team in World Series history, and more than twice as many as the Pirates, who scored 27. The Yankees won three blowouts (16–3, 10–0, and 12–0), while the Pirates won four close games (6–4, 3–2, 5–2, and 10–9) to win the series. The Pirates' -28 run differential is the lowest ever by any team, winner or loser, in a World Series.[1] The Series MVP was Bobby Richardson of the Yankees, the only time in history that the award has been given to a member of the losing team, though the rules were different at this time. Votes had to be in by the start of the 8th inning of Game 7, at which point the Yankees were in the lead, and this was the first time since the series MVP award was created in 1955 that the team leading at that point did not go on to win. Richardson was also the first non-pitcher to be named MVP.
Statue commemorating Mazeroski's walk-off home run in Pittsburgh
The Yankees, winners of their 10th pennant in 12 years, outscored the Pirates 55–27 in this Series, out-hit them 91–60, out-batted them .338 to .256, hit 10 home runs to Pittsburgh's four (three of which came in Game 7), got two complete-game shutouts from Whitey Ford—and lost. The Pirates' inconsistent pitching and Yankees' manager Casey Stengel's controversial decision not to start Ford in Games 1 and 4 resulted in the peculiar combination of close games and routs. Ford (Games 3 and 6) and Vern Law (Games 1 and 4) were excellent, while Pirates relief pitcher Roy Face was a major factor in Games 1, 4 and 5. The Yankees also committed twice as many errors as the Pirates in the series. The Yankees had 8 errors while the Pirates had four errors.
The Yankees threw Art Ditmar against the Pirates' Vern Law (the NL Cy Young Award winner) in Game 1. 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. 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. Bob Skinner then singled to drive in Groat and stole second, coming home on a single by Roberto Clemente. Pittsburgh now led 3–1. This was enough to compel Casey Stengel, the Yankee manager, to pull Ditmar in favor of Jim Coates, who finished the inning.
In the fourth, New York cut the lead to one run when Maris singled, moved to second on a Mickey Mantle walk, took third on a fly out by Yogi Berra, and scored on a single by Bill Skowron. But the Pirates extended their lead to 5–2 in the fourth when Don Hoak walked and Bill Mazeroski homered. Pittsburgh added an insurance run in the sixth when Mazeroski doubled with one out and scored on Virdon's double off Duke Maas, and although the Yankees cut the lead in half on a ninth-inning 2-run home run to right field by Elston Howard, reliever Roy Face successfully closed it out to give the Pirates a 6–4 victory and a 1–0 series lead.
Game 2, matching New York's Bob Turley against the Pirates' Bob Friend, saw the Yankees pummel Pittsburgh 16–3.
The game was scoreless until the top of the third, when the Yankees jumped out to a 2–0 lead. Second baseman Bobby Richardson walked, was sacrificed over to second by Turley, and scored on a single by Tony Kubek. Gil McDougald then doubled, plating Kubek all the way from first base. Turley aided his own cause with an RBI single in the fourth, driving home Richardson, who had singled and moved to second on a passed ball. Although Hoak doubled home Gino Cimoli in the bottom of the fourth to break the shutout, the Yankees extended their lead to 5–1 courtesy of a two-run home run by Mantle off Fred Green.
In the sixth, the solid Yankee lead turned into a rout. Elston Howard hit a lead-off triple and scored on Bobby Richardson's double to chase Green from the game. Clem Labine replaced Green. A passed ball by Smoky Burgess and error by shortstop Dick Groat on Tony Kubek's ground ball put runners on first and third with one out before McDougald's RBI single made it 7–1 Yankees. After a walk and strikeout, Yogi Berra's two-run single and Bill Skowron's RBI single made it 10–1 Yankees. Red Witt relieved Labine and allowed back-to-back RBI singles to Howard and Richardson that made it 12–1 Yankees. Mantle continued the onslaught by blasting a three-run home run in the seventh off Joe Gibbon and scoring on a wild pitch by Tom Cheney in the ninth after walking and moving to third on a double, making it 16–1 Yankees. Although the Pirates tacked on two runs in the bottom half of the frame on back-to-back RBI singles by Gino Cimoli and Smoky Burgess, Bobby Shantz relieved Turley and got Don Hoak to hit into the game-ending double play. This decisive Yankee victory tied the series at a game apiece.
For Game 3, the Series shifted to Yankee Stadium as Stengel sent Whitey Ford to the mound against Pittsburgh's Vinegar Bend Mizell. Ford had somewhat of an off year (12–9, 3.08 ERA and 192.2 IP) for his lofty standards, but was brilliant against the Pirates.
The Yankees continued the offensive onslaught they displayed in Game 2, grabbing a 6–0 lead by the end of the first inning. Mizell would only get one batter out. After two singles, Bill Skowron drove in the first run with an RBI single. After a walk loaded the bases, Elston Howard added another run with an RBI single off Clem Labine before Bobby Richardson capped the scoring with a grand slam (during the regular season, Richardson had hit only one home run, off Baltimore's Arnie Portocarrero on April 30). The next time a first inning World Series Grand slam would be hit would be in the 2021 World Series, 61 years later. In the fourth, the Bronx Bombers added on four more runs, courtesy of a two-run home run by Mickey Mantle off Fred Green and—after three singles had loaded the bases—a two-run single by Richardson off Red Witt. The Pirates, meanwhile, could not get anything going against Ford, who tossed a masterful four-hitter. The Yankees now led the series 2–1.
The Pirates had seen their pitching fail them in the last two games, as the team fell victim to the powerful Yankee bats. This was not the case in Game 4, however, as Pittsburgh sent Game 1 winner Vern Law to the hill against Ralph Terry.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth, when Bill Skowron launched a home run off Law to give New York a 1–0 advantage. The very next half-inning, though, Pittsburgh stormed back, when with two on and two outs, Law doubled in Gino Cimoli to tie the game and Bill Virdon's two-run single put the Pirates up 3–1. Law kept the potent pinstripers at bay, though the Yankees did scratch and claw for a single run in the bottom of the seventh when Skowron doubled, moved to third on a single by McDougald, and scored on a fielder's choice on a ball hit by Richardson. After a pinch-hit single by Johnny Blanchard, Pirate manager Danny Murtaugh brought in reliever Roy Face, who held the fort for the final 2+2⁄3 innings as Pittsburgh tied the series at two games apiece to ensure a return to Forbes Field.
With the series now tied at two, Yankee manager Casey Stengel started pitcher Art Ditmar, his Game 1 starter (in which he was ineffective), against the Pirates' Harvey Haddix, who had become famous for taking a perfect game into the thirteenth inning in a loss to the Milwaukee Braves the previous year.
As it turned out, on this day Ditmar could not get out of the second inning once again. Dick Stuart singled and was forced out at second on a fielder's choice hit by Gino Cimoli, who then moved to third on a double by Smoky Burgess. Don Hoak then slapped a ground ball toward Yankee shortstop Tony Kubek, who flipped it to third baseman Gil McDougald in an attempt to retire Burgess, who was attempting to advance. However, McDougald dropped the ball for an error (Kubek's toss was accurate), allowing Cimoli to score, with Burgess safe at third, and Hoak reaching second on the error. Bill Mazeroski then lashed a double to left, scoring Burgess and Hoak. After this offensive outburst, Stengel yanked Ditmar and replaced him with Luis Arroyo, who finally ended the inning and stranded Mazeroski.
The next half-inning, New York picked up a run when Elston Howard doubled, moved to third on a ground-out by Bobby Richardson, and scored on another grounder by Kubek. However, the Pirates extended their lead back to three runs in the third, when Roberto Clemente singled home Groat, who led off with a double.
In the bottom of the third, Roger Maris touched Haddix for a home run to deep right field. Otherwise, however, the Pittsburgh hurler was in fine form, holding the Yankees at bay until the seventh, when he was replaced by Face. In the ninth, the Pirates added an insurance run off Ryne Duren. Smoky Burgess had singled and taken second on an error; he was replaced at second by pinch-runner Joe Christopher, who moved to third on a wild pitch, and was singled in by Hoak. Face then shut down the Yankees once again to give the Pirates a 5–2 victory and 3–2 series lead.
For the sixth contest in Pittsburgh, the Yankees started Whitey Ford against the Pirates' Bob Friend. And as was the case the last time Ford had toed the rubber for the Yanks in Game 3, his teammates relentlessly mashed the ball, en route to a resounding 12–0 victory.
In the top of the second, the Yankees went to work. After a Yogi Berra walk and a Bill Skowron single, Elston Howard was hit by a pitch to load the bases (Eli Grba ran for him). Ford himself then notched the first RBI of the game, with a ground ball single to his counterpart Friend that scored Berra. The next inning, after a lead-off hit-by-pitch and double, Mantle cracked a two-run single that scored Tony Kubek and Roger Maris. After a Yogi Berra single moved Mantle to third, Pirates skipper Danny Murtaugh removed the clearly ineffective Friend in favor of Tom Cheney. Cheney, however, fared no better, as a Bill Skowron sacrifice fly scored Mantle and, after a single, a Richardson triple to deep left field scored Berra and Johnny Blanchard, making the score 6–0.
The Yankees then ran away with the game, scoring two runs in each of the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. In the sixth, Clete Boyer hit a lead-off triple off Fred Green and scored on Kubek's single. After another single, Berra's RBI single off Clem Labine made it 8–0 Yankees. Next inning, after a lead-off double by Blanchard, Richardson ripped his second RBI triple of the contest, and Ford added his second RBI courtesy of a fielder's choice on a sacrifice bunt. In the eighth, Berra hit an RBI single with a runner on second, and later scored on Blanchard's double. As in Game 3, Ford was his masterful self, not letting the Pirates mount anything resembling a rally for the full nine innings. His second shutout of the series was critical, as it forced Game 7. Yankee manager Casey Stengel would come under fire in Mickey Mantle's autobiography for letting Ford finish this game—instead of removing him once the Yankees had a comfortable lead—thus making him unavailable out of the bullpen if needed in Game 7.
For the deciding seventh game, Bob Turley, the winning pitcher in Game 2, got the nod for the Yankees against the Pirates' Vern Law, the winning pitcher in Games 1 and 4.
Turley lasted only one inning plus one batter. After retiring the first two batters, Turley walked Bob Skinner, then first baseman Rocky Nelson homered, Pittsburgh's first home run since Bill Mazeroski's in Game 1, to give the Pirates a 2–0 lead. Turley was then pulled after giving up a single to Smoky Burgess leading off the second. Don Hoak then drew a walk against Bill Stafford, and a bunt single by Mazeroski loaded the bases. Stafford appeared to get the Yankees out of trouble after inducing Law to hit into a double play, pitcher to catcher to first. But lead-off man Bill Virdon's single to right scored Hoak and Mazeroski and increased the Pirates' lead to 4–0.
The Yankees got on the board in the fifth on Bill Skowron's lead-off home run, his second of the Series. In the sixth, Bobby Richardson led off with a single and Tony Kubek drew a walk. Elroy Face relieved Law and got Roger Maris to pop out to Hoak in foul territory, but Mickey Mantle singled to score Richardson. Face then blew the save when Yogi Berra followed with a three-run shot to right that gave the Yankees their first lead, 5–4.
The Yankees extended their lead to 7–4 in the eighth with two more runs off Face. With two out, Berra walked, and Skowron singled when the Pirates couldn't get a force-out. Johnny Blanchard (who had replaced Elston Howard at catcher for game 7) then singled to score Berra, and Clete Boyer doubled to score Skowron.
But the Pirates retook the lead with a 5-run eighth inning. Gino Cimoli (pinch-hitting for Face) led off with a single, and Virdon hit a ground ball to short for what could have been a double play. But the ball instead took a bad hop and hit Kubek in the throat, leaving everybody safe and knocking the wind out of Kubek. He eventually got up, and game footage showed him arguing with manager Stengel, seemingly insisting he was ok to stay in the game. He was eventually coaxed off the field and replaced. He was taken to a hospital and kept overnight for observation due to concerns surrounding his trachea swelling up and thus, causing difficulty breathing. Back on the field, Dick Groat then chased Bobby Shantz (who had entered the game in the third and had pitched five innings, having not pitched more than four in any game during the regular season) with a single to score Cimoli and send Virdon to second. Jim Coates relieved Shantz and got Skinner out on a sacrifice bunt, which moved the runners up. Nelson followed with a fly ball to right, and Virdon declined to challenge Maris' throwing arm. Coates then got two quick strikes on Roberto Clemente and was a strike away from getting the Yankees out of their most serious trouble of the afternoon, when Clemente hit a Baltimore chop towards first; first baseman Skowron and Coates both tried to get to the ball at the same time, and Clemente's speed forced Skowron to just hold the ball as Coates could not make it to first base in time to cover. The high chopper allowed Virdon to score, cutting the Yankee lead to 7–6. Hal Smith, who had replaced Smoky Burgess at catcher after being pinch-ran for by Joe Christopher followed with a three-run home run to give the Pirates a 9–7 lead. Game 4 loser Ralph Terry relieved Coates and got the last out.
Bob Friend, an 18-game winner for the Pirates and their starter (and loser) in Games 2 and 6, came on in the ninth to try to protect the lead. Bobby Richardson and pinch-hitter Dale Long both greeted him with singles, and Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh was forced to remove the veteran pitcher in favor of Harvey Haddix. Although he got Roger Maris to foul out, Haddix gave up a key single to Mickey Mantle that scored Richardson and moved Long to third. Yogi Berra followed, hitting a sharp grounder to first, with Rocky Nelson easily getting the second out. In what, at the moment, appeared to be a monumental play, Mantle, seeing he had no chance to beat a play at second, faked a step toward second base and then dove head-first back to first, narrowly avoiding Nelson's tag (which would have been the third out) as Gil McDougald (pinch-running for Long) raced home to tie the game at 9-9.[9] Had Mantle been out on the play, the run would likely not have counted since the play happened so quickly that the runner on third might not have crossed the plate before the out was recorded. With Mantle safe, the inning continued, but ended when Bill Skowron hit into a force play.
Ralph Terry returned to the mound in the bottom of the ninth. The first batter to face him was Bill Mazeroski. With a count of one ball and no strikes, the Pirates' second baseman smashed a historic long drive over the left field wall for his second home run of the Series (left fielder Berra had no chance to catch it despite following it to the wall), winning the game 10–9 and crowning the Pirates as World Series champions. As the Pirates erupted, the Yankees stood across the field in stunned disbelief. The improbable champions were outscored, out-hit, and outplayed, but somehow had managed to pull out a Game 7 victory. Years later, Mickey Mantle was quoted in Ken Burns' documentary Baseball as saying that losing the 1960 series was the only loss, amateur or professional, he cried actual tears over. For Bill Mazeroski, by contrast, his Series-clinching home run was the highlight of a Hall of Fame career otherwise notable mostly for excellent defense.
Mazeroski became the first player to end the World Series with a home run. Thirty-three years later, Joe Carter would become the only other player to end the World Series with a home run, doing so for the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1993 World Series against the Pirates' in-state rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies, albeit in Game 6. Mazeroski remains the only player to end a Game 7 of the World Series with a home run, and is one of just two players to hit a walk-off home run in a Game 7 of any postseason series (Aaron Boone is the other, doing so for the Yankees in the 2003 American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox).
Because of the game’s back-and-forth nature (especially in the eighth and ninth innings) and historic conclusion, the game is considered by some to be the greatest game in MLB history,[10][11][12] as well as one of the greatest games in the history of professional sports. Although most noted for the series-ending homer, Game 7 is also the only game in all of postseason history with no strikeouts recorded by either side. Three teams in the expansion era (since 1961) went a whole postseason game without striking out - the Pirates in 1974 (Game 2 of NLDS), the Anaheim Angels in 2002 (Game 2 of World Series), and the New York Mets in 2024 (Game 5 of NLCS) - although each of these teams struck out their opponents in these games at least once.
Bobby Richardson of the Yankees was named MVP of the Series, the only time someone from the losing team has been so honored.[citation needed] He batted .367 with 12 RBIs and eight runs in the Series and hit the key grand slam in Game 3.
Game 7 telecast
Prior to the mid-1970s, television networks and stations generally did not preserve their telecasts of sporting events, choosing instead to tape over them. As a result, the broadcasts of the first six games are no longer known to exist. The lone exception is a black-and-white kinescope of the entire telecast of Game 7, which was discovered in a wine cellar in Bing Crosby's former home in Hillsborough, California, in December 2009.[13]
A part-owner of the Pirates who was too superstitious to watch the Series live, Crosby listened to the decisive contest with his wife Kathryn and two friends on a shortwave radio in Paris, France. Wanting to watch the game at a later date only if the Pirates won, he arranged for the telecast to be recorded by Ampex, in which he also held a financial investment. After viewing the kinescope, he placed it in his wine cellar, where it sat untouched for 49 years. It was finally found by Robert Bader, vice-president of marketing and production for Bing Crosby Enterprises, while looking through videotapes of Crosby's television specials which were to be transferred to DVD. The five-reel set is the only known complete copy of the historic game, which was originally broadcast in color.[13][14]
The NBC television announcers for the Series were Bob Prince and Mel Allen, the primary play-by-play voices for the Pirates and Yankees respectively. Prince called the first half of Game 7 and conducted post-game interviews in the Pittsburgh clubhouse, while Allen did the latter portion of the game.[13]
50th anniversary celebrations
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette October 13, 2010, a 50th anniversary reprint of the Pirates' Game 7 victory
On October 13, 2010, for the 50th anniversary of the series winning home run, a gala was hosted by the Byham Theater in downtown Pittsburgh, where the historic telecast of Game 7 was re-aired in its entirety. Bill Virdon, 1960 MVP Dick Groat and Yankee Bobby Richardson were guest speakers, with actor and Pittsburgh native Jeff Goldblum hosting the event. The MLB Network would air the game and gala on December 15, 2010.[15] The telecast was also released on DVD by A&E Home Video.
This would prove to be Casey Stengel's last World Series, as the Yankees soon sent him into retirement. This led to his famous remark, "I'll never make the mistake of turning 70 again." Mazeroski and Clemente were the last two remaining Pirates players from the 1960 World Series winners along with manager Danny Murtaugh and third-base coach Frank Oceak, when the Pirates won the World Series in 1971.
William Stanley Mazeroski, nicknamed "Maz" and "the Glove", is an American former second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1956 to 1972. A seven-time All-Star known during his career primarily for his spectacular defensive play, he has come to be better known for perhaps the most memorable home run in baseball history, a dramatic ninth-inning drive in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series that beat the favored New York Yankees. It was the first time that the major league season ended with a home run, and remains the only walk-off home run to clinch a World Series championship in Game 7. ESPN ranked the World Series winner at the top of its list of the 100 Greatest Home Runs of All Time, while Sports Illustrated had it eighth in its compilation of the 100 Greatest Moments in Sports History. Mazeroski received the Babe Ruth Award for his play in the Series, during which he batted .320.
Elston Gene Howard was an American professional baseball player who was a catcher and a left fielder. During a 14-year baseball career, he played in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball from 1948 through 1968, primarily for the New York Yankees. A 12-time All-Star, he also played for the Kansas City Monarchs and the Boston Red Sox. Howard served on the Yankees' coaching staff from 1969 to 1979.
The 1964 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1964 season. The 61st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the American League champion New York Yankees; the Cardinals prevailed in seven games. St. Louis won their seventh world championship, while the Yankees, who had appeared in 14 of 16 World Series since 1949, did not play in the Series again until 1976.
The 1963 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1963 season. The 60th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the American League (AL) champion and two-time defending World Series champion New York Yankees against the National League (NL) champion Los Angeles Dodgers; the Dodgers swept the Series in four games to secure their second championship title in five years, and their third in franchise history. Dodgers starting pitchers Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and Johnny Podres, and ace reliever Ron Perranoski combined to give up only four runs in four games. The dominance of the Dodgers pitchers was so complete that at no point in any of the four games did the Yankees have the lead. New York was held to a .171 team batting average, the lowest ever for the Yankees in the postseason. Koufax was named the World Series Most Valuable Player.
The 1962 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1962 season. The 59th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the defending American League (AL) and World Series champion New York Yankees against the National League (NL) champion San Francisco Giants. The Yankees won the series in seven games for the 20th championship in team history. It is best remembered for its dramatic conclusion in Game 7; with runners on second and third base and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Giants’ Willie McCovey hit a hard line drive that was caught by Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson to preserve New York's one-run victory. Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry was named the World Series Most Valuable Player.
The 1961 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1961 season. The 58th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees against the National League (NL) champion Cincinnati Reds. The Yankees won in five games to earn their 19th championship in 39 seasons. Yankees pitcher Whitey Ford was named the World Series Most Valuable Player, winning two games over 14 scoreless innings.
The 1958 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1958 season. The 55th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the National League (NL) champion and defending World Series champion Milwaukee Braves. In a reversal from 1957, the Yankees defeated the Braves in seven games to win their 18th title, and their seventh in 10 years. With that victory, the Yankees became only the second team in Major League Baseball history to come back from a 3–1 deficit to win a best-of-seven World Series; the first was the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1925. These teams would meet again in the fall classic 38 years later—by that time, the Braves had moved to Atlanta. As of 2024, this is the most recent World Series featuring the two previous Series winning teams.
The 1955 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1955 season. The 52nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the National League (NL) champion Brooklyn Dodgers against the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees, with the Dodgers winning the Series in seven games to capture their first championship in franchise history. It would be the only Series the Dodgers won while based in Brooklyn, as the team relocated to Los Angeles after the 1957 season. This was the fifth time in nine years that the Yankees and the Dodgers met in the World Series, with the Yankees having won in 1947, 1949, 1952, and 1953; the Yankees would also win in the 1956 rematch.
The 1957 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 1957 season. The 54th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the American League (AL) champion and defending World Series champion New York Yankees against the National League (NL) champion Milwaukee Braves. After finishing just one game behind the NL champion Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956, the Braves came back in 1957 to win their first pennant since moving from Boston in 1953. The Braves won the Series in seven games, behind Lew Burdette's three complete game victories. In the decade of the 1950s, the Braves would be fourth different team and the only non-New York based team to win the World Series. The other 3, the Yankees, Dodgers, and Giants were all based in New York at the time, but at the end of the 1957 season, both the Giants and Dodgers moved to west to California for the 1958 season. In the decade of the 1950s, the Yankees won six world championships, the Dodgers won two, and the Giants (1954) and Braves won only one.
Robert Clinton Richardson, Jr. is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees from 1955 through 1966. Batting and throwing right-handed, he formed a top double play combination with fellow Yankee infielders Clete Boyer and Tony Kubek. He became the only World Series Most Valuable Player to be selected from the losing team when he won the award for his play in the 1960 World Series. In 1962, he led the American League (AL) in hits with 209 and snared a line drive off the bat of Willie McCovey to win the 1962 World Series for the Yankees.
William Charles Virdon was an American professional baseball outfielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Virdon played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates from 1955 through 1965 and in 1968. He served as a coach for the Pirates and Houston Astros, and managed the Pirates, Astros, New York Yankees, and Montreal Expos.
Anthony Christopher Kubek is an American former professional baseball player and television broadcaster. During his nine-year playing career with the New York Yankees, Kubek played in six World Series in the late 1950s and early 1960s, starting in 37 World Series games. For NBC television, he later broadcast twelve World Series between 1968 and 1982, and fourteen League Championship Series between 1969 and 1989. Kubek received the Ford C. Frick Award in 2009.
Joseph Paul DeMaestri, nicknamed "Froggy", was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox (1951), St. Louis Browns (1952), Philadelphia / Kansas City Athletics (1953–59) and New York Yankees (1960–61). Born in San Francisco, he batted and threw right-handed, stood 6 feet (1.83 m) tall and weighed 170 pounds (77 kg).
Cletis Leroy "Clete" Boyer was an American professional baseball third baseman — who occasionally played shortstop and second base — in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Athletics (1955–57), New York Yankees (1959–66), and Atlanta Braves (1967–71). Boyer also spent four seasons with the Taiyō Whales of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). In his 16-year big league career, Boyer hit 162 home runs, with 654 runs batted in (RBI), and a .242 batting average, in 1,725 games played.
Gino Nicholas Cimoli was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Braves, Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, and Los Angeles Angels from 1956 through 1965. He was an MLB All-Star in 1957, and a member of the 1960 World Series champions.
James Alton Coates was an American professional baseball pitcher. A right-hander, Coates pitched in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees, Washington Senators (1963), Cincinnati Reds (1963) and Los Angeles/California Angels (1965–67). He was born in Farnham, Virginia, attended Lively High School, and was listed as 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall and 192 pounds (87 kg).
The 1961 New York Yankees season was the 59th season for the team. The team finished with a record of 109–53, eight games ahead of the Detroit Tigers, and won their 26th American League pennant. New York was managed by Ralph Houk. The Yankees played their home games at Yankee Stadium. In the World Series, they defeated the Cincinnati Reds in 5 games. This season was best known for the home run chase between Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, with the former beating Babe Ruth's single season record by hitting 61.
The 1962 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 80th year in Major League Baseball, their fifth year in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their third at Candlestick Park. The team finished in first place in the National League with a record of 103 wins and 62 losses. They finished the season tied with their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, for first place in the league, necessitating a three-game tiebreaker playoff to determine the pennant winner. The Giants won two of the three games to take their first National League title since moving to San Francisco, making the Giants the first NL Champions of the 162-game schedule era. They went on to the 1962 World Series, where they lost in seven games to the New York Yankees. The Giants had 1,552 hits in the regular season, the most in the club's San Francisco era.
The 1960 Major League Baseball season was played from April 12 to October 13, 1960. It was the final season contested by 16 clubs and the final season that a 154-game schedule was played in both the American League and the National League. The AL began using the 162-game schedule the following season, with the NL following suit in 1962.
Bill Mazeroski's 1960 World Series home run was a baseball play that occurred in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series on October 13, 1960, at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Leading off the bottom of ninth, in a 9–9 tie and with the count one ball, zero strikes, Mazeroski hit a line drive toward deep left field that cleared the wall for a solo home run. Mazeroski homered off of New York Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry to end the Series, giving the Pirates a 10–9 win and their first championship since 1925. It was the first of two times the World Series has ended on a walk-off home run, and the only time it has happened in Game 7. The second and most recent World Series-winning walk-off homer was hit by Joe Carter for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993, although it occurred in Game 6.
References
Moody, John. (2010). Kiss It Good-Bye: The Mystery, the Mormon, and the Moral of the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates. Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain Publishing. ISBN1-60641-149-7.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. (1990). The World Series. 1st ed. New York: St Martins. ISBN0-312-03959-X. (Neft and Cohen 281–286)
Reichler, Joseph, ed. (1982). The Baseball Encyclopedia (5th ed.), p.2168. New York: Macmillan Publishing. ISBN0-02-579010-2.
Reisler, Jim. (2007). The Best Game Ever: Pirates vs. Yankees, October 13, 1960. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. ISBN0-7867-1943-5.
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