Bill Mazeroski, The Pirates' 1960 World Series Hero, Dies At 89

Bill Mazeroski, nan Hall of Fame 2nd baseman who won 8 Gold Glove awards for his dependable activity successful nan section and nan hearts of countless Pittsburgh Pirates fans for his historical walk-off location tally successful Game 7 of nan 1960 World Series, has died astatine nan property of 89.

Pirates proprietor Bob Nutting said, “Maz was 1 of a kind, a existent Pirates legend. … His sanction will ever beryllium tied to nan biggest location tally successful shot history and nan 1960 World Series championship, but I will retrieve him astir for nan personification he was: humble, gracious and proud to beryllium a Pirate.”

Mazeroski died Friday successful Lansdale, Pa., nan Pirates said. No origin of decease was given.

Elected to nan Hall of Fame by nan Veterans Committee successful 2001, he was, by immoderate measures, nary superstar. Mazeroski had nan lowest batting average, on-base percent and stolen guidelines full of immoderate 2nd baseman successful Cooperstown. He deed conscionable .260 lifetime, pinch 138 homers and 27 stolen bases successful 17 years, and had an on-base percent of .299. He ne'er batted .300, ne'er approached 100 runs batted aliases 100 runs scored and only erstwhile vanished successful nan apical 10 for astir valuable player.

His champion qualities were some tangible and beyond nan container score. His Hall of Fame plaque praises him arsenic a “defensive wizard” pinch “hard-nosed hustle” and a “quiet activity ethic.” A 10-time All-Star, he turned a awesome league-record 1,706 double plays, earning nan nickname “No Hands” for really quickly he fielded grounders and relayed them. He led nan National League 9 times successful assists for 2nd basemen and has been cited by statistician Bill James arsenic nan game’s top protect subordinate astatine his position — by far.

“I deliberation defense belongs successful nan Hall of Fame,” Mazeroski said, defensively, during his Hall of Fame induction speech. “Defense deserves arsenic overmuch in installments arsenic pitching and I’m proud to beryllium going successful arsenic a protect player.”

Baseball fans and Pirates teammates unreserved onto nan section toward Pirates 2nd baseman Bill Mazeroski arsenic he comes location aft hitting a walk-off location tally to triumph Game 7 of nan 1960 World Series.

(Harry Harris / Associated Press)

But Mazeroski’s signature infinitesimal took spot successful nan batter’s box, arsenic nan square-jawed, tobacco-chewing 2nd baseman, a ember miner’s boy from West Virginia, lived retired nan dream of truthful galore kids who thought of playing master ball.

The Pirates had not reached nan World Series since 1927, erstwhile they were swept by nan New York Yankees, and again faced nan Yankees successful 1960. While New York was led by Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, Pittsburgh had fewer salient names beyond a young Roberto Clemente. They relied connected hitters ranging from shortstop Dick Groat to outfielder Bob Skinner, and nan starting pitchers Vernon Law and Bob Friend. Mazeroski, who turned 24 that September, vanished nan play pinch a .273 mean and usually batted eighth.

The bid told 1 communicative successful nan runs file and different successful wins and losses. The Yankees outscored nan Pirates 55-27, and 38-3 successful nan 3 games they won. Mazeroski’s counterpart connected New York, Bobby Richardson, drove successful a grounds 12 runs and was named nan series’ MVP — moreover though he was connected nan losing team. Whitey Ford unopen retired nan Pirates twice, connected his measurement to a then-record 33 2/3 consecutive scoreless World Series innings for nan Yankees ace.

The Pirates’ first 3 wins weren’t astir truthful spectacular, but they were wins — and Mazeroski helped. He deed a 2-run homer successful nan 4th inning disconnected nan Yankees’ Jim Coates successful Game 1, a 6-4 Pirate victory, and a 2-run double successful nan 2nd inning disconnected Art Ditmar successful Game 5, a 5-2 Pittsburgh win. In Game 7, he saved his large deed for nan end.

Some 36,000 fans astatine Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field, and galore much tuning successful connected power and television, agonized done 1 of nan Fall Classic’s wildest and astir affectional conclusions. The lead changed backmost and distant arsenic Pittsburgh scored nan game’s first 4 runs, only to autumn down arsenic nan Yankees rallied successful nan mediate innings and went up 7-4 successful nan apical of nan eighth. Pittsburgh retook nan lead pinch 5 runs successful nan bottommost of nan eighth, helped successful portion by a seeming double-play grounder that took a bad hop and struck Yankees shortstop Tony Kubek successful nan throat. But nan Yankees came correct backmost and tied nan people astatine 9 successful nan apical of nan ninth.

The bottommost of nan ninth has been relived, not ever by choice, by nan 2 teams and by generations of fans. The New York pitcher was Ralph Terry, a correct hander whom head Casey Stengel had brought successful during nan erstwhile inning and would later admit that he had a tired arm. The right-handed hitting Mazeroski, who had grounded into a double play successful his erstwhile appearance, was up first.

A photographer takes a photograph of a statue of Pirates 2nd baseman Bill Mazeroski extracurricular PNC Park successful Pittsburgh.

(Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)

Terry started pinch a fastball, called precocious for a ball. After conferring concisely pinch catcher Johnny Blanchard, who reminded him to support his pitches down, he threw what Mazeroski would telephone a slider that didn’t slide. Mazeroski sewage nether it and belted it to left, nan shot rising and rising arsenic it cleared nan high, ivy-covered ceramic wall, pinch Yankees near fielder Yogi Berra circling nether it, past turning distant successful defeat. The full metropolis seemed to erupt, arsenic if each had swung nan bat pinch him, arsenic if he were each underdog who longed to hit nan hated Yankees. Mazeroski dashed astir nan bases, grinning and waving his cap, joined by celebrants from nan stands who had rushed onto nan section and followed him to location plate, wherever his teammates embraced him.

“I was conscionable looking to get connected base,″ he told The New York Times successful 1985. ″Nothing fancy, conscionable looking for a fastball until he sewage a onslaught connected me. I thought it would beryllium disconnected nan wall, and I wanted to make 3rd if nan shot ricocheted distant from Berra. But erstwhile I sewage astir first and was digging for second, I saw nan umpire waving circles supra his caput and I knew it was over.”

It was nan first clip a World Series had ended connected a homer, starring to enduring waves of ceremony and despair. Pirates followers memorized nan date, Thursday, Oct. 13, 1960, and nan section clip of Mazeroski’s hit, 3:36 p.m. Forbes Field was torn down successful nan 1970s, but a decade later fans began gathering each Oct. 13 astatine nan park’s lone remnant, nan halfway section wall, and listened to nan original broadcast.

Meanwhile, Mantle would sob connected nan level thrust location successful 1960, insisting nan amended squad had lost. Ford would for years stay angry astatine Stengel — fired 5 days aft nan Series — for utilizing him successful Games 3 and 6 and making him unavailable to commencement a 3rd time. The precocious vocalist Bing Crosby, a erstwhile co-owner of nan Pirates, was truthful acrophobic he’d jinx his squad that he listened to nan crippled pinch friends crossed nan Atlantic Ocean, successful Paris.

“We were successful this beautiful apartment, listening connected shortwave, and erstwhile it sewage adjacent Bing opened a vessel of Scotch and was tapping it against nan mantel,” his widow, Kathryn Crosby, told nan Times successful 2010. “When Mazeroski deed nan location run, he tapped it hard; nan Scotch flew into nan fireplace and started a conflagration.”

Mazeroski was a Pirate for his full clip successful nan fields and was a squad man disconnected nan field. His wife, Milene Nicholson, was a beforehand agency worker whom he met done Pittsburgh head Danny Murtaugh. They were joined successful 1958, had 2 sons and remained together until her decease successful 2024.

William Stanley Mazeroski was calved successful Wheeling, West Virginia, during nan Great Depression, grew up successful eastbound Ohio, and lived for a clip successful a one-room location without energy aliases indoor plumbing. His father, Louis Mazeroski, had hoped himself to beryllium a ballplayer and encouraged his son’s emotion for sports, moreover practicing pinch him by having his boy section tennis balls thrown against a ceramic wall.

Although a prima successful hoops and football, he favored shot and was bully capable to beryllium drafted by nan Pirates astatine property 17 successful 1954. Mazeroski was a shortstop for a squad pinch galore prospects astatine that position, and had switched to 2nd by his rookie year, 1956. Even arsenic a part-time subordinate astatine nan extremity of his career, he was a leader and dependable beingness connected nan 1971 squad that featured Clemente and Willie Stargell and defeated nan Baltimore Orioles successful nan World Series.

After his last season, 1972, Mazeroski coached concisely for nan Pirates and nan Seattle Mariners and was an infield coach for Pittsburgh during outpouring training. In 1987, nan Pirates retired his uniform, No. 9. The 50th day of his Game 7 heroics was marked successful 2010 by nan unveiling — connected Bill Mazeroski Way — of a 14-foot, 2,000-pound statue of 1 of Pittsburgh’s greats, rounding nan bases, connected apical of nan world.