World Series Legend Bill Mazeroski Dies At 89
Bill Mazeroski, the Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman whose walk-off home run in the 1960 World Series remains the most dramatic swing in baseball history, passed away at 89. How will he be remembered?
The Moment That Stopped the World
October 13, 1960. Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Game 7 of the World Series. The score was tied 9-9 in the bottom of the ninth. Ralph Terry, the Yankees pitcher, delivered a slider. What happened next became the stuff of legends.
Mazeroski connected, and the ball sailed over the left field wall. Just like that, the underdog Pirates had beaten the mighty Yankees, who’d outscored Pittsburgh 55-27 in the series. Baseball is a funny game that way. You can dominate every statistical category and still lose to one swing of the bat. The Yankees learned that lesson the hard way, and Mazeroski became immortal.
“I felt like I was floating,” Mazeroski recalled in 2001, describing his trip around the bases. Can you imagine? The kid from Wheeling, West Virginia, who used to practice with a broomstick and stones, just hit the most important home run in baseball history.
More Than Just One Swing
Here’s the thing most casual fans don’t know: Mazeroski didn’t make it to Cooperstown because of that home run. Sure, it helped. How could it not? But “Maz” earned his Hall of Fame plaque with his glove, not his bat.
Eight Gold Glove awards. A record 1,706 career double plays. Another record with 161 double plays in the 1966 season alone. Joe Torre, who knew a thing or two about baseball, called Mazeroski the best at turning the double play. His Hall of Fame plaque starts with three simple words: “A defensive wizard.”
Former teammate Vern Law put it perfectly: “Mazeroski would constantly come up with balls we thought were base hits.” Bill Virdon, who played center field behind “Maz” for six years, joked that he “never got a ball” because Mazeroski got to everything first.
The Guy Behind the Glove
Mazeroski used tiny gloves, modified to remove most of the padding, so he could feel the ball better. Over his entire career, he probably used just four gloves total, repairing them when they wore out instead of constantly demanding new equipment. One of those gloves sits in the Hall of Fame today, a testament to simplicity and effectiveness.
Life After the Home Run
After that magical moment in 1960, Mazeroski and his wife, Milene, didn’t go to some wild celebration. They drove to a quiet park to sit and process what had just happened. That tells you everything about the man’s character.
In retirement, he enjoyed fishing and golf around Pittsburgh, staying close to the city that adopted him as its own. There’s a bronze statue of him outside PNC Park, forever frozen in that moment of pure baseball joy. Every October 13, the “Game 7 Gang” gathers at the spot where his home run cleared the Forbes Field wall to listen to the radio broadcast and celebrate the anniversary.
Pirates Chairman Bob Nutting captured it perfectly: “Maz was one of a kind, a true Pirates legend. His name will always be tied to the biggest home run in baseball history and the 1960 World Series championship, but I will remember him most for the person he was: humble, gracious and proud to be a Pirate.”
The Final Stat
When asked how he wanted to be remembered, Mazeroski laughed and said, “Oh, I’ll take the home run.”
