World Series: Did You Know?

The last four home runs in 1964 were hit off pitchers with basketball experience. Bob Gibson and Steve Hamilton had some basketball history, as did Dick Groat, the St. Louis Cardinals' shortstop. But aren't we talking about baseball here?

Bob Gibson, the starting pitcher for the Cardinals in game seven of '64, went to Creighton University from 1954 to 1957 and played basketball, wearing his #45 that he would later been seen on the back of his Cardinal uniform. Gibby didn't stop there. He played with the famous Harlem Globetrotters later on in 1957, but in a St. Louis Cardinal uniform two season later. Hoot had found his home.

And Gibson was pitching with a 6-0 lead over the New York Yankees after 5 innings in the deciding game of '64. But then then great Mickey Mantle (Who coincidentally, also played some basketball at high school), hit his last ever World Series home run off him in the top of the sixth. Bobby Richardson and Roger Maris had singled before that. So the lead was cut in half. Gibby was pitching on just three days rest, and might have been tiring. Manager Johnny Keane kept him in there. However, the mighty Bronx Bombers kept coming at him, just like a point guard keeps bringing the ball up the court after you score a basket. Gibby gave up a two-out walk to Tom Tresh before the inning ended.

Rollie Sheldon, pitching in relief for the Yankees, retired the Cards 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame, to keep New York in the hunt. Hector Lopez batted for Rollie in the top of the seventh, only to fall victim to a Gibson K. After getting Phil Linz to fly out to Mike Shannon in right on the first pitch, it was time for Richardson to get his 13th hit of the 1964 Fall Classic. Eight of them had come off Gibson. Maris stepped in and hit the first pitch well, but right at Shannon in right. Gibson needed just six more outs.

Steve Hamilton, who played for the NBA's Minneapolis Lakers for two seasons (1958/59 to 1959/60) came on to pitch for the Yankees. The big tall lefty looked overpowering. First, Lou Brock swung and missed for strike three. Then, Bill White took a called third strike. Ken Boyer, who'd collected two hits and two runs so far, came to the dish. Boyer was no stranger to basketball, either, having also played in high school. His younger brother Clete was right there at third base for the Yankees. Kenny was about to put his sibling's team down four as he took Hamilton out of the park to left on a 2-1 pitch. 7-3, St. Louis. Some more breathing room for the big tall right-hander pitching for the National Leaguers.

Gibson went back out in the top of the eighth and seemed to regain his form. Mantle flied out to Flood in centre. Bob then fanned Elston Howard. When Joe Pepitone popped out to Dal Maxvill at second, Bob Gibson had his first 1-2-3 inning since the top of the fourth. At this stage of the game, retiring the side in order is good for the arm. Hamilton would not be so lucky in the bottom of the frame.

Tim McCarver, Gibson's battery mate behind the plate for the Cardinals, greeted Steve Hamilton with a single to start the St. Louis half of the eighth. McCarver actually had to get it the hard way. He grounded to Pepitone at first. Pepi got to it and made the toss to Hamilton, but Tim beat the big pitcher to the bag. Mike Shannon reached on Clete Boyer's error. Maxvill got the bunt down. Were more runs on the way for Gibson? Pete Mikkelsen came in to stop the bleeding. Second and third, one out. Gibson was also just three outs away from nailing this thing down, so anything here was a nice bonus. And who better to get some more runs than Gibson himself. How about a three-pointer? No wait, wrong sport. How about a three-run home run? Gibson would go on to hit two home runs in the Fall Classic, but here, Bob failed to deliver.

He sent a grounder to third. Boyer was not going to make another mistake. But McCarver did. He headed towards home and New York had him in a rundown. Eventually, the shortstop Phil Linz made the putout. So now Shannon was on second and Gibson on first. They'd die there as Flood lined to Boyer to end it.

So, three more outs.

Gibson started it out on the right foot, getting Tom Tresh to fan. But Clete Boyer, who'd had quite an adventure in the field the previous inning, took Gibby to a full count. The payoff pitch was belted over Lou Brock's head in left for a home run. 7-4. Johnny Blanchard batted for Mikkelsen. Gibson fanned him, too. On a 1-2 pitch. Gibby's ninth of the game, thirty-first of the Fall Classic. His last.

Linz batted and was all that stood between the tremendous athlete and the complete game. Linz fouled one off. But Gibson's next pitch was sent to left. Over Brock's head, despite a tremendous effort to haul it in. Too far back and too high. 7-5. Bobby Richardson stepped up to the dish, with Roger Maris in the on-deck circle as the tying run. Gibson got him to pop up to Maxvill! Gibson had a complete game, and the St. Louis Cardinals were on top of the world in 1964.

But while this game seven was played on the baseball field, a lot of the men involved in it had spent at least some important moment of their lives on the basketball court some time prior.


References


Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.

Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. 305. Print.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 3 May 2016.

Sports Reference LLC Basketball-Reference.com - Basketball Statistics and History. http://www.basketball-reference.com/. 3 May 2016.

Perry, Dayn. "Just Because: Bob Gibson, Basketball Star." Sports - CBSSports.com Sports News, Fantasy Scores, Sports Video. CBS Sports, 5 Aug. 2013. Web. 3 May 2016. <http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/23028600/just-because-bob-gibson-basketball-star>.

World Series: Did You Know?

The 1964 World Series had two National Basketball Association players in it. Dick Groat of the Cardinals and Steve Hamilton of the Yankees, both played in the NBA.

Steve Hamilton was a pitcher for New York. Yet he played on the Minneapolis Lakers (They moved to Los Angels in 1960/61) for two seasons, 1958/59 and 1959/60. Jerry West did not arrive until 1960/61, so Hamilton did not get to play with the man who eventually became the NBA Logo. But Elgin Baylor was there. They got to the finals in 1959, despite having a sub .500 team. Hamilton was also in a "finals" in baseball, 1963. And then, for good measure, the next year. But he was not the only former NBA player in that Fall Classic.

Dick Groat played one season in the NBA, 1952/53. But it was for just 26 games. Baseball was more to his liking. And in 1960, he won a World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Four years later, he was back in the Fall Classic.

After five games, it was Groat's St. Louis Cardinals with a three to two edge over Hamilton's New York Yankees. Steve was up and ready in the 'pen in game five as Tim McCarver won the game with a three-run home run in the top of the tenth. Not only were the Yankees down, but Hamilton had not pitched yet!

So in game six in St. Louis, New York broke a 1-1 deadlock on home runs by Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, who went back-to-back. When Elston Howard singled home a run in the top of the eighth, it was 4-1. A grand slam by Joe Pepitone then put this one out of reach.

St. Louis clawed back with a run against Jim Bouton in the bottom of the frame. When Bouton could get only one out in the top of the ninth, out came Steve Hamilton to nail this one down. But Bob Skinner greeted him with a single to score a run. 8-3. Hamilton induced Curt Flood to ground into a game-ending double play. The Yankees had forced a game seven. Would the two former NBA stars finally face each other in this World Series?



The Cardinals seemed to have this one in the bag. They raced in front 6-0 after five. But Mickey Mantle's three-run home run in the top of the sixth off a tired Bob Gibson cut the lead in half. Hamilton was on the hill to start the seventh.

He fanned both Curt Flood and Bill White, making it look easy. Ken Boyer, though, put a damper on any comeback thoughts by the Yankees by going over the fence in left. It was 7-3, St. Louis. Dick Groat was the next batter. Hamilton got him to ground out to Kenny's younger brother Clete at third.

New York seemed to fade against Gibson in the top of the eighth, as they went 1-2-3. Mantle hit the ball hard, but right to Flood in centerfield. And St. Louis came at Hamilton hard in the bottom of the frame.

Tim McCarver singled. Mike Shannon reached on an error by Boyer at third. A bunt moved both runners up. Hamilton's day was over. Pete Mikkelsen somehow got New York out of the inning without any runner getting home.

New York them scored twice in the top of the ninth on home runs by Boyer and Phil Linz before Bob Gibson finally got 'em out of there.



Neither Groat or Hamilton ever made it back to the World Series. But baseball players, no matter what team you are on, always seem to share a common dinominator with each other in some ways. Both Hamilton and Groat were obviously gifted athletes, and in 1964, they took to the field as two-sports stars in the World Series.


References


Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.

Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary Books, 2000. Print.

Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.

Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.

Retrosheet. Web. 26 Oct. 2015. <www.retrosheet.org>.

Shalin, Mike, and Neil Shalin. Out By A Step: The 100 Best Players Not In The Baseball Hall of Fame. Lanham: Diamond Communications, 2002. Print.

Snyder, John S. World Series!: Great Moments and Dubious Achievements. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1995. Print.

Sports Reference LLC.  Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.

Sports Reference LLC. Basketball-Reference.com - Basketball Statistics and History. http://www.basketball-reference.com/. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.

St. Louis Cardinals / New York Yankees. Game 7, 1964 World Series., Busch Stadium, Missouri, 15 Oct. 1964. MLB.Com 2002, audio recording. Web.

Thorn, John, and Pete Palmer. Total Baseball. Vers. 1994. Portland, OR: Creative Multimedia Corp., 1994. Computer software. CD-ROM.

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. <https://en.wikipedia.org>.

Youtube. Youtube. Web. 26 Oct. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/>.

World Series: Did You Know?

Dick Groat and Bob Skinner faced the New York Yankees in the 1960 and 1964 Fall Classic. In '60, they were on the Pittsburgh Pirates. In '64 they were teammates on the St. Louis Cardinals.

Groat went 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored in game 1 of the 1960 World Series. Also in that game, Skinner went 1-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Bob also added a stolen base that led to him touching home. Their efforts were rewarded as the Pirates took game one, 6-4. Neither would be as affective again in this Fall Classic. Skinner himself was replaced in left field with Gino Cimoli in the top of the eighth.



Cimoli played the entire second game, and Groat managed just one hit. The Yankees pounded the Pirates into oblivion in this contest, led by Mickey Mantle's two home runs. The final score was 16-3.



The 1960 World Series, which had started in Pittsburgh, now moved to New York. It was more of the same in game three for the Pirates. Another blowout, 10-0 for New York. Groat, facing Whitey Ford, went hitless in four trips to the plate. Skinner watched this one from the clubhouse, and probably thought it would all be over in two more games.



But Pittsburgh took game four, 3-2. The only problem was that Groat was again 0-4 and Skinner took it all in from the dugout.



In game five, the Pirates plundered the Yankees 5-2, behind a fine pitching effort of Harvey Haddix. Groat got his first hit since game one, but it was just that. In going 1-4, he scored a run. But how about our boy Skinner? Nothing doing, is all I can write.



Groat was back in game six back in the state of Pennsylvania. But Whitey Ford started this one, and threw another shutout. And for the third time in this 1960 Fall Classic, it was a Yankee rout. 12-0. Groat picked up another hit, but it took him another four tries. Skinner took it in for the fifth straight game.



Skinner was finally back in the winner-take-all game seven. He walked and scored on Rocky Nelson's home run in the bottom of the first. Pittsburgh went up 4-0 in this game, then fell behind 7-4 by the end of seven and a half.

Groat, though, singled in the bottom of the eighth off Bobby Shantz. Then Skinner moved him and Bill Virdon up with a bunt. The Pirates used that to eventually take the lead. While the Yankees came back to tie it in the top of the ninth, it was Pittsburgh with the 1960 World Series crown as Bill Mazeroski hit a dramatic walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth. Pittsburgh had a 10-9, game seven win.



So in 1964, it was Groat and Skinner looking to help another team beat New York. Their new team, the St. Louis Cardinals, won a dramatic pennant race against the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds.

Groat started game one, against Whitey Ford, in St. Louis. This time, Groat's team managed to beat Ford, 9-5. Groat had a hit and a walk. Neither figured into the scoring. Skinner sat it out.



In game two, St. Louis lost 8-3. Groat again had a hit and a walk. This time, however, he scored a run. Skinner got into the game as a pinch hitter. He matched Groat's production by getting a single. But he was stranded.

In game three in New York, Skinner was almost the hero.

Dick Groat, meanwhile, got a hit. It was a double against New York's Jim Bouton. The Cardinals seemed destined to break a 1-1 deadlock at this point as the loaded the bases. However, they failed to score. In the top of the ninth, with Tim McCarver on second and Carl Warwick on first, Bob Skinner went up to bat for pitcher Curt Simmons, who had more than done his job in this game. It was still tied at one. Skinner got the pitch he wanted, a fastball up in the strike zone. He hammered it to deep centre. Roger Maris went all the way to the warning track before he finally got to this one. So close. Mickey Mantle won the game in the bottom of the ninth with a walk-off home run off Barney Schultz.

Groat got one hit in game four. It did not result in St. Louis scoring. However, he reached on an error in the top of the sixth inning. Then, he scored a run on Ken Boyer grand slam home run. That turned a 3-0 Yankee lead into a 4-3 Cardinal advantage. St. Louis ended up winning the game by that score. Skinner did not get to the plate or the field in this contest.

In game five, Skinner watched as Bob Gibson stuck out thirteen Yankees. But the contest was tied at two at the end of nine. In the top of the tenth, Bill White walked and Ken Boyer beat out a bunt. It was Groat to the plate, and his job was the same as Boyer's: Eliminate the double play!

He tried to bunt, but missed. White, running on the play to third, made a fake back to second. But when Yankee catcher Elston Howard threw to second to nail him, White turned on the jets and made it to third. The play was crucial, as Groat ended up forcing Boyer at second. When Tim McCarver ripped a three-run home run to right, St. Louis had what they needed to win, 5-2.

So, it was New York with their backs to the wall in game six, back in St. Louis. Dick Groat had a tough time against Jim Bouton, failing to get a hit in four trips to the plate.  Curt Simmons kept St. Louis in the game, as he had in game three. The game not only tied, but again tied at one. But when Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle went downtown off Simmons in the top of the sixth inning, St. Louis needed some runs. An Elston Howard single in the top of the eighth made it 4-1, New York. Then it was New York's turn to get a grand slam, this time off the bat of Joe Pepitone. 8-1, Yankees. St. Louis managed to get one run back in the bottom of the eighth as Bill White grounded out. But Dick Groat ended up being the last out of that inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, St. Louis again had a mild uprising. With one out, Mike Shannon hit a single. Then Jerry Buckek, who had entered the game a defensive replacement, singled. Bob Humphreys had held New York scoreless in the ninth, but now his spot was up. So Bob Skinner batted for him. The Cardinals had finally found a way to get rid of Jim Bouton. New York then went to the bullpen and brought in Steve Hamilton to face Skinner. Hamilton, an ex-basketball player, was a lefty at 6'6, two inches taller than Skinner.

And he came through! Singling to centre, Shannon scored to make it 8-3. There were two runners on and only one out. But Curt Flood hit into a game-ending double play. This Fall Classic was going to the seventh game, just like in 1960.

In game seven, there was not going to be any pinch hitting by St. Louis, with Bob Gibson back on the hill. Bobby was sitting 'er out!

Groat came up to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning with the Cards up 4-0. His ground ball out made it 5-0. St. Louis, as it turned out, needed still another run. Tim McCarver flew out to Mantle in right, but Ken Boyer scored from third after the catch. 6-0.

New York was not done as Mickey Mantle hit a three-run home run in the top of the sixth. That seemed to wake up the Yankees, as they started to make better contact.

A home run by Ken Boyer in the bottom of the seventh put St. Louis up by four runs, 7-3. But Gibson tired and allowed a dinger by Ken's younger brother Clete in the top of the ninth. Another home run by Phil Linz made it 7-5 before Bob finally got the last out.



Both Groat and Skinner were going to be almost afterthoughts on a team that had Roberto Clemente, Bill Virdon, Dick Stuart, Bill Mazeroski, Bob Friend, Vernon Law, Harvey Haddix and Elroy Face.

And there was no chance that anyone would think of them on a team with Lou Brock, Curt Flood, Ken Boyer, Bill White, Tim McCarver, Bob Gibson, Curt Simmons, Ray Sadecki. The Pirates of 1960 and the Cardinals of 1964 might have won it all without Dick Groat and Bob Skinner.

But let's look at their stats in 1960 and 1964. Groat won the batting title in '60 with a .325 average. He also led Pittsburgh with a .371 on-base percentage. Skinner was no slough, either. All he did was knock in 86 runs (second on the team behind Clemente's 94) hit .273 (and post a .340 OBP). He even played in the all-star game.

In '64 it was Dick Groat with 70 RBIs despite only hitting one home run. And he batted .292. Skinner hit about what he did in '60, .271. But even as a reserve, he had to take a backseat to Charlie James and Carl Warwick, who both played in 88 games. Skinner appeared in just 55 games.

So while both Groat and Skinner were perhaps overlooked, they sure made things a little easier for two teams that to beat a great Yankee team in the fall.




More from Dick Groat


References


“Allen Craig, Meet Carl Warwick.” On the Outside Corner. WordPress.com. 20 Oct. 2011. Web. 15 Sept. 2014. <ontheoutsidecorner.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/allen-craig-meet-carl-warwick/>.

Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.

Anderson, Dave. "The Phillies' Phlop." Pennant Races: Baseball At Its Best. New York: Doubleday, 1994. Print, pp. 255-288.

Golenbock, Peter. "1964." Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print, pp. 530-539.

Halberstam, David. October 1964. New York: Villard, 1994. Print.

Major League Baseball. World Series Of 1964. Major League Baseball Productions, 1964. DVD.

Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.

Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.

Seaver, Tom, and Martin Appel. Great Moments in Baseball. New York, NY: Carol Pub. Group, 1992. Print.

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