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?

Steve Hamilton is the only player to lose an NBA Finals and two Fall Classics.

Steve, a tall player, found himself on the 1958/59 Minnesota Lakers. The team Elgin Baylor, but Jerry West was not there until the move to Los Angeles in 60/61. But Minny was up against the Boston Celtics in '59. Boston was appearing in their third straight NBA finals. Minny was appearing in their last.

Hamilton, a rookie that season, averaged just 4.4 points and 3.3 rebounds as a small forward. He was dead last on the team in minutes played. The Celtics made short work of the Lakers, winning 4-0 in the finals. But Hamilton did get into three games after not seeing any action in game one.

In game two, Hamilton poured in 12 points for fourth on the team. Boston won, however, 128-108. Then, in Los Angels for game three, they won easily again, 122-110. Hamilton failed to connect for any field goals and never went to the line.

In game four, Hamilton could only go 2-2 from the line. Elgin Baylor, though, scored 30 points. It was, however, a Boston win, 118-113. Hamilton came back the next year before embarking on a baseball career.

And it was one that saw him play in game one of a sweep, unlike his NBA final appearance. Alas, the game was a little past the point of interest by then.

Hamilton was pitching for the New York Yankees, at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers. But Los Angeles would get a 15-strikeout performance from Koufax, who took a 5-2 lead into the ninth. Hamilton was on to replace Stan Williams, who fanned five batters in three innings for New York.

The very first batter Hamilton faced was Sandy Koufax himself, and Steve fanned him. Maury Wills then flied out to Roger Maris in right, Jim Gilliam grounded out to Tony Kubek in short. Hamilton had done his job and held the Dodgers in check. But Koufax pitched a scoreless ninth to preserve it. The Dodgers won the next three games for good measure and Hamilton did not get into any of those.



But in 1964, Hamilton and the Yankees were back in the World Series. This time, it was against the St. Louis Cardinals. But for a while, it looked like Hamilton was not going to pitch at all.

He warmed up and ready to go in game five in Yankee Stadium, as the Yankees and Cardinals were tied going into the top of the tenth. The Cardinals had two men on, there was only one out, and Tim McCarver was at the dish. But manager Yogi Berra did not go to the 'pen for Hamilton. When McCarver ripped a three-run home run to win the game for St. Louis, it made you wonder why Berra did not make the call. With that win, the Cardinals led the 1964 Fall Classic, three games to two. New York would have to win both the games in St. Louis.

But Hamilton did pitch in game six. And the Yankees blew open a deadlocked game with two runs in the top of the sixth to break a 1-1 tie. Then, in the top of the eighth, they crossed the plate five more times to make it an 8-1 route. Jim Bouton gave up a run in the bottom of the frame. And when the Cardinals got two singles in the bottom of the ninth, Hamilton finally made it to the mound.

Bob Skinner singled to score Mike Shannon and make it 8-3. But then Curt Flood grounded to Phil Linz at short, who turned a double play with Bobby Richardson and Joe Pepitone. Although not a save by today's standards, Hamilton was given one there.

In game seven, New York was behind 6-0 after five. But they clawed back with three runs in the top of the sixth on a three-run home run by Mickey Mantle. Bob Gibson, St. Louis' started, sort of staggered from there. He was tiring. But Hamilton was needed to hold the fort and give the Yankees a chance. He came on to pitch the bottom of the seventh after Gibson gave up Bobby Richardson's thirteenth hit in the top of the frame.

He fanned Lou Brock in a lefty-lefty matchup. Then he did the same to Bill White in another southpaw battle. Ken Boyer, right-handed, stepped in. Hamilton looked poised for another K but Boyer smacked a home run to left to make it 7-3.

The bottom of the eighth inning did not go well for Steve. Tim McCarver singled. And when Mike Shannon reached on an error by Clete Boyer, things looked pretty grim. Dal Maxville bunted, and all Hamilton could do was go to first. That ended up being the last batter Steve faced.

The Yankees got out of the inning via some nice pitching from Pete Mikkelsen and some slick defence. In the top of the ninth, a pair of solo home runs by Boyer and Phil Linz (who hit his with two down) brought the Yankees to within two, but Richardson popped out to end it.



Hamilton never made it back to the World Series. And on the big stage of both the NBA and MLB, he's 0 for 3, lifetime. Nonetheless, it took the likes of men like Bill Russell, Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson to stop his teams from winning. Three very good competitors right there. It was just Steve's misfortune to run into them on the floor and on the diamond!

References

Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.

Mantle, Mickey, and Mickey Herskowitz. All My Octobers: My Memories of Twelve World Series When the Yankees Ruled Baseball. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. 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.

Sports Reference LLC.  Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web.20 Dec. 2014.

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/>.