The baseball world was saddened two weeks ago with the news of the death of Hall of Fame Pirate second baseman Bill Mazeroski at the age of 89.
Mazeroski, of course, is noted for hitting the most famous home run in World Series history when he hit the game-winning homer against the New York Yankees in the bottom of the ninth in Game Seven to give the Pirates a 10-9 win and the world championship in the 1960 World Series.
Interestingly, Mazeroski began his baseball career with the Williamsport Grays in 1954 and 1955.
Mazeroski, as a 17-year-old, struggled in his initial professional season, batting only .235 in 93 games. He improved in 1955, batting .293 in 114 games and slugging 11 homers. He would make his major league debut with the Pirates the next year, in July 1956.
Dave Frey was a bat boy for the Williamsport Grays during that period and has fond memories of Mazeroski.
“As the 16-year-old batboy, I traveled with the Grays,” Frey told Webb Weekly. “I remember going to Binghamton, Albany, Scranton, and Allentown. Due to Maz being young and underage, it was my job to stay with him and make sure none of the other players influenced him into doing things he shouldn’t be doing, like drinking and smoking. The older players would try to fix him up with ‘ladies’. Maz wanted no part of any of these activities; therefore, I had to report the older players to the team manager.”
Frey noted that the other players thought Mazeroski had the, “fastest hands in organized baseball. He was deadly accurate with his throws to first base.”
As for Mazeroski’s personality, Frey said, “He was always smiling, shy, soft spoken, well-liked by his teammates, never swore, and was polite to fans.”
I had my own encounter with Mazeroski in 1995 at the Society for American Research’s National Convention in Pittsburgh. I got a chance to ask him about his experience in Williamsport, and he remembered it fondly. He said the fans here were “very friendly and supportive, as well as knowledgeable.”
Mazeroski won eight Gold Gloves and was named to several All-Star games and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001, as much for his stellar fielding, perhaps, as his immortal 1960 World Series deciding home run.
Interestingly, a number of players from both teams in that Fall Classic saw action at Bowman Field as either Yankee or Pirate farmhands.
For the Yanks, these included Whitey Ford, Roger Maris, Bill Stafford, Dale Long, who was a member of the 1949 Williamsport Tigers, Tony Kubek, whose father played for the 1935 Williamsport Grays, Johnny Blanchard, Jim Coates, Hector Lopez, who played for the 1953 Williamsport A’s, and Ralph Terry, who surrendered Maz’s immortal circuit clout.
For the Buccos, besides Mazeroski, there were Joe Christopher, Fred Green, and Dick Barone.
