September 25, 1955: Willie Mays ties Johnny Mize’s Giants record with 51st home run

The New York Giants fell to third place in 1955; even so, Willie Mays slammed 51 home runs. (National Baseball Hall of Fame Library.)

After shocking the baseball world in 1954 by defeating the 111-win Cleveland Indians in the World Series, the Giants entered 1955 expecting to contend for another championship. But despite the triumph in 1954, not all was well with the Giants. Manager Leo Durocher was in the final year of his contract, and tension between the skipper and Giants owner Horace Stoneham made it unlikely Durocher would return in 1956. To stick around, he needed another pennant. But injuries and under-performance created a frustrating season for the Giants.

The double-play combination of Davey Williams and Alvin Dark both missed significant time with injuries (and Williams retired in midseason due to an arthritic back condition). Pitcher Sal Maglie was claimed on waivers by Cleveland, and star outfielder Monte Irvin was demoted to Triple-A Minneapolis after getting off to a slow start. With the Brooklyn Dodgers off to a blazing start, the Giants never were in the race.

On September 23, the Giants welcomed the Phillies to town for a season-ending series. In the first game, Philadelphia won 5-1 behind a complete game from Saul Rogovin. On September 24, with the Giants a distant third behind the pennant winners in Brooklyn, news broke that Durocher was resigning as Giants manager. Stoneham accepted the resignation and announced that Bill Rigney would take over as skipper in 1956. Though the Giants and Phillies were scheduled to play the second game of their season-ending series the same day, the teams were rained out. The Phillies and Giants concluded the 1955 campaign in a season-ending doubleheader on September 25.

On paper, the pitching matchup for the first game of the doubleheader favored Philadelphia. The Phillies started Robin Roberts, who was in a dominant multiseason run during which he rated as perhaps the best pitcher in baseball. Roberts put together a stellar 1955 campaign and came into his final start of the season with a 3.29 ERA and a 23-13 record.

New York countered with rookie left-hander Pete Burnside. A graduate of Dartmouth College, Burnside had made his major-league debut five days earlier, on September 20, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. After retiring the side in the first, Burnside struggled mightily, surrendering seven runs on three hits and six walks over 3⅔ innings.

Leading off for the Phillies against Burnside was center fielder Richie Ashburn. Ashburn came into the season-ending doubleheader hitting .342, comfortably on his way to winning the 1955 NL batting title.1 Burnside retired Ashburn on a groundout, second baseman Wayne Terwilliger to first baseman Gail Harris, to open the contest. Weak-hitting Phillies shortstop Bobby Morgan singled to left for the game’s first hit but was stranded at first as Burnside retired the next two men.

In the bottom of the first, Roberts retired Giants leadoff hitter Billy Gardner on a groundout before surrendering a single to right fielder Don Mueller. That brought up Willie Mays. Mays, the reigning 1954 National League MVP, came into 1955 with sky-high expectations, only to hit under .300 during the 1955 campaign’s first three months. But Mays played superbly over the season’s final few months and came into the season-ending doubleheader hitting .316/.399/.652 with 50 home runs.2 Roberts worked the count on Mays to 1-and-2 before challenging him with a fastball. Mays hit the ball just inside the foul pole and into the upper deck in left field.3 The home run was Mays’ 51st of the season and tied Johnny Mize’s team single-season record.4 It was also the league-leading 41st home run hit off Roberts during the season. Roberts retired the next two Giants batters, Hank Thompson and Whitey Lockman.

Staked to an early lead, Burnside cruised through the second and third innings. After making it through the second frame unscathed, Roberts ran into trouble in the third. Gardner reached second on an error by shortstop Morgan. With one out, Mays came up to bat. The New York Daily News wrote that “Mays tried to break [Mize’s] record with every swing” for the remainder of the doubleheader in front of 6,848 fans at the Polo Grounds. Though Mays failed to homer this time, he singled and drove Gardner home before stealing second, for his 23rd stolen base of the season. Mays came around to score New York’s fourth run of the game on a single by Lockman. At the end of three, the Giants led 4-0.

With two out in the top of the fourth, Phillies left fielder Del Ennis tripled to right. It was his seventh triple of the season and allowed Philadelphia a chance to get back into the game. But the Phillies stranded Ennis at third as Burnside got Willie Jones to ground out.

The Giants added their fifth run of the game in the bottom of the fifth when 21-year-old rookie Joey Amalfitano drove in Gardner with a triple.5

The late innings were uneventful as Burnside continued to retire the Phillies with ease. Roberts also pitched scoreless ball during his last two innings of 1955, with New York’s only hit coming off Mays’ double. Roberts finished his season going seven innings, allowing eight hits, and giving up five runs (three earned).

The Giants entered the ninth inning with a 5-0 lead as Burnside looked to finish the shutout. After he retired Ennis on a comebacker, Willie Jones singled and Stan Lopata hit his 22nd home run to make the game 5-2. With the shutout over, Burnside finished the complete-game victory. Unscored upon until the ninth, Burnside secured his first career victory, having allowed seven hits to go with the two runs.

In the second half of the doubleheader and the final game of Durocher’s tenure as Giants skipper, the Phillies entered the bottom of the ninth with a 3-1 lead behind eight stellar innings from Curt Simmons and home runs by Ted Kazanski and Marv Blaylock. Jack Meyer took over in the ninth, and was greeted with a single from Amalfitano. Amalfitano advanced to second on a wild pitch and Lockman walked. Down two runs, the Giants had men on first and second with nobody out. As described by the Philadelphia Inquirer, the next man up, Bob Hofman “sent a fast ball screaming toward left-center. [Shortstop] Kazanski caught the ball and Amalfitano and Lockman were so far advanced they had no chance to scramble back. Kazanski flipped to Morgan, who threw to Blaylock. It was over that quickly.”6 A triple play to end the season.

Durocher walked back across the outfield grass to the center-field clubhouse. As he left the Polo Grounds, Durocher “received a rousing send-off from several hundred fans.”7 His departure deeply affected Mays, Durocher’s favorite player. “I feel terrible,” said Mays. “It’s like losing a great friend. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I am going to miss him.”8

SOURCES

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and retrosheet.org.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NY1/NY1195509251.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1955/B09251NY11955.htm

NOTES

1  Ashburn went 0-for-7 in the season-ending doubleheader, which dropped his batting average to .338. He still finished far ahead of Mays and Stan Musial, who both hit .319, to become Philadelphia’s first batting champion since Harry Walker in 1947.

2  Mays finished second behind Mickey Mantle in Wins Above Replacement in 1955.

3  The author’s description of the at-bat comes from Dana Mozley, “Triple Play Closes Out Lip; Mays Ties HR Mark at 51,” New York Daily News, September 26, 1955: 346.

4  Mize hit 51 home runs for the Giants in 1947 and finished third in National League MVP voting. His personal best in home runs came 10 years later, when he hit 52 home runs for the 1965 San Francisco Giants.

5  Amalfitano had entered the game at third base as a replacement for Hank Thompson the previous half-inning.

6  Art Morrow, “Phillies Edge Giants, 3-1, After Roberts Loses, 5-2,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 26, 1955: 22.

7  William J. Briordy, “Giants Split With Phillies as Durocher Tenure Ends,” New York Times, September 26, 1955: 28.

8  Joe Reichler (Associated Press), “Durocher Gives T.V. Fans His Farewell as Giants’ manager,” Allentown (Pennsylvania) Morning Call, September 26, 1955: 13.