The Longest 'Moon Shot' Home Run in the History of Each MLB Stadium - Willie Stargell in Baseball Illustrated (11th Edition, 1975) [Willie Stargell Quotes], Willie 'Pops' Stargell Autograph on a 1983 Fleer Baseball Card (#324 | Checklist), Willie Stargell Miscellaneous Items of Interest. The mark was tied several times after Pops set the record, until Albert Pujols broke it when he went deep 14 times in 2006. Photo: Benoit Brouillette 1.1K Most relevant Enrique Lopez Forget name. And of the 18 balls to clear the 86-foot high right-field roof at Forbes Field (1909-70), the lefty had seven of them. Unbeknownst to Giles, the 67-year-old Wallenda drank three beers before the act but managed to complete the walk safelyeven stopping at the halfway point to perform a headstand. The Ballparks: Veterans StadiumThis Great Game Stargell's first wife, Dolores, kept detailed statistics on every ball he hit and estimated he would have had 22 more homers in 1969 if the Pirates had played in Three Rivers Stadium, which opened . Maybe thats why the Phillies were the last National League team, 10 years after Jackie Robinsons debut in Brooklyn, to integrate; Richie Allen, the teams first black star player, was run out of town after daring to challenge a white teammate (Frank Thomas) to a fight. The city listened and went back to the drawing board. Willie Stargell was born on Wednesday, March 6, 1940, in Earlsboro, Oklahoma. willie stargell home run veterans stadiumgriffin park demolishedgriffin park demolished The young talent on the field would vindicate that premise. Philadelphia Phillies, 1971-2003Philadelphia Eagles (NFL), 1971-2003Philadelphia Atoms (NASL), 1973-75Philadelphia Fury (NASL), 1978-80Temple University (college football), 1978-2002Philadelphia Stars (USFL), 1983-84, 3501 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ronald A. Knabb Jr., Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaHugh Stubbins & Associates, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Left field line: 330 feetLeft-center field: 371 feetCenter field: 408 feetRight-center field: 371 feetRight field line: 330 feet, April 10, 1971Philadelphia Phillies 4, Montreal Expos 1, September 28, 2003Atlanta Braves, 5, Philadelphia Phillies 2, August 15, 1990Terry MulhollandApril 27, 2003Kevin Millwood, 550 feet (estimated)Willie Stargell, June 25, 1971, 1976National League 7, American League 11996National League 6, American League 0. MLB.TV. Eric Chesterton They give you a round bat and they throw you a round ball and they tell you to hit it square. . So he took the field wearing a shoulder-length wig and racing glasses, leading some of the boos to turn to cheers; at least those fans appreciated Schmidts sense of humor, if not his honesty. 200 - Willie Stargell was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988, 199 legends had been enshrined before him, Pops went in alone that year making him Hall of Famer number two-hundred. The Phillies also used the Vet as an opportunity to engender racial harmony in a city that bragged brotherly love. Demolished: February 11, 2001 Apps. The franchise leader in home runs (475) and RBI (1,540) as well as extra-base. When baseball's biggest stars need a haircut, they come to Jos 'Jordan' Lpez, By He did so twice over the course of his 21-year career, with the second instance occurring on May 8, 1973. Veterans Stadium rang up quite a bit of mileage over its one-third-century reign in Philadelphia. NLCS Gm1: Stargell's three-run homer in the 11th - YouTube . Even the players had started to turn on the stadium; perennial Phillies All-Star third baseman Scott Rolen called the Vet a terrible place with an atmosphere that was just not good.. Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon has said the longest home run he has witnessed was hit by McCovey on Sept. 4, 1966, at St. Louis. The Phillies requested, and got, 28 modern suites tucked in below the upper deck, and a lavish stadium club was situated alongside them, with a 200-foot-long bar and seating for 500 patronsall looking straight out onto the field. Worried about too big a seating capacity, the Phillies originally wanted to tarp 10,000 upper-deck seats in center field. Facebook Sixty concession stands were also coded via a bright color palette; the usual ballpark perishableshotdogs, soda, beer, peanuts, popcornwere sold at booths bathed in orange, more relative high-end items such as hamburgers, pizza, roast beef sandwiches and fried chicken were sold at yellow booths, and the blue booths were where youd find the ice cream. He capped that decade off in 1979 with a magical season at the ripe age old of 39. Getting the worst, most sustained treatment from Phillies fans at the Vet was outfielder J.D. As you can see from this fantastic aerial (taken that same month/year) that was a bomb! 13 Copy quote. The 10 most powerful home runs in baseball history - Sports Illustrated Richie Hebner scored the first run and Willie Stargell hit the first Pirates home run in the stadium's history. October 17, 1979: 'Pops' Stargell named MVP as Pirates complete World Mike Schmidt rounds the bases after one of his 265 home runs hit at the Vet. With virtually all site options exhausted by bureaucrats and naysayers, the city focused on one plot of land that seemed to make the most sense all along: A spacious site at the citys south end alongside the massive 100,000-seat Municipal (later JFK) Stadium, the neutral host of the prestigious Army-Navy college football game. Drews deep concerns were confirmed; Phillies fans quickly figured who he was and booed him vociferously throughout, at times throwing batteries at him. During his 21-season career, he amassed a.283 average with 2,232 hits, 1,194 runs, 423 doubles, 475 home runs, and 1,540 runs scored. Back at Connie Mack Stadium, Phillies players dealt with a hostile fan experience, but African-Americans had it far worse. The stray cats did not suffer under the weight of the collapsing structure; they were gathered up beforehand and put up for adoption. Attendance during this time surged, from the 1.5 million range to close to three million by the end of the 1970s. He struck the seven of the 18 balls that went over the Forbes Field's stands. Other proposed sites, including a number of country clubs with expansive land to offer, barely got past the conversation stage. Six days after the Vets formal dedication, the Phillies finally took the field for their first game at the new venue on a chilly, gusty day. And for what it was worth, the Vet organist routinely played the theme from Soul Train. Only two other players would hit a home run into the 600 level, the upper deck, at the Vet (before it closed), Butch Huskey (Section 638) & Ruben Rivera (Section 638). A touching biography of the beloved Pittsburgh Pirate Willie "Pops" Stargell, this life story documents the 21-year, Hall of Fame career of one of the most celebrated and revered players in the history of Major League Baseball. Philadelphia was emblematic of American Northeast cities in the decade following World War II: Rotting, rusting and unable to contain white flight to the suburbs. Stargell also hit the longest home run ever hit at Veterans Stadium. Veterans Stadium was passively praised when its doors opened for the first timenot so much because it was a grand architectural statement, but because everyone in town was relieved to be freed of the relic-stained past. They were all universally hated. Before Strawberry broke the record, the previous longest Olympic Stadium Home Run was made by Willie Stargell at 475 feet. (Temple University Libraries, George D. McDowell Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Photographs). His 1978 blast up north again garnered gold seating. The first player to ever hit a ball out of Dodger Stadium is Pittsburgh Pirates legend Willie Stargell. For all of their raucous, biting charm, Phillies fans had nothing on those of the Eaglesparticularly as the Vet grew older. First MLB home run hit in Jarry Park: Mack Jones, Montreal Expos, 4/14/1969 Last MLB home run hit in Jarry Park : Greg Luzinski, Philadelphia Phillies, 9/26/1976 Player who hit the most home runs . Welcome to Baker Bowl: Enter at your own risk. When the Phillies gave Carlton a special day after announcing his retirement in 1989, not only did he actually show up, but he (perhaps) showed a sense of humor by telling the fans, I must take this time to say something about sportswriters. One disc jockey failed the ostrich jockey test as she was thrown off the animal, which ran amok around the fieldwhile another was spooked and took its rider (retired Phillie and future Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn) for the ride of his life. A conservative wing embraced military options such as Eisenhower Stadium (named after the former President and World War II general) and War Veterans Memorial Stadium, which led city councilman John Kelly Jr.the father of actress/princess Grace Kellyto cringe. document.write(update); From the outside, the Vet had a contemporary, almost stately appeal. Reels Stargell's solo home run . Baseball, Coffee, Trying. The Vet failed to domesticate Philadelphias notorious boobirds, known for verbally abusing everyone from Richie Allen to Santa Claus. Yet it was assailed at an exponential rate as the years quickly passed. Pirates unveil baseball's freshest look with 1979 throwback uniforms, Andrew McCutchen knows playing right field for the Pirates comes with an impressive legacy. On Opening Day 1972, a hang glider who went by the handle of Kiteman was to roll down a 100-foot wooden ramp on the upper deck and soar above the field to deliver the ball for the first pitch; but he lost his balance halfway down the ramp and crashed into the seats. LADF. Let's take a dignified look at some of Pop's numbers of interest: 1 - Willie Stargell crushed one home run on June 25, 1971, it hit a seat in Section 601, and it was the longest home run ever hit at Veterans Stadium (half credit to Jim Bunning). Rad is short for radius. The Phillies clinched their first championship in a star-crossed history here. Willie Stargell hit the very first home run in that ball park. Willie Stargel. Bio, Player, Net Worth, Height, Nationality Stargell hit an estimated 470 foot home run off Andy Messersmith that cleared the right-field pavilion. Stargell was a Cub-killer throughout his career, but this home run cemented that legacy. Stargells bomb soared halfway up the upper deck in right-center field, through an exit tunnel; the ball, given a traveling estimate of well over 500 feet, was never found. Willie Stargell hit a mammoth home run at the Vet. They are fam-i-lee. Philadelphia finished last in the six-team NL Eastern Division with a 67-95 record, while Bunning won only two of eight decisions at the Vet after Opening Day with a rough 7.54 earned run average. The Phillies seldom were a good team before their relocation to The Vet, and they werent necessarily a juggernaut afterwardrecording just 13 winning records in 33 years based there. It's a Micro size geocache, with difficulty of 1.5, terrain of 1.5. On July 16, 1969 Willie Stargell hit a home run at Jarry Park (home of the Montreal Expos) that landed in the pool. Have a comment, question or request? 9. (Jerry Reuss). . "He doesn't just hit pitchers, he takes away their dignity." Willie Stargell was a feared power hitter and a leader on the field and in the clubhouse during his 21 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He won three MVP awardsfor the regular season, the NLCS, and the World Series. 39 - Willie Stargell was thirty-nine years old when he won the Most Valuable Player Award in 1979, the oldest in history to earn that honor at that time.
