Mazeroski Ends the World Series with a Swing

On October 13, 1960, Bill Mazeroski led off the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 and hit a home run off Ralph Terry to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 10-9 victory over the New York Yankees. It was the first walk-off home run to end a World Series Game 7, and it remains the only one.

The game was chaos from the start. The Pirates led 4-0, then the Yankees scored four in the sixth and took a 7-4 lead with three more in the eighth. Pittsburgh answered with five runs in the bottom of the eighth, including a three-run home run by backup catcher Hal Smith, to reclaim a 9-7 advantage. The Yankees tied it 9-9 in the top of the ninth on a groundout by Gil McDougald and a single by Mickey Mantle.

Terry, a 24-year-old right-hander, entered the game for the ninth inning. His second pitch to Mazeroski was a high fastball. Mazeroski swung and drove it over the left-field wall at Forbes Field. Yogi Berra, playing left field, turned and watched the ball disappear over the ivy-covered bricks. Mazeroski rounded the bases waving his batting helmet above his head while Pittsburgh fans poured onto the field.

The Yankees had outscored the Pirates 55-27 across the seven games, outpitching and outhitting them in every statistical category except the one that counted. Bobby Richardson, the Yankees second baseman, was named World Series MVP despite playing for the losing team, the only time that has happened. Mazeroski's home run turned an overwhelming statistical mismatch into a championship for Pittsburgh.