He never made anybody look bad and he never said anything bad about anybody. Forty years ago today, Willie Stargell did something that no one else had ever done before and no one else had ever done since. In July 2013, the United States Postal Service celebrated Major League Baseball All-Stars be featuring four players on a block of non-denominated postage stamps, seen below. Schmidts 265 homers are double that of second-place Luzinski (130); Von Hayes is a distant third with 77. It was here that the true Veterans Stadium began to take shape, with an outer contour that was neither rectangular nor circularbut something in between. STARGELL, WILVER DORNELL (1940-2001). For his tremendous shot, a seat at the Vet was marked with a gold star. 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). Worried about too big a seating capacity, the Phillies originally wanted to tarp 10,000 upper-deck seats in center field. Willie Stargell | Baseball Wiki | Fandom Willie Keeler - Wikipedia History Of Players To Hit Home Run Out Of Dodger Stadium (Temple University Libraries, George D. McDowell Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Photographs), For the Vet to be configured from baseball to football, a portion of the lower deck along the third-base line was swiveled over left field, while extra seats hidden for baseball games were pulled out. Stumbling into the highest level, the 700 Level, wearing the uniform of the enemy was an invitation to getting your head cracked like the Liberty Bell. 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. Demolished: February 11, 2001 "He doesn't just hit pitchers, he takes away their dignity." Stargell was a seven-time All-Star and two-time NL home run leader. Richie Hebner scored the first run and Willie Stargell hit the first Pirates home run in the stadium's history. Keep reading by creating a free account or signing in. Willie Stargell, a Force for the Pirates at Bat and in the Clubhouse In another wacky event between games of a doubleheader, local celebrities and ex-Phillies were conned into riding ostriches in a race around the field. Of the many pregame and between-game stunts put on by the Phillies at the Vet during the 1970s under the wild creative mind of team exec Bill Giles, none went more hilariously wrong than Opening Day 1972 when a stunt glider named Kiteman crashed while racing down an upper-deck ramp. eye-popping shots he saw teammate Willie Stargell hit with the. That's when the Pittsburgh. The Phillie Phanatic chimed in, dumping two bags labeled with dollar signs onto the field between innings. Beyond the constant updating of the fake turf, the Vet never underwent anything close to an overhauleither a testament to its functionality or a reflection of the citys inability to pony up money to provide upgrades. Willie Stargell was born on Wednesday, March 6, 1940, in Earlsboro, Oklahoma. A replica of the Liberty Bell was placed in straightaway center at the base of the upper deck; it would later be moved up to the top, separating a pair of new scoreboards. Matt Monagan 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. The first home run was a 507-foot rocket off Alan Foster on August 5, 1969, that landed initially in the middle of the tin roof covering the pavilion in right-field, then bounced over and out of the ballpark it is the longest home run hit at Dodger Stadium. Emerging cities to the west looked appealing to major league teams, themselves looking to escape from the archaic environment. For the Phillies, the Vet represented an unmistakable quantum leap in their evolution. Looking like the future Joe Robbie/Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, the rectangular structure diagonally beveled at each corner was so disliked by the Phillies that they refused to sign any new lease and, with its current lease at Connie Mack Stadium soon expiringand the ballparks new owners whom the team sold it to anxious to tear it downRobert Carpenter began to publicly muse New Jersey all over again. Long after the Vets demise, the 700 Level continues to live in such infamy that a popular online sports blog is named after it. Legendary Moment #32 - Willie Stargell hits HR out of Dodger Stadium In 1979, he became the first and currently only player to win the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, the NL Championship Series MVP Award and the World Series MVP Award in one season. Welcome to Baker Bowl: Enter at your own risk. The 2006 movie Invincible, with Mark Wahlberg playing the role of unlikely Eagles player Vince Papale, has many scenes set at the Vetbut because the facility had been torn down a few years earlier, CGI was used to digitally recreate the venue. Phillies dignitaries present at the final game included a rare appearance by Steve Carlton, an air home run from Mike Schmidt complete with a rounding of the bases, and an emotional finale featuring Tug McGraw, battling brain cancer, who recreated his victorious final pitch of the 1980 World Series. Teams. Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon has said the longest home run he has witnessed was hit by McCovey on Sept. 4, 1966, at St. Louis. 40th anniversary: Stargell hits one out of Dodger Stadium Did you know that Willie, his nickname, won the 1979 Most Valuable Player Award, the 1979 League Championship Most Valuable Player Award, and the 1979 World Series Most Valuable Player Award the only player in Major League history to have won all three MVPs during the same season? Contact us at This Great Game. Nobody liked it. Willie Stargell played for the Pirates for his entire 21-year big league career, finishing with 475 home runs. Hugh Stubbins, by now the lead designer, eliminated some of the bells and whistles initially associated with the Vet to reduce the projected budget. It was 16-0 after just two innings; Von Hayes hit both of the Phillies two home runs on the dayeach coming in the first inning. ", Willie Stargell | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 1988 (HOF). Too easy? Among the architects initial ideas was to build both a subway station and parking garage into the structure itself to reduce walking time to the seats. Cramped quarters in a rustic setting yielded to spacious vogue; Phillies pitcher Rick Wise joked to The Sporting News upon entering the Vets expansive clubhouse, Its a toll call if you want to talk to somebody on the other end.. Initial thoughts focused on a 50,000-seat facility west of downtown in Fairmount Park, along the Schuylkill River; that would ultimately be vetoed by Philadelphias powerful planning commission board. "Just like in Philadelphia, Montreal honored the blast by painting the afflicted seat in Pirate gold. Stargell's incomparable shot, hit off Alan Foster, measured 506 feet.. Is Willie Stargell in the Hall of Fame? Stargell also owned the longest shot ever hit in Montreal's Olympic Stadium. He walloped 296 home runs, more than any other player. The second blast was "only" 470-feet, taking off on May 8, 1973, Andy Messersmith served up the tater, and it also completely cleared the right-field pavilion. When baseball's biggest stars need a haircut, they come to Jos 'Jordan' Lpez, By The Eagles were very protective of their place at the Vet from rival pro football leagues. Before it, the Phillies rarely drew over a million fans. Beginning with his difficult childhood and revealing his encounters with fierce racial hostility while playing minor league ball in the south, this book goes on to show . No one thought that the Vets ballooning cost would take a back seat to a somehow bigger controversy: What to name it. Monday, July 18, 2022. Pittsburgh Pirates. He later explained: Octo is Latin for numeral eight. It's located in Pennsylvania, United States. Community. While it rescued Philadelphia sports from ancient times, the Vet forged a populace to pine for a future where baseball and football could, once again, be separated from one another. 599 - Willie Stargell was loved by all five-hundred ninety-nine big league players when he played, our source is Joe Morgan who said at Stargell's funeral service, "When I played, there were 600 baseball players, and 599 of them loved Willie Stargell. Attendance during this time surged, from the 1.5 million range to close to three million by the end of the 1970s. 1979: One for Pops and His Family. Not all of Giles stunts worked out as planned. Welcome to Baker Bowl: Enter at your own risk. Played on a cold, snowy day, the Cowboys were mercilessly pelted by snowballs and a few other hardened objects to the point that the team banned liquor sales for the next two games; access to the 90 penthouse suites, recently added above the 700 Level to keep the Eagles from bolting to Phoenix, were all but boarded up to keep rowdy fans from breaking through and stealing alcohol available to suite patrons. MLB.TV. The opening of the Vet was more than a mere relocation for the Phillies; the team underwent a virtual makeover on multiple fronts. Today's Paper. April 9, 2020 5 AM PT. 15 Copy quote. He struck the seven of the 18 balls that went over the Forbes Field's stands. The excessive show of force was, fortunately, more show and less force as Phillies fans abided and rejoiced peacefully. Rad is short for radius. Sign in/Sign up; Willie Stargell Stamp (MLB All-Stars, Block of Four)Baseball Almanac Research Library. Facebook 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. . Baseball Almanac is pleased to present an unprecedented collection of baseball related quotations spoken by Willie Stargell and about Willie Stargell. For this new round of designs, the Phillies and Eagles were more actively involved; despite the extra cooks in the kitchen, the process became smoother and more amicable. Remarkably, the longest home run ever hit at Veterans Stadium came just 3 months into its 33 year history. Willie Stargell was 6-2 (188 cm) tall. Mike Schmidt rounds the bases after one of his 265 home runs hit at the Vet. Steel and concrete gave little comfort for the poor souls victimized in a series of unfortunate eventsand as spectators covered their heads from debris, the right fielders covered theirs from the balls constantly ricocheting off the tall and cozily placed tin wall behind them. The Phillies played their final game at the Vet on September 28, 2003, bowing to the Atlanta Braves by a 5-2 count. Jarry Park / Montreal Expos / 1969-1976 - Ballpark Digest Special offer. Two years later, Drew made his Vet debutin the uniform of the Cardinals, one bearing someone elses name as he was so petrified by the reaction hed get. The Vet may have been bland, monstrous, and sterile, but the Phillies and their fans infused it with enough character to make it come alive. - Willie "Pops" Stargell. Other proposed sites, including a number of country clubs with expansive land to offer, barely got past the conversation stage. The Longest 'Moon Shot' Home Run in the History of Each MLB Stadium Throwing beer cups and hotdog wrappers onto the field wasnt good enough for some Phillies fans. The team was angered and threatened to leave Philadelphia when the city considered welcoming an American Football League franchise into the new stadium before it was completed. Not just. The homer, though the second longest of Tatis' career, fell far short of the stadium record. The Vet failed to domesticate Philadelphia's notorious boobirds, known for verbally abusing everyone from Richie Allen to Santa Claus. Vertical concrete supports, spaced out 30 feet from one another, gave the exterior a confident grace, visually complementing a fluid, consistent pattern of spectator ramps; the supports also worked to hold a small overhang encircling the stadiums upper deck, topped by a ring of lights as opposed to overbearing towers of bulbs. Veterans Stadium. Richie Hebner, who played for the Phillies from 1977-78, provided the definitive statement on the Vet and its structural clones of the time when he admitted, I stand at the plate in Philadelphia and I honestly dont know whether Im in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St. Louis or Philly.. Back at Connie Mack Stadium, Phillies players dealt with a hostile fan experience, but African-Americans had it far worse. A shot of Stargell's home run to win the 1979 World Series for the Pittsburgh Pirates Consider the time and the age of wonder. (Jerry Reuss). Montreal Expos pitcher Wayne Twitchell gets half-credit for the record and the Expos commemorated the blast by painting the seat where the ball landed gold. It was a ballpark ahead of its time when built and well behind the times when abandoned 40 years later, by then a ridiculed dump given a slough of unpleasant names. 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 . On June 18, 1979, Stargell and the Pirates were in Portland for an exhibition game against their Class AAA affiliate, the Beavers. He hit seven of the 18 balls that soared above the Forbes Field bleachers. He also hit two monsterous homers off a couple of of Sutton's L.A. teammates -- two of the five to ever leave the confines of Dodger Stadium: Robert Gordon, who penned a book on the 1993 pennant-winning Phillies, wrote that it was the greatest high-wire act seen at the Vet until the arrival of closer Mitch Wild Thing Williams. Hehit the longest ballin Veterans Stadium history -- a majestic, 450-foot bomb that the Phillies marked with a gold star and newspapers compared to a Jack Nicklaus tee shot. willie stargell home run veterans stadium griffin park demolished 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.. Over 15 years after the Vets demolition, Philadelphia residents were still paying off the debts to build it. Who was Willie Stargell? Said to be discovered in the Galapagos Islands, the Phanatic was a big, green, furry lug with a horn-like snout, cartoon eyes and a rotund waist, clad only in a Phillies shirt and cap. That it stood for generations while two tenants largely stank up the joint was a testament to its perseverance. Remembering the Cookie-Cutter, Part 3: Three Rivers Stadium His Series performance had similarities to Clemente's. Teammate Deron Johnson remarked, Its a good thing it wasnt the real Liberty Bellotherwise it would have a dent to go along with the crack. Before the Vets first decade was completed, Luzinski registered three seasons with at least 30 home runs with 100 runs batted in. Willie Stargell. What do you get when you combine a block party and a baseball league? Maybe at firstbut once the new stadium smell wore off, the fans returned to their nasty habits. willie stargell home run veterans stadium. (Updated Jan. 30, 2023) Before Mark McGwire, who played for the Cardinals from 1997-2001, another Big Mac, Willie McCovey of the Giants, hit the longest home run seen in St. Louis. This astounding home run ball went so high that it hit the roof of the Olympic Stadium, and people speculated that it would have kept on going if its path hadn't been obstructed! Those not content with ordinary seats had their own options. Willie Stargell was the seventeenth player elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Willie's restaurant in the Hill District of Pittsburgh gave away a free chicken to all present in the restaurant every time he hit a home run. Among the 10 players who knocked in seven runs in a game for the Phillies at the Vet was pitcher Robert Person, who belted a grand slam as part of a 10-run first inningthen added a three-run shot in the fifth in an 18-3 win over Montreal on June 2, 2002. Photo: Benoit Brouillette 1.1K Most relevant Enrique Lopez Forget name. How the Hall (and everyone else) Failed, Willie Stargell willie stargell home run veterans stadiumgriffin park demolishedgriffin park demolished Visit MLB.com: http://mlb.mlb.comSubscribe to MLB.TV: mlb.tvDownload MLB.com At Bat: http://mlb.mlb.com/mobile/atbatGet tickets: http://mlb.mlb.com/ticketsOfficial MLB Merchandise: http://mlb.mlb.com/shop Join the conversation!Twitter: http://twitter.com/mlbFacebook: http://facebook.com/mlbInstagram: http://instagram.com/mlbGoogle+: https://plus.google.com/+MLBTumblr: http://drawntomlb.com/Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/MLBAM Free shipping for many products! (Temple University Libraries, George D. McDowell Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Photographs). 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. Willie Stargell was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1988. This is the sixth home run to be hit out of Dodger Stadium, . As a parting gift, the As sold Connie Mack Stadium to the Phillies, who wanted it like a hot potatobut they had no choice, given that any other buyer would possibly tear down and redevelop the property, leaving the National League team of 70 years homeless. They then entered at the top of the lower deck, allowing easy access regardless of whether their seats were on the field level or high up in the rough-and-tumble 700s. 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). He also received his second NL Player of the Month award. The city listened and went back to the drawing board. Pittsburgh Pirates; Willie Stargell; More From This . Major League Baseball consists of 30 teams split between the American and National Leagues. Share. That performance through the first three months led to his first All-Star appearance in five years. That same year, fellow Pirate Willie Stargell was the target of a bomb threat. Willie Stargell - Namuwiki 30 - Willie Stargell hit thirty home runs before the 1971 All-Star Game and 1973 All-Star Game (in case you wondered why he went those two particular seasons). Every time he hit a home run, Willie's restaurant in Pittsburgh's Hill District gave away a . Local officials loved the idea, while those back in Philadelphia grew so worried that they lobbied the state to overturn the ban on selling alcohol at Connie Mack Stadium as a carrot stick for Carpenter to remain. (Don Wingfield/National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) Related Hall of Famers To the top Willie Stargell Inducted: 1988 Position: Left Fielder Hoyt Wilhelm Inducted: 1985 Pitcher MLB.com also offers extensive historical information and footage, online ticket sales, official baseball merchandise, authenticated memorabilia and collectibles and fantasy games. They give you a round bat and they throw you a round ball and they tell you to hit it square. Temple University Libraries, George D. McDowell Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Photographs. Sign in Subscribe. Fans. Nevertheless, the Pirates lost to the Cincinnati Reds 3-2. A Zamboni machine was used to squeeze water out of the artificial turf. Knabb, who came up with the design, lovingly referred to it as octorad. Pops had three doubles and two home runs that day. 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. At the Vet, they averaged over two million per year, peaking in 1993 with 3,137,674 for an out-of-body, pennant winning campaigntheir only winning season within a 14-year stretch from 1987-2000. Over an eight-year period from 1976-83, the Phillies made six postseason appearances, won five divisional titles and two NL pennants. 5:05 PM, June 5, 2002. Only four home runs have ever been hit . copyright=new Date(); Carltons 138 victories at the stadium are far more than Curt Schilling, #2 on the list with 49. When court adjourned for the first time, one fan was dragged in and accused of throwing a cup of ice on the field; he defended himself by placing the blame on his 10-year-old son. To keep the quirky Carlton happyand retain his level of pitching brilliancethe Phillies set up a blue room adjacent to the team clubhouse in the Vet so that he could meditate before taking the mound. It passed, but not without inducing sweat; the tally was 50.8-49.2%. The Phillies also used the Vet as an opportunity to engender racial harmony in a city that bragged brotherly love. Skip to content. update=copyright.getFullYear(); On the northeast end of Philadelphia, along the Delaware River, another ballpark plan consisting of an adjacent theme park, marina and bird refuge was also panned by the planning commission (albeit by a single vote) because of its wayward proximity and financial issues. 81 - Willie Stargell was ranked eighty-first by The Sporting News when they released their list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players in the history of baseball. The most recent home run to be hit out of Dodger Stadium was this 478-footer by (then) Miami Marlins slugger and Southern California native Giancarlo Stanton on May 12 . Three weeks before the Phillies played their first game next door at brand new Citizens Bank Park, the demolition button was pushed and the Vet came tumbling down. His 507-foot home shot in 1969 was the longest at Dodger Stadium. The "Vet" opened on April 10, 1971 at the corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue in Philadelphia. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 2022-23 Upper Deck Series 2 For Calder Lot of 5 Cards # Different at the best online prices at eBay! When the last round of turf was planted at the Vet in 2001, the divots and cutouts that surrounded the baseball infield proved so hazardous for football players that a preseason game between the Eagles and Baltimore Ravens was cancelled shortly before kickoff. Worst field in the Western Hemisphere, said The Sporting News Michael Kinsley in 1994. But there was a sense of can do after all the years of cant do back at the old park, as pride of place and a corporate refresh undergone brought an adapted attitude that unchained the Phillies from the defeatist mindset of previous eras. Sticking with tradition, Phillies fans refused to spare their own players from the wrath of angry catcalls. The first player to ever hit a ball out of Dodger Stadium is Pittsburgh Pirates legend Willie Stargell. Even Mike Schmidt wasnt immune; when the All-Star third baseman was in anything less than MVP form, the fans at the Vet let him know about it. Like all the other cookie cutter monsters of the period, the Vet was a compromise for sports teams sharing space consisting of completely different playing shapes, for which no one was completely happy. Definitely out was the idea of a dome that would have added 50% to the total cost. The Philadelphia Phillies served as the model for this type of evolution when they moved from decrepit Connie Mack Stadium (nee Shibe Park) into behemoth, modern Veterans Stadium in 1971. Willie Stargell weighed 188 lbs (85 kg) when playing. He takes their dignity." 19 Willie Stargell hit his 535-foot home run into the second deck of Olympic Stadium on May 20, 1978, off Wayne Twitchell. Of the 28 victories posted by the Phillies at the Vet that seasonthe fewest gathered up by the team in 33 years at the venueexactly half (14) were recorded by Carlton, who won his first of four Cy Young Awards over an 11-year stretch. It had been hoped that the Vets modern omnipresence would pacify Philadelphias infamously scornful sports fans. In August 2002, MLB.com streamed the first-ever live, full length MLB game when the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees faced off at Yankee Stadium. Some in the crowd of 45,000 became irate at the news, smashing windows at the will call booth. Hall of Famer Willie Stargell, who led the Pittsburgh Pirates to two World Series victories with his tape-measure home runs and patriarchal leadership, died Monday . PITTSBURGH (AP) - Hall of Famer Willie Stargell, the thunderous home run hitter who carried the Pittsburgh Pirates into two World Series with his power and helped win them with his. - 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. Have a comment, question or request? Reels Stargell's solo home run . Reels. Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Willie Stargell dead at 61 Pirates unveil baseball's freshest look with 1979 throwback uniforms, Andrew McCutchen knows playing right field for the Pirates comes with an impressive legacy. Willie Stargell Bio: Career, Net Worth, MLB & Legacy April 9, 2001 / 8:32 AM / AP. Stargell remained one of the dominant players in the decade of the 1970s. 18 - Willie Stargell hit seven home runs that cleared the roof in Forbes Field. Stargell hit an estimated 470 foot home run off Andy Messersmith that cleared the right-field pavilion. With the opening of the modern, civic-built Vet, a more inclusive atmosphere emerged, reflected by the late 1970s with the presence of Dave Cash, Garry Maddox and Bake McBride; even Dick (nee Richie) Allen, who swore never to play in Philadelphia again, returned for a couple of years. 535 - Willie Stargell attempted to knock the cover off the ball on May 20, 1978, instead it set the record for the longest home run - five-hundred thirty-five feet - hit at Olympic Stadium. How many seasons did Willie Stargell play? Others came close (Thome missed it by a few feet), but no-one ever went further at the Vet than Willie Stargell did on June 25th, 1971. Two local architectural firms, George M. Ewing Co. and Stonorov and Haws, were hired by the city to come up with a stadium design that could work for both the Phillies and Eagles. Stargell, who would've celebrated his 77th birthday today, clubbed eight homers, six doubles and 21 RBIs off the right-hander during his career. Giles most famous creation was the Phillie Phanatic, which replaced Phil and Phyllis starting in 1978. 9. Only four other players at the time of his retirement had at least four three-homer games: Johnny Mize (6 times), Ernie Banks (4 times), Lou Gehrig (4 times) and Ralph Kiner (4 times).