My late great uncle took me to Big Shea in the late 60's to see the Giants.
Giants were up 12 -3 in the 7th.
Uncle wants to leave but I beg him to take me down to the rows right behind home plate which were empty by then.
In those days they didn't arrest you for doing so.
So we're 5 rows back and Stretch really gets into one.
The darn thing looked like it would hit the scoreboard in right and never come down.
As The Great Bob Murphy used to say "Oh My".
Also got to see Juan Marichal pitch with that amazing wind up.
Thanks Stretch for all the good times.
RIP you were and still are a great ambassador for the game.

An all time great. I have a few older buddies and I am kind of jealous that I never got to see some of the guys from the 60s; McCovey, Mays, Yaz, Kaline, Koufax, Gibson, Drysdale, Clemente, etc.

Speaking of McCovey, I think he was very underrated for a HOFer but I guess that will happen when you play with Mays for all those years.

GO GIANTS!

a great one. Mays and McCovey - couldn't pitch around those 2 guys.

I was very lucky as a young boy to have a uncle that was a rabid Giants fan....I have many memories of both Willies and they were my heroes as kid growing up in SF in the 60's.

2 vivid memories of Willie McCovey...I saw hit hit a ball so hard it rebounded off the right field fence and rolled all the way back to the infield.

Local radio station KGO use to be the Giants radio network and they would have a charity softball game at the Cow Palace. I saw Willie hit a softball up into the rafters that rattled around for quite a while before it came down with everyone looking up waiting for that softball.

He would hit the most massive home runs at old Candlestick park hammering them off the scoreboard they had in Right field at the time....

His smile though was a light that shined through all of SF...A great man has passed RIP Willie you are seared into my brain

Thanks for the post Rob. RIP Stretch McCovey. Man has a cove named after him.

Now, I am a lifelong Dodger fan and would NEVER say that i idolized ANY Gnat player !!!!!
Yes, McCovey owned Drysdale but was owned by Sandy Koufax!

Lastly, Willie Mays was the greatest baseball player i have ever seen ( Clemente was a close 2nd ) but if you asked the 9 year old Dino to choose between Mays and Willie "3 Dog" Davis, i go Davis everyday and twice on Sunday.
Eff the Gnats!! LOL

Another Giant great from the 60s was Orlando Cepeda.

I grew up in the SF Bay area when the Giants played at Candlestick, saw McCovey play numerous times as a Kid. I will always remember what a large man Willie was and what a soft voice and presence he had, a true Gentle Giant..................

R.I.P. my friend

My family has been Giant fans since my grandfather landed in Ellis Island in 1898.

Every year we went to Shea when I was a child and had seats just behind 3rd base. Mays; McCovey; Cepeda; Marichal; Perry. These were the names of my childhood.

I remember seeing McCovey hitting two home runs in one game. One was a high looper that took forever to land. The other was a liner over the right field fence. i have never seen a ball leave a stadium that quickly.

My grandfather was senile in 1962 when Richardson snared the last out of the WS. My grandfather went after the TV with a hammer; but my grandmother tackled him.

When asked how he'd like to be remembered McCovey once stated "as the guy who hit the ball two feet under Richardson's head"

RIP Stretch

I saw hit hit a ball so hard it rebounded off the right field fence and rolled all the way back to the infield.

WOW!!! I personally have never seen such a thing.

His smile though was a light that shined through all of SF...A great man has passed RIP Willie you are seared into my brain

Yeah from everything I've picked up on just a real humble soft spoken guy..........not full of himself at ALL. And yes, that $$Million dollar smile...........

Weird, I almost met him the day he died!! I have a new Respiratory Therapy job in home care. Normally if someone needs an oxygen tank a driver will deliver it. But this was an oxygen concentrator which requires some patient education so I was supposed to deliver one to his home that afternoon. I got all excited when the receptionist told me! But she couldn't get a hold of him or his caregiver to schedule it. Obvious now why she couldn't of course. He was back in the hospital. I knew he got married again just last summer, to someone much younger than him. Someone at work said he married his caregiver.

I saw hit hit a ball so hard it rebounded off the right field fence and rolled all the way back to the infield.

WOW!!! I personally have never seen such a thing.

His smile though was a light that shined through all of SF...A great man has passed RIP Willie you are seared into my brain

Yeah from everything I've picked up on just a real humble soft spoken guy..........not full of himself at ALL. And yes, that $$Million dollar smile...........

Weird, I almost met him the day he died!! I have a new Respiratory Therapy job in home care. Normally if someone needs an oxygen tank a driver will deliver it. But this was an oxygen concentrator which requires some patient education so I was supposed to deliver one to his home that afternoon. I got all excited when the receptionist told me! But she couldn't get a hold of him or his caregiver to schedule it. Obvious now why she couldn't of course. He was back in the hospital. I knew he got married again just last summer, to someone much younger than him. Someone at work said he married his caregiver.

That Ball was a hard line drive and he turned the bag at first thinking he could get a double but the ball beat him back to the infield...I'd never seen anyone hit a ball that hard....seared into my brain....the look on his face when he couldn't go to second was classic... Yes he always came off as a gentile Giant!!

Two significant Willie McCovey related stories for this fan-

In 1959 I was 8 years old, living on Long Island, and had just discovered the professional game. Baseball had become a beloved activity, both playing and following. It so happens that to comfort NY fans who had lost their beloved Giants to SF, a NY radio station continued to broadcast the Giants games. I so remember one day listening about the incredible debut of this new player, Willie McCovey, who had become only the second major leaguer to go 4 for 4 in his first MLB game (joining Casey Stengel). While I was so happy to have another force to join Willie Mays in the Giants lineup, I was also made aware by the Giants annoucers to one of the continuing dilemmas that the Giants would go through in the coming years. What to do with two Hall of Fame first basemen (the other being Orlando Cepeda) who had been named consecutive Rookies of the Year. Both glory and controversy at the same time!

My second episode happened when the Giants staged a 25th anniversary Old Timers game, commemorating the 1962 World Series team. The available retired Yankees and Giant players played a short game. And of course this led to a reenactment of the final play of the seventh game of that World Series where McCovey had lined out to Bobby Richardson with runners on second and third with the Giants trailing by a run, but now with the hope that the still spry McCovey and all those Giant fans would get a chance at redemption. And what does Stretch do but hit a long drive into the upper deck in right field just to the right of the foul pole. Everybody was on their feet watching that drive just go foul. So Stretch gets one more opportunity. One more huge coiled swing and then a pop-up to the infield. It might have even been Richardson who caught it. Ugghh! I had put some skin into that original series, betting my sixth grade buddy a dime that the Giants would take it. Damn, lose again!

Good-bye, Stretch. Always a shining light throughout my baseball love affair. And so inspirational that the Giants named a yearly award for him, given to the player who himself was most inspirational that season.

i remember clearly watching the 1962 world series when yankees were holding on and 2 outs in 9th McCovey scorches the ball right at Bobby Richardson who made the catch to end the game and series. If ball was a hit, Giants would have won the series.

That last play in the World Series had a couple of twists that probably would not occur in today's game. For one, right-hander Ralph Terry was on the mound and right-handed batter Orlando Cepeda was on deck with first base open. While neither McCovey or Cepeda was a walk in the park, strategy called for a righty-righty matchup if Terry was to stay in the game. And then the other point is Terry was the starting pitcher and still in the game, despite giving up the two baserunners in the ninth. Unlikely he would still be pitching in today's game, and even back then, this was the deciding game of the World Championship and you should be using every last weapon in your arsenal. Very surprising that manager Ralph Houk just didn't bring in a lefty to face McCovey. Houk and the Yankees really lucked out as it was clear it was advantage McCovey and he hit one of the hardest balls of the series.

[Edited on 11/3/2018 by dzobo]

Often overlooked re: Game 7 1962 was the excellent defensive play made by Roger Maris when Mays doubled just before stretch came up to bat. Kept Alou from scoring the tying run with a great play and throw

Yes, that was a critical play by Maris.

In reflecting on the decision to leave starting pitcher Ralph Terry in the game, it should be noted that Terry was the one who gave up Bill Mazeroski's seventh game walkoff homer in the 1960 World Series. I wonder if Houk left Terry in so he could more or less redeem himself? But imagine the cross he would have had to bear if McCovey's ball got through and he had allowed walkoffs in two World Series in three years for the fabled New York Yankees.

What would have made that play even more interesting is that it was so hard hit that the rifle-armed Maris would have been in a strong position to make a play at the plate with it being none other than a in his prime Willie Mays trying to score with two outs at the crack of the bat. Holy smokes! That would have been historic.

And just a bit more weirdness- looking at the game play by play (see Retrosheet.org) McCovey had hit a triple in the 7th with two outs, then Cepeda struck out. How is manager Houk letting Terry pitch to McCovey in a 1-0 game with two outs and two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth of the final game of the World Series?

[Edited on 11/3/2018 by dzobo]

That last play in the World Series had a couple of twists that probably would not occur in today's game. For one, right-hander Ralph Terry was on the mound and right-handed batter Orlando Cepeda was on deck with first base open. While neither McCovey or Cepeda was a walk in the park, strategy called for a righty-righty matchup if Terry was to stay in the game. And then the other point is Terry was the starting pitcher and still in the game, despite giving up the two baserunners in the ninth. Unlikely he would still be pitching in today's game, and even back then, this was the deciding game of the World Championship and you should be using every last weapon in your arsenal. Very surprising that manager Ralph Houk just didn't bring in a lefty to face McCovey. Houk and the Yankees really lucked out as it was clear it was advantage McCovey and he hit one of the hardest balls of the series.

Your assessment is spot on Don and I didn't know any of this, not much of a baseball historian here.
I will say though, that I think this philosophy of pulling a starting pitcher who is throwing a one-hitter in the 7th inning has probably gone a bit too far. Of course it's based both on pitch count and situational things like the lefty vs. lefty thing you mentioned.

That said, it's NOT appropriate for the President of The United States to get on twitter after a World Series game and criticize a Manager for pulling his starter..........at least in MY opinion.......

It was a different game back then. When Marichal beat Spahn (early 1960's) 1-0 on a 16th inning Mayso HR (both starters went the 16) a few inning prior the Giant manager wanted to pull Juan. Marichal supposedly said: "I'm not coming out of the game as long as that f**ng old man is still pitching."

RIP Stretch

McCovey hit the only ball I ever came close to catching at a Major League game.I was 11 or 12 and sitting in the front row of the seats in the mezzanine section in fair territory down the right field line at Shea Stadium.Willie hit a home run and I reached over the railing.I had the ball in my glove,but some crazy adult charged down the aisle and almost knocked me over the railing.I didn't go over,but the ball came out of my glove and did.

RIP Stretch

McCovey hit the only ball I ever came close to catching at a Major League game.I was 11 or 12 and sitting in the front row of the seats in the mezzanine section in fair territory down the right field line at Shea Stadium.Willie hit a home run and I reached over the railing.I had the ball in my glove,but some crazy adult charged down the aisle and almost knocked me over the railing.I didn't go over,but the ball came out of my glove and did.

RIP Stretch

I caught a ball at Shea in 1969 - pop foul from Joe Torre

Scarier moment was the last year of Yankee Stadium before the renovation ?2008. Up far into the right field bleaches when Big Papi came up for the Bosox. I told my kids only two batters in the stadium (Jason Giambi being the other) who could hit the ball that high

Two pitches later a moon shot comes off his bat, keeps rising, and is headed right at my face and those of my family. I'm in absolute terror as I'm well over 400 feet away - and I'm supposed to be a man and protect them. Thank god the guy a row in front of me caught the ball before I potentially let it maim one of my family.

After all that he threw it back onto the field

i remember clearly watching the 1962 world series when yankees were holding on and 2 outs in 9th McCovey scorches the ball right at Bobby Richardson who made the catch to end the game and series. If ball was a hit, Giants would have won the series.

Which of course led to this famous moment as well.

https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1963/01/28

This thread just makes me miss baseball all the more and it just ended.

And God bless Willie.

i remember clearly watching the 1962 world series when yankees were holding on and 2 outs in 9th McCovey scorches the ball right at Bobby Richardson who made the catch to end the game and series. If ball was a hit, Giants would have won the series.

In today's game,that would have just been a one hop groundball,probably fielded by Clete Boyer,or possibly Tony Kubek,on the outfield grass.

In today's game,that would have just been a one hop groundball,probably fielded by Clete Boyer,or possibly Tony Kubek,on the outfield grass.

Sad but true.

And just one other tidbit- McCovey had homered off Terry earlier in the Series (besides hitting a triple to dead center in his previous at bat in game 7). Completely baffled how Yankee manager Ralph Houk made his decision to keep Terry in there.