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The story of Bill Virdon’s catch in the 1960 World Series

Bill Virdon-1960 World Series baseball card

Little Leaguers who collected baseball cards in the early 1960s might have traded for this one: It’s of West Plains’ own Bill Virdon, then the Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder, robbing New York Yankees great Yogi Berra of an extra-base hit deep in cavernous Forbes Field. Atop the card, it reads “1960 World Series,” while the bottom line boasts, “Virdon Saves Game” of the series opener.

It’s a catch which the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to commemorate, as a larger-than-life statue of Virdon as the Pirates’ center fielder – specially cast in bronze – will soon be on display on the Hall of Fame’s outdoor Legends Walkway. Join us at 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 25 as we unveil the bronze here at the Hall of Fame.

Video: Virdon through the years

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What a Fall Classic enjoyed by Virdon, whose defensive prowess positioned Pittsburgh for one of the World Series’ most shocking upsets.

All remember Bill Mazeroski’s series-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth of Game 7. Virdon’s penchant for choking off key Yankee rallies throughout the Series bridged the Pirates to that moment.

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Start with the opening game. In the fourth inning, Virdon flagged Berra’s likely two-run double in deep center field, preserving a 3-2 advantage of an eventual, 6-4 Pirates victory.

Then, in the the seventh inning of Game 4, Bob Cerv’s chance for a two-run double disappeared into the center fielder’s glove on one of the most acrobatic catches in World Series history. Virdon’s catch preserved the Pirates’ 3-2 advantage, which held as the final score and enabled Pittsburgh to even the Series at two games apiece. Otherwise, the Yankees would have stood only one win away from winning the Series.

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Asked in 2017 about the catches, Virdon simply smiled and downplayed both, saying, “I guess I did that.”

The reality is that Virdon was one of the best centerfielders of his era. In fact, in 1959 and 1961, he led the National League in “range factor,” a metric compiled by statistical historian Bill James and used to evaluate the quality of defensive play. Virdon also led the NL in assists in 1959 and, in 1962, won a Gold Glove.

Bill Virdon receives congratulations from Roberto Clemente (21).
The Pirates’ Bill Virdon receives congratulations from Roberto Clemente (21).

“He’s an underrated player,” the great Roberto Clemente once told The Sporting News. “He doesn’t get the headlines because he makes everything look easy. He’s kept our pitchers in the majors with his glove and hitting.”

Dick Groat, a former Pirate, was once quoted as saying, “Bill has made many amazing plays so common in Forbes Field that Pirate fans are inclined to be disappointed if he doesn’t catch everything hit to the outfield.”

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Virdon’s defense wasn’t his only contribution in the 1960 World Series. In the first inning of the opener, Virdon scored the tying run on Groat’s double after stealing an unattended second base, inspiring the ball club.

In the eighth inning of Game 7, Virdon’s bad-hop single by shortstop Tony Kubek avoided a likely, rally-killing double play and keyed a three-run rally which put the bat into Mazeroski’s hands an inning later.

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As then-Pirate Bob Friend put it, “Virdon was the guy who really hurt the Yankees.”

Thus, a bronze statue sculpted by the renowned Harry Weber sits on the Legends Walkway.

“When you look at sportsmen from Missouri, and you think about major-league baseball players, Virdon ranks in the top two or three,” said Jerald Andrews, President & Executive Director of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. “There’s Yogi Berra (from St. Louis) and who else? When you think of Virdon, it all then starts to make more sense.”

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Originally signed by Yankees scout Tom Greenwade (MSHOF 2013), Virdon played 12 seasons in the big leagues between 1955 and 1968. He won the 1955 National League Rookie of the Year with the St. Louis Cardinals before a 1956 trade sent him to Pittsburgh. It was a trade which then-Cardinals general manager Frank Lane later called “the worst trade I ever made.”

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Virdon later won a combined 995 games managing the Pirates (1972-1973), Yankees (1974-1975), Houston Astros (1975-1982) and Montreal Expos (1983-1984), with his 1972 Pirates and 1980 Astros teams finishing only one win shy of reaching the World Series. Virdon is the all-time winningest manager in Astros history, with a 544-522 record.

A 1983 inductee of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and honored as a Missouri Sports Legend in 2012, Virdon remains one of the game’s great ambassadors, as he and his wife, Shirley, have thrown their support behind numerous causes, particularly those that promote baseball in the Steel City and the Ozarks.

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“That’s a pleasure,” Virdon said. “I just like baseball, and I hope I can help a little bit along the way. Who knows what you can and can’t do? I just try to be good.”

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MAY 25 — BASEBALL CELEBRATION

BILL VIRDON STATUE UNVEILING

When: 8:30 a.m. continental breakfast, 9 a.m. unveiling

Where: Legends Walkway of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, 3861 E. Stan Musial Drive in southeast Springfield (about one mile east of the U.S. 60-65 interchange)

What: Unveiling of larger-than-life statue of West Plains grad and Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder making a game-saving catch in Game 1 of the 1960 World Series

BASEBALL LUNCHEON PRESENTED BY OZARKS COCA-COLA/DR PEPPER BOTTLING COMPANY

Baseball inductees-collage

When: 11 a.m. Thursday, May 25

Where: University Plaza Hotel & Convention Center in downtown Springfield

President’s Award: Hiland Dairy’s Mark Speight

Inductees: Mark Bailey (Glendale High School/Missouri State/Houston Astros), the late John Donaldson (Glasgow HS, Negro Leagues), former Westran and Sturgeon coach Kelly Odneal, sports writer Rob Rains (Kickapoo/St. Louis media), baseball coach Mark Stratton (Glendale High School/Drury University).

Diamond 9 Awards:  Doug Bennett (Hillcrest High School/University of Arkansas), Dan Bishop (Springfield Central High School/Baltimore Orioles/New York Yankees), Jack Funderburk (Southwest Baptist University), Chelsea King Goodin (Strafford High School/Drury University), Kellie Becher Kessler (Missouri State University), , Danny Powers (Carl Junction High School/University of Central Missouri/Minnesota Twins), Kyle Rapinchuk (Branson High School/College of the Ozarks), Stefanie Standley (Lamar High School/University of Missouri) and Michael Vincent (Hollister High School/John Brown University/Phillips University/Cincinnati Reds).

Tickets: Call 417-889-3100. Sponsorship tables are $400 and include recognition in the printed program and an autographed print. An individual ticket is $40, and a head table ticket is $100. Numerous other sponsorships, including congratulatory ads, also are available.