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Home , Bob Lillis, Charlie James (baseball), Don Elston, Don Taussig, Double (baseball), Earned run

SPORTSMAN'S PARK IN ST. LOUIS

SOURCES NOTES In addition to the sources listed in the Notes, the author also con- "Ailing Musial Rocks Giants With and 3- 'S 11 AND 11TH- sulted the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Oakland Tribune, the Daily Homer," St. Louis Post-Dispatch,June 24,1961: 6. Capital (Jefferson City, Missouri), the Hayward (California) News, RUN DRIVE CARDS TO 2 "Giants Losing String Hits 4," Oakland Tribune, June The Sporting News, and .org. 24, 1961: II. DEFEAT CUBS IN WALK-OFF FASHION 3 "Cards Gain Steam," Oakland Tribune, June 24,1961:11. 4 Ibid. September 14, 1961: St. Louis Cardinals 6, Cubs 5 5 Ibid. (Game Two of ), at Busch Stadium BY MICHAEL HUBER

EN BOYER COLLECTED HIS FIRST trast, he did not have any complete games while career five- game in propelling the St. Louis pitching on the road.) Cardinals to victory over the in was a 24-year-old Cubs rookie in Kthe second game of a doubleheader at Busch 1961. He started 27 games and allowed 220 hits in Stadium before a crowd of 5,835. Four of those five 1801/3 . His earned- hovered be- hits enabled him to hit for the cycle. He had two tween 4.00 and 5.00 all season. Curtis liked pitching hits in the as well, contributing to another in , with four complete games, but at Cardinals win and giving him a 7-for-11 day at the Busch Stadium he struggled, with a 5.25 ERA.3 plate. The Cardinals struck first, in the bottom of the In game one of the doubleheader, Boyer singled in opening inning. Jnli an Javier walked with one and the fourth inning and stroked a two-run in the scored when tripled to right field. Boyer's fifth. and homered for to left scored White. In the third Boyer singled the Cubs, while hometown favorite went again, this time with two outs, but the Cardinals did 3-for-4 with a for St. Louis. The Cardinals not score. won on a bizarre walk-off play. In a game, with Chicago plated two runs in the top of the fourth. two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the doubled to center field and scored ninth inning, Jimmie Schaffer came to bat for the when doubled to right. Cardinals. According to the Chicago Tribune, "Barney singled, advancing Banks to third base, and Altman Schultz's puzzling knuckler slithered away as a passed brought Banks home with a . The score ball in the ninth inning while scored," sud- was tied. St. Louis responded by manufacturing a run denly giving St. Louis an 8-7 victory.' in its half of the fourth. walked, stole Game two featured Curtis versus Curtis. The second, and scored on a single by . Cardinals started and the Cubs sent The seesaw scoring continued in the fifth inning. Jack Curtis to the mound. In four previous starts Williams reached on a two-out by against the Cubs in 1961, Simmons had allowed White. Banks reached on an single, and then 14 earned runs in 232/3 innings.2 He fared slightly Santo deposited a Simmons beyond the fence better in this game, allowing five runs (two earned) in deep left field to give Chicago a 5-3 lead. Altman in 42/3 innings. Simmons finished the season with a singled and Simmons, "victim of three unearned runs, 3.13 earned-run average, third best in the National soon was on his way to the showers."4 Bob Miller League. He seemed to like pitching in his home park. came on in relief and shut the door on the Cubs, In 16 starts that season at Busch Stadium, Simmons allowing just one hit and two walks as he pitched had six complete games and two . (By con- through the eighth inning. CARDINALS AT AND DODIER SPORTSMAN'S PARK IN ST. LOUIS HOME OF THE BROWNS AND GRAND

by White (who started at first base), Musial, and Boyer. White Meanwhile, Curtis allowed a solo home run to Ibid. 5 was a combined 3-for-7 with two runs batted in, while Musial osimba.com/zoi5/04/2o/ken-boyer-added-special-twists- in the bottom of the fifth (after Boyer 6 retr and Boyer were hitless. Ernie Banks, George Altman, and Don April 14,2o16. Since Boyer's had grounded out and had flied out), to-rare-pair-of-cycles/. Accessed Zimmer were the Cubs players in the two midseason clas- ballplayers have completed walk-off cycle in 1961, four other sics. The 1961 NL Rookie of the Year, Billy Williams, was not and St. Louis was within one run. Curtis scattered run: Cesar Tovar (Minnesota their cycles with a walk-off home selected to the 's squad. io hits and gave up three walks in 61/3 innings, but Twins, September 19,1972), (, Russo. he left in the seventh with the lead. With one out May 28,1979), ( Red Sox, June 28,1984), 8 Rockies, July 31,200o). in the bottom of the seventh, Boyer sent a shot to and Carlos Gonzalez (Colorado 9 Ibid. -Star Games played in 1961: on July i1 at is accomplished when the batter hits a single, left field and legged out a triple, but 7 There were two All so A "natural cycle" Francisco, and on July 31 at Fenway and home run in that exact order. came on in relief for Chicago and retired the next in San , triple, Park in Boston. The Cardinals were represented in both games two batters. Anderson continued to keep the Cards batters in check until the bottom of the ninth. With St. Louis trailing by one run, White coaxed a one-out walk. Boyer delivered an opposite-field double into the right-field corner, driving in White with the tying run and sending the game into . Cubs El Tappe inserted to pitch the bottom of the nth inning. Boyer, leading off, smashed a home run, driving an Elston onto the right-field roof and giving the Cardinals their second walk-off victory of the day.5 Boyer became the first major-league player to complete the cycle with a walk-off home run.6 A seven-time All-Star, Ken Boyer was named NL MVP in 1964 for the world champion Redbirds. (National The Cubs had rallied from behind four times in Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, New York) the doubleheader, but had managed to lose both games in walk-off fashion. The doubleheader featured Boyer's rare feat was the only cycle of the 1961 15 runs and zo hits in the first game and II runs and 23 season. It came 13 months after his teammate White hits in the second. The Cubs left 23 runners on base hit for the cycle against the . On in the two contests. (The Cardinals stranded zo.) The June 16, 1964, Boyer again defied the odds and hit first game started at 5:3o P.M., and Boyer's solo blast for the cycle again, this time against the closed the doubleheader almost seven hours later, at Colt .45s. This second accomplishment was a natural 12:21 A.M. cycle.i° Boyer is the only Cardinals player to ever hit Boyer, team captain and a perennial All-Star? and for the cycle twice. winner for the Cardinals, posted his highest average in 1961, finishing the NOTES season at .329, the third best in the National League Richard Dozer, "Cubs Add Two Verses to the St. Louis Blues," (behind and ). After Chicago Tribune, September 15,1961. the game, Boyer told reporters, "I've always had one 2 Simmons had been a three-time All-Star with the Philadelphia bad month a season until this year,"8 adding that he Phillies in the 195os. For his career, Simmons had a 193-183 record, coupled with a 3.54 earned-run average. He pitched 163 was worried more about his team getting into the complete games. first division than with his chances of increasing his 3 Curtis pitched only three seasons in the major leagues, compil- to .34o. He added, "Maybe we can ing a 14-19 record and a 4.84 ERA. He had six complete games waltz into third place, and a si,zoo slice wouldn't be and finished third in the 1960 Rookie of the Year voting in the a bad Christmas present. And then we'd know we'd National League. go into next season with a good club."9 4 Neal Russo, "Boyer's Seven Hits Help Cards Beat Cubs Twice, 8-7, 6-5," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 15,1961: 22.

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