| |
N0KFQ > TODAY 28.09.11 16:40l 52 Lines 2314 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 12284_KB0WSA
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Sep 28
Path: IZ3LSV<IK2XDE<DB0RES<OE6XPE<OE7XLR<OE5XBL<OE2XEL<OE3XAR<OE1XAB<HG8LXL<
N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 110928/1524Z 12284@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.0.4
Sep 28, 1960:
Ted Williams hits home run in last major league at-bat
On September 28, 1960, at Boston's Fenway Park, Red Sox star Ted
Williams hits a home run in the last at-bat of his 21-year
career.
Ted Williams once said it was his goal in life to "walk down the
street [and have] folks say `there goes the greatest hitter who
ever lived.'" He succeeded. Williams led the American League in
batting average six times, home runs four times and runs batted
in four times. He was one of only two men ever to win baseball's
Triple Crown twice, leading the league in home runs, runs batted
in and batting average in 1942 and again in 1947. Perhaps most
impressively, however, he hit .406 in 1941--he was the last man
ever to hit .400. He accomplished more than that, missing three
seasons to fly combat missions in the Navy during World War II
and parts of two more as a Marine during the Korean War, again to
fly, this time with John Glenn as his wingman. Williams would
later mold himself into a world-class fly fisherman, widely
respected and accomplished with the reel.
In spite of his brilliance at the plate, Williams had a
tempestuous relationship with Red Sox fans and the media; to his
frustration, his every move, both on and off the field, was
reported in the newspapers. After being booed by the Fenway
faithful early in his career, he swore never to tip his cap to
the Boston fans again. In spite of the many spectacular home runs
and clutch hits in his career, he never did.
After he hit .254 with a bad back in 1959, Red Sox management
urged Williams to retire. Too proud to hang it up after a
less-than-stellar season, he returned in 1960 at 42 years old and
hit .316 for the year with 29 home runs. In the eighth inning of
his final game at Fenway, played in front of a nearly empty
house, Williams pulled a 1-1 pitch from Baltimore Oriole Jack
Fisher into the Boston bullpen. After rounding the bases, he once
again stubbornly refused to take off his hat to acknowledge his
cheering fans.
John Updike memorialized Williams' career by telling the story of
his last at-bat in the short story "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu,"
published October 22, 1960 in The New Yorker.
73, K.O. n0kfq
Another old retired guy
E-mail: n0kfq@winlink.org
N0KFQ@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
Using Outpost Version 2.5.0 c33
Read previous mail | Read next mail
| |
