Pittsburgh Pirates Legend Bill Mazeroski Dies at 89

Bill Mazeroski, the Hall of Fame second baseman famous for hitting the game-winning home run in the 1960 World Series, passed away Friday at age 89. The defensive specialist spent his entire 17-year career with the Pittsburgh Pirates and was known as much for his fielding prowess as his historic walk-off homer.

Bill Mazeroski, the legendary second baseman who captured baseball immortality with his championship-clinching home run in the 1960 World Series, passed away Friday at 89 years old.

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Mazeroski’s death without providing details about the cause.

Pirates chairman Bob Nutting remembered the player affectionately known as “Maz,” saying “Maz was one of a kind, a true Pirates legend … His name will always be tied to the biggest home run in baseball history and the 1960 World Series championship, but I will remember him most for the person he was: humble, gracious and proud to be a pirate.”

Though the Veterans Committee inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 2001, Mazeroski’s statistics might surprise some fans. Among Cooperstown’s second basemen, he posted the weakest batting average, lowest on-base percentage, and fewest stolen bases. His career numbers included a .260 batting average, 138 home runs, and just 27 stolen bases across 17 seasons, with a .299 on-base percentage. He never reached the .300 batting mark or came close to 100 RBIs or runs scored, earning just one top-10 MVP finish.

However, his defensive excellence set him apart from his peers. The Hall of Fame honored him as a “defensive wizard” with “hard-nosed hustle” and a “quiet work ethic.” During his career as a 10-time All-Star, he established a major league record with 1,706 double plays, earning the nickname “No Hands” for his lightning-quick fielding and throws. He topped the National League in assists nine times at his position, with baseball statistician Bill James ranking him as the greatest defensive second baseman in history.

“I think defense belongs in the Hall of Fame,” Mazeroski stated during his induction ceremony. “Defense deserves as much credit as pitching and I’m proud to be going in as a defensive player.”

Yet his most memorable moment occurred at the plate, when the square-jawed West Virginia coal miner’s son fulfilled every young ballplayer’s fantasy.

The Pirates hadn’t appeared in a World Series since their 1927 sweep by the New York Yankees, and they faced those same Yankees again in 1960. While New York boasted stars like Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, Pittsburgh’s roster featured few household names beyond emerging talent Roberto Clemente. The team depended on players like shortstop Dick Groat, outfielder Bob Skinner, and pitchers Vernon Law and Bob Friend. Mazeroski, who celebrated his 24th birthday that September, finished the regular season batting .273 while typically hitting eighth in the lineup.

The World Series presented a tale of two narratives. The Yankees dominated statistically, outscoring Pittsburgh 55-27 and winning their three victories by a combined 38-3 margin. New York’s Bobby Richardson set a record with 12 RBIs and earned Series MVP honors despite playing for the losing team, while Whitey Ford blanked the Pirates twice en route to a then-record 33⅔ consecutive scoreless World Series innings.

Pittsburgh’s three victories were less overwhelming but equally valuable, with Mazeroski contributing significantly. He launched a two-run homer off Jim Coates in Game 1’s fourth inning during a 6-4 Pirates win, then delivered a two-run double against Art Ditmar in the second inning of Game 5’s 5-2 victory. Game 7 would provide his crowning achievement.

Approximately 36,000 spectators packed Forbes Field, with countless more following on radio and television, as they witnessed one of baseball’s most dramatic conclusions. The lead changed hands repeatedly after Pittsburgh grabbed a 4-0 advantage, only to trail 7-4 when New York rallied in the middle innings. The Pirates reclaimed the lead with five eighth-inning runs, aided by a potential double-play grounder that took an errant bounce and struck Yankees shortstop Tony Kubek in the throat. New York answered immediately, tying the contest 9-9 in the ninth inning’s top half.

The bottom of the ninth inning has become legendary for both franchises and generations of fans. Ralph Terry, a right-handed pitcher whom manager Casey Stengel had inserted the previous inning despite acknowledging his tired arm, faced the right-handed Mazeroski, who had grounded into a double play in his last at-bat.

Terry opened with a high fastball for ball one. After a brief conference with catcher Johnny Blanchard, who advised keeping pitches low, Terry delivered what Mazeroski later described as a slider that failed to break. Mazeroski connected solidly, sending the ball soaring toward left field as it cleared the towering, ivy-covered brick wall while Yankees left fielder Yogi Berra circled beneath it before turning away in disappointment. The entire city seemed to celebrate as if everyone had swung alongside him, representing every underdog’s dream of defeating the mighty Yankees. Mazeroski sprinted around the bases, smiling and waving his cap, joined by fans who had rushed onto the field and followed him to home plate for his teammates’ embrace.

“I was just looking to get on base,” he explained to The New York Times in 1985. “Nothing fancy, just looking for a fastball until he got a strike on me. I thought it would be off the wall, and I wanted to make third if the ball ricocheted away from Berra. But when I got around first and was digging for second, I saw the umpire waving circles above his head and I knew it was over.”

ESPN has labeled it baseball’s greatest home run. The blast marked the first World Series to conclude with a homer, creating lasting joy and heartbreak. Pirates supporters memorized the date—Saturday, October 13, 1960—and the exact time of 3:36 p.m. When Forbes Field was demolished in the 1970s, fans began gathering each October 13 at the remaining center field wall to listen to the original broadcast.

The defeat devastated the Yankees. Mantle wept during the flight home, insisting the superior team had lost. Ford remained angry with Stengel—fired five days later—for using him in Games 3 and 6, preventing a potential third start. Even Pirates co-owner Bing Crosby, fearing he might jinx his team, listened to the game from Paris with friends.

“We were in this beautiful apartment, listening on shortwave, and when it got close Bing opened a bottle of Scotch and was tapping it against the mantel,” his widow, Kathryn Crosby, told the Times in 2010. “When Mazeroski hit the home run, he tapped it hard; the Scotch flew into the fireplace and started a conflagration.”

Mazeroski remained loyal to Pittsburgh throughout his career and maintained team connections off the field. He married Milene Nicholson, a front office worker he met through manager Danny Murtaugh, in 1958. They raised two sons together until her death in 2024.

William Stanley Mazeroski was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, during the Great Depression, spent his childhood in eastern Ohio, and lived temporarily in a single-room house lacking electricity and indoor plumbing. His father, Louis Mazeroski, had harbored his own baseball dreams and nurtured his son’s athletic interests, even practicing by having Bill field tennis balls bounced off a brick wall.

Despite excelling in basketball and football, he preferred baseball and impressed scouts enough for the Pirates to draft him at 17 in 1954. Originally a shortstop competing with numerous prospects at that position, he switched to second base by his 1956 rookie season. Even as a part-time player late in his career, he provided leadership and stability for the 1971 championship team featuring Clemente and Willie Stargell that defeated the Baltimore Orioles.

Following his 1972 retirement, Mazeroski briefly coached for the Pirates and Seattle Mariners while serving as Pittsburgh’s spring training infield instructor. The Pirates retired his number 9 in 1987. The 50th anniversary of his World Series heroics was commemorated in 2010 with the unveiling of a 14-foot, 2,000-pound statue on Bill Mazeroski Way, depicting one of Pittsburgh’s greatest everyman heroes rounding the bases at his moment of triumph.