Though he had a mediocre career record, Larsen was immortalized by his
World Series
perfect game of October 8, 1956. He had gone 11-5 for the Yankees that year and,
after being knocked out in the second inning of Game Two, started Game Five. He set
down 27 Dodgers in a row, outdueling
Sal Maglie and winning 2-0 for the first no-hitter
in Series history. The last batter Larsen faced was
Dale Mitchell, who was declared
out by umpire
Babe Pinelli on a called third strike. Mitchell and others, including
Mickey Mantle in centerfield, thought the ball a bit outside, but mayhem had erupted
and catcher
Yogi Berra had jumped into Larsen's arms before Mitchell could argue.
Before
joining the Yankees, Larsen had a 3-21 record for the 1954 Orioles to lead the AL
in losses. But two of his wins came against New York, who took him as part of an
18-player deal that winter. One early morning in spring training of 1956, Larsen,
who had a reputation as a partier, crashed his car into a telephone pole, prompting
manager Casey Stengel to say, "He was probably mailing a letter." But he was a capable
pitcher who, like Yankee teammate Bob Turley, adopted
a no-windup delivery. His 11
wins in 1956 were his season high. He went 1-10 with the A's in 1960 and bounced
around before receiving his last ML chance with the Cubs in 1967. He was the last
active former St. Louis Brown. A lifetime .242 batter, he had 14 career home runs
and was used 66 times as a pinch hitter.
(GDW)
Don Larsen
