Books and articles about Paul Blair

An intuitive centerfielder whose speed going back allowed him to play unusually shallow, the loquacious Blair won eight Gold Gloves. An Oriole from 1964 through 1976, he finished among Baltimore's all-time top five in a dozen offensive categories. His average was augmented by his bunting skills, and he had 171 career stolen bases. He had his best year in 1969 (.285, 26 HR, 76 RBI). In 1970, he suffered serious eye and facial injuries from a Ken Tatum beaning. Lingering fear at the plate caused him to seek help from a hypnotherapist. In 1971 he tried switch-hitting, but stopped after going 11-57.

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Blair appeared in 53 postseason games with Baltimore and the Yankees. His 430-foot home run in Game Three of the 1966 WS gave the Orioles a 1-0 victory over the Dodgers, and he tied the record for most hits in a five-game WS, going 9-19 (.474) in 1970. He made several sensational catches in the '66 and '70 WS and '70 LCS. (JCA)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » October 8, 1966: In game three Paul Blair's home run and Wally Bunker's 6-hit pitching give the Orioles a 1–0 win, as the World Series moves to Baltimore. » May 17, 1967: The Orioles become the 8th club in American League history with four or more home runs in one inning when Andy Etchebarren, Sam Bowens, Boog Powell, and Dave Johnson connect in a 9-run 7th. Also homering for Baltimore is Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson and Paul Blair, the only time seven teammates have each homered. Those home runs make the difference in a 12–8 Baltimore win over the Red Sox. Boston's Carl Yastrzemski hits two homers, one coming in the bottom of the 7th; the total of five in one inning equals the ML record. Rounding out the round trippers is Don Demeter for Boston. » July 5, 1968: Against Detroit in the 5th inning, Baltimore's Paul Blair is on 3B with Frank Robinson at bat. Robby swings and his bat sails over the third baseman's head. The 3B coach jogs out to retrieve the bat, not having called timeout, as Blair slowly strolls back to the bag, Tiger C Bill Freehan, with ball in hand, starts walking up the line, then runs behind Blair and tags him out. Blair and Earl Weaver go wild. » August 31, 1968: Baltimore's Dave McNally wins his 10th straight, topping the first-place Tigers, 5–1. Paul Blair homers and triples in the win. » April 16, 1969: The Orioles take first place in the American League East with an 11–8 win at Boston, in a game stopped in the last half of the 8th because of rain. Baltimore will remain in 1st place the rest of the season. Billy Conigliaro, playing in place of his brother, smashes a pair of homers for his first ML hits, but Don Buford, Paul Blair and Brooks Robinson answer for the O's. » May 14, 1969: Orioles center fielder Paul Blair hits two homers and then makes a sensational catch in the 9th inning to rob Rod Carew of a hit. The Birds win, 9–8. » July 5, 1969: AL East leader Baltimore breaks a 3-game losing streak as Dave McNally (12-0) wins his 14th straight game 9–3 at Detroit. Detroit OF Mickey Stanley plays his 220th straight errorless game and C Bill Freehan picks Paul Blair off 3B unassisted. Blair, on third with a triple, strolls too slowly back to the bag after the bat flies out of the hands of Frank Robinson. » October 4, 1969: The first League Championship Series begin in Atlanta and Baltimore. New York survives home runs by Hank Aaron and Tony Gonzalez off Tom Seaver and scores five runs off Phil Niekro in the 8th to coast home 9–5. Paul Blair's 12th-inning squeeze bunt gives the Orioles a 4–3 win over Minnesota. » October 6, 1969: Baltimore wins the first ALCS as Paul Blair delivers five hits and Don Buford four in an 11–2 win at Minnesota. » April 29, 1970: Baltimore's Paul Blair collects three homers and six RBIs in an 18–2 rout of the White Sox. Elrod Hendricks and Boog Powell also homer, each with two men on to back Jim Palmer. » May 31, 1970: Paul Blair is hit by a pitch from California reliever Ken Tatum and carried off the field with a broken nose and fractures. His hitting is never the same following the injury. The O's lose, 6–1. » June 26, 1970: Frank Robinson belts two successive grand slams during a 12–2 Oriole romp over the Senators, just the 7th major leaguer to ever accomplish the feat. Dave McNally, the winning pitcher, Don Buford, and Paul Blair trot home ahead of him on each blow. They will be Robby's only grand slams for the O's. The Orioles will lose C Clay Dalrymple tomorrow when he breaks his ankle in a home plate collision with the Nats Mike Epstein. » October 3, 1971: Baltimore downs Oakland 5–3 in the ALCS opener, as the Orioles score four runs in the 7th inning. OF Paul Blair caps the big inning with a 2-run double. » August 26, 1973: In a 10–1 win over the Royals, Oriole Paul Blair hits an inside-the-park grand slam off Paul Splittorff. Amos Otis and Steve Hovley collide in midair while chasing Blair's ball to help the O's win their 13th straight. » October 5, 1974: The Orioles beat the A's 6–3 in the American League opener as Paul Blair, Bobby Grich, and Brooks Robinson blast homers. » November 29, 1975: Two Orioles standouts, with a combined total of 24 Gold Glove Awards, are each honored for the last time. Brooks Robinson and Paul Blair are the two making swan songs on TSN fielding team, while outfielders Garry Maddox and Fred Lynn each win the award for the first time. » June 29, 1976: At Fenway, Rick Wise tosses his 2nd one-hitter this month as the Red Sox top the Orioles, 2–0. Paul Blair's 6th inning single is the only hit. » January 20, 1977: The Yankees obtain outfielder Paul Blair from Baltimore for outfielders Elliott Maddox and Rick Bladt. Blair will prove a fine defensive addition to the Yankees. » June 26, 1977: In front of 55,039 fans, the Yankees complete a 3-game sweep of the Red Sox, avenging the three losses last week to the Sox at Fenway. New York takes 4–1 lead into the 9th, but the Sox tie the game. In the bottom of the 9th, Paul Blair bounces a bases-loaded ball over the head of Butch Hobson at 3B to pin the loss on reliever Bill Campbell. » July 23, 1977: Paul Blair hits a 9th inning 3-run homer to give the Yankees Ron Guidry a 3–1 victory over the Brewers. » October 11, 1977: The Yankees win the opening game of the World Series 4–3 in 12 innings as Willie Randolph doubles and scores the winning run on a single by Paul Blair. » May 9, 1979: The Yanks release Paul Blair, who signs with the Reds.