Books and articles about Don Hoak

Hoak was an outspoken, brawling firebrand, the spiritual leader of the 1960 World Champion Pirates. A pro boxer as a teenager, he lost seven straight knockouts before giving it up. He carried his pugnacity to the ballfield. He broke in sharing third base in Brooklyn with Billy Cox and Jackie Robinson. As a Cub on May 2, 1956, he set a NL record by striking out six times in a game (17 innings). In 1957, he led the NL with 39 doubles for the Reds and earned an All-Star Game berth in the Cincinnati ballot-box-stuffing incident. Traded to Pittsburgh, he led the Pirates in walks in 1959-61, and paced the 1960 championship team with 97 runs scored.

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In a Braves-Reds game on April 21, 1957, Hoak was on second and Gus Bell was on first when Wally Post grounded to shortstop. Hoak fielded the ball himself, flipping it to a stunned Johnny Logan at short. Hoak was out for getting hit by a batted ball, but the Reds still had two on and Post was credited with a single. The third such incident involving the Reds that season, it moved league presidents Warren Giles and Will Harridge to jointly announce a rule change that declared both the runner and the batter out if the runner intentionally interfered with a batted ball, with no runners allowed to advance.

Hoak later managed in the Pittsburgh system. He died of a heart attack chasing his brother-in-law's stolen car on October 9, 1969, the day Danny Murtaugh was rehired as Pirates manager - a position Hoak had openly sought. (ME)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » December 6, 1955: Brooklyn trades 3B Don Hoak and OF Walt Moryn to the Cubs for 3B Ransom Jackson. » May 2, 1956: Twenty-five Giants and 23 Cubs appear —a ML record—in a 17-inning marathon finally won by the visiting Giants 6–5. The two teams combined to intentionally walk 11 batters, a record, with the Cubs contributing seven of the free passes. Losing pitcher Jim Brosnan chipped in with four walks, all intentional. Cub 3B Don Hoak was not one of the strollers, whiffing a National League record six times—all against different pitches, while Ernie Banks, Willie Mays and Wes Westrum were twice walked intentionally. Whitey Lockman starts in LF, goes to 1B, returns to LF, and finishes at 1B. Ex-Giants Monte Irvin is 0-for-5 against five pitchers. The game is six minutes shy of the 5:19 record set by the Dodgers-Braves in 20 innings in 1940. » November 13, 1956: The Cubs send P Warren Hacker, 3B Don Hoak and OF Pete Whisenant to the Reds for 36-year-old P Elmer Singleton, 18–8 with Seattle in 1956, and 3B Ray Jablonski. » April 21, 1957: Reds' baserunner Don Hoak breaks up a DP by fielding a Wally Post ground ball and flipping it to Braves SS Johnny Logan. The umpire calls Hoak out for interference but Post is given a single on the play. The Braves win 3-1. In yesterday's 5­4 loss to the Braves, baserunner Johnny Temple let Gus Bell's ground ball hit him with the same result; Temple out for interfering and Bell awarded a single. » May 2, 1957: At the Polo Grounds, Don Hoak drives in five runs to lead the Reds to a 9–7 win over the Giants. » January 30, 1959: The Cincinnati Reds trade C Smoky Burgess, P Harvey Haddix and 3B Don Hoak to the Pirates for 3B Frank Thomas, RHP Jim Pendleton, OF Johnny Powers, P Whammy Douglas, and cash. The deal will turn out to be one on the worst in Reds history. » May 20, 1960: The Pirates stretch their National League lead to one 1/2 games by edging the Giants, 5–4, on Roberto Clemente's single in the 12th inning. Clemente has three hits to raise his average to .378. Willie McCovey's homer in the 9th tied it for San Francisco, and a score in the 12th puts them ahead. But Don Hoak's single and a run-scoring double by Dick Groat sets the stage for Clemente. » May 28, 1960: At Forbes Field in the 8th inning, Roberto Clemente is on 3B and Hal Smith on 1B with two outs, when Bill Mazeroski fans on a ball that hits in the front of the plate. The ball then hits umpire Al Barlick on the right knee and bounces back toward Phillies pitcher, Jim Owens. Maz doesn't move as Smith jogs to 2B. Clemente races in from 3B then stops. Owens fields the ball and goes after Clemente ignoring pleas from the Phils' bench to simply throw to 1B. In the run-down, Clemente knocks the ball out of Jim Coker's glove and scores the tying run on the catcher's error (the photo has been widely published). The Pirates win, 4–2 in the 13th on Don Hoak's 2-run home run. » August 14, 1960: The Pirates sweep a doubleheader from 2nd-place St. Louis to take a 6-game lead in the National League pennant race. Don Hoak's RBI single in the 11th inning gives Pittsburgh a 3–2 win in the nightcap, following a 9–4 win in the opener. The Cards Bill White connects for the cycle in the opener. » November 16, 1960: National League batting champion Dick Groat is named league MVP, outpolling Pirate teammate Don Hoak 276-162.