Stallard was a Red Sox rookie when he took the mound in Yankee Stadium on the last
day of the 1961 season. In the fourth inning, he allowed the only run of the game
- Roger Maris's record-breaking 61st home run. Said the 6'5" Stallard, "I have nothing
to be ashamed of. He hit 60 others, didn't he?" With the Mets in 1964, Stallard suffered
one of his NL-high 20 losses in the longest game in ML history, a 7-hour 23-minute
marathon against San Francisco on May 31; another loss came when Philadelphia's Jim
Bunning pitched his perfect game on June 21.
(RTM)
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»October 1, 1960: The Yankees win their 14th straight, beating the Red Sox, 3–1 behind three pitchers. Jim Coates (13–3) is the winner. Nichols is the loser for the Bosox, while Tracy Stallard, in relief, fans Roger Maris. Maris's next at bat against Stallard will be a momentous one a year from now.
»October 1, 1961: Roger Maris' torturous, season-long race against Babe Ruth ends in a dramatic at bat against Boston's Tracy Stallard. Maris' classic lefthanded swing sends home run number 61 into the RF stands in "The House That Ruth Built." (Sal Durante, one of 23,154 fans in attendance, grabs the historic home run ball which he sells for $5,000). New York's 1–0 win gives the Yanks 109 wins, one short of the club's 1927 record. It is New York's major-league record 240th homer of the year.
»July 19, 1966:
The Cards edge the Braves, 10–9, with the win going to reliever Nellie Briles. Redbird starter Tracy Stallard gets no decision in his last ML appearance. Stallard sets a major-league record for his 7-year career by receiving no walks in 247 plate appearances.
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