I'll never forget my first major baseball game. For my 10th birthday, my father took me to see my favorite team,the New York Yankees play their 1961 season final home game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. There was no more Ted Williams with the Red Sox, just some rookie outfielder nicked name "Yaz". I was excited to see a Yankees live game, even though my favorite Yankee Mickey Mantle wasn't playing that day, but one my favorite young Yankee pitchers was starting the game, Bill Stafford. I was a righthander pitcher in little league that's why Bill Stafford was my favorite Yankee righthander. I thought that he had the potential to be another big Yankee right hander starter, since the Yankees were in the process of rebuilding with younger players who were given a chance by the new Yankee manager Ralph Houk. Casey Stengel was a great Yankee manager, but at the end of his Yankee career, he didn't trust the younger players, stuck with the old veterans.
It was a beautiful sunny October afternoon at Yankee Stadium, the crowd was small despite Roger Maris last chance to set a new Home Run record. Only 23,154 fans showed up that day for the game. My Father and I sat in the left field bleachers, to watch the game. The right field section was crowded with fans wanting a shot to catch a Maris home run. I just wanted to watch the game. Being in Yankee Stadium for the first time was quite a experience. When you first walked into the blechers and looked around you knew that this was a very special place to be at. Yogi Berra was playing left field that day, we yelled out his name, he turned around and waved to all of the Yankee young fans in left field bleachers. Bill Stafford and Tracy Stallard were the starting pitchers, who hooked up a scoreless pitching duel, until Roger Maris hit his record breaking 61st home run of the season.
I enjoyed watching this pitchers duel.
Bill Stafford pitched a great game, giving the Yankees their 109th victory of the 1961 AL season. Sadly his pitching performance that day was lost to Roger Maris hitting home run #61and the fan, Sal Durante who caught the famous home run baseball. Also Tracy Stallard pitched a good game for the Red Sox that afternoon, but once again the #61 Homerun was the story of the day.
I was happy to see Bill Stafford's great start and follow the rest of his pitching for the Yankees during his career. The 1962 World Series victory of Giants in Game #3, showed promise of great things to come from Bill. But sadly that arm injury in the begining of the 1963 season against the Kansas City A's, started his decline and he lost his place in the rotation. Ralph Terry, Jim Bouton, Mel Stottlemyre,and Stan Williams stepped in as Yankee right hand starters.
At the time of his trade in 1966 to the Kansas City A's, it seemed that Bill was on his way back to the Yankees going 5-0 for their Richmond AAA farm club, but returning Yankee Manager Ralph Houk gave up on him too soon in one of his panic trades of that season. I believe that arm injuries took longer to recover from in 1960's than with today's medical advances. Bill expressed his feelings about the trade to A's in a great Yankee book called "Dynasty." Fred Talbot was a total bust for the New York Yankees. He is probadly know more for his involvement with Jim Buton in "Ball Four" than his career pitching for the Yankees. I wouldn't invite him to any old timer's game or fanasty camp.
When the Yankees held Old Timer's games, I always looked to see if Bill Stafford would be there. Sadly in 2001, I heard that Bill had passed away from heart problems. To me he will be always one of the "it's a great to be young and a Yankee players of 1950-60's."
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Copyright © 2004 by Frank Wasiowicz Jr.. Posted January 26, 2004.
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