1962 World Series

vs. 1962 World Series (4-3) New York Yankees (96-66, AL) over San Francisco Giants (103-62, NL) BR 1962 World Series Summary

Introduction

The 1962 World Series matched the defending champion New York Yankees against the San Francisco Giants, who had won their first National League pennant since moving from New York, NY in 1958, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-game playoff.

This Series, which was closely matched in every game, is remembered for its then-record length of thirteen days, caused by rain in both cities, and its appropriately dramatic conclusion. The Yankees took the Series in 7 games for the 20th championship in team history. To put it another way, the Yankees had won their first World Series in 1924, so of the 40 Series played during 1923-1962, the Yankees had won half of them.

The Giants had a better team batting average, earned run average and hit more home runs, triples, and doubles, yet lost the Series.

In Game 1, during the 2nd inning, Whitey Ford gave up a run, ending his World Series record for consecutive scoreless innings at 33 2/3.

Don Larsen won Game 4 in relief, six years to the day after his perfect game in the 1956 World Series.

Both Games 5 and 6 were postponed by rain. Game 5 in New York was pushed back one day, but Game 6 in San Francisco, CA was pushed back by four days due to torrential downpours on the West Coast. Three of the longest World Series in terms of total days, due to various postponements, involved the Giants: the 1911 World Series and the 1989 World Series were the other two.

Soon after the Series ended, Peanuts cartoonist and Giants fan Charles M. Schulz, in a rare reference to real-world events, drew a comic strip with Charlie Brown sitting glumly with Linus, lamenting in the last panel, "Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher?" Later, he drew an identical strip, except in the last panel Charlie moaned, "Or why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just two feet higher?"

Records:

• New York Yankees (W: 96, L: 66, Pct: .593, GA: 5)
• San Francisco Giants (W: 103, L: 62, Pct: .624, GA: - †)

† Won a best-of-three game playoff over the Los Angeles Dodgers, October 1st (8-0), October 2nd (7-8), October 3rd (6-4)

Managers: Ralph Houk (New York), Alvin Dark (San Francisco)

Umpires: Al Barlick (NL), Charlie Berry (AL), Stan Landes (NL), Jim Honochick (AL), Ken Burkhart (NL: outfield only), Hank Soar (AL: outfield only)

Series MVP: Ralph Terry (New York)

Television: NBC (Mel Allen and Russ Hodges announcing)

Summary

AL New York Yankees (4) vs. NL San Francisco Giants (3)

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Yankees – 6, Giants – 2	October 4	Candlestick Park	43,852
2	Yankees – 0, Giants – 2	October 5	Candlestick Park	43,910
3	Giants – 2, Yankees – 3	October 7	Yankee Stadium	71,434
4	Giants – 7, Yankees – 3	October 8	Yankee Stadium	66,607
5	Giants – 3, Yankees – 5	October 10	Yankee Stadium	63,165
6	Yankees – 2, Giants – 5	October 15	Candlestick Park	43,948
7	Yankees – 1, Giants – 0	October 16	Candlestick Park	43,948

Matchups

Game 1

October 4, 1962 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York (A)	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	1	6	11	0
San Francisco (N)	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	10	0
W: Whitey Ford (1-0)  L: Billy O'Dell (0-1)
HR: NYY – Clete Boyer (1)

Roger Maris' two-run double in the 1st inning set up Yankee starter Whitey Ford with a lead, but Willie Mays scored for the Giants in the 2nd, ending Ford's record consecutive scoreless inning streak at 33 2/3. Chuck Hiller's double and Felipe Alou's hit in the 3rd tied the game, but the Yankees broke the tie in the 7th on Clete Boyer's home run and scored three insurance runs in the final two innings. Ford's complete game victory was the first of six in the series, four for the Yankees and two for the Giants.

Game 2

October 5, 1962 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York (A)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1
San Francisco (N)	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	x	2	6	0
W: Jack Sanford (1-0)  L: Ralph Terry (0-1)
HR: SFG – Willie McCovey (1)

With the Giants protecting a 1-0 lead in the 7th inning, Willie McCovey smashed a tremendous home run over the right field fence to boost 24-game winner Jack Sanford to 2-0 shutout of the Yankees, who managed only 3 hits.

Game 3

October 7, 1962 at Yankee Stadium in New York, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
San Francisco (N)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	4	3
New York (A)	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	x	3	5	1
W:Bill Stafford (1-0)   L: Billy Pierce (0-1)
HR: SFG – Ed Bailey (1)

The Yankees ended a scoreless tie in the 7th, scoring three times. Roger Maris drove a base hit off starter Billy Pierce for two runs batted in, and alert baserunning allowed him to score the winning run in a 3-2 Yankee victory. Giants catcher Ed Bailey's two-run homer in the top of the 9th left the Giants a run short.

Game 4

October 8, 1962 at Yankee Stadium in New York, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
San Francisco (N)	0	2	0	0	0	0	4	0	1	7	9	1
New York (A)	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	3	9	1
W: Don Larsen (1-0)   L: Jim Coates (0-1)
HR: SFG – Tom Haller (1), Chuck Hiller (1)

For the second time in two days, a Giants catcher stroked a two-run homer when Tom Haller hit his off Whitey Ford in the 2nd inning. After the Yankees tied the score at 2-2, second baseman Chuck Hiller hit the first National League grand slam in World Series history off Marshall Bridges in the 7th, and the Giants went on to win, 7-3. The game marked the only appearance in this series of future Hall of Famer Juan Marichal, who started for the Giants.

Don Larsen was the winning pitcher in relief, six years to the day of his perfect game in the 1956 World Series.

Game 5

October 10, 1962 at Yankee Stadium in New York, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
San Francisco (N)	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	3	8	2
New York (A)	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	3	x	5	6	0
W: Ralph Terry (1-1)   L: Jack Sanford (1-1)
HR: SFG – Jose Pagan (1)   NYY – Tom Tresh (1)

Hot-hitting Jose Pagan drove in two runs with a single in the 3rd and a home run in the 5th, but with the score tied 2-2 in the 8th, Tom Tresh walloped what proved to be the winning homer, a three-run shot that scored Bobby Richardson and Tony Kubek in front of him. With the series returning to San Francisco, the Yankees had the edge, 3 games to 2, only to have the sixth game delayed four days by rain.

Game 6

October 15, 1962 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York (A)	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	2	3	2
San Francisco (N)	0	0	0	3	2	0	0	0	x	5	10	1
W: Billy Pierce (1-1)  L: Whitey Ford (1-1)
HR: NYY – Roger Maris (1)

In a battle of left-handed starting pitchers, Billy Pierce out-dueled Whitey Ford and tossed a brilliant complete-game three-hitter as the Giants evened the series at three wins apiece with a 5-2 victory. The Yankees' only runs came on a Roger Maris solo home run in the 5th inning and an RBI single by Tony Kubek in the 8th inning.

Game 7

October 16, 1962 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York (A)	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	7	0
San Francisco (N)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1
W: Ralph Terry (2-1)  L: Jack Sanford (1-2)

The only run of this classic game occurred in the 5th inning when Tony Kubek grounded into a double play, with Bill Skowron scoring from third. Ralph Terry, pitching the seventh game instead of Jim Bouton because of the rain delays, had given up Bill Mazeroski's Series-winning walk-off home run two years earlier in Pittsburgh, PA but in his third start completely stifled the Giants' power hitters. In the bottom of the 9th, pinch-hitter Matty Alou, batting for relief pitcher Billy O'Dell, led off the inning with a bunt base hit after first having a foul ball dropped, but Terry struck out the next two batters, Felipe Alou and Chuck Hiller. Mays hit a double into the right field corner, but Roger Maris brilliantly played the carom, then hit cut-off man Bobby Richardson with a throw that was relayed perfectly to home. Alou, already aware of Maris's great arm, stopped at third. Facing Willie McCovey with two outs, Terry elected to pitch to him rather than walk the bases loaded and bring up Orlando Cepeda. Terry's inside fastball on the second pitch completely handcuffed McCovey, who nonetheless adjusted his bat in mid-swing to extend his arms and hit what he later claimed was the hardest ball he had ever struck. The line drive appeared at first to be going over the head of a perfectly-positioned Richardson, but was in fact sinking from topspin and Richardson made the catch without leaping to end the game. The Yankees won their 20th World Championship; they would not win another World Championship until 1977.

Composite Box

1962 World Series (4-3): New York Yankees (A.L.) over San Francisco Giants (N.L.)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York Yankees	2	0	0	1	2	3	4	6	2	20	44	5
San Francisco Giants	1	3	2	3	3	0	5	0	4	21	51	8
Total Attendance: 376,864   Average Attendance: 53,838
Winning Player’s Share: – $9,883   Losing Player’s Share – $7,291

Reference(s)

• John Iamarino: Seven Games in ’62: The Yankees and Giants Square Off in a Classic World Series, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2021. ISBN 978-1-4766-8751-3
• David S. Neft and Richard M. Cohen: The World Series, 1st ed. St Martins Press, New York, NY, 1990, pp. 292-297.

External links

• 1962 World Series at WorldSeries.com (MLB.com)
• 1962 World Series at Baseball-Almanac.com
• 1962 World Series box scores and play-by-play at Retrosheet.org
• Kodak Presents - Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments: Willie McCovey Lines Out

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