Spahn & Mays Make History

By David Marasco

In late April of 1961 the San Francisco Giants had a three day set at Milwaukee against the Braves. As an early season meeting, there were no great implications for the pennant race. Yet that weekend generated an incredible amount of baseball history.

Warren Spahn was less than a week past 40 when he took the mound on Friday the 28th. After setting down the Giants in order he got a late birthday present from Hank Aaron, a run scoring single. This was the only run scored by the Braves, but on that day Spahn needed only one. Warren set down the side in order in both the second and the third. In the fourth he walked leadoff man Chuck Hiller, but was able to initiate a double play to erase the runner. In the fifth a similar occurance, leadoff man McCovey walked and then was doubled-up by Spahn. The no-hitter seemed in doubt in the sixth, with one out Jose Pagan hit a ball to short that Roy McMillan bobbled. McMillan regained the handle and was able to throw out Pagan by a step. The only other Giant threat was a blooper to center by McCovey in the 8th, Aaron had to run hard to catch up with it. In the end Spahn had faced the minium, striking out but five. Giants starter Sam Jones had given up five walks and five hits, but had limited the Braves to one run. The win was Spahn's 290th, and his league-record 52nd shutout. With the victory the Braves moved past the Giants into first place.

In the pre-Ryan days, Spahn's no-hitter was quite a feat. "A fellow my age shouldn't be pitching no-hitters," claimed the hurler himself. After nearly a decade and a half in the majors, Spahn had throw his first two no-hitters in less than a year's time (his first was September 16, 1960). At 40, the only man older than Spahn to have thrown a no-hitter was Cy Young at 41. Interestingly enough, Spahn had a rookie catcher behind the plate - Charlie Lau. Lau would later become famous in baseball circles for his philosophies as a batting instructor. His ideas are still being taught by Walt Hriniak. Lau admited to bein so nervous in the ninth that he blew a foul pop-up that gave the first hitter in the ninth a second life. Spahn saw fit to comment on the play of only one of his opponents, Willie Mays. "Willie didn't swing good at me - I hope he stays that way all year." This would serve as prophecy by the end of the weekend.

On Saturday the Giants started Juan Marichal. The Giants started slowly, Marichal allowing a solo homer to Joe Adcock in the second, Back-to-back home runs were avoided only by a Willie Mays over-the-wall catch in left center. In the fourth inning the Giants got the ball rolling again Braves starter Bob Buhl, scoring 2. The next inning they posted 4 more. They pounded Buhl and his successors for 15 hits that day, and for 5 home runs. McCovey hit a pair and Felipe Alou, Cepeda and Davenport had one each. Marichal would go strong until two outs in the ninth when he would falter for two runs. The final score was7-3, and the only hitless Giant was Willie Mays.

Whatever was wrong with Mays on the first two days of the series was corrected on Sunday. In the first inning he hit a 420-foot home run to give the Giants a short-lived 1-0 lead. The Braves came back with a three-run homer by Hank Aaron in the bottom half of the first. In the third Willie hit a 400-foot shot , an inning that would see the Giants take the lead for good. This was the last inning that Burdette would pitch. The last six frames each featured a new hurler. In the fifth Willie would line out to centerfield on a pitch from Moe Drabowsky. The sixth saw more of Mays' prowess in the form of a 450-foot blast, and Hank Aaron hit his second homer of the day. Willie hit his fourth homer of the day, a 430-footer, in the eighth. With Willie Mays in the on-deck circle, Jim Davenport made the last out in the ninth. The Giants won by a score of 14-4, and lost in the brilliance of Mays' day were Aaron's two homers, Pagan's two homers and dingers by Cepeda and Felipe Alou.

All sorts of records and firsts were recorded on that Sunday. The four home runs is the most any man has hit in a Major League game, a record held by many. The thirteen homeruns in two consecutive games by the Giants also still stands. The eight homers in one game stands as a National League record, but the ten in one game by both teams has been eclipsed. Jose Pagan hit not only his first big-league homer, but his first two.