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Fifty-seven years ago today, Pirates legend Roberto Clemente performed one of the greatest feats in baseball history.
Down three runs with the bases loaded in the ninth at Forbes Field, Clemente drove a ball off the left-field light tower, blew through a stop sign from third-base coach Bobby Bragan and beat a relay throw from Ernie Banks as the Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 9-8.
It remains the only walk-off, inside-the-park grand slam in major league history.
"He slid, missed the plate, then reached back to rest his hand on the rubber with the ninth run in a victory as the crowd of 12,431 went goofy with excitement," wrote the Post-Gazette's veteran baseball writer Jack Hernon of Clemente's incredible feat.
Jim Johnston, who grew up in Hempfield, was 14 at the time and sat with his dad in the bleachers for the game.
"Both the left fielder and the center fielders overran the ball due to the crazy angle it took bouncing off the light stanchion and then hitting the wall at an angle that sent it toward center field," Johnston wrote in an email to the Post-Gazette recalling the anniversary. "To my dying day, I'll believe that Clemente was out at home, but, hey -- what ump's going to make that call?"
Johnston moved to Philadelphia and has lived there most of his life. He earned a Ph.D. in higher education before starting his own education-consulting company.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...#ixzz2a3ob1idJ
I could read stories about him all day long.