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Dick Stuart

Position: First Baseman
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right
6-4, 212lb (193cm, 96kg)
Born: November 7, 1932 in San Francisco, CA
Died: December 15, 2002  in Redwood City, CA
Buried: Cremated
High School: Sequoia HS (Redwood City, CA)
Debut: July 10, 1958 (11,566th in major league history)
vs. CHC 5 AB, 1 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: May 27, 1969
vs. CLE 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Full Name: Richard Lee Stuart
Nicknames: Stu, Dr. Strangeglove, Boston Strangler, Stonefingers or The Man With the Iron Glove
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

Notable Events and Chronology 

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August 19, 1958

Dick Stuart’s two-run, tie-breaking 450-foot unmanned expedition to Waveland Avenue puts Pittsburgh in the winner’s circle, 4 – 2, over the Chicago Cubs.

September 10, 1958

Dick Stuart clouts a 10th-inning homer to give Bob Friend his 20th win of the year as the Pirates beat the Giants, 6 – 4.

May 1, 1959

Dick Stuart’s 9th-inning, two-out, two-run bomb makes it close but the last-place Cardinals hold on, ending their three-game skid with a 7 – 6 squeaker over Pittsburgh. Stuart’s near-500-footer, however, provides fodder for rooters and writers alike. Les Biederman reports: “Fans left Forbes Field buzzing about the tape-measure home run Stuart hit over the scoreboard in the 9th. Jim Brosnan had two strikes and no balls on Stuart when he fed him a curve. Stuart flicked his wrists and the ball was still zooming as it rose well over 100 feet above the height of the wall and landed somewhere in the parking lot far into Schenley Park. ‘It was the longest I’ve ever seen hit at Forbes Field,’ coach Howie Pollet of the Cards offered and manager Solly Hemus and coach Harry Walker both agreed.”

May 17, 1959

Roberto Clemente barely misses becoming the only batted ball ever to strike Wrigley Field’s distant right centerfield scoreboard

June 5, 1959

Dick Stuart becomes first player to clear Centerfield barrier in Forbes Field 50 years

April 2, 1960

Wally Post beats Hank Aaron on the syndicated tv show, Home Run Derby

June 30, 1960

DR. STRANGEGLOVE – DICK STUART HITS 3 HOMERUNS – SECOND PIRATE TO DO SO IN FORBES FIELD

July 1, 1960

The Pirates are not big base-stealers, but aggressive baserunning is their stock in trade, as evidenced by today’s 10-inning, come-from-behind, walk-off win over Los Angeles, wherein Joe Christopher and Roberto Clemente combine to, in effect, steal the game. Los Angeles Times beat writer Frank Finch relates: “Christopher tied the score by racing in [from second] on Clemente’s infield single. Maury Wills fielded the bouncer and pegged to Gil Hodges. Clemente was safe by inches, and Christopher slid in a fraction of a second before Hodges’ peg to the plate arrived. Hitless in three previous trips and the target of boo-birds, Dick Stuart sliced a lazy fly ball down the right-field line. Clemente, of course, was off and running at the crack of the bat. Frank Howard lumbered over to pick up the ball, hesitated before throwing, and then fired wildly between third base and home as Clemente scored standing up. An accurate throw might have nailed the mercurial Puerto Rican, but the Pirates aren’t about to play this one over.”

March 28, 1961

1961 – In their first meeting since Pittsburgh’s dramatic World Series win over New York, the Bucs, behind would-be World Series goat Bob Friend, beat up the banged-up Bombers, 9 – 2. The game’s first run comes in the bottom of the 2nd on Roberto Clemente’s bases-empty bomb over the left-field fence. Pittsburgh goes up 3 – 0 in the 3rd on Dick Stuart’s two-run shot, likewise to left field. By the 7th, the Bucs have built their lead to 8 – 0 before New York can push across its initial tally. Today’s win boosts the Bucs’ Grapefruit League-leading record to 13-5, while miring New York ever more deeply in the preseason cellar.

May 31, 1961

tape measure two-baggers from Roberto Clemente and Dick Stuart provide all the support Pittsburgh starter Joe Gibbon needs in his complete game victory over the Milwaukee Braves

June 1, 1961

1961 – Joe Torre’s “most embarrassing moment” comes today. The Braves’ rookie is victim No. 7 out of 27 on the season for Pirates right fielder Roberto Clemente, a somewhat sick total of outfield assists for a man seven years in the league. While nothing out of the ordinary for Roberto, this moment will be impossible to forget for Joe Torre, no matter how much he may want to: “I got a hit to right field and rounded first base as most runners do. Clemente picked up the ball, faked a throw to second and threw it so fast behind me to first base I was caught and tagged out. It was my most embarrassing moment on the field.” The sixth-inning, rally-killing baserunning gaffe is somewhat differently portrayed in Pirates beat writer Les Biederman’s contemporary account: “The only time the Braves had a chance to score on Harvey Haddix after the 1st inning came in the 6th inning when Torre singled to right with Frank Thomas on second. Torre rounded first and Dick Stuart cut off Clemente’s throw home and politely tagged out Torre. Then Clemente completed the inning by going to the 375-foot mark and spearing Joe Adcock’s long shot.” Whether Biederman or Torre’s account is most accurate, this remains a truly cringe-worthy moment and a valuable lesson for the young rookie, learned the hard way.

August 16, 1961

Just five outs shy of career shutout No. 53, Milwaukee starter Warren Spahn is denied when Dick Stuart delivers an RBI single, thus bringing home the bullet Spahn has just dodged. That bullet came off the bat of Roberto Clemente, a loud double just a few feet shy of clearing Milwaukee County Stadium’s left centerfield fence. Disappointed but undaunted, Spahn will settle for career win No. 301 – a complete-game 2 – 1 decision over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

June 30, 1962

Houston has no monopoly on problematic weather, it would seem; in St. Louis, a messy, muddy game features 36 hits, 22 of them collected by the visiting Pirates, en route to a 17 – 7 rout of the host Cardinals. Chief offenders among the ungracious guests are Smoky Burgess and Roberto Clemente with 3 home runs, 2 doubles and 12 RBI between them. Burgess pushes home 7 with his 3 extra-base blows while Clemente, for the second consecutive season, reaches the right field pavilion roof at Busch Stadium. “The Pirates, better than the Birds as mudders, added some power to the plodding in the 2nd inning and scored five times,” writes Ed Wilks in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Bob Skinner’s skimmer went through Julian Javier, but was ruled a hit, giving Julie the benefit of the doubt in the mud. Clemente gave the Cards no such benefit when he followed with a three-run drive to the pavilion roof. It was his seventh homer of the season and brought Bobby Shantz in from the bullpen. Clemente and Pittsburgh continued their streaks in the 4th. The Pirates scored for the fourth straight inning when Skinner walked, Dick Stuart grounded out and Clemente followed with a run-scoring single, his third consecutive hit.”

July 20, 1962

1962 – Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Co. overpower Roberto Clemente’s Pirates with a devastating aerial assault and an assist from the Pirates’ very own fifth column, “Dr. Strangeglove”, Dick Stuart. “Vern Law was not around long,” writes Bob Stevens of the San Francisco Chronicle. “Chuck Hiller led off with a single and Jim Davenport forced him. Mays then hit a line drive, 420-foot home run for 2 – 0. With two down in the 3rd, McCovey belted a memorable shot over the left-field scoreboard. It was one of the few ever ripped into that area by a lefthander in the more than half a century existence of ivy-cloaked Forbes Field. The McCovey smash stood up for the victory, as Jack Lamabe, Tom Sturdivant and Earl Francis shut out the Giants on four hits until Stuart goofed in the 8th. The Bucs started to move in the 4th, when Bill Mazeroski singled home Clemente, who also contributed a dazzling throw from right field to cut down the sliding McCovey at the plate in the 6th.”

November 21, 1962

1962 – The Pittsburgh Pirates trade 1B Dick Stuart and P Jack Lamabe to the Boston Red Sox for P Don Schwall and C Jim Pagliaroni.

June 23, 1963

Dick Stuart as “Dr. Strange Glove” sets fielding record

August 19, 1963

At Fenway Park, Dick Stuart’s towering fly ball becomes an adventure for Indians’ outfielder Vic Davalillo when it strikes the ladder attached to the wall above the scoreboard. After ricocheting off the fence, the ball bounces off the head of the center fielder, and before he can retrieve it, the slow-footed Red Sox first baseman crosses the plate for a very improbable inside-the-park home run in Boston’s 8-3 loss to Cleveland.

August 19, 1963

At Fenway Park, Dick Stuart’s towering fly ball becomes an adventure for Indians’ outfielder Vic Davalillo when it strikes the ladder attached to the wall above the scoreboard. After ricocheting off the fence, the ball bounces off the head of the center fielder, and before he can retrieve it, the slow-footed Red Sox first baseman crosses the plate for a very improbable inside-the-park home run in Boston’s 8-3 loss to Cleveland.

August 25, 1963

Cleveland batters suffer an American League-record 27 strikeouts in a doubleheader (24 innings) split against the Red Sox. The 44 strikeouts for both teams are also an AL record, with Dick Stuart chipping in with 6.

November 29, 1964

The Red Sox trade first baseman Dick Stuart to the Phillies for pitcher Dennis Bennett.

June 1, 1965

Bob Veale sets a Pittsburgh Pirate record striking out 16

July 23, 1965

Dick Stuart homers in the first inning in the Phillies’ 5-1 win over New York at Shea Stadium. ‘Dr. Strangeglove’, who played in Boston for the last two seasons, becomes the first player to have gone deep in each of the 19 major league ballparks now in use. (Ed. note – Nineteen ballparks because both Los Angeles teams, the Angels and Dodgers, share the ballpark in Chavez Ravine. – LP)

September 5, 1965

1965 – The Reds edge the Phillies, 10 – 9, despite the slugging of Phils first sacker Dick Stuart. Stuart clouts a grand slam, the 9th of his career, in the 1st inning, then hits a 2-run homer in the 7th.

July 23, 1967

The disappointing Pirates continue to flounder, splitting a pair with the last-place Astros, dropping the opener thanks in large part to outsize slugging by the “Toy Cannon”, Jimmy Wynn. Four of Houston’s eight runs ride home on Wynn’s two homers, the last of which is a three-run, tape-measure coup-de-grâce which puts Houston up by 8 before Pittsburgh even shows a pulse. The culminating “Cannon Shot” passes over the batting cage to the left of the 457-foot mark on the way out, putting it in the company of historic shots by Rogers Hornsby, Josh Gibson, Ralph Kiner, Dick Stuart and Roberto Clemente. As it turns out, the Pirates do eventually compete and what looked like icing will prove to be Houston’s margin of victory as they hold on and outlast Pittsburgh, 8 – 5.

July 17, 2022

The 1959 Homerun Derby

Biography

He should have been from Texas, because everything he did was big. Dick Stuart hit big homeruns, had big strike out totals, committed big errors and loudly proclaimed his big boasts. Not surprisingly, Stuart evoked big cheers and big criticism from Pirate fans and remains one of the biggest legends in Pirate history despite a relatively brief five year career in Pittsburgh.

Stuart signed for a $10,000 bonus in 1951. Originally an outfielder, he went to Modesto and had decidedly unimpressive stats as an 18-year-old, batting just .229 with four homeruns in 66 games. Transferred to Billings in another Class C league in 1952, Stuart raised his average 84 points and was the Pioneer League’s top slugger, hitting 31 homeruns and driving in 121. he also led the league in hits, runs and total bases. Stuart spent the next two years in the military, but apparently the service did little to help him learn to follow orders. When he demanded only clean balls be pitched to him in batting practice at Class A New Orleans, he was shipped out of the country. Stuart did not hit well for the Mexico City Tigers (.148 in 27 at bats) and the Pirates sent him back to Billings to regain his stroke. Stuart pounded a league high 32 homeruns and drove in 104 runs in just 101 games while again hitting over .300.

Promoted to Lincoln of the Class A Western League, Stuart continued to build his legend as a minor league slugger. He hit 66 homeruns, still one of the highest totals in minor league history and the most ever hit by a player at any level of the Pirates’ organization. He brashly predicted he would crash the Pirates’ outfield in 1957, but his fielding was abominable and major league caliber pitchers kept him off balance in spring training.

Moved to firstbase fulltime in 1957, Stuart continued to strike out far too often in the higher minor leagues, fanning a combined total of 63 times in 46 games at Hollywood and Atlanta. Demoted back to Lincoln, Stuart continued to strike out at a rate of more than once per game, although when he connected he drove the ball far. His 31 homeruns at Lincoln gave him a total of 45 roundtrippers at his three minor league stops for the year.

The Pirates traded for veteran slugger Ted Kluszewski prior to 1958. When asked about his new competition for the Pittsburgh firstbase job, Stuart boasted, “I’ll hit 50 homeruns and force them to trade Kluszewski.” Again, Stuart didn’t make the Pirates, but this time when he went to the minors, Stuart had little problem hitting. Playing at AAA Salt Lake City, Stuart blasted 31 homeruns and drove in 82 runs in 80 games. Meanwhile in Pittsburgh, “Big Klu” continued to suffer from the back problems which had greatly reduced his power. With the Pirates needing a longball threat to compliment Frank Thomas, Joe L. Brown recalled the player he had previously chided for his lack of maturity. Stuart had some problems adjusting at first, although he homered in his first two games. As in the minors, when he connected, the ball often left the park. Once he got used to the ability of major league pitchers to change speeds, Stuart started to not only hit the ball hard, but also consistently. He knocked in 24 runs in his first 25 games and finished the year with 16 homeruns and 48 rbi’s in less than one-half a season. While his defense was poor and while he missed his prediction of hitting 50 homeruns (his combined major and minor league total was 47), Stuart won raves for his hitting and the Pirates steamed into second place, rising from seventh after Stuart’s recall.

Although Stuart played winter ball to work on his defense, he showed little fielding improvement in 1959. Kluszewski was still around, but Stuart’s hitting put him on the bench until the former star was dealt to the White Sox in August. Stuart raised his average to .297, reduced his strike outs per at bats and hit 27 homeruns while playing in just 118 games, including those in spacious Forbes Field.

In large part to Stuart’s fielding being the worst of any firstbaseman in the major leagues, he developed a love-hate relationship with Pirate fans, who booed his errors and mockingly cheered when he made a routine play. He was called “The Ancient Mariner” from the classic poem in which the title character was said to “stoppeth one in three,” but the name which stuck the most was Dr. Strangeglove.

Stuart got off to a slow start in 1960 and Danny Murtaugh occasionally replaced him with veteran Rocky Nelson. He still led the pennant winning Pirates with 23 homeruns and was third with 83 rbi’s, raising his average to .260 by season’s end. Still, his numbers were below what the Pirates and their fans had hoped for and when he collected just three singles in 20 at bats in the World Series, Stuart found himself replaced by Nelson at firstbase in Game 7. In the bottom of the ninth, Murtaugh sent Stuart out to pinch hit, but Dick never got the chance to hit as Bill Mazeroski’s homerun ended the Series with Stuart kneeling on deck.

Stuart had an excellent season in 1961. He set new highs in every offensive category, finishing with 35 homeruns , 117 rbi’s and a .301 average. He figured he would have outhomered Roger Maris if he had been playing in a park friendlier to his power. Stuart’s 35 homers remains the team record for a firstbaseman.

However, Stuart’s defense was still ridiculed. He was once cheered when he caught a hot dog wrapper which was blowing in the wind. When leftfielder Bob Skinner was booed for dropping a flyball, Stuart rode his teammate for taking away his fans.

If Stuart thought he had heard the taunts of fans during his first four years in the majors, it was nothing compared to what he experienced in 1962. He batted only .228 and hit only 16 homeruns. Fans were merciless, but in general, Stuart handled their boos well and for all his boasting could make fun of himself as well. After he had a particularly terrible game during a 6-3 loss to the Giants, fanning three times, allowing a ball to get past him for what was ruled a hit and dropping a throw to let in two runs, he quipped, “The score should have read Stuart 6, Pirates 3.”

Stuart made it known that while he was not asking for a trade, he would not object to one. He stated he hoped he could play in a cozier park, such as Wrigley Field or Fenway. When Joe L. Brown sent him to the Red Sox in November for Don Schwall and Jim Pagliaroni, Stuart publicly thanked the general manager. He maintained his sense of humor, kidding Murtaugh when he stopped by Forbes Field that winter, “Remember me? I used to work here.” He also good naturedly kidded Pittsburghers by wondering aloud who they were now going to boo.

Stuart didn’t break Maris’s record despite playing his homegames in Fenway in ’63, but he did lead the American League with 118 rbi’s and hit a career high 42 homeruns. He topped 110 rbi’s again in 1964 and added 33 homeruns before wearing out his welcome in Boston. Traded to the Phillies, Stuart hit 28 homeruns and knocked in 95 more runs, but his average dipped to .234. After being pushed into a backup role with the Mets and Dodgers in 1966, Stuart played two seasons in Japan, one which was successful (.280, 33 homeruns) and one which was not (.217, 16 homeruns). He returned to the United States and played briefly for the Angels, trying to solve that franchise’s firstbase problems, but he homered just once in 51 at bats before being released.

Stuart was the Pirates’ regular firstbaseman for 4 ½ years and led the league in errors five times. That’s right, not only did he lead the league in errors every season he played regularly, but he also booted more than anyone in 1958, when he played in only 67 games. But his slugging remains almost as legendary as his fielding. He was the only player ever to homer over the 457 mark at Forbes Field and he bounced the ball to that spot on other occasions. Stuart’s 117 homeruns in his brief Pirate career still place him in a 12th place tie with Andy Van Slyke on the team’s all-time list and he averaged 32 homeruns and 108 rbi’s per 154 games played in the Pirates’ sleeveless uniform jersey. Some have argued Stuart’s biggest fault was his lack of timing. If he had been born 10 years later, he could have taken advantage of the designated hitter rule, but unless he had either broken Maris’s record or hit over 500 career homeruns,

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