1959 – Sandy Koufax fans 18 Giants to set a National League mark in a 5 – 2 Dodger win. The game is witnessed by a crowd of 82,974 spectators (60,194 of whom have paid admission), the largest ever for a regular-season game.
1959 – Ken Boyer of the Cardinals begins a 29-game hitting streak, the longest since Stan Musial’s 30 games in 1950. The Giants score three in the 9th to win, 3 – 2.
Willie McCovey hits two home runs and Willie Mays another as the Giants whip the Braves’ Bob Buhl, 4 – 1, to move into first place.
On July 30, 1959,At Seals Stadium Willie McCovey makes his major league debut for the San Francisco Giants. The young slugger faces another future Hall of Famer -Robin Roberts of the Philadelphia Phillies – and goes 4-for-4 with two triples. McCovey’s impressive debut helps the Giants to a 7-2 win over the Phillies. McCovey was…
Phillies flychaser Wally Post becomes the first major leaguer to throw out two runners from the outfield in one inning as his team loses to the Giants, 6 – 0.
Bob Stevens of the San Francisco Chronicle writes about an incident before today’s game between the Pirates and Giants: “The shivering fans in the stands took their hands out of their pockets to applaud Roberto Clemente for a small, but at the same time very large, sympathetic act. During batting practice, a little boy in the right-field stands was hit in the arm by a line drive. He then hid among the seats to have his little cry. Clemente retrieved the ball and gave it away, his thanks coming in a puddle of tears.”
Don Demeter of the Dodgers hits three home runs, including the game winner in the 11th inning, in a 9 – 7 victory against the Giants at the Los Angeles Coliseum. One of his homers is an inside-the-park home run, as he drives in six runs.
On March 23, 1959, the San Francisco Giants clear space for future Hall of Famers Orlando Cepeda and Willie McCovey by trading first baseman Bill White to the St. Louis Cardinals. Cepeda won the National League’s Rookie of the Year Award in 1958 after batting .312 with 25 home runs and 96 RBIs. McCovey, a…
ON February 14, 1959 – The Baltimore Orioles, looking to find a backup for first baseman Bob Boyd, buy 32 year-old veteran infielder/outfielder Whitey Lockman from the Giants for an undisclosed sum…he will hit 217 for the orioles leading to a June, Baltimore will trade their new acquisition to the Reds for Walt Dropo, who has…
In one of the worst trades in franchise history, the Philadelphia Phillies send P Jack Sanford to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for P Ruben Gómez and C Valmy Thomas. Sanford, who slipped in his sophomore year, will win 24 games for the Giants in 1962, including 16 in a row, while leading his team to the National League pennant.
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