Almost 50 years after he accomplished the feat, Stan Musial remains the oldest player to hit three home runs in a major-league game.
Jason Giambi, 40, hit three homers for the Rockies May 19. Babe Ruth (in 1935) and Reggie Jackson (in 1986) are the other 40-year-olds to hit three homers in a game.
Musial was 41 when he hit three homers against the Mets on July 8, 1962, at the Polo Grounds in New York.
After the Cardinals lost the first two of a four-game series in New York, Musial snapped a 2-2 tie with a two-out homer off former teammate Craig Anderson in the eighth inning of the second game of a doubleheader, edging the Mets, 3-2, on July 7, 1962. Boxscore
The next day, a Sunday afternoon, Musial hit homers his first three times at-bat, giving him four in a row over two games (tying a major-league record) and helping St. Louis to a 15-1 victory.
Musial hit a solo shot in the first and a two-run homer in the fourth, both off right-hander Jay Hook.
He led off the seventh with a blast against left-hander Willard Hunter on a 2-2 fastball.
“The pitch was too far inside,” Musial wrote in the book “Stan Musial: The Man’s Own Story” (1964, Doubleday). “Hunter seemed surprised I didn’t take it. But I didn’t believe in letting an inside pitch get away at the Polo Grounds. I got out in front of the high, tight delivery and tomahawked it against the right field roof.”
It was the second time in his big-league career Musial slugged three homers in a game, and he was especially thrilled that his wife Lil and daughter Janet were in attendance to witness the feat.
In the eighth, facing former teammate Bob Miller with a chance for a fifth consecutive homer and No. 4 in the game, Musial struck out swinging. Boxscore
Still, Musial headed into the all-star break with a .333 batting average, .403 on-base percentage and .523 slugging percentage. Not bad for 41 years old.
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i caught the the last home run on july 8 1962 at the polo grounds i was at the game with my brother i met stan and his wife n casey stengel i was only 12 i gave him the ball and 1 month later i received a signed ball from stan musial mailed to my home in chelsea new york city my friends counld’nt believe it. a fond memory. i always wanted to be a pro ball player but i became a fdny fireman i will always remember his smile
Kevin:
Thank you for sharing your experience. Wow! What an amazing moment for you. Very classy for you to give Stan Musial the ball from that third home run. Congratulations on the catch _ and on your career and service to community as a FDNY fireman.
Mark
Kevin, that is great. I thought that I was lucky just to have been at that game and met August Busch. But, to catch one of those 3 home run balls. What a thrill that must have been. And still must be.
[...] against the Mets in their first year: 11-for-25, with 4 homers (all in one series, including three in the same game) and 10 ribbies. His lifetime average in Manhattan leapt to .345. Overall against the Mets in their [...]