One ball, two home runs.
On April 23, 1960, Cardinals sluggers Ken Boyer and Daryl Spencer each hit a home run with the same baseball.
The unusual feat occurred in the second inning of a game against the Dodgers at St. Louis.
With the Dodgers ahead 4-0, Boyer led off the bottom of the second against Danny McDevitt and hit a home run into the pavilion in right-center. A spectator tried to catch the ball, but muffed it and the ball fell back onto the playing field, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Umpires examined the ball, “found it to be in good condition and put it back in play,” The Sporting News reported.
The next batter, Stan Musial, flied out to right fielder Sandy Amoros, who threw the ball back to the infield.
McDevitt, still using the same ball he threw to Boyer and Musial, delivered a pitch to Spencer, who connected for “one of the most robust home runs ever to dent the bleacher scoreboard” in left, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The ball “almost knocked the cap off” the electronic animated cardinal on the far left side of the scoreboard, according to the Post-Dispatch.
A spectator retrieved the ball and put it in his pocket, The Sporting News noted.
Boyer hit another home run, a two-run shot in the fifth, against Larry Sherry. He also had a run-scoring double and a sacrifice fly and finished with five RBI in a 9-5 Cardinals victory.
The game also was noteworthy for Cardinals right-hander Bob Duliba, who pitched five innings of relief for his first big-league win. Duliba also got his first hit in the majors, a single against Sherry. Boxscore
They were a good hitting tandem that year. Boyer and Spencer would homer in the same game four times that season. In a game against the Pirates on June 11, they would both hit homeruns in the third inning. And on July 9, Boyer and Spencer would again have homeruns against the Dodgers. Little did that fan think he would play a big part in baseball history.
Thanks, Phillip.