50th Anniversary of “The Catch”

Mays makes the over the shoulder catch at the wall On this day in baseball history, Willie Mays made this spectacular over the shoulder catch at the wall to rob Vic Wertz in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series. The New York Giants would go on to upset the Cleveland Indians in four games: the last time the Giants franchise won the World Series. Damn, even in this grainy black and white, it’s a sweet catch.

You can read the scorecard and the play-by-play on retrosheet.org. Wertz was four for five, with a double and a triple. Mays’ catch preserved the 2-2 tie in the eighth, and the Giants would go on to win in the tenth.

SFGate ran a more complete article 50TH ANNIVERSARY / Mays’ ‘catch’ might not rank among his greatest.

According to SFGate, Willie has been in the hospital for hip-replacement surgery, but is expected to return home today. Best wishes, Willie, and damn, that is one sweet catch.