The most memorable HR of all time

[Mark17]

Mazeroski, then Thomson.

As time passes, the older ones fade in the collective memory while more people remember the recent.

For example, look how many people here are putting Bucky Dent above Thomson or Maz. Dent's HR was in the 7th inning and made the score 3-2, in a game that ended 5-4.

Thomson stepped to the plate in the bottom of the 9th, down 2 runs, and turned defeat into instant victory over crosstown rival Brooklyn. Every NL fan in New York either cheered or cried that day.

The Yankees, winners of the World Series in 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1956, and 1958, were heavy favorites over the Pirates in 1960. They destroyed Pittsburgh in 3 of the games, by scores of 16-3, 10-0, and 12-0. Pittsburgh led 9-7 entering the 9th, but the Yankees tied it and it looked like fate would again be on their side. When Maz connected, it was electric. Game over, Series over, season over, and the Pirates, who had finished dead last 6 times and next to last twice in the 1950s had vanquished the mighty Yankees.

You just can't compare those 2 walk-off home runs to Chris Chambliss or Bucky Dent.

[Jim65]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Joe Carter.

[irv]

Originally Posted by Jim65

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Joe Carter.

I was just about to.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

If the category is memorable,to me that means I have to remember it personally, so I have to go with Gibson. Was visiting my brother at college and a bunch of guys in the dorm lounge were all watching. No Dodgers or A's fans (other than my brother and I) in the group and the place still exploded. The feeling of hopelessness as he hobbled to the plate against prime Eckersley and the emotional 180, it's hard to describe.

2nd is probably Joe Carter

3rd is Ozzie Smith. How do you get beat in the NLCS on a home run by Ozzie Smith? That's statistically much more improbable than Bucky F'n Dent.

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by Jim65

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Joe Carter.

I'm a Phillies fan. I don't mention that home run without lots of colorful language...

[Steve D]

For me, it's Steve Garvey's home run off Lee Smith in the 1984 NLCS.

Steve

[sdimag]

Mine has to be Hank Aaron’s 715th homer. He did it with his first swing of the bat in his home park! Watching Bill Buckner climbing the left field fence as Tom House retrieved the ball! Can’t get much bigger than that.

[jgannon]

Another great home run is Mickey Mantle's 535th off of Denny McLain, where Denny grooved one for him. One of the most beautiful moments in baseball. I wish there were a film or even a radio recording of that. I've only come across a few pictures over the years. There used to be a paper out on Long Island, NY called The Suffolk Sun which ran some nice big pictures the morning after it happened.

[brian1961]

Many thoughts come to mind.

I was a minister in the late 80s, and visited a dear lady all alone one October evening. She enjoyed watching baseball, and she invited me to join her. I said sure, I'd be glad to, even though I had not seen a World Series since game 3 of the '78 series. So, here it was exactly 10 years later, and we're watching game 1 ........ It was precisely as you described; Kirk Gibson literally hobbled to the plate. How could the man swing the bat well, I wondered? Then.... KERBLAMO!! I somehow knew this one was special. Gibson was interviewed right after the game and said, appropriately, "I thank God for this beautiful moment." Amen.

I remember seeing Hank Aaron break Ruth's lifetime home run record. I just shook my head. Wow, he really did it---amazing.

I think Roger Maris's 61st home run rates right up there, knowing all the odds were against him.

However, the home run I would have loved to have seen that I know would have had a profound impact on me, since it has affected me deeply without seeing it, was the young emerging New York Yankees star, Mickey Mantle, crushing a Chuck Stobbs fastball 565 feet way over Washington's leftfield wall. The park's dimensions most assuredly did not favor a right-handed hitter, yet young Mickey exploded that ball! From EXPLOSION!, Paul Gallagher's well-researched book about Mickey Mantle's home runs, Paul interviewed various people who were present at the game. They said everybody in the press box was screaming; they could not believe their eyes. One scribe asked himself, "Did that just happen?" The following day, headlines and wire-photos with dashed trajectory lines were run in virtually every paper from coast to coast. Young Mr. Mantle just made himself a household name! With his World Series heroics the previous fall, fans everywhere figured he was the new Yankee star. That gigantic home run in Griffith Stadium underscored, punctuated, and more than confirmed everyone's hopes and expectations.

I imagine EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU IS VERY WELL AWARE OF THE GIST OF THIS HOME RUN. In all honesty, as I pondered the OP, that magnificent clout made a fresh, deep impression on me. Therefore, I believed it was worth articulating once again on this august forum.

Back to our "neighborhood", every baseball card-lovin' youngin' wanted any baseball card they could get their hands on of Mickey Mantle. Some were easy to get, and oh-so-beautiful! Others were relatively unknown, but deeply desirable, such as Dormand postcards, and especially the new Stahl-Meyer Franks promotion going on in Metropolitan New York, as well as the three New York ballparks. The aforementioned meat card required you be at the right place, at the right time, to seize the moment it was available in perfect condition.

I know---this thread is about the most memorable home run of all time. The April, 1953 Washington blast and all those great '53 Mickey Mantle cards became available at the same time! Perfect timing.

Cheers. --- Brian Powell