Bill Mazeroski, whose walk-off home run won Game 7 of the 1960 World Series for the Pittsburgh Pirates, has died. The Pirates announced the news of Mazeroski’s Friday passing on Saturday morning. He was 89. No cause of death was announced. With the passing of Roy Face eight days previously, it leaves just Vern Law and Bob Skinner as living members of the 1960 World Series team. (Bennie Daniels, who played for the Pirates briefly in 1960 but wasn’t on the Series roster, also survives.) Mazeroski died on what would have been Face’s 98th birthday.
It is with a heavy heart that we relay the news of the passing of legendary Pirates and National Baseball Hall of Famer, Bill Mazeroski.
Maz was a 7-time All-Star who hit the greatest home run in baseball history. He was a beloved member of the Pirates family and he will be… pic.twitter.com/515ZhPgqxe— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) February 21, 2026
Bill Mazeroski Passes Away at 89
Mazeroski, a right-handed-hitting second baseman, played for the Pirates from 1956-72. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001. For his career, he hit .260/.299/.367, 138 HR, and 853 RBI, mostly out of the eighth spot of the order. He was a 10-time All-Star and eight-time Gold Glove Award winner. He was also a member of the 1971 World Series champion Pirates, although by then he was reduced to a reserve role.
The home run to win the 1960 Series will always be remembered as the one of the most famous home runs in Pirates, and perhaps baseball, history. But “Maz,” as he was affectionately known among Pirates fans, was much more than a guy who hit a famous home run.
A Defensive Wizard
The Pirates signed the Tiltonsville, Ohio native as an amateur free agent in 1954, when Mazeroski was 17. He played shortstop for Single-A Williamsport that season. Pirates general manager Branch Rickey observed Mazeroski taking grounders at second base during an infield drill. When he saw Mazeroski pivot to turn a double play, Rickey ordered that he be moved to second base. Maz never looked back.
When Mazeroski was 19, he was promoted to the Pirates on July 7, 1956, when Bobby Bragan was the manager. Mazeroski didn’t like playing for Bragan. He was embarrassed that Bragan frequently placed him in the ninth spot of the batting order, although it wasn’t intended as a slight against him. Bragan had a theory that hitting the pitcher seventh in the order increased run production. When the colorful Bragan was fired in the middle of the 1957 season and replaced by Danny Murtaugh, Maz began to thrive.
It was his glove that propelled him into the Hall of Fame. Paired mostly with shortstops Dick Groat and Gene Alley throughout his career, the defensive profile is eye-popping:
- Led the National League in double plays for eight straight years from 1960-67, leading the major leagues in six of those years.
- Led all second basemen in the majors in assists in nine seasons.
- Recorded the highest Fielding Runs Above Average (FRAA) among second basemen in the NL eight times and in the majors five times.
- His double play and FRAA totals, 1,706 and 148, respectively, are all-time career records.
Ouch!
Unfortunately, little film footage of Mazeroski exists. That was a likely reason why it took so long to get him into the Hall of Fame. All evidence of Mazeroski’s defensive skills is anecdotal. One of those anecdotes involves a young Philadelphia Phillies outfielder, Ron Stone. On June 27, 1971, Stone slid hard into second base in an attempt to break up a double play. He slid into Maz’s leg, firmly planted in the ground. Observers described it as Wile E. Coyote crashing into a mountainside on the old Road Runner cartoons. Stone crumpled to the dirt, breaking three ribs.
The World Series
The Pirates won the NL pennant in 1960 and upset the mighty New York Yankees in the World Series. The Yankees won three games by scores of 16-3, 10-0, and 12-0. The Pirates won four close games. None was wilder than Game 7, a back-and-forth affair that Maz finally ended. Leading off the bottom of the ninth against Ralph Terry, Maz launched the game-winner over the left field wall at Forbes Field. In those days, they didn’t call it a walk-off. It didn’t matter. Mazeroski didn’t walk off the field anyway. He was running to avoid the mob that had joined him on his trip around the bases.
Always humble, Mazeroski told Ray Kienzl of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “We always felt we could pull it out, even after the Yankees tied it up in the ninth, but I didn’t think I’d be the guy to do it.” The anniversary of Game 7 is commemorated every October 13 at what remains of the Forbes Field Wall.
A Hall of Famer, At Last
Mazeroski’s former teammate on the 1971-72 Pirates, Nelson Briles, headed up a MAZY2K campaign to have the Veterans Committee induct him into the Hall in 2000, the 40th anniversary of his legendary home run. Maz had to wait until 2001 for his induction. His acceptance speech on induction day on August 5, 2001, will be remembered by Maz breaking down in tears, unable to finish his prepared remarks. He concluded by saying, “I want to thank all the friends and family who made this long trip up here to listen to me speak and hear this crap.”
Mandatory Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
