Baseball Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski, known for walk-off home run in 1960 World Series, dies at 89

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Associated Press, via WTOP

Baseball Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski, known for walk-off home run in 1960 World Series, dies at 89

The Associated Press

February 21, 2026, 9:07 AM

Bill Mazeroski, the Hall of Fame second baseman who won eight Gold Glove awards for his steady work in the field and the hearts of countless Pittsburgh Pirates fans for his historic walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, has died at the age of 89.

Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said "Maz was one of a kind, a true Pirates legend ... His name will always be tied to the biggest home run in baseball history and the 1960 World Series championship, but I will remember him most for the person he was: humble, gracious and proud to be a pirate." ... Mazeroski died Friday, the Pirates said. No cause of death was given.

'Defensive wizard'

Elected to the Hall by the Veterans Committee in 2001, he was, by some measures, no superstar. Mazeroski had the lowest batting average, on-base percentage and stolen base total of any second baseman in Cooperstown. He hit just .260 lifetime, with 138 homers and 27 stolen bases in 17 years, and had an on-base percentage of .299. He never batted .300, never approached 100 runs batted or 100 runs scored and only once finished in the top 10 for Most Valuable Player.

{snip}

A home run for the ages

But his career's signature moment took place in the batter's box, as the square-jawed, tobacco-chewing Mazeroski, a coal miner's son from West Virginia, lived out the dream of so many kids who thought of playing professional ball.

{snip}

Read more: https://wtop.com/sports/2026/02/baseball-hall-of-famer-bill-mazeroski-known-for-walk-off-home-run-in-1960-world-series-dies-at-89/

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"His name will always be tied to the biggest home run in baseball history ..."

I wouldn't be so sure of that.

[twodogsbarking]

1. Saw him play at Forbes Field. He stuck around after the game with Clemente and some other players

to give autographs. Bye Maz. Double plays were a specialty. Class guy.

[Chasstev365]

2. An amazing moment and good guy.

Still many people do not believe his career was HOF worthy.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Nothing but a bunch of thieves in Pittsburgh

The Pirates and the Stealers.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. Why do you hate Penguins? NT

[bucolic_frolic]

14. Cause they're not known to purloin anything /nt

[mahatmakanejeeves]

16. Oh yeah?

Source: https://batman.fandom.com/wiki/Burgess_Meredith

[bucolic_frolic]

18. That almost leads me to ask if Pittsburgh

had a little tongue in cheek going when they named their teams. Steelers and Pirates are old, but Penguins weren't added until the mid 60s/

[mahatmakanejeeves]

19. Steelers, obvious.

Last edited Sat Feb 21, 2026, 03:44 PM - Edit history (2)

Pirates, because of all the 17th century pirates who called Pittsburgh their homeport?

Penguins; there has to be a story in that. They must have moved from somewhere else.

UPitt Panthers; a ferocious big cat with a name that starts with "p."

And good morning.

[bucolic_frolic]

22. Penguins played at the Civic Arena, which was called and shaped like an Igloo

which is home to penguins. The arena twisted open to reveal the sky for semi-outdoor concerts. It opened in 1961. Which came first, the Igloo, the Penguins, or other background themes, who knows.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civic_Arena_(Pittsburgh)

[twodogsbarking]

25. The roof opening drew crowds. Only opened in favorable weather.

[cloudbase]

23. Prior to Pittsburgh getting an NHL franchise,

there was minor league hockey-the Hornets.

The Penguins came about once the city made the big time for hockey. Probably named due to penguins being at home on ice, and the alliteration factor.

[rsdsharp]

30. Pittsburg as a home port? Did they sail up the Ohio River,

or down the Allegheny or Monongahela, to get to western PA?

[wolfie001]

31. Defeating white supremacy via their ports

💪💯

[Wuddles440]

21. Just a little history from Yinzer Nation...

The Steelers were originally named the "Pirates" and the "Pirates" were originally named the "Alleghenys", but embraced changing their name to the "Pirates" after a player recruitment controversy in the late 19th Century.

[chicoescuela]

5. I agree but not sure how that is a reflection on Maz

[bucolic_frolic]

6. He stole the game

In fact he stole the series. "Mazeroski received the Babe Ruth Award for his play in the Series, during which he batted .320. " - Wiki

[chicoescuela]

8. Ok, stole in different contexts

[rsdsharp]

28. And Bobby Richardson was the MVP; the only MVP from a losing team in Series history.

He got 11 hits and batted .367.

[cbabe]

7. Use sarcasm notice. Not everyone gets the joke.

[bucolic_frolic]

9. So I'm learning!

[Easterncedar]

11. Sadly true!

Some folks are quick to be offended.

[twodogsbarking]

12. But children dress up as pirates at Halloween and watch movies about them.

They didn't steal entire tankers of oil though.

[JMCKUSICK]

10. I for one am glad he's in the HOF as the author

of what may be the single most iconic moment in baseball history. RIP

[William Seger]

13. "Walk-off home run"

I'm not a baseball fan, so I had to look that up: "A walk-off home run is a game-ending hit in baseball, occurring when the home team takes the lead in the bottom of the final inning (9th or extra innings), immediately concluding the game."

[Wiz Imp]

15. The most iconic homer in World Series history

[mahatmakanejeeves]

17. Just curious, would that have been the last World Series not broadcast in color?

Paging rdsharp.

[Wiz Imp]

20. It acctually was broadast in color on NBC

https://www.tvobscurities.com/2010/09/game-7-of-the-1960-world-series-found/

An article in The New York Times by Richard Sandomir reveals that a complete copy of the 7th game of the 1960 World Series (broadcast by NBC on Thursday, October 13th, 1960) was found in Bing Crosby’s wine cellar in December of 2009. The game pitted the Pittsburgh Pirates against the New York Yankees. Crosby, a co-owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, couldn’t bring himself to watch the game unfold on television and instead listened to it on the radio in Paris. But he wanted a copy of the television broadcast in case the Pirates won (they did) so he had hired a company to make a kinescope recording. Although the broadcast was in color, the kinescope recordings are in black and white.

The resulting five reels of 16mm film — running two hours and 36 minutes — were discovered when Robert Bader, vice president for marketing and production for Bing Crosby Enterprises, was sifting through videotapes of Crosby’s television appearances and found two reels marked “1960 World Series” (he later found the other three). Negotiations with Major League Baseball mean the game will be aired on the MLB Network in December. It will also come out on DVD. Be sure to read the entire article for more details.

That Crosby had this recording made is not surprising, nor is the fact that it survived several decades. He was an early proponent of audio and video recording and was heavily involved in the development of videotape. What I didn’t know was that there were companies that would produce kinescopes for a fee, although it is possible that Crosby was able to use his connections within the television industry to have the recordings made.

[rsdsharp]

29. Thank you for thinking of me, but damned if I know.

It wouldn’t have mattered to me, anyway. We didn’t get a TV until 1957, and didn’t get a color TV until the early ‘70s. I used to go to the local appliance store to watch series games on color TV. They would even open the store in Sundays so people could watch.

[malthaussen]

24. Bill Mazeroski was known for so much more than that homer...

... greatest fielding 2b of all time, except possibly for Frank White. Hard to evaluate, as fielding statistics suck. But if you got to see him play....

It's astonishing to me that the walk-off homer which won a World Series is not generally regarded as the greatest HR of all time. One wonders what a man could do to hit a greater.

-- Mal

[twodogsbarking]

26. Two sons and both spouses have Master's Degrees from U, of Pittsburgh. This is on campus. So cool.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/forbes-field-wall

[twodogsbarking]

27. I went to the last games at Forbes Field. No seats so we left before the end. Good thing, it got ugly.

[ultralite001]

32. Thanks to everyone who chimed in on this thread...

A great read...

RIP, Maz...

I've never forgotten...

[Mysterian]

33. Nobody thought the Buccos could beat the mighty Yankees

But the Bucs had Clemente and a whole lotta magic.