When the 1957 season ended the Red Sox' Splendid Splinter emerged, at age 39, as the oldest batting champion in history. He had won his sixth batting crown (.388) and his ninth slugging championship (.731). Three years later, in 1960, he would wrap up an incredible 19-year career with 29 homers and a .316 average.

Two stints as a Marine Corps flyer cost Williams five years, but he never lost his batting touch.

His greatest single season had come in 1941 when he hit .401. Confident, outspoken and frequently indifferent to fans, the Red Sox outfielder twice won the MVP Award and four times he was the home run champion.'

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Mel Ott belted 511 HR's. Louisiana lumber magnate Harry Williams 'discovered' Ott catching for a team he sponsored. Williams sent the 16-year old to New York and manager John McGraw was impressed with the lad's even swing, power and timing, though puzzled by his habit of hiking his right leg up in the air at the start of his swing. "I always hit that way, Mr. McGraw," Ott said, "I guess it just comes natural to me." "Then keep hitting that way," McGraw advised. "Don't let anyone change you." Ott was a regular by the time he was 19 and played outfield most of his career.

He led the league in homers six times and had a high of 42 in 1929. Ott was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1951, but he died at the age of 49 in 1958 as a result of an auto accident. "The Home Run Book" by "Topps Baseball Card Co." 1981-Edition- by Zander Hollander

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The American League's MVP three times and its Triple Crown Champion in 1956, Mantle played his entire career in pain. He came to the majors with a bone problem (osteomyelitis) in his left leg and in his first World Series, in 1951, he damaged his right knee in an outfield accident. In the ensuing years, he needed constant medical attention, but he played on, a picture of courage and determination.

And he was singularly known for his distance hitting, from either side of the plate. There was a 565-footer in Washington and many other eye-poppers into the distant bleachers at Yankee Stadium. In 1956 he drove a ball off the rightfield facade, 10 feet short of the roof and missing by that much the chance to be the only one ever to hit a fair ball out of the Stadium. His career highs include a .365 batting average in 1957 and 54 home runs in 1961. He hit a record 18 homers in 12 World Series. Mickey Mantle was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1974.'

His name was George Herman Ruth. the veterans had been riding him until one of them said, 'Better be careful. he's one of Jack Dunn's babes.' From then on, the rookie was called Babe Ruth.

No other athletic would equal the Babe's domination of the sports world. His raw power and freestyle living habits made him the idol of millions all over the world. He was the son of a saloon keeper, a product of a Baltimore orphanage, a star pitcher for the Boston Red Sox before he became the New York Yankees right fielder and a principal in the golden era of sports in the 1920's.

His broad shoulders and barrel chest were supported by comparatively slender legs and he swung his huge bat so gracefully that, even when he missed, the sight was a joy to behold.

In 22 years in the majors the Sultan of Swat, the Bambino batted .342, topping .370 six times and reaching .393 in 1923, his fourth year as a Yankee, and he hit his magic 60 home runs in 1927. He led the Yankees to their first seven pennants and he left an enduring name and an awesome list of records, capped by his staggering 714 home runs (surpassed after 39 years by Hank Aaron in 1974).

Fittingly, he was in the first set of occupants in the Hall of Fame.

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Baseball History

Seventeen of Jimmie's 20 years in the majors were spent with the A's and the Boston Red Sox. He hit 58 homers in 1932 and would have broken Ruth's record, scribes with the A's insisted, but for the intrusion of a screen fronting the rightfield stands in St. Louis. Five times, it was said, Foxx missed homers when his drives struck that fence, which wasn't there when Ruth hit 60 in 1927. Jimmie led the league in homers four times. A Hall of Famer, he was named MVP three times, and in each case he was playing with a team that failed to win the pennant.

Old Double X, chiefly a first baseman, also caught, played third base and the outfield, and even pitched in 10 games. 'The Home Run Book' by 'Topps Baseball Card Co' 1981 Edition

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Mays twice hit 50 homers and four times bopped 40 or more, he drove in 100 runs for eight straight seasons 1959 through 1966.

In 17 years he hit 20 or more homers and twice had three in one game. On April 30, 1961 at Milwaukee, Willie hammered four in one game. Mays was the NL's MVP in 1954 and again in 1965. In 1979, he was Voted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. 'The Home Run

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Frank Robinson, Cincinnati Reds 37 ... Joe Adcock, Milwaukee Braves 35 ... Dick Stuart, Pitts. Pirates 35 ... Hank Aaron, Milw. Braves 34 ... Eddie Mathews, Milw. Braves 32 ... Ernie Banks, Chicago Cubs 29 ... Bob Allison, Twins 29 ... Bill 'Moose' Skowron, Yankees 28

Al Smith, Chicago White Sox 28 ... Leon Wagner, Los Angeles Angels 28 ... Roy Sievers, White Sox 27 ... George Altman, Cubs 27 ... Willie Kirkland, Cleveland Indians 27 ... Frank Thomas, Milw. Braves 27 ... Gene Freese, Reds 26 ... Gordy Coleman, Reds 26 ... Billy Williams Cubs 25 ... Ken Hunt, LA Angels 25

Home Runs Per Game Played, Major Leagues - 1961

Roger Maris, Yankees .379 ... Mickey Mantle, Yankees .353 ... Jim Gentile, Orioles .311 ... Harmon Killebrew, Twins .307 ... Orlando Cepeda, SF Giants .303 ... Rocky Colavito, Cleve. Indians .276 ... Willie Mays, SF Giants .260 ... Norm Cash, Detroit Tigers .258 ... Dick Stuart, Pirates .254 ... Frank Robinson, Cincinnati Reds .242 ... baseballhistorian.com Archives

Norm Cash, Detroit Tigers 39 ... Frank Robinson, Cincinnati Reds 39 ... Ernie Banks, Chicago Cubs 37 ... Rocky Colavito, Detroit Tigers 37 ... Leon Wagner, Los Angeles Angels 37 ...

Orlando Cepeda, SF Giants 35 ... Frank Thomas, New York Mets 34 ... Jim Gentile, Baltimore Orioles 33 ... Roger Maris, New York Yankees 33 ... Frank Howard, LA Dodgers 31 ... Mickey Mantle, Yankees 30 ... baseballhistorian.com Archives