Evening star., 1953-04-18
Harris Is Dumbsfruck
By Force Of Wa|Iop;;
Red Sox Here Tonight
By Burton Howkins


clout Mickey blasted over the
bleachers yesterday while bat
ting righthanded.
Bucky Harris, the Mats pilot,
was so amazed at Mantle's hit
ting feat that he couldn't COM
prehend it an hour after Mickey
became the first player in history
to clear the structure. II just
wouldn't have believed a ball
could be hit that hard" Harris
declared. 1--WE never seen any,
thing like it" Bucky was so
astonished at the mighty blow
that the Mats 7-3 defeat was
shunted to the background.
Clark Griffith, the Mats 83-
year-old boss, who has seen some
tremendous homers, said the
high wind blowing at the time
of Mantle's homer didn't detract
from the towering smash. deliv-
cred off Chuck Stobbs with two
out in the fifth inning after Yogi
Berra walked.
Griff Discounts Wind.
wind or no wind" Griffith
said, nobody ever hit a ball that
hard here before. I don't know
if iA would have cleared the
bleachers without the wind, but
let's put it this way-nobody ever
hit one that would have come
closer to clearing the bleachers
under any circumstances. It's
simply remarkable"
Mantle's unforgettable blow
hit about 6 feet up on the CEN
ter field side of the beer sign
The Stars football scoreboard
during the fall. The ball struck
at the end of the sign and
caromed out of the park. Esti-
mates of it's distance varied from
SOS to sos feet, with the most
conservative having the ball hit
the sign at a point 481 feet from
the plate before it left the park.
The ball sailed over the
bleachers at the 391-foot mark.
The bleachers are SO feet deep,
according to Groundkeeper jim
my Ritchie. The wall at the
rear of the beachers is SIS feet
high according to Ritchie, 48
feet high according to Secretary
Eddie Eynon. And the ball hit
at least 6 feet above the top
of the wall.
Mantle Has the Ball.
Arthur Patterson, alert pub
lie relations director of the
Yankees, retrieved the ball from
Donald Dunaway, colored young
ter who recovered it originally.
Patterson said Dunaway took
him to the spot where the boy
found the ball. Patterson meas
ured the distance from the
base of the wall to that
spot and announced it as 105
feet. Dunaway told Patterson
the ball cleared Fifth street be-
hind the bleachers, but there
are skeptics.
BY any measurement it was
one of the longest home runs
ever hit, if not the super stroke
of all time, and Mantle has the
ball to place among his souve-
Mrs. Patterson paid Dunaway
for his prize and turned the ball
over to Mickey after the game.
Jimmy Foxx probably came
closer to clearing the bleachers
than any player before Mantle
when he hit a homer several
rows from the top of the stands
in left field against the Mats
Rene Monteagudo Is years ago.
That smash was hit against the
wind.
Larry Dolby, Cleveland out
fielder, hit one homer into the
megaphones atop the CENTER
field fence and another one over
them, but Mickey Vernon and
Walter Masterson of the Mats
agreed that Doby's most terrific
homer here was a shot over the
by 20 feet and still
seemed to be rising when it left
the park.
Pittsburgh Homer a "Bunt."
Less than 10 days ago Mantle
became the third player in his
tory to hit a home run over the
right field roof at Forbes Field
in Pittsburgh during an exhibit
ton game with the Pirates.
Babe Ruth and Ted Beard had
been the only previous players
to accomplish that feat, but
writer's with the Yankees said
his Pittsburgh poke was a bunt
compared with yesterdays
achievement.
Beaten twice by the Yankees
to get their season off to a dismal
start, the Mats drop down in
class tonight. They'll battle the
Red Sox here at $3.50, meet them
at Griffith Stadium again to-
morrow, then clash in a double
header at Boston Monday.
Walter Masterson will take the
mound and try to give the Mats
their first win. while Hershel
Freeman will pitch for the Red
Sox. The Red Sox. rebuilding
under Manager Lou Boudreau,
will present a team studded with
youngsters who rely on speed and
defensive ability rather than
power.
Billy Martin got the Yankees
a 10 lead in the third inning
yesterday when he slammed a
home run into the leftfield seats
for the first hit off Stobbs. The
Mats tied it up the same session
when Wayne Terwilliger singled
to left for the first of his three
hits. Stobbs sacrificed and Ed
Yost singled.
Game is Anti Climax.
The Yankees picked UP a run
in the fourth on Hank Bauer's