How many millions of times has a ball landed in a glove in the century and a half or so baseball has been a sport? Whatever that number might be, only one has the distinction of being known simply as “The Catch”.
Game 1 of the 1954 World Series between the New York Giants and Cleveland Indians was tied at 2-2 when the Indians — winners of 111 games in the regular season — put the first two batters on base in the eighth. First to step in against reliever Don Liddle was Cleveland first baseman Vic Wertz, who had a two-run, first-inning triple.
Wertz lifted a high fly ball to the almost comically deep center field at the Polo Grounds, the drive prompting Giants center fielder Willie Mays to turn his back to the plate and sprint toward the wall. As he neared the fence, Mays lifted his left arm and caught the ball over his shoulder, then whirled and fired the ball back to the infield.
Mays’ heroics kept the score tied, as the Giants wiggled out of the jam. The game would go to the 10th, where Dusty Rhodes’ walk-off homer would give the Giants a 5-2 victory and start them on their way to a stunning four-game sweep.
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