On this day in 1961, in the old Milwaukee County Stadium, Willie Mays, the “Say Hey Kid,” became only the ninth ballplayer to hit four home runs in a ballgame. The Giants would take on the Milwaukee Braves, and on the Braves was Henry Aaron homered himself in the bottom of the first.

The first home run came in the first inning off Braves starter Lew Burdette. In the third inning, Mays put the Giants in the lead 4-3 with his second home run, a two-run blast. After flying out to center field in the fifth inning, Mays went deep for the third time for a three-run home run in the sixth inning off Seth Morehead, giving the Giants an 11-3 lead. Then in the eighth inning, Mays went deep for the fourth time off Don McMahon – a two-run shot. In the top of the ninth, Jim Davenport grounded out to second to send the game to the bottom of the ninth, leaving Mays on deck. He could’ve hit his fifth home run in the game; just saying.

In that game, Mays went to bat that he borrowed from his teammate Joey Amalfitano. Not to mention the night before, Mays suffered an attack of food poisoning; Mays felt so weak that he initially told Giants manager Alvin Dark that he probably couldn’t play the following night. But after trying out Amalfitano’s lighter bat in batting practice, Mays decided to give it a go that night. Have to tip your hat to Willie Mays for a gutsy performance.

References

1. Muder, Craig MAYS REACHES NEW HEIGHTS WITH FOUR-HOMER GAME via Baseballhall.org: https://baseballhall.org/discover/inside-pitch/mays-hits-four-homers-in-one-game