The Phillies' Harvey Haddix' Walk Off Win: July 11, 1957

Whenever a major league pitcher approaches a perfect game, the name Harvey Haddix is sure to come up. Haddix still holds the record for the most consecutive perfect innings pitched in a game. On May 26, 1959, while pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Haddix pitched twelve perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves, only to lose the game in the 13th inning on a Joe Adcock smash into the right field bleachers.*  While that one game keeps Haddix in the news, the diminutive left-hander (he was generously listed at 5' 9", 170 pounds) had a very good 14-year major league career that included three All-Star games, a 20-win season, a World Series championship**, and two seasons as a key member of the Philadelphia Phillies pitching staff. Nicknamed "The Kitten" because of his similarity to another smallish lefty, Harry "The Cat" Brecheen, Haddix was also a fine fielder and good hitter.***

Haddix joined the Philles early in the 1956 season in a trade of pitchers. The Phillies sent Herm Wehmeier and Murry Dickson to the St. Louis Cardinals for Haddix and slow-baller Stu Miller. Haddix fit right in behind Robin Roberts and Curt Simmons as the Phillies third starter.  Haddix had won 55 games with the Redbirds in four seasons, and he pitched very well for the Phillies in 1956, compiling a 12-8 record and 3.48 ERA. He was less effective in 1957, but on July 11 of that year, he cranked up a gem for a Phillies team who was surprising everyone by being in contention for the National League pennant. The Phillies came into the game at 42-35 in fourth place, just four games behind the league leading Cardinals. 

On this day, Haddix was assigned to pitch the first game of a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs. His mound opponent was the Cubs Bob Rush. Haddix had so far compiled a 7-5 record and 4.33 ERA. Rush had been struggling all year and possessed a 1-7 record and 5.14 ERA. The Cubs were in the National League basement with a record of 26-46. A crowd of 25,897, including about 5,000 Scouts from the Valley Forge Boy Scout Jamboree were in attendance for the twin bill.

It was evident from early on that both pitchers were on their game. Through the first three innings, Haddix had given up just a two-out single to centerfielder Jim Bolger. Rush walked Phillies shortstop Chico Fernandez in the third. Haddix popped out to first trying to bunt him along and then, with Richie Ashburn batting, Fernandez stole second base and third base on consecutive pitches. The base running derring-do was to no avail, however, as Ashburn struck out. 

Bolger singled again in the fifth inning, but he was cut down on a strikeout-throw-him-out double play, catcher Stan Lopata to Fernandez. The first extra-base hit of the game came in the sixth, when Cubs second baseman Bobby Morgan doubled with one out. Morgan advanced to third on a fly ball but was stranded when left fielder Lee Walls grounded out. Shortstop Ernie Banks singled with one out in the seventh and Bolger followed with his third single of the game, but Haddix escaped by inducing two easy popups to end the inning. Rush set the Phillies down in order in the seventh and the stands were buzzing as fans realized Rush had yet to allow a hit. 

In the bottom of the eighth, Fernandez ended the no-hitter when he led off with a clean single to right. With his no-hitter gone, Rush said, "I wasn't thinking about a no-hitter. I was just trying to win the game." Fernandez was sacrificed to second by Haddix and stole third, his third steal of the game in four tries. He was stranded at third, however, as Ashburn grounded out and Granny Hamner popped out to the catcher. Both sides went down quietly in the ninth and the game marched into extra-innings, with the two starting pitchers still on the mound. The Cubs had rapped out seven hits to the Phillies one.

In the tenth, Haddix gave up a two-out single to the opposing pitcher, Rush, but nothing else. Lopata led off the bottom of the tenth with a double to centerfield. Third baseman Willie Jones bunted him up to third. With the infield drawn in, Fernandez grounded up the middle, where the ball was snagged by Banks. Lopata hesitated, got caught in a rundown and was tagged out. Fernandez was then doubled up trying to move up to second base on the play.

Finally, in the bottom of the 11th, Haddix took matters into his own hands. Manager Mayo Smith allowed Haddix to bat and he led off the inning with a single.  Ashburn laid down a bunt that he beat out for a hit, Haddix moving to second. Smith, smelling a victory, sent speedy Chuck Harmon in to run for Haddix. Cubs' manager Bob Scheffing called in reliever Turk Lown. Hamner worked Lown to 2-2 and then lined a single to right. Strong-armed right fielder Walt Moryn fired home, but the sliding Harmon just barely beat the throw and the game was over.

In the second game, Phillies rookie Jack Sanford pitched 7 1/3 innings of perfect baseball, before Cubs first baseman Dale Long broke up the perfect game with a single. The Phillies won the game, however, 3-1, and climbed into second place, 2.5 games behind the Cardinals. 

Alas, the magic didn't last, as the Phillies faded over the last two months of the season to finish 77-77 in 5th place. 

Haddix was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for outfielder Wally Post at the end of the 1957 season. After one decent year in Cincinnati, Haddix was traded to Pittsburgh where he twirled his near-perfect game and helped the Pirates to their 1960 World Championship. His five years with the Pirates were his favorite time in the big leagues. 

Harvey Haddix retired after spending the 1964-65 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. He had a lifetime major league record of 136-113. After retiring from pitching, Haddix spent many years as a pitching coach for several organizations, including on the 1979 "We Are Family" Pirates. A lifelong smoker, who called cigarettes his "best friend," Haddix died of emphysema on January 8, 1994.

*The perfect game was lost in the 13th when Felix Mantilla reached on a Don Hoak error. After Mantilla was bunted to second, Henry Aaron was intentionally walked. Adcock's blast should have made the final score 3-0, but once Mantilla had crossed the plate, Aaron left the base paths to celebrate and Adcock passed him. Aaron was ruled out, Adcock was credited with a double, and the score was officially recorded as 1-0.

**Haddix was the winning pitcher in the famous World Series Game 7, where the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the New York Yankees 10-9 on Bill Mazeroski's walk-off home run at Forbes Field. Haddix also started and won Game 5.

*** Haddix won three Gold Gloves and hit .309 for the 1957 Phillies. 

You can read Harvey Haddix' SABR biography by Mark Miller here.