centerfield maz

Saturday September 2nd, 1972:   The 1972 season had started late due to the first ever payers strike. At the end of Spring Training the Mets lost their beloved leader Gil Hodges who suddenly passed away from a fatal heart attack. The team & the organization were stunned as they began the season naming Yogi Berra as the manager.  By September,   Yogi Berra's Mets (64-59) were in third place, fourteen games behind the Pirates as time was running out on them with thirty games left to play. Tonight, they were in Houston, playing a good Astros team (73-55).   The Astros started the year with manager Harry Walker but he was fired in late August as the Astros fell to nine games back. Former Met manager Salty Parker managed for one game, then the legendary Leo Durocher took over.  "Leo the Lip" got the Astros on a six-game win streak, entering tonight's game. The previous night Houston shut out the Mets & Tom Seaver 8-0. The Astros moved to within seven games be...

Marvin Eugene Throneberry  was born on September 2, 1933, in Collierville, Tennessee, thirty miles outside of Memphis. Marv is the younger brother of MLB outfielder; Faye Throneberry. The family grew up on a farm in Fishersville, with three brothers & one sister. Marv would live in this town his entire life. The six foot one, Left-handed Marv Throneberry, turned down an offer from his brother's team, the Boston Red Sox. In 1952, he signed with the AL New York club for an amazing $50,000 bonus.  Marv played in the minor leagues at Denver where the thin air helped him lead the league in HRs & RBIs for three straight seasons. In 1956 he was named the league's MVP. The next year he was voted the third best prospect to make the majors by the Sporting News. MLB Debut: Throneberry was first brought up to the majors for one game on September 25th 1955, he went 2-2 with a two run double & a sac fly against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Throneberry spent t...