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 Joe Adcock dies at 71
Posted: Monday May 03, 1999 12:28 PM
NEW YORK (AP) -- Joe Adcock, who hit 336 home runs during his career and broke up baseball's longest no-hitter, died today. He was 71. Adcock had Alzheimer's disease and died at his home in Coushatta, La., at 3:15 a.m., said his daughter, Jan Adams. The first baseman came to the majors in 1950 with Cincinnati and was traded to the Milwaukee Braves in 1953, the team's first year in that city. He played on the Braves' World Series championship team in 1957 and National League pennant winner in 1958. A teammate of Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Warren Spahn, Adcock's best season was 1956 when he hit 38 home runs and batted .291. On July 31, 1954, he had the most productive game in history, hitting four homers and a double for a record 18 total bases as the Braves beat the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. At the time, Adcock was the fifth player in the modern era to homer four times in a game. Five players have done so since. Adcock was perhaps best known for turning a perfect game into a loss for Pittsburgh's Harvey Haddix on May 26, 1959, at Milwaukee. Haddix retired the first 36 batters he faced -- 12 perfect innings. In the 13th, the Braves' Felix Mantilla reached on an error and moved to second on a sacrifice by Mathews. After Aaron was walked intentionally, Adcock homered to end the no-hitter and win the game. The score was listed as 1-0 because Adcock inadvertently passed Aaron on the base paths. Adcock recalled the game when Haddix died in January 1994. "He knew what he had in mind when he let the ball loose," Adcock said. "The wind had been blowing in all night and maybe it was a freak because when I came to bat, the flag in center field was still. I was thinking he'd been keeping the ball away from me all night and maybe he'd do it again and he did and I hit it." In 1963, Adcock moved to the Cleveland Indians and finished his playing career with three seasons with the California Angels. He posted a .277 lifetime batting average. Adcock managed the Indians in 1967, finishing eighth in the American League with a 75-87 record. Adcock was born on Oct. 30, 1927. A short stint on a basketball scholarship to Louisiana State ended when he was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds. During his offseasons, Adcock started breeding thoroughbreds and developed Red River Farms, which he continued running after his retirement. "He bred thoroughbred race horses and enjoyed his grandchildren," Adams said of her father's life after baseball. In addition to Adams, Adcock is survived by his wife, Joan; son Jay Adcock, who runs the horse business his father founded; daughters Jill Kennedy and Jeannie Worsham; sister Mary Ann Brown; and eight grandchildren. Funeral arrangements were pending.
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