Carroll Hardy
Encyclopedia
Carroll William Hardy is a former outfielder
in Major League Baseball
who played for the Cleveland Indians
(1958–1960), Boston Red Sox
(1960–1962), Houston Colt .45s
(1963–1964) and Minnesota Twins
(1967). He batted and threw right-handed.
from 1951–1955, where he lettered in football
, baseball
and track
. He was all-Big Seven Conference as a tailback
, running from a single-wing formation under head coach Dal Ward, and All-Conference in baseball under head coach Frank Prentup.
. He caught 12 passes – four for touchdown
s – while he played halfback
with the San Francisco 49ers
in 1955, but his biggest claim to fame will always be related to baseball, even though he was named the Hula Bowl MVP
that year.
As a 49er, he shared the field with Pro Football Hall of Fame
rs Y.A. Tittle, Joe Perry
and Hugh McElhenny
.
for Ted Williams
, but few people know that Hardy's pinch-hit resume goes well beyond this claim to trivia immortality. He then became the only player to pinch-hit for Carl Yastrzemski, Williams replacemant in left field. He also pinch hit for Roger Maris.
, which was owned at the time by C. Arnholt Smith, founder and owner of San Diego's U.S. National Bank. A reserve for the majority of his career, he debuted with the Cleveland Indians in the 1958 season. On May 18, celebrating his 25th birthday, he pinch-hit for Roger Maris
and belted his first major league home run
, a three-run blast off Billy Pierce
, to lead Cleveland to a 7–4 victory over the Chicago White Sox
.
for him, becoming the only player ever to do so. Hardy lined into a double play
.
On September 28 at Fenway Park
, in his final major league appearance, Williams hit his 521st and last home run against Jack Fisher
of the Baltimore Orioles
. In the ninth inning, he was replaced by Hardy in left field. "They booed me all the way out and cheered him all the way in," Hardy later remembered. Then, on May 31, 1961, Hardy pinch-hit for rookie
Carl Yastrzemski
, making him the only player in major league history to go in for both future Hall of Famers.
Hardy saw most action in 1962, posting career-highs in games
(115), at-bats (362), hits
(78), runs
, home runs (eight) and runs batted in (36), but hit for just a .215 average
. On April 11, Hardy enjoyed another career highlight at Fenway Park, when he broke up a scoreless pitching duel between Ron Taylor
of Cleveland and Bill Monbouquette
of the Red Sox, hitting a 12th-inning, walk-off
grand slam
for a 4–0 Boston victory over the Indians.
. Williams would eventually become Boston's manager
, lead them to the 1967 American League pennant
, and forge a Hall of Fame career as a manager.
Hardy spent most of the rest of his playing career at the Triple-A level, with brief appearances for Houston and Minnesota. On the last day of the 1967 season, the Twins lost a chance to clinch the American League pennant, losing to the Red Sox, 6-2, in Fenway Park. With two outs in the 9th inning, Rich Rollins
pinch hit for catcher Russ Nixon
and popped out to Rico Petrocelli
for the last out of the game. Had Rollins reached base, Hardy, was on-deck, to pinch hit for Twins pitcher Mudcat Grant
. He managed in the Twins' farm system at the Class A level in 1968.
In an eight-season career, Hardy was a .225 hitter with 17 home runs and 113 RBI in 433 games.
' front office. As a player personnel director, he was the key figure in building what eventually became the Orange Crush Defense
in the 1970s. He was also part of the Broncos when they went to Super Bowl XII
in 1977. Currently, he work for Steamboat Springs, Colorado
.
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
who played for the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
(1958–1960), Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
(1960–1962), Houston Colt .45s
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
(1963–1964) and Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
(1967). He batted and threw right-handed.
Amateur career
Hardy attended the University of ColoradoUniversity of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
from 1951–1955, where he lettered in football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
and track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
. He was all-Big Seven Conference as a tailback
Tailback
Tailback can mean:* Halfback * A line of motor vehicles caught up in traffic congestion; a traffic jam...
, running from a single-wing formation under head coach Dal Ward, and All-Conference in baseball under head coach Frank Prentup.
Professional football
A third-round pick in the 1955 NFL Draft, Hardy chose baseball over football after one year in the National Football LeagueNational Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He caught 12 passes – four for touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s – while he played halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
with the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
in 1955, but his biggest claim to fame will always be related to baseball, even though he was named the Hula Bowl MVP
Hula Bowl
The Hula Bowl was an independently administered post-season invitational college football game held each year in Hawaii from 1947 to 2008. The game was last played at Aloha Stadium in the Hālawa district of Honolulu, Hawaii. At one point the longest-running sporting event in Hawaii, it had been...
that year.
As a 49er, he shared the field with Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
rs Y.A. Tittle, Joe Perry
Joe Perry (American football)
Fletcher Joseph "Joe" Perry was a professional American football fullback for the San Francisco 49ers from 1948 to 1950 , then 1950 to 1960 when the 49ers were absorbed into the NFL, the Baltimore Colts from 1961–1962, and finally back to the 49ers for his final year in football,...
and Hugh McElhenny
Hugh McElhenny
Hugh Edward McElhenny is a former American football running back in the National Football League who played from 1952–1964, for the San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, and Detroit Lions. He was noted for his explosive, elusive running style and was frequently called "The...
.
Major League Baseball
Most die-hard baseball fans know that Hardy has the honor of being the only player ever to pinch-hitPinch hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead ; the manager may use any player that has not yet entered the game as a substitute...
for Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
, but few people know that Hardy's pinch-hit resume goes well beyond this claim to trivia immortality. He then became the only player to pinch-hit for Carl Yastrzemski, Williams replacemant in left field. He also pinch hit for Roger Maris.
Indians
Hardy spent two seasons, 1957–58, with the Indians farm team, the San Diego PadresSan Diego Padres (PCL)
The San Diego Padres were a minor league baseball team which played in the Pacific Coast League from 1936 through 1968. The team that would eventually become the Padres was well traveled prior to moving to San Diego. It began its existence in 1903 as the Sacramento Solons, a charter member of the PCL...
, which was owned at the time by C. Arnholt Smith, founder and owner of San Diego's U.S. National Bank. A reserve for the majority of his career, he debuted with the Cleveland Indians in the 1958 season. On May 18, celebrating his 25th birthday, he pinch-hit for Roger Maris
Roger Maris
Roger Eugene Maris was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During the 1961 season, he hit a record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs...
and belted his first major league home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
, a three-run blast off Billy Pierce
Billy Pierce
Walter William Pierce is a former left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the Chicago White Sox. He was the team's star pitcher between 1952 and 1961, and was named the American League's top pitcher in 1956 and 1957 after being runner-up in both 1953...
, to lead Cleveland to a 7–4 victory over the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
.
Red Sox
Late in the 1960 season, Hardy was on the bench for the Boston Red Sox. Ted Williams, in the final days of his Hall of Fame career, fouled a ball off his foot in the first inning of a game on September 20. After he limped off the field, Hardy finished the at batAt bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
for him, becoming the only player ever to do so. Hardy lined into a double play
Double play
In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....
.
On September 28 at Fenway Park
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
, in his final major league appearance, Williams hit his 521st and last home run against Jack Fisher
Jack Fisher
John Howard Fisher was a Major League Baseball pitcher. The right-hander was signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent on June 24, 1957. He played for the Orioles , San Francisco Giants , New York Mets , Chicago White Sox , and Cincinnati Reds...
of the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
. In the ninth inning, he was replaced by Hardy in left field. "They booed me all the way out and cheered him all the way in," Hardy later remembered. Then, on May 31, 1961, Hardy pinch-hit for rookie
Rookie
Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of their sport or has little or no professional experience. The term also has the more general meaning of anyone new to a profession, training or activity Rookie is a term for a person who is in his or her first year of play of...
Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Michael Yastrzemski is a former American Major League Baseball left fielder and first baseman. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Yastrzemski played his entire 23-year baseball career with the Boston Red Sox . He was primarily a left fielder, with part of his later career...
, making him the only player in major league history to go in for both future Hall of Famers.
Hardy saw most action in 1962, posting career-highs in games
Games played
Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...
(115), at-bats (362), hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
(78), runs
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
, home runs (eight) and runs batted in (36), but hit for just a .215 average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
. On April 11, Hardy enjoyed another career highlight at Fenway Park, when he broke up a scoreless pitching duel between Ron Taylor
Ron Taylor (baseball)
Ronald Wesley Taylor is a former professional baseball player. He was a pitcher over parts of 11 seasons with the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, New York Mets and San Diego Padres. Taylor was a member of two World Series-winning teams: the 1964 St. Louis Cardinals and the...
of Cleveland and Bill Monbouquette
Bill Monbouquette
William Charles Monbouquette is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher...
of the Red Sox, hitting a 12th-inning, walk-off
Walk-off home run
In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. It must be a home run that gives the home team the lead in the bottom of the final inning of the game—either the ninth inning, or any extra inning, or any other regularly scheduled final inning...
grand slam
Grand slam (baseball)
In the sport of baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners , thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term originated in the card game of contract bridge, in which a grand slam involves...
for a 4–0 Boston victory over the Indians.
Remaining career
On December 10, 1962, Hardy was traded to the Houston Colt .45s for another outfielder, Dick WilliamsDick Williams
Richard Hirschfeld "Dick" Williams was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967–69 and 1971–88, he led teams to three American League pennants, one National...
. Williams would eventually become Boston's manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
, lead them to the 1967 American League pennant
1967 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over Boston Red Sox ; Bob Gibson, MVP*All-Star Game, July 11 at Anaheim Stadium: National League, 2-1 ; Tony Pérez, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Arizona State...
, and forge a Hall of Fame career as a manager.
Hardy spent most of the rest of his playing career at the Triple-A level, with brief appearances for Houston and Minnesota. On the last day of the 1967 season, the Twins lost a chance to clinch the American League pennant, losing to the Red Sox, 6-2, in Fenway Park. With two outs in the 9th inning, Rich Rollins
Rich Rollins
Richard John Rollins is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. He played with the Minnesota Twins , Seattle Pilots , Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Indians...
pinch hit for catcher Russ Nixon
Russ Nixon
Russell Eugene Nixon is a former catcher, coach and manager in American Major League Baseball. A veteran of 55 years in professional baseball, Nixon has managed at virtually every level of the sport, from the lowest minor league to MLB assignments with the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves...
and popped out to Rico Petrocelli
Rico Petrocelli
Americo Peter "Rico" Petrocelli is an American retired baseball shortstop and third baseman who played his entire career in the American League with the Boston Red Sox...
for the last out of the game. Had Rollins reached base, Hardy, was on-deck, to pinch hit for Twins pitcher Mudcat Grant
Mudcat Grant
James Timothy "Mudcat" Grant is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Cleveland Indians , Minnesota Twins , Los Angeles Dodgers , Montreal Expos , St. Louis Cardinals , Oakland Athletics and Pittsburgh Pirates...
. He managed in the Twins' farm system at the Class A level in 1968.
In an eight-season career, Hardy was a .225 hitter with 17 home runs and 113 RBI in 433 games.
After baseball
With his baseball career behind him, Hardy worked for 20 years in the Denver BroncosDenver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
' front office. As a player personnel director, he was the key figure in building what eventually became the Orange Crush Defense
Orange Crush Defense
Orange Crush Defense was the 3-4 defense of the Denver Broncos during the 1970s.It was one of the top defenses of its time with linebackers Randy Gradishar and Tom Jackson, with Gradishar as a potential Hall of Famer...
in the 1970s. He was also part of the Broncos when they went to Super Bowl XII
Super Bowl XII
Super Bowl XII was an American football game played on January 15, 1978 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1977 regular season...
in 1977. Currently, he work for Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
The city of Steamboat Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Routt County, Colorado, United States. The city is also known as "Steamboat," "The Boat," or "Ski Town USA". As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,088.The city is an...
.
