What a Giant Day!
On May 4, 1965, San Francisco Giants outfielder Willie Mays, 2 days before his 34th birthday, hits his 512th career home run to break Mel Ott’s National League record for home runs. The San Francisco Giants centerfielder had been stuck on 511 for eight games, tied with former New York Giants first baseman Mel Ott. Mays is struck out twice by Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Claude Osteen before belting a solo homer over the right-field fence off Osteen in the fifth inning of the Giants' 6-1 victory over the Dodgers. As Mays circles the bases the crowd of 28,220 in Candlestick Park goes wild. "The homer brought bedlam," the San Francisco Chronicle reports, "and the greatest ovation in the long history of baseball on the shores of San Francisco." Mays would finish his career with 660 home runs, good for third on the all-time list at the time of his retirement. That must have been a sight to see! There is nothing better than celebrating on home ground. It...