Donald Eugene Liddle (May 25, 1925 — June 5, 2000) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 left-handed

Left-handed

Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. In ancient times it was seen as a sign of the devil, and was abhorred in many cultures...

 pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

 in professional baseball

Professional baseball

Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....

 who played four seasons in the Major Leagues

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...

 for the Milwaukee Braves

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

, New York Giants

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

 and St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

 from through . Born in Mount Carmel, Illinois

Mount Carmel, Illinois

Mount Carmel is a city in and the county seat of Wabash County, Illinois, United States. At the time of the 2000 census, the population was 7,982, while the next largest town in Wabash County is Allendale, population 528. Located at the confluence of the Wabash, Patoka, and White Rivers, Mount...

, he batted left-handed, stood 5 in 10 in (1.78 m) tall and weighed 165 pounds (74.8 kg).

Liddle is most remembered as the man who, in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series

1954 World Series

The 1954 World Series matched the National League champion New York Giants against the American League champion Cleveland Indians. The Giants swept the Series in four games to win their first championship since , defeating the heavily favored Indians, who had won an AL-record 111 games in the...

, threw the pitch to Vic Wertz

Vic Wertz

Victor Woodrow Wertz was a Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder. He had a seventeen year career from 1947 to 1963. He was signed as a free agent by the Detroit Tigers in 1942 and played for the Tigers, St...

 that resulted in The Catch — Giant centerfielder Willie Mays

Willie Mays

Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...

' historic back-to-home-plate

Home Plate

Home Plate is the fifth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1975 .-Track listing:#"What Do You Want the Boy to Do?" – 3:19#"Good Enough" – 2:56#"Run Like a Thief" – 3:02...

, over-the-shoulder grab of Wertz' line drive

Line drive

In baseball, a line drive is a type of batted ball, sharply hit, and on a level trajectory. The threshold between a line drive and a fly ball can be subjective....

 with two men on base in the deepest part of centerfield at the Giants' home field, the Polo Grounds

Polo Grounds

The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...

. Had the ball fallen safely, the opposition 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...

 would have taken the lead 4–2 late in the game. But Mays' catch preserved a 2–2 tie, the Giants won the game in extra innings

Extra innings

Extra innings is the extension of a baseball or softball game in order to break a tie.Ordinarily, a baseball game consists of nine innings , each of which is divided into halves: the visiting team bats first, after which the home team takes its turn at bat...

, and swept the Series in four straight contests. Wertz was the only batter Liddle faced that day. Reportedly, he commented breezily on his arrival afterward to the dugout, "Well, I got my man." Liddle later started

Starting pitcher

In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....

 and won

Win (baseball)

In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only...

 the decisive Game 4 in Cleveland, pitching 6⅔ innings and giving up only one earned run

Earned run

In baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run...

.

Earlier in 1954, Liddle was part of a pivotal, five-player trade, coming to the Giants with fellow left-handed pitcher Johnny Antonelli

Johnny Antonelli

John August Antonelli is an American former left-handed starting pitcher who played for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves, New York and San Francisco Giants, and Cleveland Indians....

 from the Braves in exchange for playoff hero Bobby Thomson

Bobby Thomson

Robert Brown "Bobby" Thomson was a Scottish-born American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "The Staten Island Scot", he was an outfielder and right-handed batter for the New York Giants , Milwaukee Braves , Chicago Cubs , Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles .His season-ending three-run...

. Antonelli won 21 games for the 1954 Giants, leading them to the National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

 pennant, and topped the Senior Circuit in earned run average

Earned run average

In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

.

Don Liddle appeared in 117 Major League games played

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,...

, 54 as a starting pitcher. In 427⅔ innings, he gave up 397 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....

 and 203 bases on balls, striking out

Strikeout

In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....

 198. He retired from baseball after the 1957 season, which he spent in minor league baseball

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

. He died, aged 75, in his hometown of Mount Carmel, Illinois.

Before Don Liddle played in the professional league he played for local baseball teams in Wabash County, IL. In the late 1920s

1920s

File:1920s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Sean Hogan during the Irish Civil War; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the 18th amendment, which made alcoholic beverages illegal throughout the entire decade; In...

, Don Liddle played for a team named the Grand Rapids Steppers that was owned and managed by the Grand Rapids Hotel

Grand Rapids Hotel

The Grand Rapids Hotel was a hotel that existed outside of Mount Carmel, Illinois in Wabash County, Illinois, United States in Southern Illinois in the 1920s during a timeperiod that is commonly referred to as the Roaring Twenties, the Jazz Age, and the Golden Twenties. The hotel was located on...

.

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