Jimmy Piersall, an American baseball center fielder, immediately knocked down one of the fans who tried to attack him in the first game of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium.
Two fans came out of the stands in the seventh inning to attack him when he was minding his own business in center field on September 10, 1961.
Piersall became a professional baseball player at the age of 18 and signed a contract with the Boston Red Sox in 1948. He was one of Boston’s youngest players who reached Major League Baseball in 1950.
He established himself as one of the game’s best defensive outfielders, but was demoted to the minor league Birmingham Barons on June 28, 1952.
On December 2, 1958, the Red Sox traded him to the Cleveland Indians, where he earned his second Gold Glove during the 1961 season.
Moreover, he was traded to the Washington Senators on October 5, 1962, and then later to the New York Mets on May 23, 1963.
After playing four seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, he moved into a front office position on May 8, 1967.
Jimmy Piersall Fights Off Fans And Robs a Homer in Wild 1961 Doubleheader Incident
On a summer day in 1961, Yankee Stadium witnessed one of baseball’s most bizarre and combative moments when Cleveland outfielder Jimmy Piersall found himself brawling with fans.
However, he still managed game-changing plays.
During the seventh inning of the first game of a doubleheader, two spectators rushed onto the field and charged at Piersall in center field.
The fiery outfielder instantly dropped one attacker with a hard punch. The other fan, realizing his mistake, turned and sprinted away, but Piersall chased him.
He nearly landed a rough kick before his teammates, Johnny Temple and Walt Bond, joined in to deliver a few more punches.
Undaunted by the scuffle, Piersall quickly shifted focus back to baseball. That same inning, he made a spectacular leaping catch to rob Johnny Blanchard of a two-run homer, earning cheers from the New York crowd.
The incident was just another wild chapter in Piersall’s colorful career.
Jimmy Piersall Was Engaged In A Fistfight With Yankee Infielder Billy Martin
Baseball in the 1950s was as much about fiery personalities as it was about the game itself.
Few clashes were as explosive as the one between Boston Red Sox outfielder Jimmy Piersall and New York Yankees infielder Billy Martin.
5-24-1952, Jimmy Piersall & Billy Martin got into a fist fight prior to the Red Sox – Yankees games. Piersall then fought teammate Mickey McDermott. The Red Sox would go on to win 5-2, with Ellis Kinder picking up the win. Walt Dropo homered & Billy Goodman had a 2-run double. pic.twitter.com/fPKO7gRM7S
— Scott F (@TheFrizz87) May 24, 2018
The two had been trading barbs for weeks before their feud finally boiled over into an all-out fistfight beneath the stands at Fenway Park.
The bad blood began during a previous series in New York, where Piersall, known for his sharp tongue, relentlessly needled Martin during batting practice.
The Yankees’ second baseman, never one to back down, finally had enough. Before a game in Boston, as Piersall heckled him from the Red Sox dugout, Martin issued an invitation: “Meet me under the stands.”
Piersall, never shy, tossed aside his glove and sprinted for the tunnel.
He made some pretty bad remarks. I may be smaller than he is but I’ll fight anybody who makes those remarks to me. I hit him good twice and then he grabbed me and started to wrestle.
Billy Martin
Martin, a street-tough kid from San Francisco with amateur boxing experience, followed close behind. Bill Dickey spotted the confrontation and shouted for help, but by then, the two were already swinging.
The fight was short but fierce. Martin landed two solid punches before Sox pitcher Ellis Kinder and Dickey rushed in to break it up.
The scuffle lasted barely a minute, but it cemented the rivalry between two of baseball’s most combustible players.
What’s there for me to say? He’s hot-headed. I’m hot-headed because I’m not playing. You would be too if you didn’t play. He was on me pretty good in New York. I don’t know why.
Jimmy Piersall
In Case You Didn’t Know
- James Anthony Piersall, the son of John and Mary Piersall, was born on November 14, 1929, and passed away on June 3, 2017.
- His father was a house painter, and his mother battled mental illness for most of Jimmy’s childhood.
- He had nine children with his first wife, Mary, and lived with his third wife, Jan, with whom he married in 1982.
