Don Liddle

Who was Don Liddle?

Donald Eugene Liddle was an American left-handed pitcher in professional baseball who played four seasons in the Major Leagues for the Milwaukee Braves, New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals from 1953 through 1956. Born in Mount Carmel, Illinois, he batted left-handed, stood 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 165 pounds.

Liddle is most remembered as the man who, in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, threw the pitch to Vic Wertz that resulted in The Catch — Giant center fielder Willie Mays' historic back-to-home-plate, over-the-shoulder grab of Wertz' line drive with two men on base in the deepest part of centerfield at the Giants' home field, the Polo Grounds. Had the ball fallen safely, the opposition Cleveland Indians 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, 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 and won the decisive Game 4 in Cleveland, pitching 6⅔ innings and giving up only one earned run.