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It’s Time for a Quiz!
Who is the “Mystery Person”?
Check out this neat color photo of Willie Mays’ great catch in the 1954 World Series off the bat of Vic Wertz. It’s from Game One, played at the Polo Grounds on September 28, 1954. We’ve all seen variations of this photo before. But there’s something about this photo that I’ll bet you never noticed.
The “Mystery Person”
Do you see the seven windows of the Giants’ clubhouse in the background? Now take a good look at the window on the far left. Got it? There’s someone peering out of that window with a bird’s eye view of Willie as he makes the great catch.
Here’s the quiz question:
Who is it in that window? The answer is at the bottom of this post, but try not to look just yet.
Now I realize the image of the person in the window isn’t real clear, and it would be hard to make an identification just from the photo. So I’m here to help! I’m going to give you a series of hints before I reveal the answer. Try to come up with a guess before checking out the answer.
Each hint will lead you progressively to the answer. See how many hints you need before you have the identity of our “mystery person.” If you want, you can let me know which hint put you over the top. OK…let’s get started.
Hint Number 1: It’s a man…
Hint Number 2: He was from St. Louis…
Hint Number 3: He was a major league ballplayer…
Hint Number 4: He was a member of the Giants’ team…
Hint Number 5: He was ineligible for the World Series…
Hint Number 6: He was picked up off waivers from the Cubs…
Hint Number 7: He was a catcher…
Hint Number 8: He wasn’t a real good hitter…
Hint Number 9: He was bald…
Hint Number 10 He was a friend of Yogi Berra…
Hint Number 11: He became an announcer…
Are you ready for the answer? Scroll down…
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Solution to the “Mystery Person”:
It’s Joe Garagiola!
That’s right, peering out of the window was none-other-than Joe Garagiola, who the Giants picked up off waiver from the Cubs on September 8, 1954, making him ineligible for the World Series roster. But he did get a ring to add to his personal collection. He also got one from the 1946 World Series.
Here’s a little about Joe’s career. He hit .257 over his nine-years in the Bigs with 42 home runs, 255 RBIs, and 481 hits. Over his career (1946-1954), he played for the Cardinals, Pirates, the Cubs, and the Giants. His best year was probably 1952 when he hit .281. As a rookie he played in the 1946 World Series with the Cardinals, hitting .316 in 19 plate appearances over 5 games.
After his playing days were over, he became an announcer for NBC and he remained in broadcasting for over 35 years. Joe was elected to the broadcast wing of the Hall of Fame, having received the Ford Frick award in 1991. He passed away on March 26, 2016.
And if you think I’m making all this up, check out the neat photo below!
As always, we enjoy reading your comments
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I was not aware of Joe Garagiola seeing Mays’ catch in the 1954 World Series. A terrific piece of baseball trivia.
Thanks Steve, got you got a kick out of it!
Hi Gary,
What a perfect choice for an entertaining head-scratcher! I, too had no idea, and was leaning toward “Sal Yvars” at first, but finally landed on the right square when you said this gent was picked up by the Giants on waivers from the Cubs.
Congratulations on another great job.
Best regards,
Michael
Watch it, Gary.
You’ll be starting conspiracy theories with your quizzes.
“Who is that mystery person on the grassy knoll, er, clubhouse window”.
I’ve seen that photo hundreds of times and never knew that. Thanks.
That’s right. I’ll start it right now. Who were the three tramps? Who was the umbrella man? Did Oswald have a double…Haha!
This one is easy, Gary.
Owald’s double moved to Houston and changed his last name to Oswalt . He was traded to the Phillies in 2010 for three tramps named Gose, Happ and Villar and an umbrella.
The umbrella was hidden in the Houston clubhouse for seven years when in 2017 it was used by Alex Cora to whack trash cans to win a World Series.
No need to check any of this info. It was all over social media and—it HAS to be true. LOL!
Gary,
Notice Keedy saves all his superlatives for you and Bill Gutman. And all his insults for me. Not denying the hierarchy here, and the beauty of it is…I can only go up in his estimation (I think).
Yes, super shot of Mays! Got the answer about the same clue as Michael and I also thought Yvars at first. Fun place, your website!
Garagiola was a .250 hitter, but a .450 wit. For me, his best line was: “I knew a baseball star who didn’t report the theft of his wife’s credit cards because the thief spent less than she did.”
Wow! Here I would have thought I was the only person alive who was familiar with Sal Yvars! And I get two mentions of him in one day!
Glad you guys liked the quiz. It takes a lot to stump you guys!
Sal Yvers—good name for a spitball pitcher.
My guess would have been Horace Stoneham. But he probably would’ve been in box seat when you think about it.
That’s a good guess…
But did Leo D. have him there to steal the Indians’ signs?
I was in my school gym watching on TV. Students could skip study halls to watch the WS. I knew Sal Yvars from a few tears before when he caught for the Jersey City Giants the AAA farm for the NY Giants in the International League.
Gary,
Wonderful piece of baseball trivia. According to Garagiola he also had good seats in Cleveland.