Polo Grounds, Manhattan, NY, June 16, 1957 – Reds slugger Ted Kluszewski up at bat in first inning against Giants Ray Crone

 

It’s the top of the first inning and the very big muscled Ted Kluszewski of the Reds is up at bat facing the Giants starting pitcher Ray Crone. Despite all his strength, the “Big Klu” could only muster a ground ball to Crone to end the inning.

But in the second frame the Cincinnati’s bats would send Crone to an early shower knocking him around on three hits to take a 3-0 lead, highlighted by an Ed Bailey triple. But the entire fault didn’t fall on Crone’s shoulders alone as the inning started off badly due to an error by shortstop Andre Rodgers on a Wally Post’s ground ball. Post would come around to score an unearned run on Bailey’s triple to give the Reds an early lead.

The Giants would score their first run of the game in the seventh inning on a Whitey Lockman’s single scoring Rodgers and spoiling Reds pitcher Don Gross shutout bid. The following inning Gross got into more trouble giving up back-to-back one out singles to Bobby Thomson and Daryl Spencer. From there the Reds manager Birdie Tebbetts would go to the bullpen bringing in righty reliever Tom Acker to face pinch-hitter Don Mueller. The move would backfire on the Cincinnati skipper as Mueller would go yard on Acker for a three-run home run and now a 4-3 lead for New York.

From there Giants reliever Marv Grissom, who came in relief in the seventh inning, would mow down the Reds in the ninth for his sixth win of the season.

Despite it being a Sunday game on what looks like a beautiful sunny day, the contest only drew 11,242, and attendance woes would nag the Giants in their last season at the Polo Grounds, finishing last in the National League and drawing just 653,923 for the year, an average of 8,492 per game.