Swap Shop: How Billy Pierce Brought His Heart to San Francisco

In more than one way, Billy Pierce was the difference that got the San Francisco Giants into the 1962 World Series, and he accomplished this when he was generally considered washed up and a shell of what he had been a decade before.

Billy Pierce

The glory years for Pierce came in the 1950s when, as the ace of the Chicago White Sox staff, he rivaled New York Yankees southpaw Whitey Ford for recognition as the best left-hander in the American League, if not the American League's best pitcher, period.

Pierce was signed by the Detroit Tigers and traded to the White Sox in 1949. He was a combined 27-30 in his first 2 seasons with the White Sox, and then won 15 games in both 1951 and 1952, followed by an 18-12 campaign in 1953. After slipping to 9-10 in 1954, he won 15 games again in 1956 (while leading the major leagues with a 1.97 ERA) and was a 20-game winner for the White Sox in 1956 and in 1957. He led the league in complete games from 1956 through 1958, and overall posted a 186-152 record in 13 seasons with the White Sox.

In November of 1961, San Francisco sent Bob Farley, Eddie Fisher and Dom Zanni to the White Sox for Pierce and Don Larsen. It was one of the most important moves made by the Giants front office over that winter, as Pierce, who was 10-9 in his last season with Chicago, won his first 8 decisions for the Giants. He moved to the bullpen through the heat of the summer, and returned to the starting rotation in August, winning 5 out of 6 decisions.

The 1962 National League regular season ended in a dead heat between the Giants and their West Coast rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Finishing the regular season at 15-6, Pierce was selected by Giants manager Alvin Dark to pitch the opener of the 3-game playoff and responded with a 3-hit, 8-0 shutout. Game 2 in Los Angeles saw the Dodgers tie the playoffs with an 8-7 victory.

On October 3, 1962, the playoff and the pennant race came down to a single game. In the top of the third, an RBI single by Harvey Kuenn and a sacrifice fly by second baseman Chuck Hiller gave the Giants a 2-0 lead. The Dodgers scored one run against Juan Marichal in the fourth inning and took the lead in the sixth inning on Tommy Davis’ 2-run homer.

In the seventh inning, the Dodgers went up 4-2. In the top of the ninth, the Giants scored 4 runs on only 2 hits, and led 6-4 with the Dodgers coming up for their last at-bats.

As a member
of the San Francisco Giants in 1962

In the bottom of the ninth, Dark turned again to Pierce to wrap up the game and the pennant. After shutting out the Dodgers just 2 days before, Pierce added one more scoreless inning to his playoff ledger, retiring the Dodgers in order to give the Giants their first National League pennant since 1954.

Note: Pierce pitched 2 more seasons with the Giants

Eddie Fisher

(winning a total of 6 games) and retired. But the trade that cinched a pennant for San Francisco also had a major impact on the career of one other player, pitcher Eddie Fisher. While he was in Chicago (the first of 2 tours with the White Sox), Fisher spent time in the bullpen next to Hoyt Wilhelm and learned how to throw the knuckleball, a pitch that would transform him into one of the best relievers of the 1960s.