William Stanley Mazeroski (born September 5, 1936), nicknamed "Maz" and "the Glove", is an American former second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1956 to 1972.

A seven-time All-Star known during his career primarily for his spectacular defensive play, he has come to be better known for perhaps the most memorable home run in baseball history, a dramatic ninth-inning drive in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series that beat the favored New York Yankees.

His 161 double plays in 1966 remain the major league record for second basemen; when he retired, he held the top three marks in NL history.

Louis had been a highly regarded baseball prospect himself—he once had a tryout with the Cleveland Indians—but a severed foot suffered in a coal mine accident ruined his dream as well as his livelihood.

Their favorite drill was played with a tennis ball, which Louis threw against a brick wall and his son fielded with a glove that had been purchased with money earned from digging an outhouse, as family legend had it.

The exercise was designed to sharpen hand-eye coordination and ability to quickly adjust to bad bounces, areas in which young Bill excelled as early as elementary school.

[1] As a child, Mazeroski was a fan of the Cleveland Indians and counted Lou Boudreau, Bob Feller, Ken Keltner and Joe Gordon as his heroes.

[2] Mazeroski attended Warren Consolidated High School in Tiltonsville, Ohio, where he was a multi-sports star, most notably in baseball and basketball.

[1] Mazeroski turned down college scholarship offers from Duquesne, Ohio State and West Virginia to pursue a professional baseball career.

The next spring, Pirates general manager Branch Rickey noticed how well he turned the double play as a second baseman, which prompted his move to the right side of the diamond.

[3] But for most of the next five weeks, his batting average tumbled below the .200 mark; he hit his first home run on August 16, a 2-run shot off Robin Roberts in the fourth inning, to lead the Pirates to a 4-1 road win over the Phillies.

"Baseball men are saying that Mazeroski, with his great hands and range and arm, is perhaps the finest young infielder in the business," Sports Illustrated reported in its 1958 preseason analysis.

[4] In 1958, the young Bucs promptly stunned the baseball world with a second-place finish, while Mazeroski blossomed into an All-Star for the first time in his career.

Coupled with acute baseball instincts, he displayed unparalleled range in the field, as evidenced by the nine seasons that he led the league in assists per nine innings; recent analytics credit him similarly in total zone runs at the position.

Remarkably, Mazeroski was able to accomplish this even though he played nearly half of his games at Forbes Field, whose infield was widely thought to be the worst in the majors because of its alabaster-like surface and many errant hops.

[5] Said Dick Groat, Mazeroski's first double-play partner in the big leagues, "He had marvelous range, great instincts and never threw to the wrong base.

On April 28, 1966, Mazeroski became the second NL player to hit 100 home runs as a second baseman when he took Chicago Cubs starter Ferguson Jenkins deep in a 9-6, 10-inning road win.

Later that year, he shattered Jerry Priddy's single-season major league record of 150 double plays at second base, which was set with the Detroit Tigers in the 1950 campaign.

[8] At the end of his career, Mazeroski ranked fourth in Pirates history in games played (2,163), fifth in home runs (138) and at bats (7,755), sixth in RBI (853) and doubles (294), and seventh in hits (2,016) and total bases (2,848).

[5] The team was rewarded with a trip to the 1960 World Series, where the second baseman forged his legacy against the New York Yankees with a pair of game-winning home runs.

It seemed the second baseman had forgotten that he was to lead off the bottom half of the inning, and it wasn't until first base coach Lenny Levy reminded him of the fact that he hurriedly picked up a bat.

[11] At precisely 3:36 p.m. local time, on a 1-0 count, Mazeroski slammed Terry's high fastball just to the left of the 406-foot marker in distant left-center field.

The legendary homer gave the Pirates their first World Series championship in 35 years and set off a raucous celebration in the Steel City that lasted for days.

In the fourth inning of Game 1, with Don Hoak on base, he hit a two-run homer off reliever Jim Coates that cleared the large scoreboard in straight-away left field.

In Game 5, Mazeroski rapped a two-run double to left field off Art Ditmar that scored Hoak and Gino Cimoli in the fourth inning.

[10] In September 2010, a statue of Mazeroski was unveiled outside PNC Park in Pittsburgh, depicting his legendary home run celebration — a runner pose with both arms extended, ball cap in right hand.

On induction day in Cooperstown, Mazeroski only made it as far into his prepared remarks as thanking the Veterans Committee voters for choosing a player based largely on defensive skills (a rarity) before getting so overcome with emotion that he had to stop.

In 2003, Buckeye Local High School in Rayland (which had since absorbed Warren Consolidated) honored him by naming their new baseball field after him, placing a monument behind home plate in recognition.

In 2004, the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference saluted Mazeroski by electing him among the inaugural members of their Hall of Fame, alongside Boston Celtic great John Havlicek and Olympic wrestler Bobby Douglas.

Mazeroski was recognized by Major League Baseball by being selected to throw out the first pitch of the Home Run Derby that preceded the 2006 All-Star Game at Pittsburgh's PNC Park, receiving a long standing ovation.