[1] Born in Sturgis, South Dakota, he batted and threw right-handed and was listed as 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and 185 pounds (84 kg).

On May 18, celebrating his 25th birthday, he pinch-hit for Roger Maris and belted his first major league home run, a three-run blast off Billy Pierce, to lead Cleveland to a 7–4 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

Ted Williams, in the final days of his Hall of Fame career, fouled a ball off his foot in the first inning of a game on September 20.

On September 28 at Fenway Park, in his final major league appearance, Williams hit his 521st and last home run off Jack Fisher of the Baltimore Orioles.

Then, on May 31, 1961, Hardy pinch-hit for rookie Carl Yastrzemski, making him the only player in major league history to go in for both future Hall of Famers.

On April 11, Hardy enjoyed another career highlight at Fenway Park when he broke up a scoreless pitching duel between Cleveland's Ron Taylor and Boston's Bill Monbouquette, hitting a 12th-inning walk-off grand slam for a 4–0 Red Sox victory over the Indians.

On the last day of the 1967 season, the Twins lost a chance to clinch the American League pennant to the Red Sox, losing 6–2, at Fenway Park.