54th Anniversary of 'The Home Run'

The following is an excerpt from Joe Overfield's book, "100 Seasons of Buffalo Baseball." It describes the 'The Home Run' that occurred 54 years ago today better than frankly anyone else can. Because, as Joe points out, there were 6,500 at the par that night and at least 50,000 attest to have seen it.

Most of us weren't there to witness the most historic of Bisons' hits. Joe was, so we experience a moment like none other in Bisons history through his words.

"The explosion occurred on the evening of June 14, 1957. It was a mild and windless, and there was a trace of haze in the air. In the fourth inning of the second game of the evening's doubleheader, Columbus Lefthander Bob Kuzava delivered what he later called "a perfect pitch" - a knee-high fast ball over the outside of the plate. Easter swung, timed the pitch perfectly and sent it soaring high and deep to centerfield. As the ball disappeared into the haze, there was a mighty roar from the crowd as many fans realized at once what had happened: Luke Easter had just become the first batter ever to hit a ball over the centerfield scoreboard.

"As Easter completed his lumbering home run trot, dead-pan all the way, the cheering and applause reached decibel levels never previously attained in the old ball park."

Easter hit many home runs during his Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame career. The slugger thought a home run hit on August 5 against Havana a year earlier was actually hit harder (that one was estimated at 550 feet). Easter also repeated the centerfield scoreboard feat on August 15 of 1957. But neither of those or any of his 114 career home runs Easter hit will ever compare to 'The Home Run.'

-the herd-