Joe Adcock

Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox baseball biography Joseph Wilbur Adcock (October 30, 1927 – May 3, 1999) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1950 to 1966, most prominently as a member of the Milwaukee Braves teams that won two consecutive National League pennants and the 1957 World Series.

A two-time All-Star player, Adcock was known for his long distance home runs, including hitting four in one game in Template:Mlby. Adcock ranks third in Milwaukee Braves history in hits, home runs, runs batted in and total bases.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A sure-handed defensive player, at the time of his retirement in 1966, he had the third-highest career fielding percentage by a major league first baseman (.994). During his major league tenure, he also played for the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians and the Los Angeles / California Angels.

His nickname "Billy Joe" derived from Vanderbilt University basketball star "Billy Joe Adcock" and was popularized by Vin Scully. Adcock was inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame in 2022.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Early life

Adcock was born in Coushatta, Louisiana. He attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, playing on its ballclub as the first organized baseball of his life.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Baseball career

As player

He was signed by the Cincinnati Reds; however, All-Star slugger Ted Kluszewski had a firm hold on the team's first base slot. Adcock played in left field from 1950 to 1952, but was extremely unhappy, demanding a trade, which he received.

His first season with the Milwaukee Braves was capped by a mammoth home run into the center-field bleachers at the Polo Grounds on April 29, 1953, a feat which had never been done before in an official MLB game and would only be accomplished twice more, by Hank Aaron and Lou Brock.Template:Citation needed

On July 31, 1954, Adcock became only the seventh player in Major League Baseball history to hit four home runs in a game.<ref name=JW>100 Things Braves Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die: Revised and Updated, Jack Wilkinson, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2019, ISBN 978-1-62937-694-3, p.168</ref> He did so against the Brooklyn Dodgers at their home ballpark, Ebbets Field, also hitting a double off the top of the wall to set a record for most total bases in a game (18)<ref name=bsads>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=ja4hd>Template:Cite news</ref> which stood for 48 years, until broken on May 23, 2002 by Shawn Green.<ref name=gsswhp>Template:Cite news</ref> whose record was tied by Nick Kurtz on July 25, 2025. Of note, the four home runs were hit off four different Dodger pitchers.<ref name=JW/>

Another notable home run ended the epic duel between Lew Burdette and Harvey Haddix on May 26, 1959, in which Haddix took a perfect game into the 13th inning. Adcock did not get credit for a home run, however, because Aaron – who was on first base – saw Félix Mantilla, the runner ahead of him, score the winning run and thought the hit had only been a double and walked back to the dugout, causing Adcock to be called out for passing him on the base paths. (Eventually, the ruling was that instead of a 3-run home run for a 3–0 Braves victory, Adcock got a double and 1 RBI, and the Braves won 1–0.)<ref name=bbhatpi>Template:Cite news</ref>

Adcock was often overshadowed both by his own teammates, future baseball Hall of Famers Aaron and Eddie Mathews, and by the other slugging first basemen in the league, Kluszewski and Gil Hodges, although he did make one All-Star team (1960) and was regularly among the league leaders in home runs. In Template:Baseball year, he finished second in the National League in home runs, runs batted in, and slugging average.

As manager

After concluding his playing career with the Cleveland Indians (1963) and Los Angeles/California Angels (1964–1966), Adcock managed the Indians for one year (1967), with the team registering its worst percentage finish in 21 years (.463, vs. .442 in 1946), finishing eighth in a ten-team league. Following the season he was replaced as Cleveland manager by Alvin Dark.<ref>Adcock fired; Paul assigns Dark to post</ref> Adcock managed two more years in the minor leagues before settling down at his Template:Convert ranch in Coushatta, Louisiana, to raise horses.

Managerial record

Team	Year	Regular season					Postseason
		Games	Won	Lost	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
CLE	Template:Mlby	162	Template:WinLossPct	8th in AL	–	–	–	–
Total		162	Template:WinLossPct		Template:WinLossPct

Death

He later died in Coushatta, Louisiana, at age 71 in 1999 as a result of Alzheimer's disease.<ref name=bsads/><ref name=alsay>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=jaffh59>Template:Cite news</ref> He is buried in Social Springs cemetery in Red River parish, Template:Convert from Coushatta.<ref>Resting Places: The Burial Sites of 14000 Famous Persons, by Scott Wilson</ref>

See also

• List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
• List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
• List of Major League Baseball single-game home run leaders

External links

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• Joe Adcock at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
• Template:Find a Grave