Carroll Hardy

Carroll William Hardy

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 185 lb.
• School University of Colorado
• High School Sturgis Brown High School
• Debut April 15, 1958
• Final Game September 27, 1967
• Born May 18, 1933 in Sturgis, SD USA
• Died August 9, 2020 in Highlands Ranch, CO USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Carroll Hardy played 8 games for the 1955 San Francisco 49ers as a running back.

He is the answer to a trivia question as the only player to pinch hit for Ted Williams; it happened on September 20, 1960, in the last weeks of Williams' career. Williams fouled a ball off his foot in the 1st inning, Hardy took over for him and lined into a double play. He is also the answer to an even more trivial question, as the only player to break a scoreless tie with a walk-off grand slam in the 12th inning (no one has done this in a later inning). It happened for the Boston Red Sox against the Cleveland Indians on April 11, 1962: Hardy drove in Carl Yastrzemski, Frank Malzone and Russ Nixon. It was the first home run that rookie pitcher Ron Taylor had given up.

On May 31, 1961, Hardy also pinch hit for rookie Carl Yastrzemski, making him the only player to substitute for future Hall of Famers, Yaz and Teddy Ballgame. Hardy also hit his first major league home run pinch-hitting for Roger Maris when both were with Cleveland, on May 18, 1958.

Further Reading

• Bill Deane: "A Hardy Pinch-Hitting Average", The National Pastime, SABR, Number 20 (2000), pp. 82-83.

Related Sites

• Carroll Hardy at the SABR Bio Project