Harry Bright - 1963 World Series

1963 World Series

Then, in Game 1 of the 1963 World Series, Bright made history when he was sent up as a ninth-inning pinch hitter against Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Bright struck out, enabling Koufax to set a new mark (broken five years later by Bob Gibson) for strikeouts (15) in a World Series game. Said Bright: "It's a hell of a thing. I wait 17 years to get into a World Series. Then I finally get up there, and 69,000 people are yelling — yelling for me to strike out." To compound matters, the game was played in Bright's home ballpark, Yankee Stadium.

Bright struck out again in his only other World Series at bat, and by 1964 he had returned to the minors with the AAA Richmond Virginians. His MLB career ended in 1965, as a pinch hitter for the Chicago Cubs. All told, Bright appeared in 309 MLB games over all or parts of eight seasons, batting .255 with 32 homers and 126 RBI.