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It probably never crossed Woodside resident and baseball great Willie McCovey’s mind that he might not be remembered after he’d gone. A cove in San Francisco behind the baseball park where the San Francisco Giants play carries his name. Nearby is a larger-than-life bronze statue of him in action at home plate. Sportswriters voted him into the baseball Hall of Fame in 1986, his first year of eligibility.
McCovey, who was 80, died peacefully on Wednesday, Oct. 31, after battling ongoing health problems, according to the team. He played his first season with the Giants in 1959, the same year the team played its inaugural season in San Francisco.
A public celebration of life will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 8, at AT&T Park.
In retirement McCovey was a regular at Giants home games, despite ailments and dependence on a wheelchair, according to the Associated Press.
McCovey will not be forgotten in his adopted hometown (since 1977), where his name graces the baseball field at Woodside Elementary School. At the field’s rededication in 2014, McCovey said he was “very honored” to have the field named after him. “This is one of the thrills of my life, being here with you guys,” he said, according to an Almanac story. “I mean it.”
McCovey, who played first base, did so in the era before the now-intense focus on statistics, but his numbers stood out, as compiled in a summation of his career by Major League Baseball writer Matt Kelly.
In his major-league debut in 1959 up against a future Hall of Fame pitcher, McCovey went 4-for-4 at the plate, including two triples and two runs batted in. With a .354 average for the year, he was named Rookie of the Year.
Ten years later, McCovey was named the National League’s most valuable player, and nine years after that he became the 12th player to hit 500 home runs. McCovey’s 521st and last homer, in 1980, tied him with all-time great Ted Williams. In 1980, the Giants retired McCovey’s number (44), one of only 11 numbers retired by the club, Kelly wrote.
McCovey distinguished himself even in losing. He was at the plate for what proved to be the final at-bat in the Giants’ seven-game contest with the Yankees for the 1962 World Series title. The Giants were behind 1-0 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and two runners on base. McCovey “scorched a line drive off Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry,” Kelly wrote. But he lined it right to the glove of Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson for the final out.
“The Giants came as close to winning as any World Series loser in history, but while McCovey was ultimately out,” Kelly wrote, “his liner became one of the most famous reminders of his All-World power at the plate.”
McCovey hit home runs. He led the National League three times in his 22-year career. At the age of 35, he was traded to the San Diego Padres and hit 20 homers twice as a Padre. At 40 and back with the Giants, he hit 28, winning the Comeback Player of the Year Award, Kelly wrote.
McCovey led the NL in home runs in 1963, 1968 and 1969, and also led the league in RBIs in the latter two seasons. He and fellow Giants great Willie Mays, an Atherton resident, are regarded as “The Willies” and were one of the most dominant power threats in the league when the two played together from 1959 to 1972.
McCovey, known playfully as “Stretch” for his height at 6 feet 4 inches, was the National League’s all-time leader among left-handed batters in home runs until he was passed by another Giants legend – Barry Bonds – in 2001.
McCovey’s humility and leadership was so noteworthy among the Giants community that the team announced the Willie Mac Award in his honor, awarded since 1980. The water behind right field at AT&T Park is named McCovey Cove, and in 2003 the team unveiled the statue of McCovey at China Basin Park on the southern shoreline of McCovey Cove.
“There’s a reason the Giants give an award every year in his name,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in a statement. “He was a man of incredible warmth, humility and kindness, and San Francisco will miss him.”
‘Down-to-earth person’
Woodside’s building official, Joanne Kurz, met with McCovey for projects in 2006 and 2009 that added a new roof, a fence and a gate to his home in the Woodside Hills neighborhood. She described his home as “modest.”
As for McCovey himself, “He is a very down-to-earth normal person,” Kurz said. “When I met him, I could see why everybody was so in awe of him. He was just such a warm person out-of-the-gate when you met him.”
“You know how you can tell when someone is actually listening? … You could tell he was genuinely involved in the conversation. … To me, that’s very endearing,” she said.
McCovey is survived by his wife Estela McCovey; sister Frances; brothers Clauzell and Cleon; daughter Allison; and three grandchildren, according to the Giants press statement.
“I am grateful that my father passed peacefully surrounded by his family and friends while listening to his favorite sports channel,” Allison McCovey said in the statement.
“Every moment he will be terribly missed,” Estela McCovey said. “He was my best friend and husband. Living life without him will never be the same.”
Fans who wish to offer their condolences may send letters to the McCovey family, care of San Francisco Giants, attention Forever 44, 24 Willie Mays Plaza, San Francisco, 94107. Or they may email Forever44@sfgiants.com.
Bay City News Service contributed to this report.
Favorite player growing up. Humble, with a big stick. Watching the Willie’s was a treat.
RIP, Stretch. May your new field be green, and without the winds of your old haunts.