A couple of Oklahoma boys playing baseball

On Sept. 9, 1962, two Oklahoma-born baseball players, Howie Goss and Willie Stargell, pinch hit in a Pittsburgh Pirates 6-4 win against the San Francisco Giants.

Neither of the players got a hit.

Howie Goss, born in Wewoka OK, played parts of two seasons in the majors, 1962 and 1963. He was 27 years old when he made his major league debut on April 10, 1962, as a defensive replacement. Goss played in 222 games, posted a career batting average of .216, hit 11 home runs, and knocked in 54. He played all three outfield positions and had a .991 fielding average, handling 331 of 334 chances. He threw out nine base runners. Goss stole nine bases and was caught stealing eight times. Goss was 6-4 and weighed 204 pounds. He died July 31, 1996, in Reno, Nev., at age 61.

Willie Stargell, born March 6, 1940, in Earlboro, Okla., and a graduate of Encinall High School in Alameda, Calif., played a little longer than Goss. Nineteen years longer. His first major league game was as a pinch hitter on Sept. 9, 1962, at age 22. He also had more than 10 times as many games as Goss – 2,360. His career average was .282. He hit 475 home runs and knocked in 1,540. He played all three outfield positions, plus 848 games at first base. His lifetime fielding average was .985. Stargell stole 17 bases and was caught 16 time. He was 6-2 ½ and weighed 225.

Stargell also was named a National League All Star seven times and played in two World Series, 1971 and 1979. He died April 9, 2001, in Wilmington, N.C., at age 61.

Stargell played his entire career with the Pirates. He was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988.