A two-time All-Star player, Adcock was known for his long distance home runs, including hitting four in one game in 1954. Adcock ranks third in Milwaukee Braves history in hits, home runs, runs batted in and total bases.[1] 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.
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.[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.[4] 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)[5][6] which stood for 48 years, until broken by Shawn Green in 2002.[7] Of note, the four home runs were hit off four different Dodger pitchers.[4]
Another notable home run endef 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.)[8]
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 1956, 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.[9] Adcock managed two more years in the minor leagues before settling down at his 288-acre (1.2 km2) ranch in Coushatta, Louisiana, to raise horses.
He later died in Coushatta, Louisiana, at age 71 in 1999 as a result of Alzheimer's disease.[5][10][11] He is buried in Social Springs cemetery in Red River parish, 15 miles (24 km) from Coushatta.[12]
^Gregory H. Wolf. "Joe Adcock". SABR Baseball Biography Project. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
^ ab100 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
