Jason Jubb’s Blog

Orioles Nostalgia: The 2nd longest HR at Memorial Stadium? With video

Posted 9 months, 6 days ago
by Jason Jubb

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I know that Frank Robinson was the only player to hit a Home Run completely out of Memorial Stadium, but when I was a kid I someone come within inches of being the second player to do it.

 

April 25^th, 1985 – Eddie Murray digs in against Indians righty Jose Roman and blasts the ball up over the right field foul pole. It was so high that it went over the small corner of the upper deck which came out just past the foul pole. As the ball carried it kept hooking and hooking as it came down toward the back of the bleachers.

 

At the top of the bleachers there was a metal railing which consisted of posts every 5 feet or so, and two metal bars, one at the top and one in the middle. The space between the bars was open.

 

I was sitting behind the Orioles dugout but I followed that ball the whole way as it went soaring into the night and watched it hit the middle bar at the back of the bleachers. If Murray had hit the ball 4 inches further it would have cleared the bar or if he would have hit it 4 inches shorter it would have went below the bar and out of the stadium all together.

 

I have never been able to speak to anyone in order to get confirmation of what I saw. After all I was only 11 and this memory is now 24 years old. Also, Eddie Murray is by far my favorite player of all-time so could my memory be clouded…?

 

Well, after all of these years I was able to find the footage from that memorable night. The night that Eddie Murray may have hit the 2^nd longest Home Run in Memorial Stadium that no one talks about.

 

Did anyone else see it or can you think of one that went farther?

 

Enjoy.

 

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6 Responses to “Orioles Nostalgia: The 2nd longest HR at Memorial Stadium? With video”

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   rickyfrombowie Says:
   June 15th, 2009 at 9:41 am
   

   That was crazy! I might be wrong but did Sam Horn hit one out of the stadium or did he just hit a really far homerun years ago?

   (I think Horn just hit a long one, I was also there when Mo Vaughn hit a HR his 1st year that went way up the bleachers. JJ)

   
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   unitastoberry Says:
   June 15th, 2009 at 10:18 am
   

   Mantle hit a shot off the center field lights which would have made the parking lot. I was there when Frank hit his homer. It was a line drive that just kept rising. I was sitting with my father and uncle in the first base upper deck reserve seats so we didnt get a really good shot of it and no replay in those days. The three best sporting events I attended in person were Franks homer out of The stadium,Unitas last touchdown pass in a Colts jersey off the bench to Eddie Hinton,and Ripken tying Gerhig. Great video.

   
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   Kerry fromBrooklyn Park Says:
   June 16th, 2009 at 7:42 am
   

   I saw Harmon Killebrew hit one to center field that cleared the hedge that they had out there; which was pretty far behind the outfield fence. I was just a kid at the time and the “Killer” was my favorite player. This homerun was featured in many magazines years later as one of the longest homers hit at Memorial stadium.

   
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   justin in highlandtown Says:
   June 18th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
   

   Great footage. “That’s big bad Eddie Murray - hardest hitting man in baseball” - Ken Griffey Sr. to his son when Jr. was a clubhouse kid.

   
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   David Walp Says:
   September 8th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
   

   Luckily I was in the stadium the day Frank Robinson hit it out. Unluckily, we were in the upper deck on the 3rd base side, looking straight down the first base line out to right field. Frank’s blast disappearde beyond the upper deck in left field from our vantage point. We saw scads of people rushing up the bleachers and it took us a while to find out what had actually happened. Wait, there’s more. The pitcher (Camillo Pasquel??) was mad and upset (as you can imagine). Shortly, he was facing Boog Powell. Boog (who batted left-handed) hit a pitch that I swear was headed for orbit. Looking down the right field line we had a perfect view of the shot and it was STILL GOING UP when it hit the facing on the upper deck in right field, just barely foul. That was the hardest hit ball I have ever seen! I honestly believe it would have travelled 600 feet. I’m sure the pitcher’s head would have exploded had it stayed fair. Imagine, just inches from having two (the ONLY two) homeruns hit out of Memorial Stadium in the same inning!

   
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   Chris Says:
   September 18th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
   

   I also saw the Vaughn shot in person - it was so weird because nobody knew who this guy was, and all of the sudden this rookie hits this unbeliveable, crushing drive. It wasn’t a fly ball like Murray’s a liner that kept going up and was like 2 or 3 rows from going out in right field. It was (and still is) the most impressive in-game HR I’ve ever seen.

   I think Vaughn’s HR was farther than Murray’s because Vaughn’s was comfortably to left of the foul pole - more straight away right field. If Vaughn had pulled the ball a little more, it probably would have gone out of the stadium.