THE WORLD SERIES : OAKLAND ATHLETICS vs. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS : Natural Disaster Also Hit in 1962, Only Other Candlestick Series

The only other World Series held in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park was also struck by a natural disaster and ended up being the longest in history--13 days.

Twenty-seven years ago, the damage and loss of life were more widespread geographically, as a killer storm battered the Pacific Coast from Northern California to British Columbia, leaving postponed baseball games as mere footnotes to the tragedy. A total of 35 deaths were reported from the wind, rain and heavy seas, and property damage was in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

For San Francisco, it was the worst October storm since 1904, just as Tuesday’s earthquake was the worst to strike the City since 1906.

The 1962 World Series, between the Giants and the New York Yankees, opened Oct. 4 at Candlestick Park, where Games 1 and 2 were played. There was one rainout in Yankee Stadium, site of Games 3, 4 and 5, but by Thursday, Oct. 11, when the teams returned to San Francisco with the Yankees holding a 3-2 edge, the deluge had begun.

It rained and howled for three more days, forcing three consecutive postponements.

On Sunday, Oct. 14, the sun burst through, but Candlestick was a mess. It was unplayable. The teams went to Modesto for workouts.

Bob Wolf, who covered the Series for the Milwaukee Journal and is now a sports correspondent for The Times’ San Diego edition, remembers it vividly.

“Candlestick Park had a poor drainage system and it was still a mess when they resumed playing Monday,” he recalled. “The late Harvey Kuenn was playing left field for the Giants. He slipped and slid to make a shoestring catch, and his glove stuck in the mud after he caught the ball.

“I’ll always remember it as one of the most enjoyable World Series I ever covered. There was plenty of time to party in one of the great places for parties.

“There was a drawback, however. It was tough digging for stories on the rainy days because nobody was available. With each rainout the stories became shorter.”

The Giants finally lost the ’62 Series in seven games, the Yankees wining the finale, 1-0, on Tuesday, Oct. 16.

Beneath the headline, “Phew! It’s Over,” Times columnist Jim Murray wrote: “The 1962 World Series expired here Tuesday at 2:29 p.m. of old age. It was not a minute too soon. It was either it or us. . . . It was the longest, wettest and windiest World Series in history.”

It was also a World Series that featured some of the best hitters in the game--Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Roger Maris, Willie McCovey, Bill Skowron and Orlando Cepeda--but it was dominated by the pitchers.

Mantle, the mainstay of the Yankees, was 3 for 25 (.120) and did not hit a home run. His teammate, Maris, who hit a record-breaking 61 home runs the year before, hit one home run in the Series but batted only .174. Skowron hit .222.

Mays, the Giants’ leader, batted .250 but didn’t hit a home run and drove in only one run. McCovey batted .200 and hit one home run. Cepeda hit .158.

The six sluggers went 24 for 128 (.186), hit two home runs and drove in just 10 runs.

Not surprisingly, the last game was a 1-0 pitching battle, the only run scoring when Tony Kubek hit into a double play.

Ralph Terry, now a golfer on the Senior PGA Tour, was the winner. He had an anxious moment in the ninth inning when the Giants had runners on second and third with two out. McCovey hit a booming line drive toward right-center field, but Yankee second baseman Bobby Richardson made a leaping catch to finally end the Series, nearly two weeks after it had begun.