Hard-Luck Harvey Haddix and the Greatest Game Ever Lost

by Lew Freedman

He pitched a baseball game that was more than perfect, and yet he lost. Southpaw Harvey Haddix had logged a solid but unspectacular career by the time he took the mound on May 26, 1959. Facing the Milwaukee Braves, he set down the first 36 batters in a row, or 12 innings' worth--a perfect game three innings longer than the norm. But his Pittsburgh Pirates couldn't score, either, and Haddix lost in the 13th inning on a controversial play. This book recounts Haddix's one-of-a-kind performance and describes the official decisions that changed the historical record.

Genres: Baseball

218 pages, Paperback

First published May 13, 2009

Reviews

[Scott Holstad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up hearing about Harvey Haddix (especially as a Pirates fan) and the "greatest" game ever pitched -- that ended up in a loss. I've read a lot of stuff mentioning it or alluding to it or even have seen some on TV mentioning it over the years, but while I knew certain facts, I never really had context until I read this. And I am thus grateful for this book. The greatest pitching performance in history (to end with a loss) occurred before I was born, so unfortunately I obviously never witnessed anything from that year nor read headlines from that year live, but the game, and Haddix himself, is/are so legendary that I've always felt like I DID get to experience it in a way, although it has always been an imagined construct based on description, facts, stats, etc. In a word, sterile. So, for those of you who remember or remember hearing about this incredible game, this is a pretty good book to read and it is thus recommended.

[Mike Boyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Book

This was a complete account of Harvey Haddix’s 12 inning perfect game. It contained the action of each inning and in between contained great profiles of the teams and players in that iconic 1959 game. Also a nice full section was given after the end of the game describing the aftermath and retirement life of Haddix along with the box score and stats. Also nicely covered was a section on the Pirates vs Yankee World Series of 1960. The was a great read; and was very thorough. Great job by the author.