Oct. 16, 1962 - “One foot higher, and I guess I would have been a hero,” said the San Francisco Giants’ Willie McCovey (right) in the dressing room after today’s 1-0 loss to the Yankees. McCovey’s ninth-inning line drive with two men on base was snared by Bobby Richardson for the final out of the World Series. “I thought I had a hit,” said McCovey. “I knew I hit it good.” Earlier, McCovey had poled the game’s longest shot, a 410-foot triple to center field in the seventh inning. But he was stranded on third when Orlando Cepeda struck out. Giants manager Al Dark, who had predicted his team would win in seven games, took defeat with the same poise he had shown in victory. His first thought was to congratulate the winning manager, Ralph Houk. His second act was to console Jack Sanford, the losing pitcher. Then he shook hands with McCovey and Willie Mays. “I feel the club has had a great year,” Dark said. “I’m as proud as I can be of them. We’ll get ‘em next year.”
