June 14: Garry Maddox Wins the Clemente Award

The Main Event

• June 14, 1986 – Garry Maddox, who retired earlier in the year, receives the Roberto Clemente Award for community service. He was recognized in part for his work with the Philadelphia Child Guidance clinic.

Few players in Philadelphia Phillies history combined athletic excellence with genuine community devotion the way Garry Maddox did. A centerfielder whose defensive brilliance became the stuff of legend, Maddox spent twelve seasons as the heartbeat of a Phillies team that reached the sport’s pinnacle — and he left the game as celebrated off the field as he was on it.

From Cincinnati to San Francisco: The Early Career of Garry Maddox

Born September 1, 1949, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Garry Lee Maddox made his MLB debut on April 25, 1972, with the San Francisco Giants. His path to the big leagues was anything but straightforward. After being drafted by the Giants in the second round of the 1968 MLB Draft out of high school, Maddox briefly played minor league ball before enlisting in the U.S. Army, serving from 1968 to 1970 including a tour in Vietnam. When he returned to baseball, he did so with remarkable force. Starting 1972 with the Phoenix Giants of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, he batted .438 with 14 extra-base hits and 22 RBI before being promoted to the big leagues on April 25.

It did not take long for Maddox to get professionally noticed, as San Francisco Giants scout George Genovese discovered his talents in 1967 and led the campaign to draft him in 1968. In San Francisco, Maddox replaced Willie Mays as the Giants’ centerfielder after Mays was traded to the New York Mets. The symbolic weight of stepping into Mays’ shoes was enormous, but Maddox handled it with the same quiet confidence that would define his career.

The Trade That Transformed the Phillies

On May 4, 1975, the Giants sent Maddox to the Phillies in a one-for-one deal for Willie Montañez. At the time, the baseball world was skeptical. Phillies shortstop Larry Bowa asked, “Who else are we getting?” — Montañez was leading the team with 16 RBIs at the time of the deal, while Maddox was hitting only .135.

The doubters were silenced quickly. Maddox debuted with the Phillies appearing in 99 games that season and batting .291 with 109 hits, four home runs, and 46 RBI while earning his first National League Gold Glove Award for superior defensive play in center field. Montanez, for his part, was traded away the following year. The deal stands as one of the most lopsided in franchise history at least among the ones that went in Philadelphia’s favor.

The Secretary of Defense: Eight Gold Gloves and a Legacy in Center Field

Garry Maddox became synonymous with elite defense in center field. Broadcaster Ralph Kiner summed it up perfectly with one of baseball’s most quoted lines: “Two-thirds of the Earth is covered by water. The other third is covered by Garry Maddox.”

His impressive defensive play earned him eight consecutive Gold Glove Awards. Jim Kaat, who knew something about defense after winning sixteen Gold Gloves as a pitcher, said of Maddox, “Only Paul Blair comes close to Garry.” The nickname “Secretary of Defense” was not hyperbole — it was a precise description of what Maddox meant to Philadelphia’s pitching staff and championship ambitions.

Maddox put together a string of successful seasons, batting a career-high .330 in 1976, .292 in 1977, and .288 in 1978, all while winning a Gold Glove in each of those years. Over his twelve years in Philadelphia, he slashed .284/.320/.409 and collected 1,333 hits, 566 RBIs, and 1,921 total bases in 1,328 games played.

The 1980 Championship: A Career-Defining Moment

If one moment defines Garry Maddox as a Phillie, it came on October 12, 1980. The Phillies and Houston Astros were locked in an epic five-game NLCS, with Philadelphia needing a victory in Game 5 to reach their first World Series since 1950. In the deciding Game 5, Maddox came to the plate in the top of the 10th inning with two outs and a runner on third. He sent a screaming line drive up the middle to score Del Unser and give the Phillies an 8-7 lead, putting them just three outs away from a World Series berth. In the bottom of the inning, Maddox caught the second and third outs in center field to secure the victory. Maddox was carried off the field on the shoulders of his teammates after the game.

In the World Series against the Royals, Philadelphia won the title in six games — the first world championship in franchise history. For a team that had suffered so many postseason heartbreaks, the championship validated years of sustained excellence, and Maddox had delivered the most important hit of the entire run.

The Roberto Clemente Award: A Champion Off the Field

Garry Maddox was always more than a ballplayer in Philadelphia. He was a community anchor. When he retired early in 1986 after a 15-year career, he was named the recipient of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award for his work on behalf of local charities. The honor was presented on June 14, 1986, and recognized in part his sustained involvement with the Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic, an institution dedicated to the mental health and emotional well-being of children and families in the Philadelphia area.

Only two previous members of the Phillies had ever won the award: Greg Luzinski in 1978 and Maddox in 1986. The Roberto Clemente Award is MLB’s most prestigious humanitarian honor, given annually to the player who best exemplifies the late Pirates legend’s commitment to community service. Maddox, a quiet and deeply thoughtful man, embodied that spirit as genuinely as anyone in the award’s history.

Life After Baseball

Maddox’s post-playing career reflected the same discipline and community focus he demonstrated throughout his life. He became CEO of an office-furniture company in Philadelphia and was elected a director of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank for the term 2003–2006. He was also a Phillies broadcaster from 1987 to 1989 and 1991 to 1995. He attended Temple University in Philadelphia after his playing days. He was later inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame, cementing his place among the franchise’s all-time greats.

Garry Maddox covered the outfield like no one else of his era. But what he covered off the field — investing in the youth and families of Philadelphia — may be the most lasting part of his legacy.

Philadelphia Baseball Events for June 14

• June 14, 1876 –  George Hall of the Philadelphia Athletics becomes the first major league player to hit for the cycle in a 20-5 romp over Cincinnati; both he and teammate Ezra Sutton hit three triples in the game. Hall will also become the first player to be banned, along with others, for throwing a 3 1/2 game lead with 12 games to go in 1877.
• June 14, 1890 – Owner Al Reach takes over as manager in place of the temporarily blinded Harry Wright. He leads the team to a 4-7 record before yielding to Bob Allen.
• June 14, 1949 – Eddie Waitkus is shot in a Chicago hotel by 19-year old Ruth Steinhagen. She is sent to a mental institution, and Waitkus will return to the majors the following year.
• June 14, 1957 – Signed minor-league free agent Chris Short, who would go on to pitch 14 seasons for the Phillies and win 132 games with a 3.38 ERA.
• June 14, 1959 – Sold catcher Jim Hegan to the San Francisco Giants. Hegan had been acquired from Detroit less than a year earlier and hit .209 in 50 games with Philadelphia.
• June 14, 1965 – Traded catcher/first baseman Gus Triandos to Houston for cash. Triandos was a member of the ill-fated 1964 Phillies and hit .250 in 73 games that season.
• June 14, 1972 – Traded Tim McCarver to Montreal for John Bateman. McCarver would re-sign with the Phillies in 1975 McCarver would rejoin the Phillies after being released by Boston.
• June 14, 1978 – Traded Jay Johnstone and Bobby Brown to the Yankees for Rawly Eastwick. Brown was in the Phillies minor league system at the time and would go on to play seven seasons with the Yankees, Toronto, Seattle, and San Diego.
• June 14, 1983 – Manager Pat Corrales uses a record-tying four right fielders in a 5-4 loss to St. Louis.
• June 14, 1987 – In real life, the Phillies beat Montreal 11-6 thanks to six home runs — three by Mike Schmidt. In the fictional world of the sitcom Seinfeld, the Phillies beat the Mets after a Keith Hernandez error leads to five Phillies runs in the ninth inning.
• June 14, 2004 – Jim Thome hits a home run in the first inning off of Cincinnati’s Jose Acevedo, the 400th of his career. The Phils go on to beat the Reds 10-7.
• June 14, 2009 – The MLB Network show “The Pen,” which follows the exploits of the Phillies’ bullpen, debuts.
• June 14, 2014 – With a fifth inning single, Jimmy Rollins collected career hit number 2,235, moving him past Mike Schmidt to become the Phillies’ all-time hit leader. His teammates added to the occasion by defeating Chicago 7-4.

ICYMI

• Philly Baseball News – Phillies Promote Pitcher Wen-Hui Pan to Reading

Philadelphia Baseball Birthdays for June 14

• Dick McBride (born 1847) – Born in Philadelphia, McBride was a pitcher/right fielder who played for the Athletics from 1871 to 1875. He led the majors with a 1.74 ERA in 1874 when he made 55 starts and threw 55 complete games.
• Charlie Buffinton (born 1861) – Pitched for the Phillies from 1887-1889 and then for the Athletics in 1890, serving as a player/manager.
• Walt Tragesser (born 1887) – A catcher who played with the Phillies in 1919 and 1920, Tragesser hit six home runs and batted .221 in 97 games.
• Frank Withrow (born 1891) – A teammate of Tragesser in 1920 and also played for the Phillies in 1922 after spending the 1921 season in the minors. Hit .203 in 58 games.
• Jerry Spradlin (born 1967) – Pitched for the 1997 and 1998 Phillies with a 4.13 ERA in 145 games out of the bullpen.
• Hector Neris (born 1989) – Pitched for the Phillies from 2014-2021 and recorded 84 saves, posting a 3.42 ERA. Became a free agent and signed with the Houston Astros. He pitched for the Angels, Atlanta, and Houston last season.

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