An Idaho boy who beat the Yankees

Sometimes sports heroes come from unlikely places.

Take the case of Vernon Law, right-handed pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Vernon came from Meridian, Idaho, a few clicks out of Boise, and midway between Boise and Nampa.

Law won two games during the 1960 World Series as Pittsburgh turned away the New York Yankees in a seven-game series.

A tall, lanky kid at the time, Law threw from the right, and distinguished himself over a long career, interrupted by three years in the military.

That World Series year, Law ended with a 20-9 win-loss record and had a 3.08 earned-run average.

In spite of some other real baseball achievements, you can’t surpass leading your team to a World Series title.

As was always the case, when an Idaho athlete was performing, there was a buzz in the Idaho Statesman newsroom.

The north wall of the (then) newspaper, was lined with machines clattering away and spewing out the news from all over the world. Several were pounding out reports of the World Series game, updating every half inning. When a new offering was posted, it was preceded by a bell mechanism, which prompted a couple dozen reporters and editors to rush to the machines to see what Pittsburgh and Law were doing.

Law pitched and won the first game against the Yankees 6-4. Four days later, it was Law again, this time beating the Yankees, 3-2. Law made it into the lineup for a third game in the series, but was not the pitcher of record.

The Meridian kid had been heavily recruited by a number of teams, and signed on with Pittsburgh in 1948, settling in for a short stint on a variety of Pittsburgh farm teams.

He got his major league debut with Pittsburgh on June 11, 1950, and 10 years later became the hero of record, largely responsible for winning two of the games against the Yankees.

Law picked up the nickname “Deacon” due to his being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), and it stuck with him throughout his career.

During the 1960 World Series, Law injured an ankle, causing him later in his career to alter, somewhat, his pitching style.

It was said of him that his fastball baffled hitters because it had a quirk to it. Hitters who faced him would have a better explanation of how his fastball reacted.

In his outstanding 1960 year, Law led the National League in complete games, made the All-Star team and received the Cy Young award for being the outstanding pitcher.

In 1965, Law was named the “Comeback Pitcher of the Year” with a 17-9 record and a 2.15 earned-run average in 29 games.

Law was credited with saying, “A winner never quits, and a quitter never wins,” and “Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lessons afterward.”

There was something about Idaho athletes at the time where fans felt they owned a piece of the athlete.