1977 National League Retirements

The baseball torch is passed from season to season and in some cases, from game to game. In 1911, Cy Young pitched his final Major League game, lost 1-0, and ended the final season of his career with a losing record of 7-9 and an ERA of 3.77. Young's opponent that particular day was a first-year pitcher named Grover Alexander who received the win, added to his league leading shutout total, and went on to begin his career with a winning record of 28-13 and an ERA of 2.57.

Bob Gibson, who was easily one of the most intense competitors of all time, gave up a grand slam to the last Major League hitter he faced, Pete LaCock of the Chicago Cubs. Fifteen years passed and when the two faced off during an old-timer's game, Gibson hit LaCock on his back with a fastball.

Babe Ruth summed it up when he responded to a question about retirement by saying, "A ballplayer should quit when it starts to feel as if all the baselines run uphill." Baseball Almanac is pleased to present a comprehensive list of National League League players who hung up their spikes in 1977.

"I want to hit a routine grounder to second and run all out to first base, then get thrown out by a half step. I want to leave an example to the young guys that that's how you play the game, all out." - George Brett
 

National League Retirements

1977

37 Mike Beard Atlanta Braves P 27
47 Buzz Capra Atlanta Braves P 30
50 Steve Hargan Atlanta Braves P 35
50 Bob Johnson Atlanta Braves P 35
38 Steve Kline Atlanta Braves P 30
16 Craig Robinson Atlanta Braves SS 29
12 Bobby Darwin Chicago Cubs OF 35
44 Dave Giusti Chicago Cubs P 38
36 Ramon Hernandez Chicago Cubs P 37
4 Randy Hundley Chicago Cubs C 35
15 George Mitterwald Chicago Cubs C 32
42 Santo Alcala Cincinnati Reds P 25
33 Ed Armbrister Cincinnati Reds OF 29
53 Joe Henderson Cincinnati Reds P 31
40 Joe Hoerner Cincinnati Reds P 41
38 Gary Nolan Cincinnati Reds P 30
38 Angel Torres Cincinnati Reds P 25
17 Ken Boswell Houston Astros 2B 32
19 Craig Cacek Houston Astros 1B 23
21 Willie Crawford Houston Astros OF 31
16 Jim Fuller Houston Astros OF 27
46 Doug Konieczny Houston Astros P 26
11 Rob Sperring Houston Astros SS 28
44 Al Downing Los Angeles Dodgers P 36
21 Ed Goodson Los Angeles Dodgers 1B 30
22 Boog Powell Los Angeles Dodgers 1B 36
45 Stan Wall Los Angeles Dodgers P 26
37 Hank Webb Los Angeles Dodgers P 28
32 Santo Alcala Montreal Expos P 25
31 Jackie Brown Montreal Expos P 35
21 Larry Landreth Montreal Expos P 23
48 Jeff Terpko Montreal Expos P 27
16 Tom Walker Montreal Expos P 29
19 Luis Alvarado New York Mets 2B 29
34 Bob Apodaca New York Mets P 28
45 Rick Baldwin New York Mets P 24
19 Leo Foster New York Mets 2B 27
11 Pepe Mangual New York Mets OF 26
17 Felix Millan New York Mets 2B 34
33 Ray Sadecki New York Mets P 37
9 Joe Torre New York Mets 1B 37
16 Fred Andrews Philadelphia Phillies 2B 26
23 Ollie Brown Philadelphia Phillies OF 34
43 Mike Buskey Philadelphia Phillies SS 29
17 Terry Harmon Philadelphia Phillies 2B 34
44 Larry Demery Pittsburgh Pirates P 24
24 Tommy Helms Pittsburgh Pirates PH 37
48 Tim Jones Pittsburgh Pirates P 24
23 Ed Kirkpatrick Pittsburgh Pirates 1B 33
34 Dave Pagan Pittsburgh Pirates P 28
39 Vic Bernal San Diego Padres P 24
2 Luis Melendez San Diego Padres OF 28
12 Doug Rader San Diego Padres 3B 33
27 Rick Sawyer San Diego Padres P 30
8 Pat Scanlon San Diego Padres 2B 25
22 Brent Strom San Diego Padres P 29
14 Ken Rudolph San Francisco Giants C 31
51 Tommy Toms San Francisco Giants P 26
16 Jerry DaVanon St. Louis Cardinals 2B 32
49 Larry Dierker St. Louis Cardinals P 31
43 Mike Potter St. Louis Cardinals OF 27
1977 National League Retirements



Find out which players made their Major League debut in the National League during the 1977 season as this group of players bid farewell to their field's of dreams.

Stan Musial ended his Major League career on September 29, 1963. His final hit was a single during the sixth inning off Jim Maloney which drove in his last RBI (which was Curt Flood).

On July 28, 1976, Blue Moon Odom pitched the final five innings of his Major League career. He was relieved by Francisco Barrios in the sixth inning and the two White Sox combined to pitch a 2-1 no-hitter versus the Oakland Athletics.