When the Indians and Tigers faced off on August 14, 1958, fans got a double dose of one of baseball’s rarest thrills.
The Indians’ Vic Power stunned everyone by stealing home first in the 8th inning to give the Indians a 9-7 lead, and then did it again again in the 10th to win it, 10-9. The last time a player had stolen home twice in a game was 48 years earlier. What made it all the more improbable was Power’s track record—just seven steals in his previous 530 games, and none in 1958 before that night. Detroit writers were quick to point out that even Ty Cobb, the legendary Tiger base thief, had never managed such a feat.
From the archives:
Recap of the game-winning steal along with captioned photo of the first steal
Captioned photo of Ty Cobb stealing home, noting he’d never done so twice in the same game
Detroit sportswriter recap of the stolen bases and Power’s unlikely profile as a base thief