Former San Francisco Giants catcher Nick Testa who passed away in 2018 played for the Giants in 1958 (photo from findagrave.com)
He Was a Giant?
Nick Testa-C-1958-#47
By Tony the Tiger Hayes
A stocky catcher with tree-trunk legs, brawny arms and Greyhound Bus’ equivalent of platinum clientele status, Testa’s entire big league career consisted of one solitary Giants game at Seals Stadium in 1958, played during the first week of the club’s Golden Gate era.
But this was no mundane early season contest, Testa’s one and done MLB pilgrimage took place in a whacky 8-7 Giants victory (4/23/58), against the visiting Cardinals in a tilt that included a roaring San Francisco comeback from a 1st inning 5-0 deficit, and concluded on the Giants’ first ever California walk-off home run.
Reporting in the next day’s paper, San Francisco Examiner sports editor Curley Greive wrote the thrilling win was “the greatest game of the young season with a Dempsey wallop.”
The florid scribe concluded the improbable outcome was similar to “…losing a $10 bill and finding a $20. Like getting a rich inheritance from a miserly uncle.”
This was clearly a memorable day for the Giants and Testa – but his one day of big league action doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of the New York City native’s baseball life.
The scrappy, 5-foot-8, 180 pound Italian-American was on nine different teams in the Giants system before reaching San Francisco in 1958 and, believe it or not, his baseball odyssey was just getting started.
Like a Johnny Cash lyric, Testa went everywhere, man.
Why was he a Giant?
More than 60 years later, it might look like Testa’s out of the blue one and done big league career might have come as the result of winning a poker bet with
Giants owner Horace Stoneham (always a possibility) or could it have been Testa was in possession of compromising photos of San Francisco manager Bill Rigney wearing Dodger Blue shower shoes… and little else.
Seriously, while Testa’s minor league track record was nothing spectacular, the 29-year-old rookie was well liked by the Orange & Black brass and teammates alike who welcomed Testa’s receiving skills, natural leadership abilities and his peppy New York personality.
But he was a slow riser. After signing with the New York Giants organization out of the Bronx’s Christopher Columbus High School in 1947, the catcher had banged around the Giants farm system for about a decade without much of a sniff of the majors.
Then in 1958, Testa surpassingly broke camp with the original Fog City club as a third-string receiver behind veteran Valmy Thomas and rookie Bob Schmidt on the depth chart.
Before & After
The Bronx dweller batted .292 as a first year pro ball in 1947 with the Seaford Eagles of the Eastern Shore League. Giants minor league stops with the Erie Sailors, Idaho Falls Russets (seriously), Jacksonville Tars and Dallas Eagles followed there after before his brief big league breakthrough.
After the backstop’s one game Seals Stadium appearance, Testa was released, but stayed on with the big club as bullpen coach.
“About a month into the season the other two catchers were doing so well, there was no way I was going to play,” Testa told Steve Bitker in his phenomenal 1998 penned book, “The Original San Francisco Giants. .“So (Rigney) says, ‘Would you consider being a bullpen coach the rest of the year?’ And I says, ‘Oh, sure, I’d love to.’ I was probably the youngest bullpen coach in the majors at 29.”
Testa returned the minors in 1959, playing another six seasons, and a year in Japan before retiring from organized baseball.
But in many ways Testa departure from professional baseball was just the start of his baseball experience.
Testa would continue to play, coach and manage for years in adult hardball leagues from New Jersey to Italy and England to Panama and Columbia. Testa once estimated that he had played in 3,000 games for 24 teams.
Testa was also head coach baseball at New York’s Lehman College and served as a popular full-time batting practice pitcher for both his hometown Mets and Yankees.
He Never Had a Bobblehead Day. But…
Testa entered his solitary big league game at Seals Stadium as a pinch-runner in the 8th inning with the Giants trailing the Cardinals 7-3. Testa was stranded on second, then remained in the game to catch incoming reliever Marv Grissom.
During his career Testa was known for his rugged catching skills, quick release and forceful throwing arm.
But Testa struggled behind the dish in his lone big league game.
Testa’s one out peg to nab Cardinals base stealer Don Blasingame, a future Giant, was high and late. The “Blazer” eventually scored on a Stan Musial double.
Later in the inning Testa was changed with a error when he muffed a wind blown foul pop up by Del Ennis.
Trailing 7-4 heading into the bottom of the 9th, the Giants rallied to score four runs to pull out an improbable 8-7 victory with all runs scoring after two outs were recorded by St. Louis.
Two runs scored on a Orlando Cepeda triple down the left field line that bounded over the head of Ennis. Testa was gearing to bat when Daryl Spencer followed by clocking a hanging curve from St. Louis pitcher Phil Clark over the left-field barrier for a game winning round-tripper.
Delirious fans showered the field with rented seat cushions.
The win was bittersweet for Testa. Despite finally playing in a big league game, he never got to chance to take his turn at-bat.
Testa was in the “hole” – two batters down the line- when Spencer bashed his game winning round tripper.
Giant Footprint:
Since relocating to San Francisco in 1958, the Giants have had five “Cup of Coffee” participants, i.e. players who played in one game, and one game only, in the majors: Testa, RHP John Fitzgerald, LHP Marshall Renfroe, RHP Jeff Stember and RHP Dan Slania.
Testa was the first, and the only non-pitcher.
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