May 9, 1962 - Just before his Red Sox took the field today, Manager Mike Higgins said: “Stopping these Yankees is tough. There’s no telling when somebody in the lineup busts loose and lets you have it.” That is the way it went as the Bombers, behind the slick pitching of their ace southpaw, Whitey Ford, brought down the Bosox, 4-1, before a chilled but enthusiastic crowd of 6,058. For six innings, Bill Monbouquette, Boston’s crack right-hander, had a no-hitter. But with one out in the seventh, Tommy Tresh bunted a pop fly over Monbo’s head for a single. Then Gary Geiger, the Boston centerfielder, dropped Roger Maris’s drive, and there were two men on base. Monbouquette, fighting back, struck out Mickey Mantle for the third straight time. Then Yogi Berra walked. In the next moment, the axe fell. Elston Howard (pictured last month with Johnny Carson, Roger Maris, and Mickey Mantle), the Yankee catcher, blasted a two-bagger over Carl Yastrzemski’s head in left. That cleared the sacks. An instant later, Bill Skowron singled to left, and Howard scored the fourth tally. That was all there was to it. The game, which took only an hour and 41 minutes, was the fastest of the season.
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