Major League Baseball Player. For twelve seasons (1948 to 1959), he played at the outfielder (primarily right-fielder) position with the New York Giants and Chicago White Sox. Born Donald Frederick Mueller, the son of former Major League player Walter Mueller (1922 to 1924, 1926), he attended Christian Brothers High School (Missouri), prior to signing as an amateur free agent with the Giants in 1944. He broke into the Major Leagues with New York on August 2nd, 1948 and recorded 29 hits with an impressive .358 batting average in 36 games. On October 3rd, 1951, at the Polo Grounds, in a game against the Brooklyn Dodgers, Mueller helped set-up one of the most indelible walk-off home runs in baseball history. After Mueller hit a single creating a first and third situation, Whitey Lockman stroked a double. Mueller advanced to third-base injuring his ankle on the slide, resulting in Clint Hartung being required to pinch-run for him. Bobby Thomson followed with his famed home run known as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World", clinching the National League Pennant for the Giants. He would not participate in the 1951 World Series due to his injury. Individually in 1954, he produced his best offensive year, batting .342 and topping the league with 212 hits, while earning All-Star status. During the 1954 Fall Classic, he recorded 7 hits, in 18 at-bats for a stellar .389 batting average, as the Giants defeated the Cleveland Indians to attain the World Series title. He concluded his career with the White Sox (1958 to 1959) and was briefly a member of the 1959 Chicago team which went onto capture the American League Pennant. In 1,245 games, he amassed 1,292 hits, with a .296 lifetime batting average and received All-Star honors a second-time (1955).
Major League Baseball Player. For twelve seasons (1948 to 1959), he played at the outfielder (primarily right-fielder) position with the New York Giants and Chicago White Sox. Born Donald Frederick Mueller, the son of former Major League player Walter Mueller (1922 to 1924, 1926), he attended Christian Brothers High School (Missouri), prior to signing as an amateur free agent with the Giants in 1944. He broke into the Major Leagues with New York on August 2nd, 1948 and recorded 29 hits with an impressive .358 batting average in 36 games. On October 3rd, 1951, at the Polo Grounds, in a game against the Brooklyn Dodgers, Mueller helped set-up one of the most indelible walk-off home runs in baseball history. After Mueller hit a single creating a first and third situation, Whitey Lockman stroked a double. Mueller advanced to third-base injuring his ankle on the slide, resulting in Clint Hartung being required to pinch-run for him. Bobby Thomson followed with his famed home run known as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World", clinching the National League Pennant for the Giants. He would not participate in the 1951 World Series due to his injury. Individually in 1954, he produced his best offensive year, batting .342 and topping the league with 212 hits, while earning All-Star status. During the 1954 Fall Classic, he recorded 7 hits, in 18 at-bats for a stellar .389 batting average, as the Giants defeated the Cleveland Indians to attain the World Series title. He concluded his career with the White Sox (1958 to 1959) and was briefly a member of the 1959 Chicago team which went onto capture the American League Pennant. In 1,245 games, he amassed 1,292 hits, with a .296 lifetime batting average and received All-Star honors a second-time (1955).
Bio by: C.S.
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