This story was written in July 2024 and submitted to the Viewpoint in September 2025 by alum Herb Bounds. Herb passed away at age 93 just a month later.
The true story I am going to tell is without challenge the greatest steal of third base I’ve ever seen. I was the varsity coach for Pasadena College’s [now PLNU] baseball team. We did not have a baseball field on which to practice or play home games. The nearby City of Arcadia allowed us to use their major league-sized field for both practice and home games. The field outside of first base and third base made for plenty of room to catch a foul ball.
We were playing Occidental College. Milt Wallace was our shortstop. He was skilled and knowledgeable in every aspect of baseball, yet he was lacking in one area: running. He was slow. He played starting guard on the basketball team and was very good. There, speed was not as important as quick reflexes.
Milt had made it to second and was taking a good lead off the base. Milt was surprised that there was little effort to hold him tight to the base. On the next pitch, without a steal signal from me, he took off for third. The third baseman received the waist-height throw from the catcher in ample time to tag out Milt. In fact, the ball was in the third baseman’s glove while Milt was still running.
Realizing this, the third baseman stepped toward Milt so that the tag would not be close to the third base. He bent to put his glove on the ground so Milt would slide into it.
The third base umpire was right there, watching. I had a good view from the third base coach’s box. Milt, seeing that he had no chance with a slide, made a split-second decision to dive over the third baseman. The third baseman attempted to tag Milt with an upward swing of the glove as he sailed over.
Truth be told, neither the players nor the umpire or I seemed to know for sure if a tag was made. The third baseman did not help his case by making a second swipe with his glove. Milt had made a remarkable dive, landing on the foul side of the bag. Realizing this, the third baseman swung around and placed his glove next to the bag, but on the foul side of it. Milt would have to come back to the bag and get tagged out.
But that was not the way Milt saw it. He took off running toward home plate.
The third baseman let him get partway there so Milt could not get back to third with a throw home and return throw to third. They had Milt in “the hot box.” The throw home was a bit aggressive and high, sailing over the catcher’s outstretched arm, and going all the way to the backstop — 60 feet from home plate. Milt raced home, touched the plate, and headed for the dugout. Our team’s players were going wild. One yelled, “He missed third base!”
Everyone suddenly realized it was true. Milt’s dive had carried him over and beyond the bag.
Everyone suddenly realized it was true. Milt’s dive had carried him over and beyond the bag.
Milt headed back, retouched home plate, and took off for third. The catcher had by now retrieved the ball, heard the screams, and readied himself for a long throw to third. His throw had to travel 90 feet between bases plus 60 feet from home plate to the backstop.
Of course, it was a little less than that 150 feet as the catcher had moved a bit away from the backstop.
Milt was running as fast as he could, but he could not outrun a thrown baseball. The catcher put some muscle behind his throw and fired it over the head of the third baseman.
By now, the left fielder had approached to back up the play. Catching the ball on the fly, he made a good relay throw to the third baseman who caught the ball facing the outfield, whirled around to tag a sliding Milt.
It was very close.
The umpire was right on top of things and made his ruling. Safe. Milt had stolen third base.
I don’t remember which team won the game. Does it matter now?
