Ken Boswell: Second Baseman On Two Mets World Series Teams (1967-1974)

Kenneth George Boswell was born on February 23, 1946, at Austin, Texas. The six foot, left hand hitting infielder attended his hometown Sam Houston College on a baseball scholarship. At first, he went to school after being urged to do so by his parents, but He quickly realized he was tired of school & just wanted to play baseball.

At the time, MLB rules required a player who started school, must graduate before signing a pro contract. But legendary Mets scout Red Murf found a way around those rules & signed Boswell in fourth round of the 1965 draft. In that same draft the Mets picked up Les Rohr (first round), Jim McAndrew (11th round) & Nolan Ryan (12th round). 

Quotes- Ken Boswell: “I signed for $8,000, which was a lot less than I would have gotten before the draft, but I guess it was more than my dad ever made,” Boswell said. “Actually, I was awfully lucky to be drafted by the Mets, because they needed ballplayers, and I didn’t have to wait very long before being called up." 

In the minor leagues he hit well, hitting safely in his first 19 games in the New York / Penn. League. There he won the Rookie of the Year while batting .285. 

He struggled defensively in the infield, earning a good hit, poor glove title. After the 1966 season, the Mets had traded away regular second baseman Ron Hunt, with intentions of giving Boswell the position. But he got then got called away for military duty, where he'd spend his spring & summer. 

Mets Career:  On September 18, 1967, he made his MLB debut in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Shea Stadium. Boswell started at third base, hitting a sac fly with a double off Jim Brewer, and driving in two runs in the Mets 7-2 win. 

Boswell hit safely in three of his first four games & added had a three hit day in Los Angeles on September 29th.

He hit his first career HR at Dodger Stadium the next day, off Don Drysdale, on the next to last game of the season. In the last game of the '67 season he booted a grounder, allowing the Dodgers to score two runs & win the game 2-1. 

Boswell said many of the guys were happy the game ended, because they all had plane tickets to get away & didn't want to play extra innings. That's the way the attitude was in the clubhouse, until Gil Hodges changed all that the next season.


 In the 1968 off season Boswell injured his ribs, after falling on ice at his home. He entered Spring Training, battling Bobby Heise for the second base job. New manager Gil Hodges also acquired Al Weis & Phil Linz who all shared the playing time. 

1968: Boswell was the Mets opening day second baseman for new Mets manager Gil Hodges. He started out the season which began on the west coast, getting two hits in each of his first two games, including an RBI sac fly in Jerry Koosman's 4-0 shut in Los Angeles. Boswell began with a six-game hit streak, hitting safely in nine out of eleven games, with twelve hits. Starting April 28th, he hit solo HRs in consecutive games at Cincinnati. 

Walk Off Win: On May 21st, in a long four hours twenty-five-minute game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Shea Stadium, Boswell got an infield hit with two outs in the bottom of the 17th inning. Infielder & former Met, Chuck Hiller made a bad throw to first base allowing Tommie Agee to score the game's winning run. 

Boswell opened June with a five-game streak. On June 24th he suffered a broken finger which sidelines him for two months.

When he returned, he got back into a groove, hitting safely in his first two games. On August 28th he had a three-hit game driving in a run in the Mets 5-2 loss to the Reds. In September he did not hit any HRs nor drive in any runs, but he did hit safely in all but five games the entire month. He finished the year hitting safely in 15 of twenty games in September. 

He also settled in to playing a steady second base, posting a .965 fielding %, making a quality double play partner for All Star Bud Harrelson at short stop. Boswell was named a Topps All Star rookie playing in 75 games, batting .261 with four HRs, seven doubles, 37 runs scored 11 RBIs & a .300 on base %. 

1969 Championship Season: In the Mets 1969 Championship season he started the year by making three errors in the Opening Day loss to the Montreal Expos. It was the first game in the expansion Expos history making it the first international game in MLB history, as Canada was brought into the major leagues.  

In the 1st inning Boswell's error had Gary Sutherland reach first base. Later when Bob Bailey doubled Boswell's throwing error on the relay allowed Mack Jones to score as well, leading it to two unearned runs scoring off Mets pitcher Tom Seaver.  Boswell made another error on a groundball on the 5th inning as well. The Mets lost their eighth opening day in a row, this time in a historic game, against the expansion Montreal Expos. Boswell did have two hits in the game.

The next day he hit his first HR of the season collecting two hits &a walk in the Mets 9-5 win. He had a good start to 1969, hitting safely in 19 of his first 23 games, giving him a .308 average. 

On April 30th, in tight game in Montreal, Boswell broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the 9th inning with an RBI base hit off Mike Wegener leading to a Tom Seaver 2-1 win over the Expos. 

In the first game of a May 4th double header at Wrigley Field, Boswell broke a 1-1 tie with a 5th inning base hit off the Cubs Bill Hands. The Mets would win the game 3-2, in another Tom Seaver victory. In the second game Boswell's double, scored the first run of the game as the Mets went on to another 3-2 win & a sweep of the Cubs in Chicago. 

This win sent an early message to their NL East rival, that New York was going to be for real. 

Army Reserves: In June, Boswell served two weeks in the military reserves.

He returned during a road trip to Philadelphia, collecting two hits & a 7th inning walk. Pitcher Bill Champion then balked, followed by J.C. Martin's RBI single scoring Boswell with the game's only run, in Gary Gentry's two hit shutout.

 On June 19th he helped the Mets complete a series sweep of the Phillies, with a 9th inning base hit off Turk Farrell, driving in Don Clendenon & Ron Swoboda with the games winning runs. 

The next day in front of 54,083 fans at Shea Stadium, Boswell had two more hits, including an RBI triple off the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Famer: Bob Gibson, helping Nolan Ryan to a win, getting his record to 3-0. 

Big Game vs First Place Cubs: On July 8th in an epic battle against the first place Chicago Cubs, Boswell hit his famous 9th inning pinch hit bloop double off future Hall of Famer; Ferguson Jenkins. With the Mets down 3-1 in the bottom of the 9th inning, Boswell blooped a pop fly to short left. The ball fell in front of Cubs outfielder Don Young & the hustling Boswell ended up on second base. 

Donn Clendenon would also reach base & Cleon Jones would then double bringing in Boswell & Clendenon to tie it. Ed Kranepool ended the game with a walk off base hit, as Don Young made another miscue in left field. Art Shamsky who had walked, came home & scored the game's winning run, as the Shea crowd of 55,000 went wild. The walk off win brought a huge excitement to Mets fans & all of baseball were believing more in those Miracle Mets. 

By July the Mets/ Cubs rivalry was heating up as the young Mets were proving they were really contenders. On July 15th Boswell hit a 5th inning HR off Dick Selma in a 5-4 Mets win. The next day he had a pair of hits, helping New York take two of three from the Cubs at Wrigley Field. On the year Boswell did well against the Cubs, batting .365 with 9 RBIs against them. 

Gil Hodges Doghouse: Boswell then made a few base running mistakes as well as some mental fielding errors, which put him in Gil Hodges doghouse. In the first game of the July series at Wrigley Field he was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double, in the 8th inning of the 1-0 loss. 

He also was thrown out at third base trying to advance on an infield ground ball in the 12th inning of a one run loss against the Cincinnati Red a week later. 

At the end of July, he made crucial errors in two games at Shea Stadium resulting in losses to the Astros. Houston went on to sweep the series in the heat of the pennant race. Boswell was sat down, spending some time on the bench, the lesson seemed to work. 

Boswell remembered Hodges: “He had such a high level of concentration; he was thinking about the game all the time, and he tried to get the players to think that way. Gil changed the whole attitude on the club. He was a real disciplinarian, too.” 

Pennant Race: Boswell did get hot down the pennant stretch, batting over .400 from the end of August through September, hitting safely in 21 out of 27 games. In the first eleven games of September, he played in, Boswell drove in eight runs., that month he dove in 11 runs batted .378 with nine extra base hits & 11 walks.

On September 2nd, Boswell collected three hits in an exciting win over the Dodgers. The Mets had a 5-1 lead, but L.A. came back with three runs making it a 5-4 win, making Boswell's hit in the 8th inning the insurance game winner.

On September 9th, he drove in two runs in the bottom of the 1st inning with a two run double off Fergie Jenkins in a big 7-1 win over the Cubs bringing the Mets to within a half game of first place.

Walk Off Hit & Look Who's #1: On September 10th, in the bottom of the 12th inning in the first game of a double header with the Expos, Boswell drove a base hit to centerfield off pitcher Bill Stonemann bringing in the walk off run. in the 3-2 win In the second game, Boswell had three hits with an RBI & a run scored in the doubleheader sweep. It was on this historic night, the Mets moved into first place after the 7-1 victory. 

The next night he drove in a run in his fourth straight game, with a 5th inning double in the Mets 4-0 win over the Expos. He closed out the regular season with two RBIs in a Mets loss at Chicago.

 During the Amazing 1969 season, Boswell was the team’s main second baseman playing 96 games at second base in a platoon with Al Weis. Playing mostly against right hand pitchers he hit .290 against them as opposed to .226 against lefties.

Boswell hit .265 with runners in scoring position driving in 24 runs. He also tied for the team lead with ten game winning RBIs. Boswell hit a career high .279 and leading the club with seven triples (9th in the NL). He hit 14 doubles, with three HRs, 32 RBIs and 48 runs scored playing in 102 games overall.

He posted a .959 fielding %, making 18 errors turning 51 double plays, mostly due to the superb play of Buddy Harrelson at short. 

1969 Post Season- NLCS: In the 1969 NLCS, Boswell tore up the Atlanta Braves pitching staff. He played in all three games batting .333 (4-12) hitting two HRs and leading the team with five RBIs. 

In Game #1 he drew a walk in the 2nd inning & scored when a Phil Niekro knuckleball got passed catcher Bob Didier with Bud Harrelson at the plate. 

In Game #2 at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, Boswell hit one of three Mets HRs on the afternoon. It was a two-run, 4th inning shot off Milt Pappas in the Mets 11-6 romp. 

In Game #3 at Shea Stadium, he homered again with a two-run shot off Pat Jarvis in the 4th inning putting the Mets up 3-2. 

In the 5th inning he singled off George Stone driving in Cleon Jones with the Mets sixth run in the Mets 7-4 win, completing the Series sweep. 

Trivia: Bullpen Coach Joe Pignatano dropped Boswell’s HR as it landed in the right-field bullpen. Boswell jokingly told him after the game “Hey, Piggy, you’ve got hands like me.” 

Tommie Agee Ken Boswell & Cleon Jones

1969 World Series: Due to Gil Hodges platoon system & the Baltimore Orioles left-handed pitching rotation, Boswell only saw action in one game of the 1969 World Series.

In Game #3 at Shea Stadium, Boswell went 1-3 with a 6th inning single off Jim Palmer. He came around to score the Mets forth run on Jerry Grote's RBI double to left field.

Trivia: After the first two World Series games, he returned to New York with his father showing him around New York city. 

He pointed out the girls in their see through bras & short miniskirts, which amazed his dad. After the Mets won the World Series, fame came to Boswell as well as the other players. 

Texas Bachelor In the Big City: He was still a bachelor and received a lot of mail from girls asking him over for dinner. Boswell remembers: "The girls from Brooklyn keep writing and inviting me to go try their spaghetti, but they'd have a better chance if they made spareribs. When I get home to Austin they are going to have a Welcome Home, Ken Boswell Parade. I hope they mean me and not some other Ken Boswell." 

After the Championship: During Spring Training 1970, Manager Gil Hodges told Boswell he believed he could be a solid second baseman. Boswell worked hard, to prove his manager right, turning himself into a superior second baseman. He gave all the credit to Hodges for believing in him. 

He was spectacular at times, setting an MLB fielding record going 85 games without making an error at second base. He finished up the year committing just two errors in 450 chances, setting a Mets fielding record at the position, leading the league with a .996 fielding %. 

He had a good start at the plate as well, batting .293 in April & getting to the .300 mark going into mid-May. 

On May 30th the Mets rallied from being down 3-1 to the Houston Astros. After New York tied the game & knocked out pitcher Larry Dierker, Boswell hit an infield single off Ron Cook, scoring Cleon Jones from third base in what turned out to be the winning run. 

In June he then hit safely in 10 of 12 games while driving in ten runs in the month. On Saturday June 19th, he had a three hit, three RBI Day with a two run HR off the Phillies Lowell Palmer in the Mets 13-3 win in front of 44,000 at Shea Stadium. 

On June 23rd at Wrigley Field, he had himself another multi-RBI game where he drove in three runs. In the top of the 9th inning, he hit a two out two run game tying bases hit off the Cubs Phil Regan.

The Mets won the game in the 10thinning.

 In mid-July he went down with an injury, missing three weeks of action. 

Starting on August 16th, Boswell collected 11 hits over a five-game stretch while driving in five runs. 

On an early September home stand, he had another three RBI Day on September 8th in a 10-5 win over the Montreal Expos. Then on September 10th he had a big four hit day with a triple in a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. 

In 1970 the Mets fell short of another Eastern title in the final weeks of September. Boswell played in 105 games batting .254, with five HRs 13 doubles 2 triples 44 RBIs, a career high 41 walks with a .331 on base % & a .676 OPS.

1971: This year he was rewarded for his efforts the previous year, by seeing more playing time, 116 games overall with 109 games at second base. He posted a .973 fielding %, making 12 errors in 437 chances turning a career high 56 double plays. 

On the downside, Boswell didn't hit much, although he did have some big game hits. 

In April he hit just .208. On May 21st his 2nd inning triple off the Braves Pat Jarvis brought in two runs in the Mets 6-2 win.

On May 22nd with the Mets down 7-6 in the bottom of the 10th inning to the Atlanta Braves, Boswell tied up the score with a single off Cecil Upshaw. The Mets won it in the bottom of the 11th on a Donn Clendenon walk off base hit. 

On June 28th his two-run single in the top of the 8th inning off Philadelphia's Rick Wise broke a 1-1 tie and proved to be the winning runs in the Mets 3-1 win. 

In mid-July he drove in eight runs from July 15th through July 25th in the midst of a ten-game hit streak. On July 25th, his bottom of the 8th inning single put New York up 7-4 against the Astros. Houston scored two more runs & Boswell's run proved to be the insurance run that gave the Mets the 7-6 win. 

In a long early August two week road trip, Boswell had a ten-game hit streak, drove in ten runs & hit three HRs getting his average to its highest point of the season at .283. Two of his HRs came in back-to-back losses at San Francisco.

Grand Slam HR: On August 7th he hit his first career grand slam HR & had a five RBI day. In the top of the 1st he hit a two run double off Ron Reed putting the Mets up 3-0. In the 2nd inning his grand slam HR came off the Braves Mike McQueen. It was Boswell's third HR of the year. On the day he had four hits & drove in five runs in the Mets 20-6 romp over the Braves in Atlanta.

In September his season was cut short by a shoulder injury, when he couldn’t even swing the bat due to the pain. He finished up hitting .273 with a career high 20 doubles. Boswell hit five HRs with 40 RBIs 36 walks & a .334 on base % & a .701 OPS.

1972: At the end of Spring Training 1972, Boswell & the Mets were stunned by the sudden passing of Gil Hodges. A short Players strike delayed the season, but things resumed with Yogi Berra being named Mets manager. 


On May 29th, with the Mets down 6-3, Boswell hit a top of the 9th inning three run HR off the Cardinals Tony Cloninger in St. Louis, leading New York to a 7-6 win. In mid-June he hit HRs in back-to-back Mets losses, while hitting three HRs that week.

n the month of July, he had just one hit in 34 at bats, spending a bit of time on the bench to regroup. On August 9th, he drove in three runs with a solo HR off the Cards John Cumberland in an 8-3 Mets win. 

Boswell struggled at the plate finding himself under the .200 mark, most of the year until mid-September. He did show a power surge from August 27th through September 8th, hitting four HRs, with two multi-RBI games as well as a four-hit game in Houston on September 2nd. 

The Mets finished third that year at 83-73. Boswell hit a career high nine HRs, but his average fell to .211 & his on base % was just .274. 

The Mets used utility man Ted Martinez more at second base that season & they were concerned about Boswell’s shoulder entering the 1973 season. In the off season they acquired All Star second baseman Felix Millan from the Atlanta Braves (along with pitcher George Stone) in exchange for Gary Gentry & Danny Frisella. This limited Boswell to a utility player & pinch hitter.

1973 Mets Pennant Season: In the Mets 1973 NL Championship season, Boswell saw action in just three games at second base, behind the steady Millan who played in 153 games at the position. Boswell also played 17 games at third base behind Wayne Garrett.

Pinch Hitter: Boswells saw the most playing time that year as a pinch hitter where he was succesful. He was 12-51 as a pinch hitter; bashing the only two pinch hit HRs the team had that year. Both HRs came in Mets losses on the road, at Los Angles & Chicago. 

On April 22nd in the first game of a double header with the Expos, Boswell pinch hit for Tom Seaver in the bottom of the 9th, with the Mets down 1-0. He singled to center off one of the game's best relievers, Montreal's Mike Marshall. Jim Fregosi scored the tying run, but the Mets would end up losing the game after former Met; Tim Foli, singled off the Mets reliver Phil Hennigan in the 10th inning. 

In the second game of the double header, he would enter the game in the 6th inning & came through with another pinch-hit RBI single.in the Mets 13-3 blow out.

In May during a four-game stretch at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Boswell had two more successful pinch hit at bats. 

On May 24th, the Mets & Dodgers played a 19th inning five hour & forty-two-minute marathon. The game was tied 3-3 in the top of the 19th when Rusty Staub broke the tie with a double off Doug Rau scoring Cleon Jones. Boswell then came in to pinch hit & singled home Staub giving the Mets a 5-3 lead. He would score on Ed Kranepool's double & the Mets went on to an eventual 7-3 win. 

On May 27th, the Dodgers Don Sutton had shut out the Mets into the 8th inning & was holding on to a 2-0 lead. Boswell belted a pinch-hit HR to bring the Mets within a run, but they lost it 2-1.

In June he went just 2-12 as a pinch hitter. In July he was 0-8 in the role but had two multi hit games in times where he started a game. On August 1st he got a start at third base & he drove in a pair of runs with a two-hit game, at Pittsburgh in a 5-2 win over the Pirates. 

On August 26th Boswell had a bottom of the 9th inning, two run pinch hit single off San Francisco's; Elias Sosa, but the Mets fell short by a run losing to the Giants 5-4. Boswell had a quiet September playing in just 11 games but did go 3-8 with three walks & one RBI. as a pinch hitter. 

Ball on the Wall Game: On September 20th the Mets won a big game on their way to taking over the NL East. In the bottom of the 9th inning at Shea Stadium, the Mets were won 3-2 to the first place Pittsburgh Pirates. Bowell led off the inning with a pinch-hit base hit off Bob Johnson, representing the tying run on base. 

He would score on Duffy Dyer's double sending the game to those famous extra innings in which the Mets won 4-3. In the 13th Boswell drew a walk to reach base again.

On the season he was still solid on the field making only one error in 37 chances (.973 fielding %). Overall, as a reserve player he appeared in 76 games, batting .227, with two HRs two doubles 14 RBIs & a .303 on base %. 

1973 Post Season-NLCS: Boswell went 0-1 in the 1973 NLCS against the Cincinnati Reds. 

1973 World Series: In the World Series against the Oakland A's he got into three games as a pinch hitter.

World Series Pinch Hit Record: Boswell went a perfect 3-3 (.1000) as a pinch hitter tying a pinch-hit World Series record. 

In Game #1 he led off the 7th inning with a single to right field off future Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers. He was erased on a double play in the Mets 2-1 loss. 

In the 8th inning of Game #6 at Oakland, he singled to right field & advanced to third base on Wayne Garrett's base hit. 

He then scored a run-on Felix Millan's base hit, bringing the Mets within a run, although they would take a 3-1 loss.

In Game #7 Boswell singled again off Rollie Fingers in the 7th inning, putting two men on with two outs. Wayne Garrett struck out looking to end the inning. The Mets went on to a 5-2 loss losing the Series in seven games.

Post Season Career: In his post season career, Boswell played in eight games, batting .421 (8-19) with two HRs two runs scored & five RBIs. 

After the Pennant: In 1974 manager Yogi Berra said he wanted Boswell for his bat & thought about using him in the outfield. That lasted just seven games, but he did see more time at second base (28 games) & third base (20 games) . Boswell was once again, one of the teams main pinch hitters, going 9-42 in that role (.213).

On May 5th, he pinch hit for Bud Harrelson, in the bottom of the 9th, with the Mets down by a run against the San Diego Padres. Boswell tapped a base hit up the middle, scoring Teddy Martinez with the tying run. New York won it on a John Milner walk off HR. 

On August 5th he hit a 7th inning, two run pinch hit HR off Montreal’s Dennis Blair, to tie the game the Mets would go on to win 10-4. 

In 96 games he hit just .216 with two HRs six doubles 15 RBIs & a .277 on base%. 

Declined Tour of Japan: That winter the Mets took a baseball tour of Japan. Boswell, Duffy Dyer & Ray Sadecki all declined going on the trip. That winter GM Joe McDonald traded all three of the players away. Many felt it was because they didn't make that trip.

Traded: On October 29, 1974, he was traded back near his home in Texas, going to the Houston Astros in exchange for Bob Gallagher. 

 Mets Career Stats: Boswell left the Mets as the all-time club leader in games played at the second base position up to that point in time. In 390 games at the position, he is now sixth all time. Boswell spent eight seasons with the Mets, batting .250 with 528 hits, 31 HRs 74 doubles 15 triples 26 stolen bases 193 RBIs & a .312 on base %, appearing in two World Series & winning a championship.

Post Mets Career: He played for the Houston Astros for three seasons playing third base, second base & as a pinch hitter through 1977. In 1975 he played in 86 games batting .242 with 21 RBIs. In 1976 he hit .262 with eight doubles & 18 RBIs, becoming one of the league’s top pinch hitters. He had twenty pinch hits & batted .308 in that role setting a team record that stood until 2006. In his final season he played in 72 games batting just .216.

Career Stats: Boswell finished his eleven-season career hitting .248 with 625 hits 31 HRs 91 doubles 19 triples 27 stolen bases 266 runs scored & 244 RBIs. He struck out 239 times drew 240 walks with a .313 on base % & a .650 OPS. 

At second, he posted a .979 fielding percentage in 566 games played at the position. He turned 280 double plays making 52 errors in 2440 chances. He also played 82 games at third base & eight games in the outfield. 

Mets Anniversaries: On a sad note, Boswell was not on hand for the 40th anniversary of the 1969 team due to a misunderstanding with the organization. Boswell claims he had a hard time acquiring tickets during the 2006 season when the Mets visited Houston on a road trip. 

He also stated that he wasn’t invited to the team's locker room to meet any of the players, especially manager Willie Randolph who wore #12 in honor of Ken Boswell. He did not attend the 2019 50th Anniversary celebrations either.

#12: Willie Randolph a fellow second baseman claims that he wore the uniform number 12 because Ken Boswell was his favorite Mets player when he was a kid growing up in Brooklyn. 

Family: Ken married his wife Toney in the early seventies.

 Retirement: In his later years Boswell is a rancher & sells antique cars in Austin, Texas.