"The Glider" Ed Charles: 1969 World Champion Mets Third Baseman (1967-1969)

Edwin Douglas Charles was born on April 29, 1933, in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Charles grew up in a poor house in a family of nine children in the segregated south. He suffered the serious conditions of racism but overcame his hardships.

Ed was once a school dropout who later educated himself to earning a college degree later in life.

His childhood hero was Jackie Robinson whose Brooklyn Dodgers played Spring Training in Charles childhood town. He would follow Robinson out of the ballpark onto the team bus with the other black children in awe of their hero.

Quotes- Ed Charles: On seeing the Brooklyn Dodgers train pulling away- “So now we’re walking down the platform, looking in the windows trying to see where Jackie was seated. Finally, we come to the right coach, and there is Jackie, playing cards. We waved and, you know, he waved back to us. Then the train starts pulling out, and we start slowly walking with it, just waving to Jackie. The train picked up speed. We kept running and waving till the train got out of sight. Things like that, you know, I can recall so vividly, because they were very special moments in my life and in the life of the country. It was like the Messiah had come.”

The five-foot nine-inch, right hand hitting Charles worked hard to fight his struggles & excelled in baseball. In 1952, Charles was eventually signed by the Boston Braves. 

Military Service: Ed went off to military service during the Korean War from 1953-1955. He served in the US Army ranking Private First Class.

When he returned, he hit 19 HRs & batted .333 at Corpus Christie in the Big State League. Charles got to AAA for good by 1958 & spent four seasons there between Wichita, Louisville & Vancouver.

In 1961 he hot .305 with 13 HRs & 77 RBIs for the Mounties. Overall, he spent eight seasons in the Braves farm system, unfortunately for Charles, the Braves had Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews locked up at the third base position. 


The Poet: Charles wrote poetry of his experiences with racism playing in the segregated South during the 1950's & also wrote poems having to due with baseball. He was eventually traded to the Kansas City A’s in 1962 along with Joe Azcue and Manny Jimenez for Lou Klimchock and future Bronx born New York Met, Bob Shaw.

He got a break getting traded to Kansas City, he was able to see playing time in a town rich in Negro League baseball history. He was one of the top players in Kansas City Athletics history during their brief existence.

Kansas City A's: In his 1962 rookie season he was already 29 years old, Charles had career highs in batting (.288) HRs (17) on base % (.356%) & stolen bases (20), fourth most in the league. 

At third base he was fourth in the league in fielding (.964%) fifth in put outs (145) & assists (285). He drove in 74 runs & had the honor of making the Topps All Star Rookie team as well.

In 1963 he hit .267 & was second on the club to Norm Siebern in HRs (15) . He had career highs in RBIs (79) runs scored (82) hits (162) & doubles (28). The Glider stole 15 bases (7th in the AL) posting a .395 on base %.

On the field he posted the leagues fifth best fielding % (.949). The next season his batting average fell to .241 but he still hit 16 HRs with 25 doubles & 63 RBIs. He was overshadowed by sluggers Rocky Colavito & Jim Gentile in the hitting department, although the Kansas City A’s still finished tenth in the AL.

In 1965 Charles played in 134 games and his power numbers dropped off to just eight HRs, as A's owner Charlie Finley moved the Municipal Stadium's fences back. The Glider had 19 doubles & 56 RBIs while batting .269.

In 1966 he improved his batting average to .286, playing in 118 games with 9 HRs 18 doubles 12 steals & 42 RBIs. 

By 1967 he lost his starting job to Danny Cater & a young Sal Bando was on the horizon just as the A’s were about to move to Oakland.

Charles was the odd man out & on May 10th 1967 he was traded to the New York Mets for Larry Elliot & $50,000 cash.

Mets Career: Ed Charles was 34 years old when he arrived in New York, the oldest player on a very young Mets team that needed a veteran.

He helped to cheer up a young Cleon Jones when he was down on himself, especially when the media said he wasn't giving his all. Charles also helped ease tension with some of the newest players making adjustments to young veterans like Ed Kranepool & Ron Swoboda.

Charles debuted with his Mets uniform #5 on May 12th, 1967, in St. Louis, hitting an RBIs sac fly off former Met Al Jackson.

The Glider Moniker: He became Known as “The Glider “because of his graceful base running and smooth fielding at third base. As he remembers he had made a diving stab at a ball & moments later Jerry Koosman came over to him saying; "You sort of glide to the ball. That's it. You're The Glider from now on.'"

That day Charles got two hits while driving in a run in the Mets loss in St. Louis. He quickly took over the Mets third base spot from the aging Ken Boyer. 

Four Hit Game: On May 22nd, ten days after his arrival Ed had a four-hit game against the Dodgers in a 5-2 Mets win at Shea. Charles would have another four-hit day in August in a loss to the Pirates.

First Mets HR: On June 9th, the Glider hit his first Mets HR coming off the Giants Juan Marichal in an exciting Mets 8-7 Fourth of July victory. 

Walk Off Hit: On June 26th, Charles game to bat as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 9th inning of a 2-2 tie with the Pirates. With Jerry Buchek & John Sullivan on base, Charles singled off Roy Face scoring Buchek to beat the Pirates 3-2. 

Starting on July 26th, Ed drove in runs in four of five games.

Multi BRI Game: On August 1st, he collected three RBIs in a 5-1 win at the Astrodome. Overall, he drove in six runs against Houston during the season.

On August 8th, the Mets were down 2-0 to the Braves starting the bottom of the 9th inning. Ed Kranepool's RBI double made it 2-1 & Charles tied the game with a single off Cecil Upshaw. The Mets won it on Bob Johnson's walk off HR in the 11th. 

On August 13th, Charles hit a two run double off the Pirates Steve Blass, as he & Kranepool providing all three runs in Tom Saver's shut out over the Pirates. The Glider would drive in eight runs against the Pirates during the season, the most against any team.

For the 1968 season Ed hit .238 with 3 HRs 13 doubles 3 triples 32 runs scored & 31 RBIs. He struck out 58 times with 24 walks posting a .300 on base% & .619 OPS playing in 101 games. Ed led the team in with seven hits by pitches (5th most in the NL) & six sacrifice hits (7th in the NL). At third he posted a .944 fielding % making 17 errors turning 16 double plays.

He was actually put on waivers at the end of the year but got invited back to Spring Training 1968. Through his hard work & determination he impressed the new Mets manager Gil Hodges & made the ball club to go north.

1968: In the "Year of the Pitcher" Charles ended up being one of the team’s best hitters.

After a slow start batting just .180 into the start of May, he got hot. 

On May 2nd, Charles hit a two run HR off the Phillies Woodie Fryman, helping Nolan Ryan to a three hit 3-0 shutout. 

Five RBI Game: In his next game Charles hit a two run HR off Chicago's Phil Regan. He added a two-run single & drew a bases loaded walk fiving him a season high five RBI game in a 7-3 win over the Cubs at Shea Stadium.

Walk Off- Multi HR Game: On May 20th, the Glider provided both Mets runs in a 2-1 win over the Pirates at Shea Stadium. In the 4th inning he put up the first run of the game with a solo HR off Bob Veale. Veale & Jerry Koosman went to the bottom of the 9th inning in a 1-1 tie. In the bottom of the 9th, Charles hit the walk off HR off Veale giving his team the exciting 2-1 win.

The Glider began June with HRs in back-to-back Mets losses to the NL Champion Cardinals.

Multi HR Game: On June 6th, he had his second multi-HR game, hitting a pair off the Cubs Ken Holtzman at Wrigley Field. His three RBIs led the Mets to a 5-3 win. In the first six games of June, he hit .526 with ten hits 4 HRs & 7 RBIs.

From June 18th to June 24th, in a five-game stretch, Charles collected another ten hits while driving in eight runs.

Multi RBI Games: On June 21st, in the second game of a double header with the Dodgers, Charles hit a two run double & added an RBI single leading the Mets to a 5-3 win. Three days later he had another multi RBI game, driving in three runs & finishing up an eleven-game hit streak in a Mets loss at Cincinnati.

His hitting continued through the summer, keeping his average above .300 thru July. In the month Charles had six multi-hit games & hit safely in 11 of 15 games. 

Multi RBI Games: From July 25th -July 27th he had three multi hit games in a row, collecting seven hits topped off with a two run HR off the Reds Gerry Arrrigo in a 5-2 Mets win at Shea.

In August his average fell below .300 falling to .287. The Glider only drove in four runs & hit just one HR.

In a seven-game stretch in late September, Ed hit three HRs & drove in seven runs as he collected eight hits. In a September 20th, double header sweep of the Phillies at Shea Stadium, his 8th inning RBI single off Turk Farrel tied the game up, in which New York went on to win in the 8th inning. The Glider drove in runs in both ends of the twin bill.

In 1968, Charles led the club in HRs (15) & batting a solid .276. Charles had 102 hits, with 11 doubles a triple, 41 runs scored & 53 RBIs. He struck out 57 times with 28 walks, posting a .328 on base % & .761 OPS (second on the club to Cleon Jones). Defensively, Ed helped solve the Mets third base problem by playing a good defense in 106 games at the hot corner, posting a .954 fielding % (5th best in the NL).

1969 World Championship Season: In the 1969 Championship season, Charles was 36 years old, one of the oldest guys on the club. His experience made him a mentor of the young ball club. 

Ed said he remembered back to two years when the younger guys would laugh after losing a game.
But now with Gil Hodges at the helm, there was a new culture & mind set on the team. This was now a serious playing baseball team & a loss was no laughing matter. 

At the start of the season the Mets, always looking for longevity at the third base spot in those days, were hoping a young Amos Otis could transition to take over the position from Charles as the season went on, but that never worked out. Amos Otis was a natural outfielder & the move was a major mistake. He went on to an All-Star career in the outfield in Kansas City.

Charles ended up played against lefties in Gil Hodges platoon system, sharing time with a young Wayne Garrett. In 52 games at third base, Charles posted a .946 fielding % turning nine double plays. 

At the plate as his age was catching up to him, through his first ten games he was batting just .128 with one RBI. Ed didn't get over the .200 mark until 38 games player at the end of June.

Multi RBI Game: On May 31st he had his biggest RBI game of the year as he drove in four runs, providing all the offense in a 4-2 win over the Giants. In the bottom of the 4th, the Glider hit a three run HR off future Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry. He later added an RBI single off Ron Herbel for an insurance run. It was the team's third straight win during what was to be an eleven-game winning streak. 

On June 29th he had another multi-RBI game driving in a pair in a 7-3 over the Pirates at Shea. On July 6th, as the Mets went to Pittsburgh, Ed homered off Luke Walker in the 5th inning, tying up the game & helping lead New York to an eventual 8-7 win.

Mets Clinch the NL East: On September 24th, 1969, Charles had one of the biggest moments of his career. In the Mets five run 1st inning, he hit the last HR of his career, coming off the Cardinals future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton, giving the Mets a 5-0 lead.

It was a two-run shot helping the Mets win the game while clinching the NL Eastern title at Shea Stadium, in front of 54,000 fans. 

It was the last regular season game of his Personally for Charles, after eight seasons on losing teams, he was playing in the post season.

Overall, for the 1969 Amazing Mets, Charles appeared in 61 games, batting .207 with three HRs, eight doubles, one triple, four stolen bases 21 runs scored & 18 RBIs. He struck out 31 times walked 18 times in 169 at bats, posting a .286 on base% & .605 OPS. 

But the Glider was more important to his team than the stats show, as many of the young players acknowledged his veteran leadership helped turn them into Champions.

1969 Post Season: In the postseason, he platooned at third base with Wayne Garrett in the usual situations. Charles didn't see any action in the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves right-handed pitchers but did get a chance to play in the World Series.

1969 World Series: Ed Charles dream came true, as he played in four World Series games going 2-15, for a .133 average.

In the Game #1 loss at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, Ed went 0-4. In Game #2 he doubled off Dave McNally in the 7th inning for his first Series hit. 

In the top of the 9th inning with the score tied at 1-1, Charles hit the first of three consecutive singles off McNally. When he was on first base, he got the steal sign & took off as Jerry Grote singled to right field, Charles then glided into third base.

He would come around to score the game’s winning run on Al Weis’ base hit in the next at bat. In the bottom of the 9th, with the Mets now up 2-1, the Orioles had a runner on first with two outs. Manager Gil Hodges took out Jerry Koosman & brought in Ron Taylor. 

Charles took an extra couple of steps guarding the third base line. The Orioles Brooks Robinson pulled the ball exactly where Charles was positioned, he was able to scoop it up quickly. His throw to first was low, but Don Clendenon dug it out of the dirt for the last out, giving the Mets their first World Series game victory.

Charles did not play in Game #3 & went hitless in Game #4 at Shea Stadium. In Game #5, he was hitless at the plate but he was on the field for the final out of the Series as Cleon Jones grabbed the fly out in left field. 

The classic image of Ed Charles leaping in the air, with a big smile on his face, next to catcher Jerry Grote who is leaping into Jerry Koosman's arms will forever be membered as the moment the Amazing Mets won the World Series.

Quotes- Ed Charles: “We’re #1 in the world & you just can't get any bigger than this”. 

At the ticker tape parade celebration in New York City, Charles got recite a poem that he wrote in 1962. Charles also appeared with the teammates on the Ed Sullivan show that Sunday night singing "You Gotta Have Heart".

After the Championship: Following the World Series, the Mets released Charles, and he decided to go out a winner, retiring at the age of 36. Charles always remained a dignified gentleman and was a class act all the way.

Mets Career: In three seasons with the Mets, the Glider played in 279 Mets games at third base (7th most All Time). He batted .249 with 21 HRs 32 doubles 94 runs scored 70 walks a .309 on base % & 102 RBIs.

Career Stats: In his eight-year career he batted .263 with 917 hits 86 HRs 147 doubles, 30 triples 43runs scored 86 stolen bases & 421 RBIs. He struck out 525 times with 332 walks in 3482 at bats, posting a .330 on base % & a .727 OPS in 1005 games played.

At third base he posted a .957 fielding % turning 165 double plays. Ed came in the league's top five in that stat three times in his career. He made 122 errors in 2834 chances in 942 games.

Family: Ed met his wife Betty in Kansas City. He has two sons Eric & Edwin. In his later years he was in a long time relationship with his partner Lavonnie.

Retirement: Soon after retirement he worked for promotions for Buddha Records which distributed the 1969 Amazing Mets album.

He got to meet his hero Jackie Robinson in 1972 in Manhattan while putting together a line of baseball novelties. He then went on to scout for the Mets through the 1985 season.

He is credited for signing & Mets relief pitcher Neil Allen.

Charity Works: Charles had worked with New York City’s Juvenile Justice Dept. helping kids in the Washington Heights section of the city as well as in the Bronx. “You’d see a kid trying to hurt himself, banging his head against the wall because somebody embarrassed him,” Charles said. 

"You’d see a kid who wouldn’t want to admit he can’t write. The department teaches us to pick up the phone and call for help.”

Honors & Appearances: Charles was a frequent visitor at Shea Stadium, Citi Field, Spring Training, fantasy camps & charity events.

In 2007 he joined Mrs. Jackie Robinson along with Ralph Branca in honoring Robinson on the 50th anniversary of his breaking into the major leagues.

The Glider made it a point to attend both Ralph Kiner & Bob Murphy Nights when the broadcasters were honored at Shea Stadium. 

Quotes- Bob Murphy: "Never hang a slider to the Glider".

In 2008 Charles attended the closing ceremonies of Shea Stadium.

In 2009 he was on hand for the 40th Anniversary celebration of the 1969 Amazing Mets.

In 2013 Charles was one of many Mets players on hand when Mike Piazza was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame.

In 2015 he & Ron Swoboda threw out a ceremonial first pitch in Game #4 of the NLDS vs. the Dodgers.

Long after his retirement he still lived in New York City, was involved in many Mets related activities & said his only regret was not getting there sooner.

Passing: In March of 2018, Ed Charles passed away at his home in East Elmhurst, Queens. He was 84 years old.