By John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer

George Foster hit a home run the opposite way so far in Three Rivers Stadium in 1977 that Pirates right fielder Dave Parker couldn't believe it.

George Foster (center) shares a laugh with Big Red Machine teammates Joe Morgan and Ken Griffey. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

"I hit some long balls to right-center, but I'm left-handed," Parker said Sunday night at Foster's induction to the Reds Hall of Fame. "George is right-handed and that ball banged off the auxiliary scoreboard in the top deck."

Big Red Machine left fielder Foster and Reds center fielder Dummy Hoy, who stole 597 bases in his career (1894-1897; 1902) , were inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame before Sunday's game. They were the 60th and 61st Reds so honored in Reds history, which dates back to 1869.

When the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum opens, there is no doubt the curator will want one of Foster's black bats. He was the first to use that color.

"I didn't even know it was hard to pick the ball up off the bat until I heard about that later," Foster said. "But where I was trying to hit the ball, it wouldn't have mattered if they had trouble picking the ball up."

From 1976-78, there were only seven top deck home runs hit in Riverfront Stadium; Foster had four of them. His 52 home runs in 1977 was the only time in the 1970s that anybody hit 50 or more home runs in the majors. It remains a club record, as does his 149 RBI and 388 total bases that season.

From 1976 to 1981, Foster led the Big Red Machine in home runs and RBI. He tied a major-league record by leading the NL in RBI for three straight seasons (1976-78) and led the NL in home runs in 1977 and 1978.

With those numbers, Foster appeared destined for the Baseball Hall of Fame, but he dropped to 25 and 22 HR, respectively, in 1980-81, and then went to the New York Mets in free agency, and never came close to his late '70s production.

Joan Sampson, Hoy's granddaughter, said there is some Hoy memorabilia on display at Gallaudet College in Washington, D.C., that could be loaned to the Reds museum. Hoy's wife, Anna, attended college there, and became a teacher in the Cincinnati Public Schools. She also worked with Helen Keller.

Hoy was elected to the Reds Hall of Fame by the local chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

E-mail jerardi@enquirer.com