Former SF Giants All-Star Stu Miller dies at 87

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Stu Miller was a superb major-league pitcher for 16 seasons and was best known for something he swore did not happen on a windy 1961 afternoon at Candlestick Park.

In the process, the reputation of San Francisco’s ballpark was cemented.

Mr. Miller, the pitcher supposedly “blown off the mound” at Candlestick by a gust of wind during one of the two All-Star Games played that year, died Sunday after a brief illness at his home in Cameron Park (El Dorado County). He was 87.

He pitched for five major-league teams between 1952 and ’68 and was an original San Francisco Giant.

He saved 154 games for the Cardinals, New York and San Francisco Giants, and the Orioles in an era when closers worked multiple innings. He led the National League with 17 saves in 1961 and the American League with 27 in 1963, and appeared in 51 games for the pitching-rich 1966 Orioles team that swept the Dodgers in the World Series.

Mr. Miller was best known for a wind-caused balk in his only All-Star appearance, a year after Candlestick opened on the eponymous spit of land that juts into San Francisco Bay in the southeastern corner of the city.

In a 2007 interview, Mr. Miller recounted the balk, which occurred as he faced Detroit’s Rocky Colavito in the ninth inning of a game the National League would win 5-4 in the 10th.

“A gust of wind gave my body a little bit of sway,” Mr. Miller said. “The next day in the paper, the banner headline was, 'Miller blown off mound.’ You’d think I was pinned against the center-field fence.”

The legend of Mr. Miller being blown off the mound remains fact for many and overshadowed a career of 704 games, all but 93 in relief. Twice he was named the Sporting News’ Fireman of the Year.

San Francisco Giants reliever Stu Miller after the 1961 All-Star Game held at Candlestick Park. San Francisco Giants reliever Stu Miller after the 1961 All-Star Game held at Candlestick Park. Photo: Barney Peterson / The Chronicle Photo: Barney Peterson / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Former SF Giants All-Star Stu Miller dies at 87 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

“It’s nice to be known,” Mr. Miller said, “but it’s not nice to be known as the guy who got blown off the mound.”

Mr. Miller’s best pitch was a changeup.

As longtime adversary Maury Wills of the Dodgers recounted in 2007, “He was a fabulous pitcher. Miller could throw a changeup off a changeup. You knew it was coming and you still couldn’t hit it.”

Giants teammate Mike McCormick remembered Mr. Miller on Monday as a “good teammate, a good friend” and a crossword-puzzle fanatic. McCormick also remembered the changeup — or, more accurately, Mr. Miller’s variety of changeups.

“He was most unusual,” McCormick said. “He had the ability to change speeds probably better than anybody in his time. We always had the funny stories about Frank Howard and the other big sluggers who couldn’t hit him with a tennis racket.”

Mr. Miller is survived by his wife, Jayne; daughters Lori and Kim; sons Scott, Marc, Gary and Matthew; and five grandchildren.

In a statement, Giants President Larry Baer said Mr. Miller’s passing brought “great sadness to our organization. Stu had a long and distinguished career with some of his best seasons coming in a Giants uniform. We express our deepest condolences to his family and will have them in our thoughts and prayers.”

Henry Schulman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hschulman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hankschulman