Incidentally, only two did it before a home audience. Bobby Lowe of Boston was the first to hit four at home and Gil Hodges turned the trick in Brooklyn's Ebbetts Field.

Ed Delahanty and Chuck Klein of the Phillies, the Braves' Joe Adcock, Lou Gehrig of the Yankees, Pat Seerey of the White Sox and Rocky Colavito, then with Cleveland, made their history on the road.

Willie's big day revived the running argument about the relative merits of Mays and Mickey Mantle.

This is an issue which boils down to a matter of opinion, depending on whether you're an American or National fan and anti or pro Yankee. The record books, however, would favor the Giants' ace.

In four of his nine previous seasons Mays hit as many as 25 home runs and stole as many as 25 bases. Once the figure was 30 -- 30. Willie's lifetime batting average of.318 is 11 points beyond Mickey's.

The Giants who had been anemic with the bat in their windy Candlestick Park suddenly found the formula in Milwaukee's park. It will forever be a baseball mystery how a team will suddenly start hitting after a distressing slump.

THE DENVER-AREA TV audience was privileged to see Mays' four home runs, thanks to a new arrangement made by Bob Howsam that the games are not to be blacked out when his Bears are playing at home.

This rule providing for a blackout of televised baseball 30 minutes before the start of a major or minor league game in any area comes from the game's top rulers.