By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
Tim Murtaugh had just one question after watching Jim Fuller round the bases three times against his Charleston Charlies club on June 7, 1976.
“How come he’s not in Baltimore?” the eighth-year manager wondered to the Democrat and Chronicle. “Or what about Charleston?”
Fuller hit three home runs off three Charleston pitchers, becoming the 11th Rochester Red Wings player to record a three-homer game as the Wings won 14-6 at Silver Stadium.
The 25-year-old put the game out of reach early, hitting a second-inning grand slam to left field off relief pitcher Steve Williams to give the Wings a 9-1 lead. He launched another fastball over the left field fence in the sixth inning, a solo homer off Don Newhauser.
As if six home runs in a nine-game span weren’t enough, Fuller’s last shot was the game’s lasting impression. With two outs in the eighth inning, he cleared the center field scoreboard against Jim Minshall. It was the first home run hit over the 45-foot board since Mack Jones accomplished the feat in 1963.
“It takes some guys two weeks to drive in that many runs,” Red Wings manager Joe Altobelli remarked. “I’m at a loss to describe the last home run.”
“I’ve seen three home runs in one game before,” Murtaugh commented. “But that set an all-time total yardage record. It’d take O.J. Simpson three games to gain that many yards.”
Fuller, a 1994 Red Wings Hall of Fame inductee, hit 19 home runs and drove in 55 runs that season. No Red Wings player has collected eight RBI in a game in the 21st century; Danny Clyburn was the last to do it, in April 1997.
Charleston batting
| Batter | ab | r | h | rbi |
| Miguel Dilone | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Craig Reynolds | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Omar Moreno | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Ken Macha | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Tony Armas | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Fernando Gonzalez | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| William Thomas | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Nicosia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Augustine | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Totals | 38 | 6 | 11 | 6 |
Rochester batting
| Batter | ab | r | h | rbi |
| Larry Harlow | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Rich Dauer | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Tom Shopay | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Mike Fiore | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Jim Fuller | 5 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| Tommy Matchick | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Terry Crowley | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Hutto | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Kiko Garcia | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Totals | 36 | 14 | 12 | 13 |
Charleston 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 1- 6
Rochester 3 6 0 1 0 1 0 3 X- 14
E- Matchick, Fuller, Dilone, Macha DP- Charleston 2, Rochester 1 LOB- Charleston 18, Rochester 0 2B- Armas, Hutto, Harlow HR- Shopay (2), Fuller 3 (8), Gonzalez (3), Augustine (3) SB- Dilone, Moreno, Augustine
Pawtucket pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Raymond Price (L, 2-4) | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Steve Williams | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| Don Newhauser | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jim Minshall | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
Rochester pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Fred Holdsworth (3-3) | 9 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 4 |
WP- Williams, Minshall
Also on this day: Bob Gibson struck out 10 Richmond Virginians in a complete game shutout as Rochester defeated Richmond 2-0 in 1960… Bobby Grich snapped an 0-for-17 skid with a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning to lift the Red Wings to a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Whips in 1971… Scott Meadows hit a game-winning three-run home run in the 10th inning to give Rochester a 7-4 win at Buffalo in 1991… Justin Morneau hit two home runs, including a grand slam, as the Red Wings thumped Columbus 13-3 at Cooper Stadium in 2004… Matt Carlson’s walkoff single in the 13th secured a Red Wings win over Norfolk in a four-hour, 18-minute affair in 2012.
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