Ringing the bell

The Phillies’ Greg Luzinski strikes the Liberty Bell replica above straightaway center field 52 years ago today at Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium.

Luzinski’s prodigious blast leads off the bottom of the fourth inning against Chicago’s Burt Hooton, cutting the Cubs’ lead to 6-1 in a game they eventually win 8-1 on Hooton’s three-hitter before a Tuesday night crowd of 12,326.

Estimated distance of Luzinski’s homer: 458 feet from the plate and 75 feet above the field, leaving yet another crack in the Liberty Bell.

The homer is the ninth of the 307 Luzinski hits during his career from 1970-84 with six of those homers coming off Hooton.