By Ronald C. Liebman

       One of the most notable trends in the major leagues in the last 20 years has been a revival in the art of base-

stealing, which had been declining since the advent of the lively ball in 1920.   Coupled with this revival has been the emergence of a group of players who have been dominant both in home-run hitting and base-stealing.   The period since 1950 has witnessed by far the best levels of speed and power recorded in baseball history.  This trend has been monopolized by the Negro ball players in the National League, who have revolutionized this aspect of baseball.  Willie Mays and Bobby Bonds, both of the Giants, have been the primary specialists in this regard.

       Between 1900 and 1950, only on 5 occasions did a player accumulate 20 or more home runs and 20 or more stolen bases in the same season;  since 1951, this has happened no fewer than 50 times!  Prior to 1955, the only players since 1900 to accumulate at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the same season were Frank Schulte of the Chicago Cubs (1911), Ken Williams of the St. Louis Browns (1921 and 1922), Babe Herman of the Brooklyn Dodgers (1929), Chuck Klein of the Phillies (1931), Earl Torgeson of the Boston Braves (1951), and Jackie Jensen of the Boston Red Sox (1954).   This was quite a select group.

       Willie Mays then burst on the scene and performed the feat six years in a row (1955-1960) and had the highest level of home runs and stolen bases in the majors for each of the six seasons.   Mays did not accomplish the combination after 1960, partly because of the increase in home run hitting on the Giant ball club which made base stealing less necessary.   Mays had started a new trend, however, and several other players, especially Henry Aaron and later Bobby Bonds began to achieve significant power-speed plateaus.   A September slump, resulting in only one home run in the last three weeks, cost Bonds an unprecedented 40 hr-40 sb season in 1973.

       Willie Mays completed his career in 1973 with 660 homers and 338 stolen bases -- the highest lifetime level. Vada Pinson and Henry Aaron are well over the 200 mark in both departments, and Frank Robinson is only one steal away from the two-century milestone.  Several spectacular season milestones also have been achieved by recent players.  Mays (1956 and 1957) Aaron (1963), Bonds (1969  and 1973), and Tommy Harper of the Milwaukee Brewers (1970) have joined Ken Williams (1922) as the only players with 30 or more home runs and steals in one year.   Mays (1955) became the only player to have 50 homers and 20 steals in the same season, and three players (Lou Brock of the Cards in 1967, Cesar Cedeno of the Astros in 1972 and 1973, and Joe Morgan of the Reds in 1973) performed the combo of 20 homers and 50 steals.

      The accompanying table shows the league leaders in the annual level of home runs and stolen bases since 1920 when fourbagger totals first reached significant proportions.  Bonds has led the last five years, or ever since he became a regular in 1969.  He also achieved in 1973 the highest level of homers (39) and thefts (43).  This topped the previous high of Ken Williams who had 39 homers and 37 steals in 1922.  Williams, Aaron, and Vince DiMaggio led their leagues 4 times.  In an oddity, two DiMaggio brothers -- Vince of the Pirates and Dom of the Red Sox -- tied for the lead in their respective leagues in the same season (1942).  Other brothers who show up in this tabulation are Roy and Bob Johnson.

      The only player since 1920 to lead in homers and stolen bases in the same season was Chuck Klein of the

Phils in 1932 (tied with the Giants' Mel Ott in homers).  Although Mays led four times in homers and four times in steals, he never topped the NL in both the same season.  Bill Bruton beat him out of the theft crown by one in 1955.

      Here are the players with the highest level of homers and steals since 1920.  An asterisk indicates the player who led his league or tied for the lead in one or the other category.   The lower figure is underlined.