NUMBER RETIRED

Anyone who respects baseball history had to be floored to see all five of the Giants' living Hall of Famers who have had their numbers retired gathered at AT&T; Park on Saturday to welcome a sixth.

The name Monte Irvin does not resonate with today's fans the way Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Gaylord Perry, Juan Marichal and Orlando Cepeda do. But all of these greats have an intimate connection to Irvin and would not have missed the ceremony.

Irvin and Hank Thompson became the first African Americans to play for the New York Giants in 1949. Two years later, Irvin led the National League with 121 RBIs for the team that took the pennant from the Dodgers on Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World."

Mays was a rookie that year. He recently had surgery and was not supposed to attend Saturday, but he said he had to. Managing general partner Bill Neukom noted how appropriate it was that Irvin's number 20 will sit alongside Mays' 24 on the wall of retired numbers.

"I was very lucky to have met Monte before I got to the majors," Mays said. "In my time, you had to have some kind of guidance, and Monte was like a brother to me. I couldn't go anywhere without him, especially on the road."

Cepeda was 6 when his father took him to a game in Puerto Rico specifically to watch Irvin. McCovey looked up to Irvin as an idol because he was a clutch hitter, "and that's when I got serious, too, when the ducks were on the pond."

Irvin, 91, has been called a pioneer, but he considers Jackie Robinson the true pioneer.

"I'm just so happy he was successful," Irvin said. "That made it that much easier for the rest of us. I was just a regular player trying to get the job done."

Irvin said his only regret was retiring in 1957, the Giants' final year in New York, and not getting to play in San Francisco.

"Being here today, talking to the fans, being here with these unbelievable people, is a delight," Irvin said.

He might not have played here, but his presence will be felt by anyone who gazes at the retired-number plaques in left field and sees the number 20.

This article appeared on page B - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle