Rounding Third Remembers: "The Shot Heard 'Round The World"
"The Giants win the pennant, the Giants win the pennant, the Giants win the pennant!"- Russ Hodges
(Giant fans were in delirium after Thomson's wallop into the left field bleachers)
As of today, there are one game playoffs being played in Major League baseball. Tonight in particularly happens to have the Colorado Rockies playing the Chicago Cubs. Today's Major League Baseball playoff format gives more opportunities to more teams, whereas in the 1950's opportunities were slim. Matter of fact, there were no playoffs. There was a winner of the National League and the American League. So the chance of a playoff series was rare in Major League Baseball at that time. What was even rarer was that two rivals from the same state had the opportunity to play another team in the same state from the other league. Those two teams were the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Those two teams had the chance to face the empirical New York Yankees. All of this would bring in drama that would create an electric October moment that still is considered one of the greatest moments in all of baseball history.
The "Bums from Brooklyn"
(The 1951 "Bums" did not live up to the nickname, and would dominate the National League for much of the season.)
The 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers were a powerhouse. This team featured baseball mega-stars at the time of Jackie Robinson and Duke Snider. This Dodger team was continuing their dominance of the National League. Since winning the National League pennant in 1941, the Brooklyn nine would win the National League pennant six more times in their tenure in Brooklyn. Each time they would play their cross-league rival the New York Yankees. Each time losing to the Yankees, until 1955. This would create the slogan of "Wait 'Till Next Year" and more affectionally by Brooklyn fans, "The Bums." One thing is for certain, this colorful team in the Borough of Brooklyn were not a collection of bums, but stars on the cusp of greatness and finally bringing next year to Brooklyn.
The Giants of New York
(The program of the 1951 New York Giants. Notice only eight teams in the NL. How times have changed...)
The New York Giants were just as successful as their rivals from Brooklyn. Through 1937-1957 the Giants would win five pennants. In the 1950's the Giants would win pennants in 1951 and 1954. In 1954 they would upset the powerhouse Cleveland Indians who had won 111 games that season by sweeping the Indians in the 1954 World Series. This Giants team would be managed by the controversial Leo Durocher, who left the Brooklyn Dodgers midway throughout the 1948 season to manage the New York Giants. The Giants were also led by their young star Willie Mays, better known as the "Say Hey Kid."
The Chase
The Brooklyn Dodgers looked to be the best team in the National League for much of the 1951 season. By late August, the Dodgers had a 13-game lead over their cross-town rivals the New York Giants. After a very slow start to the season for the Giants, they would go on a historic stretch in the last 62 games of the regular season. The Giants would go 50-12 and would force the Dodgers to a rare three game playoff to determine who would play the New York Yankees in the 1951 World Series.
The Playoff Payoff
(The colorful sights of Ebbets Field (Home of the Dodgers) and the Polo Grounds (Home of the Giants). Both ballparks are remembered for their colorful and quirky characteristics.)
The playoff format between the Giants and Dodgers would be a best of three series. The team who would win two out of three games would go onto the Bronx and face the Yankees. The Giants would have home field advantage for the series. In the first two games of the playoff series both teams went on to have convincing wins. The Giants would power themselves to a 3-1 win by the way of Monte Irvin and Bobby Thomson home runs over the Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. In Game two, the Dodgers would dominate the Giants at the Polo Grounds and win 10-0. Gil Hodges and Rube Walker would hit home runs to help out the Brooklyn cause.
So the scene was set, the playoff payoff between two bitter rivals. The day was a gloomy overcast day on October 3rd, 1951 at the Polo Grounds. Sal "The Barber" Maglie, who would not shave before a start took the mound for the Giants. Don Newcombe would take the mound for the Dodgers. In the top of the first, "The Barber" shaved the zone too close, that put him into issues early by walking the first two Dodger batters. Then it was Jackie Robinson's turn to bat. Robinson would capitalize on Maglie's mistakes and drive in the game's first run on a single. This lead would stay until the bottom of the seventh inning when Monte Irvin started off the Giant seventh by hitting a double. Irvin was then sacrifice bunted over to third. Then Bobby Thomson scored Irvin on a sacrifice fly. The score was now tied at one to one. In the top of the eighth the Dodgers got the momentum back by scoring three runs off of Maglie. The runs came by a pair of Dodger singles, a wild pitch, and another pair of singles. The score was now 4-1 Dodgers. In the bottom of the eighth, Newcombe had a shut down inning, and retired the Giants side of the eight.
The Miracle of Coogan's Bluff
In the top of the ninth, Durocher went to the bullpen to get relief to try to stymie the chance of the Dodgers gaining more runs off of Maglie. Durocher went to relief pitcher Larry Jansen. Jansen would come in and do his job and prevent the Dodgers from gaining any more runs. Now onto the bottom of the ninth, the last opportunity for the Giants to go to the World Series and cap off the unbelievable run that they had in the last half of the season. Alvin Dark led off the Giant ninth with a single. Don Mueller would hit a grounder through the hole opened up by Hodges, who was holding on Dark at first base, despite Dark being a meaningless run. Newcombe would settle down and get the next batter Monte Irvin to pop out. Whitey Lockman then hit a double scoring Dark. Lockman was now the tying run. Dodger manager Chuck Dressen had seen enough, he would summon the starter of game one Ralph Branca to come in to close out the game. Branca was the loser of six out of his last seven outings. There was some concern for Branca by Dodger coach Clyde Sukeforth. He noticed that Branca had had trouble with locating his curveball. Next up to bat was Bobby Thomson. Thomson was having an off day. Despite hitting a sac-fly scoring a run in the early part of the game he had a baserunning error, that announcer Gordon McLendon likened to Fred Merkle's baserunning gaffe that cost the Giants the pennant in 1908. Thomson had also had an error in the field as well. Instead of going after Giants star Willie Mays, the Dodgers decided to go after Thomson. On the second pitch from Branca, Thomson would take a mighty swing and would line Branca's pitch to the left field bleachers giving the Giants the National League pennant for the 1951 season.
(Ralph Branca shown above and on the right, below seen grieving after giving up the infamous "Shot 'Heard Round the World.")
Old Times, Let Go
Perhaps it was fitting that Ralph Branca had given up the infamous home run to Bobby Thomson. Branca grew up a Giants fan. After giving up that home run, he perhaps felt that he wished he still was a fan, so his perspective would have been different after giving up the home run. Branca would go on to have a stellar career, but his career just couldn't seem to outshine that one pitch that was hit into the miniscule left field bleachers of the Polo Grounds. His boyhood team had broken his heart. But this is not the last time Branca and Thomson would cross paths. Oddly enough, Branca and Thomson would become the best of friends, each lasting into their golden years. Branca and Thomson would even go on to having television appearances together.
Branca would later on learn that a crucial key to the Giants success of that season came through spying. The Giants stole the catcher's signs from a telescope in center field. The signs would be relayed back by a buzzer system that would tell the Giants what pitch was coming. When asked about what he thought of the cheating that happened, Thomson admitted that he had used the system his first two at bats but didn't use it during his at bat against Branca. When Branca was asked the same question he said, "I made a decision not to speak about it. I didn't want to look like I was crying over spilled milk." He also added, "I didn't want to diminish a legendary moment in baseball. And even if Bobby knew what pitch was coming he had to hit it. Knowing the pitch doesn't always help." Branca's story is one of letting go. Realizing that what happened was historic, even though his fortune was on the wrong side. Becoming best friends with the man who made your name synonymous with a historic moment would be a rarity for many with pride, but Branca instead showed humility and acceptance on a life well lived and a career well played.
Here are some extra links that you may want to check out:
The radio broadcast of the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5XBJ8K_jAQ
The infamous "Shot Heard 'Round the World": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsyYMfEA1sg
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