1951 National League tie-breaker series
Encyclopedia
The 1951 National League
tie-breaker series was a three-game series played at the conclusion of the 1951 Major League Baseball season
between the New York Giants
and Brooklyn Dodgers
. It is most famous for the walk-off home run
hit by Bobby Thomson
of the Giants in the deciding game, which has come to be known as baseball's "Shot Heard 'Round the World
".
This was the second three-game playoff in National League
history. The Dodgers had been involved in the previous one
as well, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals
in in two straight games. After no such tiebreakers had been needed since the American League
became a major league in 1901, this was the third such tie in just six seasons. In addition to the 1946 series, the AL had a one-game playoff
in .
, each with a record of 96-58. The two teams had a fierce rivalry dating back to the earliest days of professional baseball, and this series would up the ante on it substantially.
It was decided that the teams would meet in a three-game playoff to decide the pennant
, with the winner going on to face the American League
champion New York Yankees
in the 1951 World Series
. The Dodgers would host game one at Ebbets Field
on October 1, while the Giants would host game two and (if necessary) game three at the Polo Grounds
on October 2 and 3. Although the Dodgers won the coin toss for home field advantage, they chose to defer to the Giants--the idea being to win the first game at Ebbets Field to force the Giants' backs to the wall and have to win two games. This idea would later backfire.
, had been in first place for most of the season. They had a formidable lineup, featuring four future Hall of Famers
in catcher
and National League Most Valuable Player Roy Campanella
, second baseman
Jackie Robinson
, shortstop
Pee Wee Reese
, and center fielder
Duke Snider
. First baseman
Gil Hodges
was no slouch, either, leading the team with 40 home run
s, second in the league.
The Dodgers' pitching staff was led by Don Newcombe
, who had won 20 games with an ERA
of 3.28 and a league-leading 164 strikeout
s. Their number two starter, Preacher Roe
, might have been even better, winning 22 games while losing just 3, with an ERA of 3.04. However, the 35-year-old Roe had started the last game of the season the day before the series began, and would not appear in the playoff.
leader, left fielder
Monte Irvin
along with a 20-year-old center fielder
named Willie Mays
, who would win the National League Rookie of the Year award. The team's only All-Star
was shortstop
Alvin Dark
.
Their pitching staff was led by Sal "The Barber" Maglie
and Larry Jansen
, who tied for the league lead in wins with 23, and also finished second and third in strikeouts behind Newcombe. Maglie had finished second in the league in ERA, just .05 behind Chet Nichols
of the Boston Braves
. Like Roe, Jansen had started the final game of the season, and would not appear until the very end.
to the mound against Jim Hearn
of the Giants. Branca, who had a win-loss record of just 13-10 going into the series, although his ERA was a respectable 3.26. Hearn had been a 17-game winner for the Giants, with an ERA of 3.62.
Monte Irvin
and Bobby Thomson
homered for the Giants, powering them to a 3-1 win. Andy Pafko
hit a home run for the only Dodgers run. Hearn pitched a complete game, giving up just five hits to the vaunted Dodger offense.
for game two. Swingman
Sheldon Jones
took the mound for the Giants against the Dodgers' Clem Labine
. Labine was a promising rookie who had started just six games for the Dodgers in his career, all in 1951, but he did have a 2.20 ERA in 65⅓ innings. The 29-year-old Jones was something of a journeyman, and had won just six games for the Giants against eleven losses.
Jones was pulled in the third inning despite giving up just two runs, one of which was a Jackie Robinson
homer. However, the game went downhill from there, as the Dodgers abused relievers George Spencer
and Al Corwin
for eight more runs, while Labine pitched a six-hit shutout
for a 10-0 shellacking. Pafko hit his second homer of the series, while Gil Hodges
and Rube Walker
added home runs of their own.
led off with a double for the Giants. He was bunted over to third, and scored on a sacrifice fly
by Bobby Thomson.
In the top of the eighth, the Dodgers came roaring back with three runs off Maglie. A pair of singles, a wild pitch, and two more singles made the score 4-1 Dodgers. Newcombe set down the Giants in order in the bottom of the eighth, while Larry Jansen
did the same in relief of Maglie.
led off with a single, and Don Mueller
followed with another. After Monte Irvin popped out to first base, Whitey Lockman
lined a double to left-center field, scoring Dark and putting Mueller on third. Dodger manager Chuck Dressen
summoned game 1 starter Ralph Branca in to relieve Newcombe, despite having only had one day's rest. On his second pitch, Bobby Thomson drove a pitch to deep left field for a walk-off home run
to clinch the pennant for the Giants. This home run, hit at 3:58 p.m. EST on October 3, 1951, came to be known as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World". When Thomson hit the home run, it just so happened that the player waiting on deck was a 20 year old rookie outfielder by the name of Willie Mays
.
The phrase shot heard 'round the world is from a classic poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson
, originally used to refer to the first clash of the American Revolutionary War
and since used to apply to other dramatic moments, military and otherwise. In the case of Thomson's home run, it was particularly apt as U.S. servicemen fighting in the Korean War
listened to the radio
broadcast of the game.
Thomson's homer, and the Giants' victory, are also sometimes known as the Miracle of Coogan's Bluff
.
revealed that the Giants frequently stole pitch signals from the bleachers over the last few months of the regular season. Bobby Thomson was one of the hitters who chose to receive the signs.
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
tie-breaker series was a three-game series played at the conclusion of the 1951 Major League Baseball season
1951 Major League Baseball season
-Statistical leaders:-External links:*...
between the New York Giants
1951 New York Giants (MLB) season
The New York Giants season saw the Giants finish the regular season in a tie for first place in the National League with a record of 96 wins and 58 losses. This prompted a three-game playoff against the Brooklyn Dodgers, which the Giants won in three games, clinched by Bobby Thomson's walk-off...
and Brooklyn Dodgers
1951 Brooklyn Dodgers season
The Brooklyn Dodgers led the National League for much of the season, holding a 13 game lead as late as August. However, a late season swoon and a hot streak by the New York Giants led to a classic three-game playoff series...
. It is most famous for the walk-off home run
Walk-off home run
In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. It must be a home run that gives the home team the lead in the bottom of the final inning of the game—either the ninth inning, or any extra inning, or any other regularly scheduled final inning...
hit by Bobby Thomson
Bobby Thomson
Robert Brown "Bobby" Thomson was a Scottish-born American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "The Staten Island Scot", he was an outfielder and right-handed batter for the New York Giants , Milwaukee Braves , Chicago Cubs , Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles .His season-ending three-run...
of the Giants in the deciding game, which has come to be known as baseball's "Shot Heard 'Round the World
Shot Heard 'Round the World (baseball)
In baseball, the "Shot Heard 'round the World" is the term given to the walk-off home run hit by New York Giants outfielder Bobby Thomson off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca at the Polo Grounds to win the National League pennant at 3:58 p.m...
".
This was the second three-game playoff in National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
history. The Dodgers had been involved in the previous one
1946 National League tie-breaker series
The 1946 National League tie-breaker series was a best-of-three playoff to decide the winner of Major League Baseball's National League pennant. The games occurred on October 1 and October 3, 1946, between the St. Louis Cardinals and Brooklyn Dodgers. The first game took place at Sportsman's Park...
as well, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals
1946 St. Louis Cardinals season
The St. Louis Cardinals season was a season in American baseball. It was the team's 65th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 55th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 96-58 during the season and finished first in the National League. In the World Series, they won in 7 games over the...
in in two straight games. After no such tiebreakers had been needed since the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
became a major league in 1901, this was the third such tie in just six seasons. In addition to the 1946 series, the AL had a one-game playoff
1948 American League tie-breaker game
The 1948 American League tie-breaker game was a one-game playoff for Major League Baseball's American League conference. The game took place on October 4, 1948, between the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. It was necessary after both teams finished the season with records of...
in .
Background
The Giants and Dodgers ended the season tied for first place in the National LeagueNational League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
, each with a record of 96-58. The two teams had a fierce rivalry dating back to the earliest days of professional baseball, and this series would up the ante on it substantially.
It was decided that the teams would meet in a three-game playoff to decide the pennant
Pennant (sports)
A pennant is a commemorative flag typically used to show support for a particular athletic team. Pennants have been historically used in all types of athletic levels: high school, collegiate, professional etc. Traditionally, pennants were made of felt and fashioned in the official colors of a...
, with the winner going on to face the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
champion New York Yankees
1951 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees season was the 49th season for the team in New York, and its 51st season overall. The team finished with a record of 98-56, winning their 18th pennant, finishing five games ahead of the Cleveland Indians. New York was managed by Casey Stengel. The Yankees played at Yankee...
in the 1951 World Series
1951 World Series
The 1951 World Series matched the two-time defending champion New York Yankees against the New York Giants, who had won the National League pennant in a thrilling three-game playoff with the Brooklyn Dodgers on the legendary home run by Bobby Thomson .In the Series, the Yankees showed some power of...
. The Dodgers would host game one at Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball park located in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York, USA, on a city block which is now considered to be part of the Crown Heights neighborhood. It was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. It was also a venue for professional football...
on October 1, while the Giants would host game two and (if necessary) game three at the Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
on October 2 and 3. Although the Dodgers won the coin toss for home field advantage, they chose to defer to the Giants--the idea being to win the first game at Ebbets Field to force the Giants' backs to the wall and have to win two games. This idea would later backfire.
Brooklyn Dodgers
The Dodgers, managed by Chuck DressenChuck Dressen
Charles Walter Dressen , known as both "Chuck" and "Charlie," was an American third baseman, manager and coach in professional baseball during a career that lasted almost fifty years, and was best known as the manager of the powerful Brooklyn Dodgers of 1951–1953...
, had been in first place for most of the season. They had a formidable lineup, featuring four future Hall of Famers
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
in catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
and National League Most Valuable Player Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella , nicknamed "Campy", was an American baseball player, primarily at the position of catcher, in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball...
, second baseman
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
, shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
Pee Wee Reese
Pee Wee Reese
Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from to . A ten-time All Star, Reese contributed to seven National League championships for the Dodgers and, was inducted...
, and center fielder
Center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
Duke Snider
Duke Snider
Edwin Donald "Duke" Snider , nicknamed "The Silver Fox" and "The Duke of Flatbush", was a Major League Baseball center fielder and left-handed batter who played for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers , New York Mets , and San Francisco Giants .Snider was elected to the National Baseball Hall of...
. First baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
Gil Hodges
Gil Hodges
Gilbert Ray Hodges was an American Major League Baseball first baseman and manager. During an 18-year baseball career, he played in 1943 and from 1947–63, spending most of his career with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers...
was no slouch, either, leading the team with 40 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s, second in the league.
The Dodgers' pitching staff was led by Don Newcombe
Don Newcombe
Donald Newcombe , nicknamed "Newk", is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who played for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers , Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians .Until 2011 when Detroit Tigers Pitcher Justin Verlander did it, Newcombe was the only baseball...
, who had won 20 games with an ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
of 3.28 and a league-leading 164 strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
s. Their number two starter, Preacher Roe
Preacher Roe
Elwin Charles Roe was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals , Pittsburgh Pirates , and Brooklyn Dodgers .-Early years:...
, might have been even better, winning 22 games while losing just 3, with an ERA of 3.04. However, the 35-year-old Roe had started the last game of the season the day before the series began, and would not appear in the playoff.
New York Giants
The Giants had come from way behind to tie the Dodgers at the end of the regular season. They had been 13 games behind with just 44 games to go, and only climbed into a tie in the next-to-last day of the season, having gone 37-7 over the last seven weeks. While the Giants' offensive attack was not as impressive as that of the Dodgers, they did have the league's RBIRun batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
leader, left fielder
Left fielder
In baseball, a left fielder is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...
Monte Irvin
Monte Irvin
Monford Merrill "Monte" Irvin is a former left fielder and right-handed batter in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball who played with the Newark Eagles , New York Giants and Chicago Cubs .-Biography:Although born in Haleburg, Alabama, Irvin grew up in Orange, New Jersey, one of five...
along with a 20-year-old center fielder
Center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
named Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
, who would win the National League Rookie of the Year award. The team's only All-Star
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
was shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
Alvin Dark
Alvin Dark
Alvin Ralph Dark , nicknamed "Blackie" and "The Swamp Fox", is a former shortstop and manager in Major League Baseball who played for five National League teams from 1946 to 1960. Named the major leagues' Rookie of the Year with the Boston Braves when he batted .322...
.
Their pitching staff was led by Sal "The Barber" Maglie
Sal Maglie
Salvatore Anthony Maglie was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played from 1945-1958 for the New York Giants, Cleveland Indians, Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees, and St. Louis Cardinals. Maglie was known as "Sal the Barber", because he gave close shaves—that is, pitched inside to...
and Larry Jansen
Larry Jansen
Lawrence Joseph Jansen was an American right-handed pitcher and coach in Major League Baseball. A native of Oregon, he played minor league baseball in the early 1940s before starting his Major League career in 1947 with the New York Giants. Jansen played nine seasons in the big leagues, and was...
, who tied for the league lead in wins with 23, and also finished second and third in strikeouts behind Newcombe. Maglie had finished second in the league in ERA, just .05 behind Chet Nichols
Chet Nichols, Jr.
Chester Raymond Nichols, Jr. is a former professional baseball player. He was a pitcher over parts of nine seasons with the Boston Braves, Milwaukee Braves, Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds. He was the National League ERA champion as a rookie in 1951 with the Braves...
of the Boston Braves
1951 Boston Braves season
- Offseason :* Prior to 1951 season: Georges Maranda was signed as an amateur free agent by the Braves.- Roster :- Starters by position :Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in- Other batters :Note: G = Games...
. Like Roe, Jansen had started the final game of the season, and would not appear until the very end.
Game 1
Most of each team's top pitchers had been used down the stretch, so the first game of the series would feature arguably each team's third-best starter. The Dodgers sent Ralph BrancaRalph Branca
Ralph Theodore Joseph Branca is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball.From 1944 through 1956, Branca played for the Brooklyn Dodgers , Detroit Tigers , and New York Yankees...
to the mound against Jim Hearn
Jim Hearn
James Tolbert Hearn was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for 13 seasons . A right-hander, he stood tall and weighed .-Career:...
of the Giants. Branca, who had a win-loss record of just 13-10 going into the series, although his ERA was a respectable 3.26. Hearn had been a 17-game winner for the Giants, with an ERA of 3.62.
Monte Irvin
Monte Irvin
Monford Merrill "Monte" Irvin is a former left fielder and right-handed batter in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball who played with the Newark Eagles , New York Giants and Chicago Cubs .-Biography:Although born in Haleburg, Alabama, Irvin grew up in Orange, New Jersey, one of five...
and Bobby Thomson
Bobby Thomson
Robert Brown "Bobby" Thomson was a Scottish-born American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "The Staten Island Scot", he was an outfielder and right-handed batter for the New York Giants , Milwaukee Braves , Chicago Cubs , Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles .His season-ending three-run...
homered for the Giants, powering them to a 3-1 win. Andy Pafko
Andy Pafko
Andrew Pafko is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1943 through 1959, Pafko played for the Chicago Cubs , Brooklyn Dodgers and Milwaukee Braves . He batted and threw right-handed...
hit a home run for the only Dodgers run. Hearn pitched a complete game, giving up just five hits to the vaunted Dodger offense.
Game 2
The series moved to the Polo GroundsPolo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
for game two. Swingman
Swingman
A Swingman is a basketball term denoting a player who can play both the small forward and shooting guard positions, and, in essence, swing between the shooting guard and small forward positions." Swingmen males are often between 6'5" and 6'8" .John Havlicek, who played for the Boston Celtics in...
Sheldon Jones
Sheldon Jones
Sheldon Leslie "Available" Jones was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who played in the Major Leagues from – for the New York Giants, Boston Braves, and Chicago Cubs...
took the mound for the Giants against the Dodgers' Clem Labine
Clem Labine
Clement Walter Labine was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball best known for his years with the Brooklyn & Los Angeles Dodgers from 1950 to 1960...
. Labine was a promising rookie who had started just six games for the Dodgers in his career, all in 1951, but he did have a 2.20 ERA in 65⅓ innings. The 29-year-old Jones was something of a journeyman, and had won just six games for the Giants against eleven losses.
Jones was pulled in the third inning despite giving up just two runs, one of which was a Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
homer. However, the game went downhill from there, as the Dodgers abused relievers George Spencer
George Spencer (baseball)
George Elwell Spencer is a retired American pitcher in Major League Baseball. A right-hander, he was primarily a relief pitcher for the New York Giants and the Detroit Tigers...
and Al Corwin
Al Corwin
Elmer Nathan "Al" Corwin , was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played from -. He played for the New York Giants. He had a 18-10 career record.-External links:...
for eight more runs, while Labine pitched a six-hit shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
for a 10-0 shellacking. Pafko hit his second homer of the series, while Gil Hodges
Gil Hodges
Gilbert Ray Hodges was an American Major League Baseball first baseman and manager. During an 18-year baseball career, he played in 1943 and from 1947–63, spending most of his career with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers...
and Rube Walker
Rube Walker
Albert Bluford "Rube" Walker was an American Major League Baseball catcher and longtime pitching coach....
added home runs of their own.
Game 3
Game three was also held at the Polo Grounds. With each team having won one game, it was finally time for a matchup between the two teams' ace pitchers. Sal "The Barber" Maglie was on the mound for New York, while Brooklyn called on Don Newcombe. After Maglie walked two batters in the top of the first, Jackie Robinson singled home the game's first run. The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the seventh. In that inning, Monte IrvinMonte Irvin
Monford Merrill "Monte" Irvin is a former left fielder and right-handed batter in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball who played with the Newark Eagles , New York Giants and Chicago Cubs .-Biography:Although born in Haleburg, Alabama, Irvin grew up in Orange, New Jersey, one of five...
led off with a double for the Giants. He was bunted over to third, and scored on a sacrifice fly
Sacrifice fly
In baseball, a sacrifice fly is a batted ball that satisfies four criteria:* There are fewer than two outs when the ball is hit.* The ball is hit to the outfield....
by Bobby Thomson.
In the top of the eighth, the Dodgers came roaring back with three runs off Maglie. A pair of singles, a wild pitch, and two more singles made the score 4-1 Dodgers. Newcombe set down the Giants in order in the bottom of the eighth, while Larry Jansen
Larry Jansen
Lawrence Joseph Jansen was an American right-handed pitcher and coach in Major League Baseball. A native of Oregon, he played minor league baseball in the early 1940s before starting his Major League career in 1947 with the New York Giants. Jansen played nine seasons in the big leagues, and was...
did the same in relief of Maglie.
The "shot heard 'round the world"
In the bottom of the ninth, Alvin DarkAlvin Dark
Alvin Ralph Dark , nicknamed "Blackie" and "The Swamp Fox", is a former shortstop and manager in Major League Baseball who played for five National League teams from 1946 to 1960. Named the major leagues' Rookie of the Year with the Boston Braves when he batted .322...
led off with a single, and Don Mueller
Don Mueller
Donald Frederick Mueller is a retired outfielder who played 12 seasons in American Major League Baseball . The first ten of those years were spent with the New York Giants, for whom he batted over .300 for three consecutive seasons and led the National League in hits in 1954...
followed with another. After Monte Irvin popped out to first base, Whitey Lockman
Whitey Lockman
Carroll Walter "Whitey" Lockman was a player, coach, manager and front office executive in American Major League Baseball.-Role in miraculous 1951 comeback:...
lined a double to left-center field, scoring Dark and putting Mueller on third. Dodger manager Chuck Dressen
Chuck Dressen
Charles Walter Dressen , known as both "Chuck" and "Charlie," was an American third baseman, manager and coach in professional baseball during a career that lasted almost fifty years, and was best known as the manager of the powerful Brooklyn Dodgers of 1951–1953...
summoned game 1 starter Ralph Branca in to relieve Newcombe, despite having only had one day's rest. On his second pitch, Bobby Thomson drove a pitch to deep left field for a walk-off home run
Walk-off home run
In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. It must be a home run that gives the home team the lead in the bottom of the final inning of the game—either the ninth inning, or any extra inning, or any other regularly scheduled final inning...
to clinch the pennant for the Giants. This home run, hit at 3:58 p.m. EST on October 3, 1951, came to be known as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World". When Thomson hit the home run, it just so happened that the player waiting on deck was a 20 year old rookie outfielder by the name of Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
.
The phrase shot heard 'round the world is from a classic poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
, originally used to refer to the first clash of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
and since used to apply to other dramatic moments, military and otherwise. In the case of Thomson's home run, it was particularly apt as U.S. servicemen fighting in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
listened to the radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
broadcast of the game.
Thomson's homer, and the Giants' victory, are also sometimes known as the Miracle of Coogan's Bluff
Coogan's Bluff
Coogan's Bluff is the name of a promontory located in upper Manhattan in New York City, starting at 155th Street. Rising abruptly from the Harlem River, it is colloquially regarded as the boundary between the neighborhoods of Harlem and Washington Heights....
.
Line score
Polo GroundsPolo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | |
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 0 | |
| WP: Larry Jansen Larry Jansen Lawrence Joseph Jansen was an American right-handed pitcher and coach in Major League Baseball. A native of Oregon, he played minor league baseball in the early 1940s before starting his Major League career in 1947 with the New York Giants. Jansen played nine seasons in the big leagues, and was... (23-11) LP: Ralph Branca Ralph Branca Ralph Theodore Joseph Branca is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball.From 1944 through 1956, Branca played for the Brooklyn Dodgers , Detroit Tigers , and New York Yankees... (13-12) |
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Revelation
In 2001, journalist Joshua PragerJoshua Prager (writer)
Joshua Harris Prager is an American journalist and author. His book The Echoing Green: The Untold Story of Bobby Thomson, Ralph Branca and the Shot Heard Round the World, is about the Shot Heard 'Round the World, a famous 1951 baseball playoff game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York...
revealed that the Giants frequently stole pitch signals from the bleachers over the last few months of the regular season. Bobby Thomson was one of the hitters who chose to receive the signs.