Scott breaks down the historic playoff game between the surging New York Giants and the supposedly superlative Brooklyn Dodgers, which decided the winner of the 1951 National League Pennant.

The situation: The Dodgers led the Giants by as many as 14 1/2 games in the summer of 1951, with superlative seasons by Gil Hodges, Duke Snider, and Jackie Robinson leading them to an “insurmountable” lead.

Someone forgot to tell the Giants, who were led by Monte Irvin and Bobby Thomson. They surged after August 10, running off an amazing winning streak to the point where the faltering Dodgers had to beat the Phillies just to tie the Dodgers at 96-58 each at the end of the regular season.

In those days, the American and National Leagues had only eight teams each, and the winners of the respective leagues would then face each other in the World Series; the ALCS and NLCS wouldn’t be invented until 18 years after this game. Under National League rules in 1951, a three-game playoff would decide the pennant winner.

The Giants won Game 1 behind a homer by Bobby Thomson and an excellent pitching performance by Jim Hearn. Brooklyn rebounded to win the second game 10-0 behind four homers by four separate Dodger players. That set up the climactic matchup, which sent Sal Maglie to the mound for the home team Giants to face the Dodgers’ Don Newcombe in front of a huge throng of Giants fans.

Give the episode a listen for Scott’s breakdown and analysis of the game, up to the fateful matchup between Ralph Branca in relief vs. his nemesis Bobby Thomson.

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Correction: Contrary to my comments, Bobby Thomson passed away in 2010 at the age of 86. My search engine spelling is terrible. When I searched, I spelled “Thompson,” bringing up an obscure player who played in 1978 and is, at the time of this writing, alive. I deeply regret the error.

Links

The Box Score

Bobby Thomson’s Stats

Ralph Branca’s Stats

1951 National League Standings