1951 World Series
Encyclopedia
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
(the Shot Heard 'Round the World
).
In the Series, the Yankees showed some power of their own, including Gil McDougald
's grand slam home run in Game 5, at the Polo Grounds
. The Yankees won the Series in six games, for their third straight title and 14th overall. This would be the last World Series for Joe DiMaggio
, who retired afterward, and the first for rookies Willie Mays
and Mickey Mantle
.
This was the last Subway Series
the Giants played in. Both teams would meet again eleven years later
after the Giants relocated to San Francisco. They have not played a World Series together since.
of the Yankees and Leo Durocher
of the Giants.
This was the 13th appearance by the Giants in Series play, their ninth loss, and their first appearance since the 1937 World Series
.
"The Commerce Comet
arrives on the final voyage of the Yankee Clipper
." The 1951 World Series was the first for Mickey Mantle and the final for Joe DiMaggio.
Mantle's bad luck with injuries in the Major Leagues began here. In the fifth inning of Game 2 at Yankee Stadium, Mays flied to deep right center. DiMaggio and Mantle converged on the ball, DiMaggio called Mantle off, and Mantle stutter-stepped, catching a cleat in a drain cover, and fell to the ground in a heap with a wrenched knee as DiMaggio made the catch. Mantle was done for this Series, but would come back to play many more.
New York City became the first city to host an NBA Finals
and a World Series in the same calendar year.
in Manhattan, New York
in Manhattan, New York
in Manhattan, New York
Playing right field in place of Mickey mantle, Hank Bauer
benefited from a tricky Yankee Stadium wind—as well as the umpire's generous call of a ball on Dave Koslo
's two-strike pitch—to belt a bases-loaded triple in the sixth inning that would be the difference. Bauer also ensured that the lead held up. Trailing 4–1 in the ninth, the Giants loaded the bases with no outs. Enter reliever Bob Kuzava
, acquired in June from the Washington Senators
. After two sacrifice flies and the score now 4–3, pinch hitter Sal Yvars
hit a sinking liner to right. The stadium crowd gasped as Bauer momentarily lost the ball in the crowd's white shirts and the shadows. But he relocated it and charged forward. Bauer, who played in nine World Series and always came through when it mattered most, slid on his knees to catch the ball inches off the ground to end the game and the 1951 World Series. Game 6 was the last baseball game ever played by Joe DiMaggio
.
(A.L.) over New York Giants
(N.L.)
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...
against 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...
, who had won the 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...
pennant in a thrilling three-game playoff with the 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...
on the legendary home run 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...
(the 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...
).
In the Series, the Yankees showed some power of their own, including Gil McDougald
Gil McDougald
Gilbert James McDougald was an American infielder who spent all ten seasons of his Major League Baseball career with the New York Yankees from 1951 to 1960. He was a member of eight American League pennant winners and five World Series Champions. He was also the AL Rookie of the Year in 1951 and...
's grand slam home run in Game 5, 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...
. The Yankees won the Series in six games, for their third straight title and 14th overall. This would be the last World Series for Joe DiMaggio
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...
, who retired afterward, and the first for rookies 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...
and Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...
.
This was the last Subway Series
Subway Series
The Subway Series is a series of Major League Baseball games played between teams based in New York City. The term's historic usage has been in reference to World Series games played between New York teams...
the Giants played in. Both teams would meet again eleven years later
1962 World Series
The 1962 World Series matched the defending American League and World Series champions New York Yankees against the National League champion San Francisco Giants, who had won their first NL pennant since 1954 and first since moving from New York in 1958, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in a...
after the Giants relocated to San Francisco. They have not played a World Series together since.
Background
This World Series also matched up two of baseball's most colorful managers, Casey StengelCasey Stengel
Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel , nicknamed "The Old Perfessor", was an American Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in ....
of the Yankees and Leo Durocher
Leo Durocher
Leo Ernest Durocher , nicknamed Leo the Lip, was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball. Upon his retirement, he ranked fifth all-time among managers with 2,009 career victories, second only to John McGraw in National League history. Durocher still ranks tenth in career wins by...
of the Giants.
This was the 13th appearance by the Giants in Series play, their ninth loss, and their first appearance since the 1937 World Series
1937 World Series
The 1937 World Series featured the defending champion New York Yankees and the New York Giants in a rematch of the 1936 Series. The Yankees won the Series in five games for their second championship in a row and their sixth in fifteen years. It also broke a tie that they had reached in 1936, with...
.
"The Commerce Comet
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...
arrives on the final voyage of the Yankee Clipper
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...
." The 1951 World Series was the first for Mickey Mantle and the final for Joe DiMaggio.
Mantle's bad luck with injuries in the Major Leagues began here. In the fifth inning of Game 2 at Yankee Stadium, Mays flied to deep right center. DiMaggio and Mantle converged on the ball, DiMaggio called Mantle off, and Mantle stutter-stepped, catching a cleat in a drain cover, and fell to the ground in a heap with a wrenched knee as DiMaggio made the catch. Mantle was done for this Series, but would come back to play many more.
New York City became the first city to host an NBA Finals
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
and a World Series in the same calendar year.
Summary
Game 1
Thursday, October 4, 1951 at Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New YorkGame 2
Friday, October 5, 1951 at Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New YorkGame 3
Saturday, October 6, 1951 at Polo Grounds (IV)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...
in Manhattan, New York
Game 4
Monday, October 8, 1951 at Polo Grounds (IV)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...
in Manhattan, New York
Game 5
Tuesday, October 9, 1951 at Polo Grounds (IV)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...
in Manhattan, New York
Game 6
Wednesday, October 10, 1951 at Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New YorkPlaying right field in place of Mickey mantle, Hank Bauer
Hank Bauer
Henry Albert "Hank" Bauer was an American right fielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He played with the New York Yankees and Kansas City Athletics ; he batted and threw right-handed...
benefited from a tricky Yankee Stadium wind—as well as the umpire's generous call of a ball on Dave Koslo
Dave Koslo
George Bernard "Dave" Koslo was a former professional baseball left-handed pitcher over parts of twelve seasons with the New York Giants, Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Braves. On April 18, 1947, Koslo gave up Jackie Robinson’s first major league home run, hit in the third inning...
's two-strike pitch—to belt a bases-loaded triple in the sixth inning that would be the difference. Bauer also ensured that the lead held up. Trailing 4–1 in the ninth, the Giants loaded the bases with no outs. Enter reliever Bob Kuzava
Bob Kuzava
Robert Leroy Kuzava is a retired American professional baseball player, a left-handed pitcher for the Cleveland Indians , Chicago White Sox , Washington Senators , New York Yankees , Baltimore Orioles , Philadelphia Phillies , Pittsburgh Pirates and St...
, acquired in June from the Washington Senators
1951 Washington Senators season
The Washington Senators won 62 games, lost 92, and finished in seventh place in the American League. They were managed by Bucky Harris and played home games at Griffith Stadium.- Offseason :...
. After two sacrifice flies and the score now 4–3, pinch hitter Sal Yvars
Sal Yvars
Salvador Anthony Yvars was a Major League Baseball catcher who played with the New York Giants from to and the St. Louis Cardinals from to . Born in Manhattan's Little Italy to a Spanish gravedigger and an Italian laundress, he was a three-sport star at White Plains High School, playing...
hit a sinking liner to right. The stadium crowd gasped as Bauer momentarily lost the ball in the crowd's white shirts and the shadows. But he relocated it and charged forward. Bauer, who played in nine World Series and always came through when it mattered most, slid on his knees to catch the ball inches off the ground to end the game and the 1951 World Series. Game 6 was the last baseball game ever played by Joe DiMaggio
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...
.
Composite box
1951 World Series (4–2): New York YankeesNew York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
(A.L.) over New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
(N.L.)