kdb209
Registered User
- Jan 26, 2005
- 14,870
- 6
Believe this is Bobby Thompson's homerun that won the pennant for the Giants back in the 50's. Is baseball legend because the Giants staged such a comeback in the final month of the season to catch the Dodgers and force a playoff -- the game in which Thompson hit is homer.
Yup. 1951 Bobby Thomson of the Giants hit a 3 run homer in the bottom of the 9th to send the Giants to the World Series.
Russ Hodges call (on the radio) is perhaps the most famous play-by-play call in MLB history:
Bobby Thomson... up there swingin'... He's had two out of three, a single and a double, and Billy Cox is playing him right on the third-base line... One out, last of the ninth... Branca pitches... Bobby Thomson takes a strike called on the inside corner... Bobby hitting at .292... He's had a single and a double and he drove in the Giants' first run with a long fly to center... Brooklyn leads it 4-2...Hartung down the line at third not taking any chances... Lockman with not too big of a lead at second, but he'll be runnin' like the wind if Thomson hits one... Branca throws... [audible sound of bat meeting ball]
There's a long drive... it's gonna be, I believe...THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! Bobby Thomson hits into the lower deck of the left-field stands! The Giants win the pennant and they're goin' crazy, they're goin' crazy! HEEEY-OH!!!'' [ten-second pause for crowd noise]
I don't believe it! I don't believe it! I do not believe it! Bobby Thomson... hit a line drive... into the lower deck... of the left-field stands... and this blame place is goin' crazy! The Giants! Horace Stoneham has got a winner! The Giants won it... by a score of 5 to 4... and they're pickin' Bobby Thomson up... and carryin' him off the field!
Some backstory:
The Giants were 13 1/2 games behind the Dodgers in mid August and won 37 of their last 44 games to force a tie with the Dodgers.
They played a 3 game series as a tie breaker. The split the first two and the Dodgers were up 4-1 going to the bottom of the 9th in Game 3.
The Daily News dubbed it the "Shot heard 'round the world" and the name stuck.
It is generally listed as the greatest / most famous event in MLB history. The Sporting News' "Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments" has it at #1 - Gibson's shot is #6.
edit: Even ESPN. They listed it as the #2 greatest game of all time in their SportsCentury list - behind only the 1958 NFL championship game and even ahead of the Miracle on Ice (#4).
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