Academic

Baseball Trivia: The Shot Heard 'Round The World

By Tim Zinnecker

Perhaps the most famous home run in the history of baseball occurred on October 3, 1951.  The New York Giants won 37 of their final 44 games of the season to tie the Brooklyn Dodgers, forcing a best-of-three  playoff series for the National League crown.  The teams split the first two games, and the Dodgers took a 4-1 lead to the bottom of the ninth in the deciding game.  The Giants scratched out a run, making the score 4-2, and had men on second and third when Bobby Thomson "went yard" (to use today's vernacular) on Ralph Branca (who had just relieved Don Newcombe), prompting announcer Russ Hodges to cry, "The Giants win the pennant!  The Giants win the pennant!   The Giants win the pennant!  The Giants win the pennant!"  Thomson's legendary home run became known as "The Shot Heard 'Round The World."

Questions:

1) What future hall-of-famer made the first (and only) out for the Giants in the bottom of the ninth inning?

2) What future hall-of-famer was in the on-deck circle when Thomson hit his homer?

3) What future hall-of-famer was born on the date of October 3, 1951?

Pictured:  Bobby Thomson baseball card  (#330 in the 1953 Topps Archives set).

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on August 08, 2009 (boomark / email).