| 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers | |
|---|---|
| National League champions | |
| League | National League |
| Ballpark | Ebbets Field |
| City | Brooklyn, New York |
| Owners | James &Dearie Mulvey,Walter O'Malley,Branch Rickey,John L. Smith |
| President | Branch Rickey |
| Managers | Clyde Sukeforth,Burt Shotton |
| Radio | WHN Red Barber,Connie Desmond |
The1947Brooklyn Dodgers season was the team's 65th season of play overall and its 58th season of play in theNational League (NL) ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). The Dodgers finished in first place in the National League with a record of 94–60, five games ahead of theSt. Louis Cardinals. They advanced to the1947 World Series against theAmerican League championNew York Yankees, but lost the series in seven games. The Dodgers played their home games atEbbets Field.
On April 15,Jackie Robinson started at first base for the Dodgers, breaking thebaseball color line and becoming the first black player in MLB sinceMoses Fleetwood Walker in the 1880s. Robinson went on to bat .297, score 125 runs, steal 29 bases, and win MLB's inauguralRookie of the Year award. This season was dramatized in the movie42.
Due to the suspension ofLeo Durocher for a year for "conduct detrimental to baseball", coachClyde Sukeforth managed the first 2 games of the season on an emergency basis, but declined to manage for the full season, soBurt Shotton took over as manager for the rest of the season.
The Dodgers had a home attendance of 1.8 million paying fans, a National League record at the time.[6] On the road, the Dodgers drew 1.9 million paying fans, also a National League record at that time.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 94 | 60 | .610 | — | 52–25 | 42–35 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 89 | 65 | .578 | 5 | 46–31 | 43–34 |
| Boston Braves | 86 | 68 | .558 | 8 | 50–27 | 36–41 |
| New York Giants | 81 | 73 | .526 | 13 | 45–31 | 36–42 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 73 | 81 | .474 | 21 | 42–35 | 31–46 |
| Chicago Cubs | 69 | 85 | .448 | 25 | 36–43 | 33–42 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 62 | 92 | .403 | 32 | 38–38 | 24–54 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 62 | 92 | .403 | 32 | 32–45 | 30–47 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] | |||||||||||||
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| Team | BSN | BRO | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Boston | — | 12–10 | 13–9 | 13–9 | 13–9 | 14–8 | 12–10 | 9–13 | |||||
| Brooklyn | 10–12 | — | 15–7 | 15–7 | 14–8 | 14–8 | 15–7 | 11–11–1 | |||||
| Chicago | 9–13 | 7–15 | — | 12–10 | 7–15 | 16–6–1 | 8–14 | 10–12 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 9–13 | 7–15 | 10–12 | — | 13–9 | 13–9 | 13–9 | 8–14 | |||||
| New York | 9–13 | 8–14 | 15–7 | 9–13 | — | 12–10 | 15–7–1 | 13–9 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 8–14 | 8–14 | 6–16–1 | 9–13 | 10–12 | — | 13–9 | 8–14 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 10–12 | 7–15 | 14–8 | 9–13 | 7–15–1 | 9–13 | — | 6–16–1 | |||||
| St. Louis | 13–9 | 11–11–1 | 12–10 | 14–8 | 9–13 | 14–8 | 16–6–1 | — | |||||
| 1947 Game Log: 94-60 (Home: 52-25; Away: 42-34) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April: 8-3 (Home: 8-1; Away: 0-2)
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May: 12-14 (Home: 5-3; Away: 7-11)
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June: 18-11 (Home: 8-4; Away: 10-7)
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July: 25-8 (Home: 14-7; Away: 11-1)
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August: 19-13 (Home: 15-6; Away: 4-7)
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September: 12-11 (Home: 2-4; Away: 10-7)
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OnOpening Day, Jackie Robinson made his debut as the Dodgers'first baseman. He went 0-for-3, scoring a run. He also had onesacrifice hit and grounded into adouble play before being replaced late in the game byHowie Schultz. In the field, he had 11putouts without anerror.[7] During a game against thePhiladelphia Phillies on April 22, Robinson committed anerror for the first time in his major league career.[8]
On May 13, Robinson played in his first game in Cincinnati. TheReds won the game 7–5. Despite the loss, Robinson had a walk, a single, and a run.[9] Various racial slurs were hurled at Robinson by the fans.Pee Wee Reese put his hand on Robinson's shoulder to hush the crowd.[10] 46,572 paying fans (while there were 20,000 fans outside) on May 18 came to Chicago'sWrigley Field to see Robinson play against theCubs. The Dodgers won by a score of 4–2.[11]
Against thePirates on June 24, Robinsonstole home plate for the first time in his career.[12] The Pirates catcher wasDixie Howell, who had started the season in Brooklyn's farm system.
The Dodgers had five players selected to theAll-Star Game:Dixie Walker,Ralph Branca,Bruce Edwards,Eddie Stanky, andPee Wee Reese.
On August 20,St. Louis Cardinals right fielderEnos Slaughter stepped on Robinson's foot and it got injured. He fell down to the ground and all of his teammates stood up for him and shouted back at the Cardinals.
On September 11, Cardinals catcherJoe Garagiola and Robinson were involved in an incident at home plate. Garagiola stepped on Robinson's foot and the two started arguing. UmpireBeans Reardon held back Garagiola while Robinson clapped.[13] The incident was later part of a children's book titledIn the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord. Against thePittsburgh Pirates on September 17, Robinson hit a home run offFritz Ostermueller. That day, the Dodgers won the NL Pennant, sending them to theWorld Series.
| 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager Coaches
| ||||||
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Bruce Edwards | 130 | 471 | 139 | .295 | 9 | 80 |
| 1B | Jackie Robinson | 151 | 590 | 175 | .297 | 12 | 48 |
| 2B | Eddie Stanky | 146 | 559 | 141 | .252 | 3 | 53 |
| 3B | Spider Jorgensen | 129 | 441 | 121 | .274 | 5 | 67 |
| SS | Pee Wee Reese | 142 | 476 | 135 | .284 | 12 | 73 |
| OF | Dixie Walker | 148 | 529 | 162 | .306 | 9 | 94 |
| OF | Pete Reiser | 110 | 388 | 120 | .309 | 5 | 46 |
| OF | Carl Furillo | 124 | 437 | 129 | .295 | 8 | 88 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gene Hermanski | 79 | 189 | 52 | .275 | 7 | 39 |
| Arky Vaughan | 64 | 126 | 41 | .325 | 2 | 25 |
| Eddie Miksis | 45 | 86 | 23 | .267 | 4 | 10 |
| Duke Snider | 40 | 83 | 20 | .241 | 0 | 5 |
| Stan Rojek | 32 | 80 | 21 | .263 | 0 | 7 |
| Gil Hodges | 28 | 77 | 12 | .156 | 1 | 7 |
| Cookie Lavagetto | 41 | 69 | 18 | .261 | 3 | 11 |
| Al Gionfriddo | 37 | 62 | 11 | .177 | 0 | 6 |
| Bobby Bragan | 25 | 36 | 7 | .194 | 0 | 3 |
| Tommy Brown | 15 | 34 | 8 | .235 | 0 | 2 |
| Don Lund | 11 | 20 | 6 | .300 | 2 | 5 |
| Ed Stevens | 5 | 13 | 2 | .154 | 0 | 0 |
| Dick Whitman | 4 | 10 | 4 | .400 | 0 | 2 |
| Marv Rackley | 18 | 9 | 2 | .222 | 0 | 2 |
| Tommy Tatum | 4 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Howie Schultz | 2 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ralph Branca | 43 | 280.0 | 21 | 12 | 2.67 | 148 |
| Joe Hatten | 42 | 225.1 | 17 | 8 | 3.63 | 76 |
| Kirby Higbe | 4 | 15.2 | 2 | 0 | 5.17 | 10 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vic Lombardi | 33 | 174.2 | 12 | 11 | 2.99 | 72 |
| Harry Taylor | 33 | 162.0 | 10 | 5 | 3.11 | 58 |
| Hal Gregg | 37 | 104.1 | 4 | 5 | 5.87 | 59 |
| Clyde King | 29 | 87.2 | 6 | 5 | 2.77 | 31 |
| Rex Barney | 28 | 77.2 | 5 | 2 | 4.75 | 36 |
| Jack Banta | 3 | 7.2 | 0 | 1 | 7.04 | 3 |
| Rube Melton | 4 | 4.2 | 0 | 1 | 13.50 | 1 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugh Casey | 46 | 10 | 4 | 18 | 3.99 | 40 |
| Hank Behrman | 38 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 5.30 | 31 |
| Ed Chandler | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6.37 | 8 |
| Phil Haugstad | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.84 | 4 |
| Dan Bankhead | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7.20 | 6 |
| George Dockins | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.81 | 1 |
| Erv Palica | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 | 1 |
| Willie Ramsdell | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.75 | 3 |
| Johnny Van Cuyk | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.40 | 2 |
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Dodgers win | |
| Dodgers loss | |
| Bold | Dodgers team member |
| 1947 Postseason Game Log: 3–4 (Home: 2–1; Away: 1–3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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World Series: 3–4 (Home: 2–1; Away: 1–3)
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| Playoff rosters | |
|---|---|
World Series
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LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Mobile, Pueblo, Nashua, Spokane, Greenwood, Zanesville