The1959 World Series was thechampionship series ofMajor League Baseball's (MLB)1959 season. The 56th edition of the World Series, it was abest-of-seven playoff that matched theNational League (NL) championLos Angeles Dodgers against theAmerican League (AL) championChicago White Sox. The Dodgers won in six games to earn the second championship in their history and their first sincemoving to Los Angeles from Brooklyn the season before. Each of the three games played at theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum drew record crowds, Game 5's attendance of 92,706 continues to be aWorld Series record, and one that cannot feasibly be broken in any current baseball-specific park.

This was the first World Series played on theWest Coast, outsideMajor League Baseball's traditional territory that stretched from Boston to Washington, D.C., in theEast and to St. Louis in theMidwest from 1876 through 1955, which ended when thePhiladelphia Athletics moved toKansas City. A West Coast World Series had become a possibility only a year before, when the Dodgers and theGiants relocated to Los Angeles and San Francisco (from Brooklyn and Manhattan, respectively) prior to the1958 season.

For the White Sox, who had last won a championship in1917, it was their first World Series appearance since1919, when the team's unexpected loss to theCincinnati Reds coincided with theBlack Sox Scandal. This was the only World Series to be played in the City of Chicago between theCubs' loss in1945 and the White Sox win in2005.

The Dodgers won their firstNational League pennant since moving from Brooklyn after the1957 season by defeating theMilwaukee Braves (another franchise that had relocated from their original city, Boston, in 1953^[1]) 2–0 in a best-of-threetie breaker series. The Dodgers' first world championship in Los Angeles, the win was their second World Series victory in franchise history and their second in five seasons, after beating theNew York Yankees in1955. This was also the Dodgers' only win as a tenant of the Coliseum; their next World Series victories would come when playing inDodger Stadium.

1955 was their first win in the Fall Classic after seven consecutive losses between 1916 and 1953. While the Brooklyn Dodgers had gone 1–8 in the World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers have gone 7-6 through their 13 appearances between 1959 and2024.

It was the first championship for aWest Coast team, and it was the first World Series in which no pitcher for either side pitched acomplete game.^[2] AsVin Scully remarked in his narration for the official World Series film, "What a change of scenery!"^[3] This was the only Fall Classic played during the period from1949 through1964 in which no games were played in New York City.

After finishing seventh in 1958, the Dodgers rebounded in 1959. The National League pennant race was a season-long three-way battle between the Dodgers, the two-time defending N.L. champion Milwaukee Braves and the San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers never led by more than two games (and that was at the end of a tie-breaker) and never trailed by more than five. On September 20, the Dodgers completed a three-game sweep in San Francisco so that, with five games to play, they had a+1⁄2 game lead on the Braves and a one-game lead over the Giants. Going into the final day, the Dodgers and Braves were tied for first and the Giants were1+1⁄2 games back; the Giants needed to sweep a doubleheader from the Cardinals and have the Dodgers and Braves both lose to force a three-way tie. But the Dodgers won in Chicago 7–1 and the Braves won at home against the Phillies 5–2; this made the fact that the Giants lost both games of their doubleheader irrelevant.

In Game 1 of the best-of-three playoff in Milwaukee, the Dodgers took a 3–2 lead in the top of the sixth inning. Dodger relieverLarry Sherry then retired 12 of the last 13 Braves hitters to secure the win.

Games 2 and 3 (if necessary) were scheduled for Los Angeles. In Game 2, the Dodgers trailed 5–2 in the ninth inning, but rallied to tie the game with five singles and a sacrifice fly. In the top of the 11th, the Braves loaded the bases with two out, butStan Williams got pinch hitterJoe Adcock to ground out to end the threat. In the bottom of the 12th,Gil Hodges drew a walk with two out and nobody on.Joe Pignatano singled Hodges to second.Carl Furillo hit a ground ball to shortstopFélix Mantilla; Mantilla's throw to first base was in the dirt and skipped pastFrank Torre, allowing Hodges to score all the way from second with the pennant-clinching run.

Managed byAl López, the White Sox were built on pitching, speed and defense. Nicknamed the "Go-go Sox", they were last in the A.L. in home runs but led the league in stolen bases, fielding percentage, and lowest team ERA. They battled theCleveland Indians for the American League pennant, and after a close race, the White Sox built a6+1⁄2 game lead in early September. The Indians could get no closer than3+1⁄2 games, and when the White Sox beat Cleveland 4–2 on September 22, they clinched the pennant with three games to play. The White Sox were only the second team besides the Yankees to win the A.L. pennant between 1949 and 1964 inclusive; the other was the 1954 Indians, also managed by Al López.

NLLos Angeles Dodgers (4) vs. ALChicago White Sox (2)

HistoricComiskey Park hosted a crowd of 48,103 that included Hollywood'sJoan Crawford andOrson Welles and formerIllinois governorAdlai Stevenson, the 1952 and 1956 Democratic presidential candidate for president.

Game 1 was the first championship game in 40 years for the White Sox as well as the first postseason game in Chicago in 14 years, when theChicago Cubs lost to theDetroit Tigers in Game 7 of1945 World Series.

On the pitching mound,Early Wynn of the White Sox facedRoger Craig of the Dodgers. After scoring twice in the first inning on back-to-back RBI singles byTed Kluszewski andSherm Lollar after a walk and single, the Sox pounded across seven runs in the third.Nellie Fox doubled with one out and scored onJim Landis's single before Kluszewski's two-run home run knocked Craig out of the game. Lollar reached second on an error off ofChuck Churn and scored onBilly Goodman's single. Then RBI doubles byAl Smith andEarly Wynn and fielder's choice byJim Rivera aided by two more errors made it 9–0 White Sox.Ted Kluszewski's second home run of the game off of Churn next inning capped the game's scoring as the Sox routed the Dodgers 11–0.

Game 2 featuredBob Shaw of the White Sox faceJohnny Podres of the Dodgers. Once again, the Sox jumped out to a quick 2–0 lead in the first inning onTed Kluszewski's RBI groundout with runners on first and third followed bySherm Lollar's RBI single. In the fifth,Charlie Neal homered for the first Dodger run of the series.Chuck Essegian's two-out home run tied the game tied 2–2 in the seventh, then after a walk, Neal hit his second home run of the day to put the Dodgers ahead for the first time, 4–2. During a Sox uprising in the eighth againstLarry Sherry,Al Smith doubled to left with two men on, cutting the lead to 4–3. However,Sherm Lollar was thrown out by a mile at the plate trying to score due toWally Moon faking a catch that fooled Lollar. Sherry pitched a perfect ninth to notch a save and give the Dodgers the win.

In contrast to the crowd of 36,528 for the tie-breaker playoff game at theLos Angeles Coliseum, 92,394 showed up for the first World Series game ever played on the West Coast.Dick Donovan faced off against the host team'sDon Drysdale in Game 3. Six scoreless innings were thrown by the two, with Donovan giving up only one hit. However, Donovan would load the bases in the seventh inning on two walks and a single before being replaced byGerry Staley. A single byCarl Furillo scored two runs. Drysdale allowed two singles andLarry Sherry hit a batter to load the bases with no outs in the eighth, but gave up just a run onAl Smith's double play. The Dodgers got that run back in the bottom half whenMaury Wills hit a leadoff single off ofGerry Staley and scored onCharlie Neal's double. Sherry shut down the Sox in the ninth as the Dodgers won, 3–1 despite being outhit 12–5. The White Sox stranded 11 runners and were 0–for–7 with them in scoring position.

Early Wynn andRoger Craig faced off against each other once again before a crowd of 92,650. Wynn was knocked out by a four-run Dodger third inning.Wally Moon singled with two outs and scored onNorm Larker's single. Larker, who moved to second on an error, scored onGil Hodges's single. Hodges moved to third on aDon Demeter single and scored on a passed ball, thenJohn Roseboro's RBI single capped the inning's scoring. The Sox tied the game in the seventh onTed Kluszewski's RBI single with two on followed bySherm Lollar socking a three-run home run, butGil Hodges blasted one over the fence in the next inning off ofGerry Staley to give the Dodgers a 5–4 lead, thenLarry Sherry pitched a scoreless ninth to put the Dodgers a win away from the World Series championship.

A record-breaking crowd of 92,706 turned out, a majority hoping to celebrate a Los Angeles championship. For the first time in World Series history, however, three pitchers combined for a shutout, as Bob Shaw,Billy Pierce and Dick Donovan quieted the Dodgers and their fans 1–0 in Game 5, sending the series back to Chicago. The game's only run scored in the fourth off starterSandy Koufax, coming whenNellie Fox scored as Lollar grounded into a double play. To date, this remains the largest crowd inWorld Series history.

The victory in Game 5 gave the Sox hope, heading back home to a "real ballpark," as opposed to L.A.'s converted football stadium. But the change in scenery was no help.Early Wynn started with only two days rest, and after surrendering two runs in the third inning onDuke Snider's home run after a walk, the Dodgers broke open the game with six more in the fourth.Norm Larker hit a leadoff single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and scored onMaury Wills's single. Wills scored onJohnny Podres's double to knock Wynn out of the game.Dick Donovan walkedJim Gilliam before allowing a two-run double toCharlie Neal and two-run home run toWally Moon to make it 8–0 Dodgers. Starter Podres was also knocked out in the fourth by Chicago's last gasp, another towering three-run home run by the hottest Sox hitter,Ted Kluszewski, after a walk and hit-by-pitch. In the ninth inning,Chuck Essegian set a World Series record with his second pinch-hit home run of the Series off ofRay Moore, and the Dodgers captured their first championship as aLos Angeles team. Relief pitcherLarry Sherry was voted Most Valuable Player of the Series after finishing with a 2–0 record, two saves, five strikeouts, and a 0.71 ERA, allowing only one earned run off eight hits in 122⁄3 innings pitched.

1959 World Series(4–2):Los Angeles Dodgers (N.L.) overChicago White Sox (A.L.)

The Dodgers found an unlikely hero whenChuck Essegian, who hit only one home run in 1959 and had only six in his career to that point, set a World Series record with two pinch-hit home runs.

Due to the best-of-three N.L. playoff, Game 1 was deferred from Wednesday, September 30, to Thursday, October 1. The normal travel days were retained between Games 2 and 3, and Games 5 and 6, resulting in the rare event of a Series with no Saturday game scheduled.

Games 3, 4 and 5 were:

• The first World Series games ever played on the West Coast;
• The first and only played in theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum;
• The only games in World Series history to exceed 90,000 in attendance: Game 5 drew 92,706 fans (a major league recordunlikely to be broken under current arrangements, as no current MLB stadium has a capacity of even 60,000 –Dodger Stadium currently has the largest capacity in the MLB with 56,000)

This was the first World Series to draw more than 400,000 fans.

Larry Sherry of the Dodgers was the fifth consecutive pitcher to win theWorld Series Most Valuable Player Award (in only the fifth year it was awarded), followingJohnny Podres (Brooklyn,1955),Don Larsen (New York,1956),Lew Burdette (Milwaukee,1957), andBob Turley (New York,1958). Sherry, who had been born withclub feet, finished all four games the Dodgers won, winning two and saving two. His brotherNorm was the Dodgers' backup catcher.

Although he was not voted MVP, Dodger second basemanCharlie Neal batted .370 for the Series, and his two-homer performance in Game 2 came after Chicago's pitching had held L.A. scoreless for 13 consecutive innings.

Ted Kluszewski played for the losing "Pale Hose" but still managed to drive in a World Series record-tying ten runs, joiningYogi Berra, who drove in ten in the 1956 World Series. "Big Klu" did so in just six games, and his 10 RBIs in the 1959 World Series remain a record for a 6-game World Series, as Berra's 10 RBIs in 1956 came in a 7-game World Series. (However, Bobby Richardson would break the record for RBIs in a World Series, regardless of length, the next year with 12 against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1960 World Series.)^[11]

The Dodgers became the second National League team to win a World Series after relocating (the 1957Milwaukee Braves being the first).

The Dodgers became the first team to go from 7th place in one season to World Champion the next.

The 1959 World Series was the last one forComiskey Park, and the only one forLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The White Sox would move intoRate Field, originally "New Comiskey", in 1991; the Dodgers moved intoDodger Stadium in 1962. This was the last World Series to host the final World Series games of both its host venues until2003, as the originalYankee Stadium closed following the2008 Major League Baseball season and theFlorida Marlins moved out ofSun Life Stadium after the 2011 season.

• 1959 Japan Series

• Cohen, Richard M.; Neft, David S. (1990).The World Series: Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903–1989. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 275–280.ISBN 0-312-03960-3.
• Reichler, Joseph (1982).The Baseball Encyclopedia (5th ed.). Macmillan Publishing. p. 2167.ISBN 0-02-579010-2.

• 1959 World Series atWorldSeries.com viaMLB.com
• 1959 World Series atBaseball Almanac
• 1959 World Series atBaseball-Reference.com
• The 1959 Post-Season Games (box scores and play-by-play) atRetrosheet
• History of the World Series - 1959 atThe Sporting News. Archived fromthe original in May 2006.

• World Series
• 1959 Major League Baseball season
• Los Angeles Dodgers postseason
• Chicago White Sox postseason
• 1959 in Los Angeles
• 1959 in Illinois
• 1950s in Chicago
• October 1959 sports events in the United States
• Baseball competitions in Los Angeles
• Baseball competitions in Chicago
• Events at Comiskey Park
• Events at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from November 2013
• Short description is different from Wikidata