| 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers | |
|---|---|
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| League | National League |
| Ballpark | Ebbets Field |
| City | Brooklyn, New York |
| Record | 97–60 (.618) |
| League place | 2nd |
| Owners | Walter O'Malley (majority owner);James &Dearie Mulvey,Mary Louise Smith |
| President | Walter O'Malley |
| General managers | Buzzie Bavasi |
| Managers | Chuck Dressen |
| Television | WOR-TV |
| Radio | WMGM Red Barber,Connie Desmond,Vin Scully |
The1951 Brooklyn Dodgers season was the 62nd season for theBrooklyn Dodgers franchise in theMLB. The Dodgers led theNational League for much of the season, holding a 13-game lead as late as August. However, a late season collapse and a hot streak by theNew York Giants led to a classicthree-game playoff series.Bobby Thomson's dramatic ninth-inning home run off Dodger relieverRalph Branca in the final game of atie-breaker series won thepennant for the Giants and was immortalized as theShot Heard 'Round the World.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | 98 | 59 | .624 | — | 50–28 | 48–31 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 97 | 60 | .618 | 1 | 49–29 | 48–31 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 81 | 73 | .526 | 15½ | 44–34 | 37–39 |
| Boston Braves | 76 | 78 | .494 | 20½ | 42–35 | 34–43 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 73 | 81 | .474 | 23½ | 38–39 | 35–42 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 68 | 86 | .442 | 28½ | 35–42 | 33–44 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 64 | 90 | .416 | 32½ | 32–45 | 32–45 |
| Chicago Cubs | 62 | 92 | .403 | 34½ | 32–45 | 30–47 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BSN | BRO | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Boston | — | 10–12–1 | 10–12 | 10–12 | 8–14 | 12–10 | 13–9 | 13–9 | |||||
| Brooklyn | 12–10–1 | — | 14–8 | 14–8 | 14–11 | 15–7 | 10–12 | 18–4 | |||||
| Chicago | 12–10 | 8–14 | — | 10–12 | 7–15 | 7–15 | 9–13 | 9–13–1 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 12–10 | 8–14 | 12–10 | — | 5–17 | 11–11 | 12–10–1 | 8–14 | |||||
| New York | 14–8 | 11–14 | 15–7 | 17–5 | — | 16–6 | 14–8 | 11–11 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 10–12 | 7–15 | 15–7 | 11–11 | 6–16 | — | 15–7 | 9–13 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 9–13 | 12–10 | 13–9 | 10–12–1 | 8–14 | 7–15 | — | 5–17 | |||||
| St. Louis | 9–13 | 4–18 | 13–9–1 | 14–8 | 11–11 | 13–9 | 17–5 | — | |||||
| Opening Day Lineup | ||
|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Position |
| 29 | Don Thompson | LF |
| 6 | Carl Furillo | RF |
| 4 | Duke Snider | CF |
| 42 | Jackie Robinson | 2B |
| 14 | Gil Hodges | 1B |
| 39 | Roy Campanella | C |
| 1 | Pee Wee Reese | SS |
| 9 | Rocky Bridges | 3B |
| 17 | Carl Erskine | P |
| 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders
Other batters | Manager Coaches | ||||||
| = Indicates team leader |
| = Indicates league leader |
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 | Roy Campanella | 143 | 505 | 164 | .325 | 33 | 108 |
| 1B | Gil Hodges | 158 | 582 | 156 | .268 | 40 | 103 |
| 2B | Jackie Robinson | 153 | 548 | 185 | .338 | 19 | 88 |
| SS | Pee Wee Reese | 154 | 616 | 176 | .286 | 10 | 84 |
| 3B | Billy Cox | 142 | 455 | 127 | .279 | 9 | 51 |
| OF | Duke Snider | 150 | 606 | 168 | .277 | 29 | 101 |
| OF | Carl Furillo | 158 | 667 | 197 | .295 | 16 | 91 |
| OF | Andy Pafko | 84 | 277 | 69 | .249 | 18 | 58 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cal Abrams | 67 | 150 | 42 | .280 | 3 | 19 |
| Rocky Bridges | 63 | 134 | 34 | .254 | 1 | 15 |
| Don Thompson | 80 | 118 | 27 | .229 | 0 | 6 |
| Gene Hermanski | 31 | 80 | 20 | .250 | 1 | 5 |
| Rube Walker | 36 | 74 | 18 | .243 | 2 | 9 |
| Dick Williams | 23 | 60 | 12 | .200 | 1 | 5 |
| Wayne Terwilliger | 37 | 50 | 14 | .280 | 0 | 4 |
| Bruce Edwards | 17 | 36 | 9 | .250 | 1 | 8 |
| Hank Edwards | 35 | 31 | 7 | .226 | 0 | 3 |
| Tommy Brown | 11 | 25 | 4 | .160 | 0 | 1 |
| Jim Russell | 16 | 13 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Miksis | 19 | 10 | 2 | .200 | 0 | 0 |
| Mickey Livingston | 2 | 5 | 2 | .400 | 0 | 2 |
| Wayne Belardi | 3 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Newcombe | 40 | 272.0 | 20 | 9 | 3.28 | 164* |
| Preacher Roe | 34 | 257.2 | 22 | 3 | 3.04 | 113 |
| Ralph Branca | 42 | 204.0 | 13 | 12 | 3.26 | 118 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Erskine | 46 | 189.2 | 16 | 12 | 4.46 | 95 |
| Clem Labine | 14 | 65.1 | 5 | 1 | 2.20 | 39 |
| Johnny Schmitz | 16 | 55.2 | 1 | 4 | 5.34 | 20 |
| Joe Hatten | 11 | 49.1 | 1 | 0 | 4.56 | 22 |
| Chris Van Cuyk | 9 | 29.1 | 1 | 2 | 5.52 | 16 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clyde King | 48 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 4.15 | 33 |
| Bud Podbielan | 27 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3.50 | 26 |
| Erv Palica | 19 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4.75 | 15 |
| Phil Haugstad | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.46 | 22 |
| Dan Bankhead | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15.43 | 9 |
| Earl Mossor | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32.40 | 1 |
One of the more famous episodes in major league baseball history, and possibly one of the greatest moments in sports history, the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" is the name given toBobby Thomson'swalk-off home run that clinched the National League pennant for theNew York Giants over their rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers. This game was the third of a three-game playoff series resulting from one of baseball's most memorable pennant races. The Giants had been thirteen and a half games behind the league-leading Dodgers in August, but under Durocher's guidance and with the aid of a sixteen-game winning streak, caught the Dodgers to tie for the lead on the last day of the season. The radio broadcast of Bobby Thomson's pennant-winning home run was chronicled on a 1955 Columbia Masterworks vinyl LP record, "The Greatest Moments in Sports."[11]
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Montreal, Santa Barbara
