1954 World Series
Willie Mays'memorable catch in Game 1
Team (Wins) Managers Season New York Giants (4) Leo Durocher 97–57 (.630), GA: 5 Cleveland Indians (0) Al López 111–43 (.721), GA: 8
Dates	September 29 – October 2
Venue(s)	Polo Grounds (New York) Cleveland Stadium (Cleveland)
Umpires	Al Barlick (NL),Charlie Berry (AL),Jocko Conlan (NL),Johnny Stevens (AL),Lon Warneke (NL: outfield only),Larry Napp (AL: outfield only)
Hall of Famers	Umpires: Al Barlick Jocko Conlan Giants: Leo Durocher (manager) Monte Irvin Willie Mays Hoyt Wilhelm Indians: Al López (manager) Larry Doby Bob Lemon Early Wynn Hal Newhouser Bob Feller
Broadcast
Television	NBC
TV announcers	Russ Hodges andJack Brickhouse
Radio	Mutual
Radio announcers	Al Helfer andJimmy Dudley
← 1953 World Series 1955 →

The1954 World Series was thechampionship series ofMajor League Baseball's (MLB)1954 season. The 51st edition of the World Series, it was abest-of-seven playoff that matched theNational League championNew York Giants against theAmerican League championCleveland Indians. The Giants swept the Series in four games to win their first championship since1933, defeating the heavily favored Indians, who had won an AL-record 111 games in the 154-game regular season (a record since broken by the1998 New York Yankees with 114 and again by the2001 Seattle Mariners with 116).

"The Catch" occurred during Game 1 of this series, when Giants center fielderWillie Mays snared a long drive byVic Wertz near the outfield wall with his back to the infield. Utility playerDusty Rhodes had clutch hits in three of the four games, including apinch-hitwalk-off that won Game 1, barely clearing the 258-foot (79 m) right-field fence at thePolo Grounds. Giants managerLeo Durocher, who had managed teams to three National League championships, won his only World Series title as a manager. The Giants, who moved west toSan Francisco in1958, did not win another World Series until2010.

This was the first time that the Indians had been swept in a World Series and the first time that the Giants had swept an opponent in four games (their1922 sweep included a controversial tie game). Game 2 was the last World Series and playoff game at the Polo Grounds, and Game 4 was the last World Series and playoff game atCleveland Stadium. The Indians' next World Series was in1995, a year afterJacobs Field opened.

TheNational Football League game between theCleveland Browns andDetroit Lions, scheduled for October 3 at Cleveland Stadium, was postponed to December 19.

This was the first World Series since 1948 to not feature the Yankees and one of only three World Series to not feature them over 18 seasons from 1947 to 1964 (also 1959).

TheIndians, by winning theAmerican League pennant, kept theYankees from having a chance to win their sixth straight series. The last time the Yankees had been absent from the World Series was1948, when the Indians defeated theBoston Braves to win the championship. This was also the only World Series from 1949 to 1958 in which the Yankees did not participate.

The Indians easily won the 1954 pennant on the strength of the American League's top pitching staff, leading the AL in teamearned run average at 2.72 and complete games with 77. PitchersEarly Wynn (23–11, 2.73 earned run average) andBob Lemon (23–7, 2.72 earned run average) were in top form, with solid contributions fromMike Garcia (19–8, 2.64) andArt Houtterman (15–7, 3.35).Bob Feller, at age 35, could make only 19 starts, and finished at 13–3. Cleveland also had potent hitting, leading the AL in home runs (156) and finishing second in runs scored (746), although the team managed just 30 stolen bases in 63 attempts.Bobby Ávila led the offense with 112 runs and a .341batting average, whileLarry Doby (.272 batting average, 32 home runs, 126 runs batted in) andAl Rosen (.300 batting average, 24 home runs, 102 runs batted in) provided the power. CatcherJim Hegan made only four errors in 134 games and threw out 44% of would-bebase stealers.^[1]

The Giants entered the World Series with a top-flight pitching staff as well, withJohnny Antonelli (21–7, 2.30 earned run average),Rubén Gómez (17–9, 2.88) and 37-year-oldSal "The Barber" Maglie (14–6, 3.26). The Giants relied more heavily on relief pitching withHoyt Wilhelm (12–7, 2.10, 7saves) andMarv Grissom (10–7, 2.35, 19 saves) rounding out a staff that led the NL in team earned run average at 3.09 and shutouts with 17. Manager Leo Durocher used a solid, consistent lineup with all of his starters, except for the catching position, playing in at least 135 games. Willie Mays (.345 batting average, 41 home runs, 110 runs batted in) led an offense that also featuredDon Mueller (.342 batting average),Alvin Dark (.293 batting average, 98 runs),Hank Thompson (26 home runs, 86 runs batted in) and pinch-hitter extraordinaire Dusty Rhodes (.341 batting average).^[2]

NLNew York Giants (4) vs. ALCleveland Indians (0)

Cleveland got on the board right away against Sal Maglie. Leadoff manAl Smith was hit by a pitch, Bobby Ávila singled and Vic Wertz brought home both with a triple to right.Don Liddle and Marv Grissom held them scoreless for the rest of the game.

Bob Lemon gave two back in the third on singles byWhitey Lockman and Alvin Dark, a run-scoring groundout by Don Mueller, a walk to Willie Mays and a Hank Thompson run-scoring single.

Mays saved the day in the eighth after leadoff singles by Larry Doby and Al Rosen led to starting pitcher Maglie being lifted for Liddle. Wertz's drive to deep center field would have scored both if not forMays' memorable catch.

Wertz opened the 10th inning with another hard-hit ball in Mays’ direction, which again would have required a great defensive play by the Giants' centerfielder but landed for a double.^[8] (Wertz thus ended his afternoon having gone 4-for-5 with three extra-base hits and batting in the Indians’ two runs.) However, this potential 10th-inning rally was to no avail, as the Indians batted only 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position in the game, and went hitless (0-for-13) in such situations after Wertz’s two-run triple in the first inning.^[9]

Lemon went all the way for Cleveland, losing it in the 10th when Dusty Rhodes, pinch-hitting forMonte Irvin with two Giants on base, hit a walk-off home run.

Once again, the visitors started quickly but could not hold their lead. Al Smith's leadoff home run off Johnny Antonelli put Cleveland up 1–0. Early Wynn preserved that lead, pitching four perfect innings, but in the fifth inning, Willie Mays walked and Hank Thompson singled, and Dusty Rhodes, again pinch-hitting for Monte Irvin, delivered a run-scoring single. Antonelli gave himself the go-ahead run by scoring Thompson on a groundout. New York had just four hits, but Rhodes padded the Giants' lead with a home run leading off the seventh. Their other hit came in the sixth inning on an Alvin Dark leadoff single. Antonelli walked six but struck out nine, pitching acomplete game to give the Giants a 2–0 series lead. This was the last postseason game at the Polo Grounds.

A huge crowd of 71,555 hoped to see Cleveland get its first win, but things did not go well for the home team. The Indians trailed 1–0 quickly when Whitey Lockman singled, took second on a groundout and scored on a hit by Willie Mays. The run was scored asunearned because of an error by shortstopGeorge Strickland. With the bases loaded in the third, pinch hitter Dusty Rhodes hit a two-run single. An error by pitcher Mike Garcia onDavey Williams' bunt attempt gave the Giants another run to make it 4–0. The Giants added to their lead on run-scoring singles by Wes Westrum off of Art Houtteman in the fifth and by Mays off ofRay Narleski in the sixth. Ruben Gomez gave up just four hits and two runs (a Vic Wertz home run in the seventh and an error by shortstop Alvin Dark on a ground ball byAl Smith), with knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm mopping up for the save.

Cleveland's slim comeback chances took a beating as the Indians fell hopelessly behind, 7–0. The scoring started on a pair of Cleveland errors in the second inning. A run-scoring double by Mays in the third scored another run. The Giants' four-run fifth inning broke the game wide open. Starter Bob Lemon loaded the bases and was pulled for Hal Newhouser, who faced just two batters, giving up a walk to Thompson and two-run single to Irvin. The Giants added another run in the inning on Wes Westrum's sacrifice fly against Ray Narleski. A brief glimmer of hope for the home team came in the bottom of the fifth with a couple of Giants errors and aHank Majeski three-run pinch-hit home run, but except for a meaningless run-scoring single byRudy Regalado in the seventh off starter Don Liddle, the Indians got nothing more as Hoyt Wilhelm and Game 2 starter Johnny Antonelli came on in relief and the Giants completed a four-game sweep. It was the most unexpected sweep in World Series history, with the Indians having a better regular reason record by 14 games. The only other similar discrepancy in a World Series sweep was the 1990 Cincinnati Reds, who swept an Oakland A's team whose regular season record bested theirs by 12 games. This was also the last World Series before the official World Series MVP award began to be awarded in 1955, thoughDusty Rhodes would have been a lock for the award if it had been introduced yet. The Giants also became only the second non-Yankees team ever to sweep a four-game World Series, joining theBoston Braves in1914.

1954 World Series(4–0):New York Giants (N.L.) overCleveland Indians (A.L.)

This was the first of what is currently four consecutive defeats in the World Series for the Indians. After the series loss, the Indians fell into a massive slump, and as the Major League Baseball postseason playoff format made its debut in1969, they would fail to make the postseason during the entirety of the four-team era when only division winners qualified for the postseason. They would not return to the postseason until the field was expanded in1995 to four teams per league, and that season the Indians would make it back to theWorld Series, but were upset by theAtlanta Braves in six games, which was their second consecutive defeat in the Fall Classic. They also returned in1997, and lost to theFlorida Marlins in seven games after being an out away from the championship in Game 7. Then came the2016 World Series, which the Indians blew a 3–1 series lead and lost in seven games to theChicago Cubs, who won their first title in108 years, which was the Indians’ fourth consecutive loss in the Fall Classic and they now hold the longest championship drought in the majors. The only team in North American sports with a longer championship are theNFL’sArizona Cardinals, who last won a championship in1947 (as theChicago Cardinals), a year before Cleveland’s last World Series victory.

As for the Giants, they too would eventually fall into a slump after their World Series win and be saddled with theCurse of Coogan's Bluff after their move toSan Francisco. However, the Giants would have much better luck than the Indians during this time. They would return to Fall Classic in1962, but narrowly lost to theNew York Yankees in seven games. They also returned in1989, but were swept by their cross-town rival in theOakland Athletics. Then, they would suffer a third straight defeat in2002 against their cross-state foe in theAnaheim Angels in seven games after being six outs away from the championship in Game 6. They would eventually end the curse in2010 over theTexas Rangers in five games, which marked the start of a dynasty for the Giants.

• Hank Thompson set a World Series record forbases on balls received during a four-game series with 7 andBob Lemon set a World Series record for bases on balls given up during a four-game series with 8.

• 1954 Japan Series
• List of World Series sweeps
• The Catch

• 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. 250–253.ISBN 0-312-03960-3.
• Hano, Arnold (2004).A Day in the Bleachers. Cambridge: Da Capo Press.ISBN 0-306-81322-X. The author, who later wrote Mays' biography, described sitting in the left-center field bleachers at the Polo Grounds for Game 1. An entire chapter was devoted to "The Catch".
• Reichler, Joseph (1982).The Baseball Encyclopedia (5th ed.). Macmillan Publishing. p. 2162.ISBN 0-02-579010-2.

• 1954 World Series atWorldSeries.com viaMLB.com
• 1954 World Series atBaseball Almanac
• 1954 World Series atBaseball-Reference.com
• The 1954 Post-Season Games (box scores and play-by-play) atRetrosheet
• History of the World Series - 1954 atThe Sporting News. Archived fromthe original in May 2006.
• Baseball's Best: 1954 World Series(MLB.com)
• Kodak Presents – Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments, Willie Mays' Catch

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