@Matt Pizzano Actually 258 down the right field line and 279 down the left field line. The stadium's property line in left field was dictated in 1911 by the neighboring NYC subway repair yards. This historic home run reached the crowd in the lower deck above the 315 mark.
It was built during the Dead Ball Era, when home runs were rare, unless they were hit inside the park. It was probably considered a hitter's park back in the day because a batter could run all day if the ball got past the outfielders.
@Matt Pizzano The Los Angeles Coliseum was 251 feet to the left field foul pole. The Polo Grounds was 257 or 258 feet to right field, depending on your source of information, and 279 feet to left field, but in left field the upper deck stuck out over the lower deck, so fly balls did not have to travel that far to be a home run.
It also had the bullpens in the field of play, the overhanging seats in left field, and the fact that the field was not flat. The center field wall was about 8 feet lower than home plate.
I was lying in my bed with my clothes on in an apartment in Brooklyn. Of course I was a Giant Fan, age eighteen, listening to the end of the season. What a shot ! I got the shivers up my spine. I will never forget it!
And remember. Although not on the mic for this prodigious moment, a young Vin Scully was in the next booth over, wiping the tears from his eyes. This was Vin's second year I believe. Red Barber did the call on Dodger's radio.
this was not the T.V. call. this was Russ Hodges doing the Radio call. Google the story about a young man from Bklyn. Lawrence Goldberg, without him taping this call, nobody would ever it after the original call. the studio didn't tape back then on Radio........
His death is what led me here. How bittersweet, to be such an integral part of such a moment in sports history, but to be the one who pitched the ball rather than the one who hit it. I'm sure the moment brought him many memories of his playing years looking back, though. Condolences to his family!
As a Baseball fan living in Scotland, there ain't many of us, it's great to know that one of the greatest baseball moments of all time was carried out by a Scotsman 😊
Tragic indeed. It didn't help that the local press as well as the fans wouldn't let him forget it. If they wanted to blame someone it should have been the Angels manager.
razorback9926 So true. I saw them both @ a sports collectors event near Newark Airport some twenty years ago. Both of them were pleasant, made eye contact and shook my hand after signing a book I owned about that season.
Don DeLillo’s “Underworld” brought me here. For those who are unfamiliar the book, DeLillo writes about Thomson’s home run for the first 60-odd pages of “Underworld”, and it’s a lushly cinematic, exhilarating panoramic view of both The Shot Heard ‘Round the World and the encircling hubbub that shook the Polo Grounds that day. You will feel as if you had been there.
+Robert Staples I saw a Willie Mays interview where he said he was standing in the on deck circle, praying that Thomson would do something so he wouldn't have to. He was so scared he would strike out or fly out or something like that. Mays said that when Thomson hit it out at first he (Mays) didn't realize it because he was still praying so hard for Thomson to do something, haha. Mays said that if you look closely at films of that moment you could see #24 coming in last to home plate to celebrate.
***** That's interesting. Never heard Willie describe the moment, but you're right....I've often looked for Mays in the celebration mob, and never could pick him out. Mays has always been my favorite ball player......thanks for posting this info
Without a doubt, This is #1. Al Michaels "Do you believe in MIRACLES...YES!" during the 1980 Winter Olympics when the US team defeated the Soviet team is #1-A.
This is one of the best games in history and, being a Giants fan, I love when they beat the Dodgers!!! This is the greatest rivalry... over 100 years of playing eachother and still going strong!
@@spacedude1145I just got some email about a reply on my comment on UA-cam. I don’t remember making any comment then I opened this…. lol. 15yrs ago. Damn.
Absolutely magical! The pure undiluted joy on the fans' faces, Thomson's face radiating ecstatic happiness as he runs to home and into history, the announcer shouting with pure glee--this is why I love sports. The electric energy of the crowd, many of them on the brink of happy tears, these grown men so overwhelmed by the exhilarating rush of the moment that they are staggering around laughing, shouting, and beaming like children with no self-consciousness or doubt or worries, the way their faces are lit from within and you just know you're watching the greatest moment of a person's life. What's not to love?!
As a sports broadcaster I literally get tears in my eyes whenever I hear this call because it is so perfect and so legendary. It is the definition of what I want to be remembered for
Did you notice how far the ball traveled? Only 315 feet to the wall where it cleared the fence. The Polo Grounds had unique dimensions for a major league ballpark. Only 279 feet to the foul pole in left field and 257 feet in right field. It was a long distance to the power alleys 447 to left center and 415 feet to right center. The center field fence was 483 feet from home plate.
80's kid here, Giants fan from the midwest by birth. The only half-assed comparison in my lifetime was Ishikowa's shot vs. StL to go to the WS. Chills man, I got chills.
@@cosybully I don't remember exactly how far it traveled unless I go back and rewatch the video, but Bill Mazeroski's home run in the bottom of the ninth inning off Ralph Terry (another Ralph) went even farther.
Check swing? Thomson clocked that thing, a laser shot that landed in the lower deck. The upper deck in the Polo Grounds hung out about ten foot into the field area, so a ball had to be really scorched to land in the lower deck, and Thomson got a full swing on that thing.
True fact, my Mom was dating Dodger pitcher Branca at the time. She was a New York native and Dodger season ticket holder. Needless to say, the loss was a big deal. When she went to work the next day, her funny coworkers had her desk covered with black balloon, "mourning" the loss. When the Dodgers left to New York for greener pastures in LA, much of her passion for the team left too. Many of those fans never forgave them for leaving. Pro athletes who are single like to "get around" a bit, so the relationship ended and she moved on to greener pastures as well! It makes for a good story though!
I had gone out to lunch from St Christophers school in Baldwin NY. Walking past a gas station on my way back to school, all the guys where gatherer around a radio in the the repair bay. I stood and listened with them for a few minutes. Then they all exploded with shouts and yelling..Bobby Thompson had hit a homerun and the Giants won the pennet!!!! Pretty exciting stuff for a 9 yr old kid!!!!
Still the greatest moment in American sports. Lots of credit to those newsreel camaramen who right in the middle of all of that choas. Great film, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat.
Something I never noticed before, though I've seen this a thousand times. At 0:44, Leo Durocher stops in his celebration and picks up a glove and puts it on his hand. In those days, fielders still left their gloves in the field when it was their team's turn at bat. They'd just throw them to the side. So that glove was actually Bobby Thompson's, since he was the Giants' third baseman, and he threw it there when he it was the Giants' turn up. The rule, where you had to bring your glove with you to the dugout, wasn't passed until, I think, 1954. So I bet the Giants' players gloves were all still laying on the ground when the game ended and the fans ran on the field, so I bet none of them (besides Bobby Thompson) ever saw their gloves again. For Stanky, who you see mugging Durocher in the 3rd base coach's box, this was his 3rd World Series with 3 different teams in 5 years. 1947, with the Dodgers, 1948, with the Braves and 1951 with the Giants. Unfortunately for him, his teams lost all three, one to Cleveland, two to the Yankees. Of course, this at bat was a showdown between two New York guys, and Staten Island beats Westchester, Thompson being from Staten Island (my home town) and Branca being from Mount Vernon. I read an article in an old Baseball Digest where Herman Franks (I think) was talking about Branca, who had a record of giving up big hits (it happened in the 1947 World Series too, and there were several others). He said that Branca had great stuff as a pitcher, as good as any pitcher in the league, but he wasn't mean enough and was too nice a guy. That he didn't "hate" his opponents enough. Dressen was crazy to bring him in in this situation, and it almost makes you wonder if he had a bet on the Giants. (Nah, Dressen was a wise guy who just thought he was smarter than everybody else.) It sucks to lose a game like this, but it must have REALLY sucked in the Polo Grounds, where you didn't get to duck out quickly into your dugout, but had to walk the entire field (and it was a long walk to the 490 foot center field) to get to the clubhouses, which were in center field. It was a bad day to be a Dodger, especially when they saw the happiness of guys like Durocher & Stanky, two ex-Dodgers who ended up being absolutely hated by Dodgers fans and players.
That practice has to be one of the strangest things about baseball in the old days. Weren't they worried a fielder would step on it or the ball would hit the glove. It just seems like a weird tradition.
I can watch this clip EVERY day.... Arguably the greatest moment in MLB History along with Maz's walk-off in Game 7 vs. the Yankees in the 1960 World Series at Forbes Field !
As a lifelong baseball fan (and a huge Cardinals fan), I've always appreciated the 'Shot Heard 'Round The World.' Russ Hodges' dramatic call STILL gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. That great moment occurred ten years before I was born, but the newsreel footage captures an era of baseball in New York - and a more innocent time. Rest in peace, Bobby!!
Thanks to inheriting my dad's love of the game, when I was a kid in 3rd or 4th grade, the question of "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" came up, and while my classmates were busy talking about the Revolutionary War or some such nonsense, I confidently informed them all that it was Bobby Thomson's home run to beat the Dodgers in 1951. They had no idea what I was talking about. But I teached 'em that day!
That has to be one of the most thrilling moments in baseball history. I can't get enough of it. Thanks for the memories. Rest in peace Bobby Thomson, rest in peace.
Don't know, but without a doubt Jackie Gleason and Frank Sinatra and Toots Shor knew each other well. On the other hand, the addition of J. Edgar Hoover, if not grounded in reality, was quite an inventive touch. I can't resist saying that this chapter from DeLillo's book (really a stand-alone novella) is IMHO a supreme example of masterly writing, just jaw-droppingly good. (The rest of Underworld didn't grab me nearly so much.)
Just read about him (my name is Hodge) - read where if it were not for a fan recording this it would never have been passed down - 'cause they did not archive game broadcasts then.
I was just reading Bill Brysons book, 'The Thunderbolt Kid' (very entertaining) and he describes this moment, and his sportswriter father's attendance at this game. He describes ig in such detail that I had to look for it here. Not disappointed at all!
***** Only three franchises are 1,000 games over .500 -- the Giants, the Dodgers, and the Yankees. They also have the top three winning percentages. Yankees at .569, Giants at .538, Dodgers at .525
I'm only 19 years-old, so I never got to study much of Bobby's career, but when I saw this some years ago, I was instantly awed by this moment. I wish big-league baseball was this fun nowadays, instead of being about how long and baggy you can wear your pants or how much you make a season. RIP, Bobby.
This is, of course, one of the most memorable moments in the history of sports in this country. Lost in the fuss is that the 'GIANTS WINNING THE PENNANT' was followed by the Giants losing to the Yankees in the World Series.
Thanks, Bobby, for being a part of this great moment in baseball, that we could all look to and be reminded of how great a sport baseball really is, and the thrill and joy of the game.
Even Al Capone celebrated this majesty 1:03 .. what a moment, even though im a Huge Dodgers fan, the enthusiasm and intensity of that call is beyond belief..
Memories of my dad and me (I was a kid) driving across the San Francisco-Oakland bay bridge while listening to Russ Hodges broadcast the Giant games from Candlestick park around 1961. Good times
My dad spent half his childhood in ebbet's field, a staunch Brooklyn Dodger fan but even he agrees this moment will always be the center of the baseball universe
I have read many of these comments from the most important moment was Jackie Robinson taking the field in 1947 to Don Larsen's perfect game to Kirk Gibson's home run in th 1987 World Series. But for pure excitement, this is truly THE most important play in major league baseball history. Russ Hodges' call, the look of joy on Bobby Thomson's face, Leo Durocher going nuts at third base and the Dodgers walking off of the field in disbelief are timeless. Rest in peace Bobby for still giving me chills
Since I did find the box score I looked at a few interesting facts. W.P. Larry Janson 23-11 L.P. Ralph Branca 13-12 who only pitched two pitches. A strike to Thompson and the most famous homerun of all time,the "shot heard round the world".Bobby Thompson went 3-4 including a double and his 32nd HR of the season. Rookie Willie Mays went 0-3 and was on deck. For the Dodgers Jackie Robinson went I-2 with two walks, one intentional. Duke Snider was caught stealing. Starters were Sal Maglie for the Giants and Don Newcombe for the Dodgers. A 3 run 8th gave the Dodgers a 4-1 lead. Newcombe started the bottom of the ninth and gave up a double driving in a run with runners at 2nd and 3rd making the score 4-2 and one out. That brought in pitcher Ralph Branca and you know the rest.
In case you have to know about the World Series, the Yankees beat the Giants 4 games to 2making it three straight World Series for the Yankees and manager Casey Stengal. They went on to make it five straight and still the major league record. In '51 a rookie named Mickey Mantle started and played right field. The centerfielder was Joe DiMaggio and played his last season.
There were a lot of similarities in '51 and '62.Instead of the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants, it was the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.The Giants came from a long ways behind to finish in a tie with the Dodgers. They split the first two games and this time the Dodgers were the home team.The Dodgers led 4-2 going into the top of the 9th.It wasn't one big swing of the bat, but the Giants rallied for 4 runs in the 9th and held the Dodgers scoreless in the bottom of the 9th.Giants win the pennant and yes they played the New York Yankees in the World Series.The World Series was just as exiting as the pennant race with the Yankees winning 4 games to 3.In game 7 the Yankees led 1-0 in the bottom of the 9th.With 2 out and a runner at first, Willie Mays doubled to put runners at second and third. This brought up Willie McCovey a left handed very good hitter. The pitcher Ralph Terry was left in the game after the manager Ralph Houck went to the mound. Instead of walking Mc Covey intentionally, Terry decided to pitch to him. I don't remember the count but he hit a scorching line drive to the right side and I thought that was a hit and 2 runs would score winning the World Series for the Giants.but when the camera followed the ball I saw 2nd baseman Bobby Richardson catch it for the 3rd out and the Yankees won the game and the World Series.
Karma bit the Dodgers for firing one of the best damn managers to ever grace the diamond. I wish we had more Leo Durochers around today. the man was a true legend. Won WS rings as a player and a manager. Played for some of the greatest managers in Miller Huggins and Frankie Frisch and masted one of the best damn WS wins of all time by sweeping the heavily favored 100+ game winning Cleveland Indians who many said were unstoppable. Leo said that was a bunch of bullshit and went out and kicked their asses. Long live The Lip.
I recently acquired a baseball autographed by BOTH Bobby Thompson and Ralph Branca. I did not see this game on TV but the '51 World Series is my earliest recollection of baseball, period. I am now 72 years old and wondering where the time has gone. Seeing this video now that I have this baseball gives me even more goosebumps. History.
I always get goosebumps seeing this clip. There are so many factors to it. One hearing the announcer go crazy. You can hear the joy in his voice. Then seeing a player and the 3rd base coach jumping all over each other as Thompson is rounding the bases. Then there is Thompson himself. He seemed to be floating on air as he skipped towards 1st base. And then seeing him carried off the field by his team. Thank you Bobby for one of the all time greastest moments in baseball. May you rest in peace.
I'm saying this because it's true the Giants cheated they used a telescope in center field to tip off their batters so the batters knew exactly what pitch was coming
Little did these people know at the time that the Giants were cheating. They had a coach in the center field clubhouse with binoculars, stealing the signs and relaying them electronically. They admitted their guilt 50 years later.
I get chills every time I listen to this call. My Dad was a Ny Giants fan and my Grandma on my Moms side was for the Dodgers. When my Dad came home that nite, he didn't say anything and just smiled. My Grandma threw a plate of spaghetti at him, ha ha. I'm a Giants fan. I love this moment but, I love 1954 better.
Ha ha! Before I even read your name I knew you had to be Italian! So am I, that's a great story. Yes, '54 was great, the Giants swept Cleveland. ( I don't like Cleveland )
And to think... This famous call by Russ Hodges would've been lost in time, had a local fan not tape-recorded it off the radio...
Don DeLillo brought me here
Luis O. Valdez that's incredible!
Great info! So glad that call remains!!
And the ironic part about that was, he was a Dodgers fan.....
No way. A dodgers fan would never take the time to do that...
I have no connection to this, but I still get chills every time I watch it. The pure exhilaration in the announcer's voice is the epitome of sports.
Keith Rogers
I know, it's crazy!!!
@@njackson6807 it's so awesome
@MUFC why are you watching the end of a baseball game played before you were born?
i cant even fucking understand what he is saying
@@njackson6807 Wasn’t it Russ Hodges
Polo Grounds was one weird ass field with dead center at 483 feet.
@Matt Pizzano Actually 258 down the right field line and 279 down the left field line. The stadium's property line in left field was dictated in 1911 by the neighboring NYC subway repair yards. This historic home run reached the crowd in the lower deck above the 315 mark.
It was authentic
It was built during the Dead Ball Era, when home runs were rare, unless they were hit inside the park. It was probably considered a hitter's park back in the day because a batter could run all day if the ball got past the outfielders.
@Matt Pizzano The Los Angeles Coliseum was 251 feet to the left field foul pole. The Polo Grounds was 257 or 258 feet to right field, depending on your source of information, and 279 feet to left field, but in left field the upper deck stuck out over the lower deck, so fly balls did not have to travel that far to be a home run.
It also had the bullpens in the field of play, the overhanging seats in left field, and the fact that the field was not flat. The center field wall was about 8 feet lower than home plate.
I was lying in my bed with my clothes on in an apartment in Brooklyn. Of course I was a Giant Fan, age eighteen, listening to the end of the season. What a shot ! I got the shivers up my spine. I will never forget it!
rip b to how u doing hope u still alive to see us beat u :)))
@@taco2728 that’s kind of a douchebag thing to say bro
Ur dead now... rip
Awesome
Hence SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD
THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT
THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT
THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT
Lol
*whispers* The giants win the pennant
ON IF YOU GOT A BAG OF BREAD ..
You know who was in the on deck circle: Willie Mays.
and he was o-5 that day
"You only know that because..." Because he read a book. Knowledge is not something to be sneered at. Presumably you read it too.
@@sfgiants4life15 Mays was 0-for-3 in this game.
To this day, he's still glad he didn't bat after Thompson.
🐐
And remember. Although not on the mic for this prodigious moment, a young Vin Scully was in the next booth over, wiping the tears from his eyes. This was Vin's second year I believe. Red Barber did the call on Dodger's radio.
there will never be a better call in baseball
every party has a pooper
that's why we invited you
party poooooper, party pooooper
Except for when Travis ishikawa did the same thing in 2014
+Scott Evans agreed
this was not the T.V. call. this was Russ Hodges doing the Radio call. Google the story about a young man from Bklyn. Lawrence Goldberg, without him taping this call, nobody would ever it after the original call. the studio didn't tape back then on Radio........
JiggityJiggityJoe there have been better calls
I smile whenever I here that "The Giants win the pennant!" so memorable.
Most epic win in baseball history.
- R.I.P. Ralph Branca January 6th, 1926 - November 23rd, 2016 :-(
His death is what led me here. How bittersweet, to be such an integral part of such a moment in sports history, but to be the one who pitched the ball rather than the one who hit it. I'm sure the moment brought him many memories of his playing years looking back, though. Condolences to his family!
A classy funny guy people 8n Brooklyn like my dad never forgave him lol
@@Rickstorm3571 The Shot Heard Round the World barely cleared the wall at the 315 foot sign. Would it have been a home run in any other park?
Ralph Branca who gave up HR is from my old home city....Mount Vernon New York
Oh shit, he passed that recently? Amazing.
As a Baseball fan living in Scotland, there ain't many of us, it's great to know that one of the greatest baseball moments of all time was carried out by a Scotsman 😊
Ralph Branca was never the same pitcher after this and he said that he never got over it, even decades later.
Remember the Angels' Donnie Moore, after he surrendered the HR to Dave Henderson? Moore ended up committing suicide b/c of it. Very tragic.
that's too bad because he was a great guy. one of the players who warmly welcomed Jackie Robinson to MLB in 1947
Tragic indeed. It didn't help that the local press as well as the fans wouldn't let him forget it. If they wanted to blame someone it should have been the Angels manager.
Ralph Branca and Bobby Thompson attended events together for years, both cashing in bigtime on this event. They became lifelong friends.
razorback9926 So true. I saw them both @ a sports collectors event near Newark Airport some twenty years ago. Both of them were pleasant, made eye contact and shook my hand after signing a book I owned about that season.
This makes me emotional even Though I didn't live during this time
I was one day old. I couldn’t attend the game that day.
Don DeLillo’s “Underworld” brought me here. For those who are unfamiliar the book, DeLillo writes about Thomson’s home run for the first 60-odd pages of “Underworld”, and it’s a lushly cinematic, exhilarating panoramic view of both The Shot Heard ‘Round the World and the encircling hubbub that shook the Polo Grounds that day. You will feel as if you had been there.
A little trivia........had Thomson been walked or just got a single......the hero might have been the next player on deck.........Willie Mays
Willie Mays was already a hero
@jack....not in 1951 and certainly not for this game
+Robert Staples yeah he was in is rookie season on deck
+Robert Staples I saw a Willie Mays interview where he said he was standing in the on deck circle, praying that Thomson would do something so he wouldn't have to. He was so scared he would strike out or fly out or something like that. Mays said that when Thomson hit it out at first he (Mays) didn't realize it because he was still praying so hard for Thomson to do something, haha. Mays said that if you look closely at films of that moment you could see #24 coming in last to home plate to celebrate.
***** That's interesting. Never heard Willie describe the moment, but you're right....I've often looked for Mays in the celebration mob, and never could pick him out. Mays has always been my favorite ball player......thanks for posting this info
To this day "The Giants Won the Pennant" is still greatest sports announcement in the history of sports.
An incredible moment frozen in time.
Without a doubt, This is #1. Al Michaels "Do you believe in MIRACLES...YES!" during the 1980 Winter Olympics when the US team defeated the Soviet team is #1-A.
No its not, simply because literally nobody cares about baseball.
@@youtubeonly520bro shut up
Not quite, "Havlicek stole the ball" is #1.
That and Al Michaels call during the miracle on ice
This is one of the best games in history and, being a Giants fan, I love when they beat the Dodgers!!! This is the greatest rivalry... over 100 years of playing eachother and still going strong!
@Lighthouse in the Storm what’s even crazier is that this is a reply of mine from 12 years ago! Haha. I still agree with comment!
Dang. 15 years ago. Before my account was even a thing. I still remember when I got on here for the first time in 2013.
@@spacedude1145I just got some email about a reply on my comment on UA-cam. I don’t remember making any comment then I opened this…. lol. 15yrs ago. Damn.
Back when the Giants-Dodgers rivalry was crosstown instead of intrastate. 26 years before was born but that call sends goosebumps.
This is definitely a part of baseball history I would've loved to be a part of
For one brief moment in time to be on top of the world amazing look at the joy in the fan's faces. Was before my time yet I get a chill from it.
Absolutely magical! The pure undiluted joy on the fans' faces, Thomson's face radiating ecstatic happiness as he runs to home and into history, the announcer shouting with pure glee--this is why I love sports. The electric energy of the crowd, many of them on the brink of happy tears, these grown men so overwhelmed by the exhilarating rush of the moment that they are staggering around laughing, shouting, and beaming like children with no self-consciousness or doubt or worries, the way their faces are lit from within and you just know you're watching the greatest moment of a person's life. What's not to love?!
Only Dodgers bandwagoners hate this.
As a sports broadcaster I literally get tears in my eyes whenever I hear this call because it is so perfect and so legendary. It is the definition of what I want to be remembered for
Don DeLillo's novel brought me here...
Me too. Too bad, though, I have no clue 'bout baseball.
Which novel? I would like to know.
@@cosybully Underworld.
This is awesome. Even though I'm a 90's kid, this video blows my mind. Truly great baseball moment.
Did you notice how far the ball traveled? Only 315 feet to the wall where it cleared the fence. The Polo Grounds had unique dimensions for a major league ballpark. Only 279 feet to the foul pole in left field and 257 feet in right field. It was a long distance to the power alleys 447 to left center and 415 feet to right center. The center field fence was 483 feet from home plate.
80's kid here, Giants fan from the midwest by birth. The only half-assed comparison in my lifetime was Ishikowa's shot vs. StL to go to the WS. Chills man, I got chills.
@@cosybully I don't remember exactly how far it traveled unless I go back and rewatch the video, but Bill Mazeroski's home run in the bottom of the ninth inning off Ralph Terry (another Ralph) went even farther.
And now, 70 years later -- the check swing heard round the world. What a beautiful rivalry
Lmao.
Check swing? Thomson clocked that thing, a laser shot that landed in the lower deck. The upper deck in the Polo Grounds hung out about ten foot into the field area, so a ball had to be really scorched to land in the lower deck, and Thomson got a full swing on that thing.
@@24HeySay he's talking about the 2021 playoff Flores check swing
The Greatest single moment in baseball history! Thank you Bobby!
You're not wrong!
This and Don Larsen's perfect game.
True fact, my Mom was dating Dodger pitcher Branca at the time. She was a New York native and Dodger season ticket holder. Needless to say, the loss was a big deal. When she went to work the next day, her funny coworkers
had her desk covered with black balloon, "mourning" the loss. When the Dodgers left to New York
for greener pastures in LA, much of her passion for the team left too. Many of those fans never forgave them
for leaving. Pro athletes who are single like to "get around" a bit, so the relationship ended and she moved on to greener pastures as well! It makes for a good story though!
Ralph was to be married 17 days after this debacle
So was Ralph cheating on his wife?
I had gone out to lunch from St Christophers school in Baldwin NY. Walking past a gas station on my way back to school, all the guys where gatherer around a radio in the the repair bay. I stood and listened with them for a few minutes. Then they all exploded with shouts and yelling..Bobby Thompson had hit a homerun and the Giants won the pennet!!!! Pretty exciting stuff for a 9 yr old kid!!!!
Still the greatest moment in American sports. Lots of credit to those newsreel camaramen who right in the middle of all of that choas. Great film, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat.
Never gets old.
The greatest Home Run in the history of Baseball! R.I.P. Bobby Thomson October 25, 1923 - August 16, 2010.
BEST BASEBALL BROADCAST EVER
When turner recited this in PG I Burst into tears. So so so so emotional
Something I never noticed before, though I've seen this a thousand times. At 0:44, Leo Durocher stops in his celebration and picks up a glove and puts it on his hand. In those days, fielders still left their gloves in the field when it was their team's turn at bat. They'd just throw them to the side. So that glove was actually Bobby Thompson's, since he was the Giants' third baseman, and he threw it there when he it was the Giants' turn up. The rule, where you had to bring your glove with you to the dugout, wasn't passed until, I think, 1954. So I bet the Giants' players gloves were all still laying on the ground when the game ended and the fans ran on the field, so I bet none of them (besides Bobby Thompson) ever saw their gloves again.
For Stanky, who you see mugging Durocher in the 3rd base coach's box, this was his 3rd World Series with 3 different teams in 5 years. 1947, with the Dodgers, 1948, with the Braves and 1951 with the Giants. Unfortunately for him, his teams lost all three, one to Cleveland, two to the Yankees. Of course, this at bat was a showdown between two New York guys, and Staten Island beats Westchester, Thompson being from Staten Island (my home town) and Branca being from Mount Vernon. I read an article in an old Baseball Digest where Herman Franks (I think) was talking about Branca, who had a record of giving up big hits (it happened in the 1947 World Series too, and there were several others). He said that Branca had great stuff as a pitcher, as good as any pitcher in the league, but he wasn't mean enough and was too nice a guy. That he didn't "hate" his opponents enough. Dressen was crazy to bring him in in this situation, and it almost makes you wonder if he had a bet on the Giants. (Nah, Dressen was a wise guy who just thought he was smarter than everybody else.)
It sucks to lose a game like this, but it must have REALLY sucked in the Polo Grounds, where you didn't get to duck out quickly into your dugout, but had to walk the entire field (and it was a long walk to the 490 foot center field) to get to the clubhouses, which were in center field. It was a bad day to be a Dodger, especially when they saw the happiness of guys like Durocher & Stanky, two ex-Dodgers who ended up being absolutely hated by Dodgers fans and players.
Cool thanks for sharing!
That practice has to be one of the strangest things about baseball in the old days. Weren't they worried a fielder would step on it or the ball would hit the glove. It just seems like a weird tradition.
I can watch this clip EVERY day.... Arguably the greatest moment in MLB History along with Maz's walk-off in Game 7 vs. the Yankees in the 1960 World Series at Forbes Field !
Great baseball memory. He did what every man wishes with his life. Becoming in immortal legend.
RIP
As a lifelong baseball fan (and a huge Cardinals fan), I've always appreciated the 'Shot Heard 'Round The World.' Russ Hodges' dramatic call STILL gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. That great moment occurred ten years before I was born, but the newsreel footage captures an era of baseball in New York - and a more innocent time.
Rest in peace, Bobby!!
Do or die win!!!
Thanks to inheriting my dad's love of the game, when I was a kid in 3rd or 4th grade, the question of "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" came up, and while my classmates were busy talking about the Revolutionary War or some such nonsense, I confidently informed them all that it was Bobby Thomson's home run to beat the Dodgers in 1951. They had no idea what I was talking about. But I teached 'em that day!
That has to be one of the most thrilling moments in baseball history. I can't get enough of it. Thanks for the memories. Rest in peace Bobby Thomson, rest in peace.
The golden era of baseball
watching this without audio, yet i still feel so much chills and exhilaration. purely amazing
I was 7 years old living in New Jersey when this took place. Still a memory!
That was one of the most greatest days in Giants history Wow its amazing to see it
One of? The *best* moment in Giants history. Wish the modern incarnation of the Giants could pull this off in the postseason.
The greatest moment in baseball history, without question.
Underworld brings me here.
Were Jackie Gleason and Frank Sinatra really at this game together?
Don't know, but without a doubt Jackie Gleason and Frank Sinatra and Toots Shor knew each other well. On the other hand, the addition of J. Edgar Hoover, if not grounded in reality, was quite an inventive touch. I can't resist saying that this chapter from DeLillo's book (really a stand-alone novella) is IMHO a supreme example of masterly writing, just jaw-droppingly good. (The rest of Underworld didn't grab me nearly so much.)
Oh, oh, oh!! It's all true! www.thenationalpastimemuseum.com/article/gleason-throws-sinatra-thomson-also-homers
I like to think of Gleason ralphing on Sinatra's shoes.
Russ Hodges from Dayton,TN ... still to this day the greatest single moment in all of sport.
Just read about him (my name is Hodge) - read where if it were not for a fan recording this it would never have been passed down - 'cause they did not archive game broadcasts then.
RIP Bobby Thompson and that one famous home run you hit will never be forgotten thanks for the memories to all of your true fans out there
I was just reading Bill Brysons book, 'The Thunderbolt Kid' (very entertaining) and he describes this moment, and his sportswriter father's attendance at this game. He describes ig in such detail that I had to look for it here.
Not disappointed at all!
Giants win the pennant: 1904, 1905, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1951, 1954, 1962, 1989, 2002, 2010, 2012, 2014!!!
***** Only three franchises are 1,000 games over .500 -- the Giants, the
Dodgers, and the Yankees. They also have the top three winning
percentages. Yankees at .569, Giants at .538, Dodgers at .525
thank you Merkel for fucking up go Cubs !
Most N.L. Pennants that any other team in the league
@@hashiethekid9513 Tied with dodgers now.
From a real giants fan....like me !!!!!!
I'm a lifelong Dodgers fan but this call gives me goosebumps
That's right! Dodgers fan!
Another milestone anniversary in Baseball....Bobby Thompson 65 years, Larson's perfect game 60 years, Maris' 61st home run 55 years...
I'm only 19 years-old, so I never got to study much of Bobby's career, but when I saw this some years ago, I was instantly awed by this moment. I wish big-league baseball was this fun nowadays, instead of being about how long and baggy you can wear your pants or how much you make a season. RIP, Bobby.
This is, of course, one of the most memorable moments in the history of sports in this country. Lost in the fuss is that the 'GIANTS WINNING THE PENNANT' was followed by the Giants losing to the Yankees in the World Series.
Honored to have Bobby's cards in our family Collection.
Thanks, Bobby, for being a part of this great moment in baseball, that we could all look to and be reminded of how great a sport baseball really is, and the thrill and joy of the game.
I wasn't even close to being born, yet this call gives me the chills as if I'm somehow reliving a glorious memory.
Even Al Capone celebrated this majesty 1:03 .. what a moment, even though im a Huge Dodgers fan, the enthusiasm and intensity of that call is beyond belief..
He was already dead by 51
@@Railhog2102 you did not read my sarcasm, obviously... he just looked like him
It has to be the most historic homerun in baseball history.
2014: They did it again! THE GIANTS WON THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WON THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WON THE PENNANT!
Memories of my dad and me (I was a kid) driving across the San Francisco-Oakland bay bridge while listening to Russ Hodges broadcast the Giant games from Candlestick park around 1961. Good times
0:39 *BEST PART OF ANY BASEBALL VIDEO IN HISTORY OF THE WORLD.*
Easily!!!!!!!
My dad spent half his childhood in ebbet's field, a staunch Brooklyn Dodger fan but even he agrees this moment will always be the center of the baseball universe
RIP, Ralph Branca.
the most legendary homerun ever...i grew up reading about this..it's the most memorable homerun ever
Ralph Branca, the pitcher just died😰😥
Brett Smiley He was dead inside already after the home run
Caden Deaner Or thought he'd be when he got to the dugout.
@@thedeaner3117 that Jerry pfp always kills me 💀💀
I have read many of these comments from the most important moment was Jackie Robinson taking the field in 1947 to Don Larsen's perfect game to Kirk Gibson's home run in th 1987 World Series. But for pure excitement, this is truly THE most important play in major league baseball history. Russ Hodges' call, the look of joy on Bobby Thomson's face, Leo Durocher going nuts at third base and the Dodgers walking off of the field in disbelief are timeless. Rest in peace Bobby for still giving me chills
0:45 Love Eddie Stanky nearly mugging his manager, Leo Durocher, who also coached third base.
This is my very first memory of baseball though I was only three. New York now San Francisco Giants fan ever since
Mine too, I was only 5 !
UNDERWORLD
It's magical how on-the-field celebrations never seem to change.
The Giants win the pennant!
You think?… ; - )
SO MANY GOOSEBUMPS
Jason Brown i cry every time and i wasn't born till 53
scuba green elk I was born in 2000
Jason Brown I was one day old. Dad was probably watching this game.
Still and always be the gteatest momment in baseball history 61 years later.
RIP Bobby.
Since I did find the box score I looked at a few interesting facts. W.P. Larry Janson 23-11 L.P. Ralph Branca 13-12 who only pitched two pitches. A strike to Thompson and the most famous homerun of all time,the "shot heard round the world".Bobby Thompson went 3-4 including a double and his 32nd HR of the season. Rookie Willie Mays went 0-3 and was on deck. For the Dodgers Jackie Robinson went I-2 with two walks, one intentional. Duke Snider was caught stealing. Starters were Sal Maglie for the Giants and Don Newcombe for the Dodgers. A 3 run 8th gave the Dodgers a 4-1 lead. Newcombe started the bottom of the ninth and gave up a double driving in a run with runners at 2nd and 3rd making the score 4-2 and one out. That brought in pitcher Ralph Branca and you know the rest.
In case you have to know about the World Series, the Yankees beat the Giants 4 games to 2making it three straight World Series for the Yankees and manager Casey Stengal. They went on to make it five straight and still the major league record. In '51 a rookie named Mickey Mantle started and played right field. The centerfielder was Joe DiMaggio and played his last season.
WOW, Both Mantle and Mays were rookies,and appeared in two World Series against each other.
1951 and 1962.
There were a lot of similarities in '51 and '62.Instead of the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants, it was the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.The Giants came from a long ways behind to finish in a tie with the Dodgers. They split the first two games and this time the Dodgers were the home team.The Dodgers led 4-2 going into the top of the 9th.It wasn't one big swing of the bat, but the Giants rallied for 4 runs in the 9th and held the Dodgers scoreless in the bottom of the 9th.Giants win the pennant and yes they played the New York Yankees in the World Series.The World Series was just as exiting as the pennant race with the Yankees winning 4 games to 3.In game 7 the Yankees led 1-0 in the bottom of the 9th.With 2 out and a runner at first, Willie Mays doubled to put runners at second and third. This brought up Willie McCovey a left handed very good hitter. The pitcher Ralph Terry was left in the game after the manager Ralph Houck went to the mound. Instead of walking Mc Covey intentionally, Terry decided to pitch to him. I don't remember the count but he hit a scorching line drive to the right side and I thought that was a hit and 2 runs would score winning the World Series for the Giants.but when the camera followed the ball I saw 2nd baseman Bobby Richardson catch it for the 3rd out and the Yankees won the game and the World Series.
Time of game was 2:29.
Thank You Bobby! RIP in the field of dreams.
THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!
***** IN THE WORDS OF BILL KING.....HOLY TOLEDO!
Jacques A. Bettig I thought it said THE GIANTS WIN THE PARK firsy
This is why my Dad remembered my birthday, or rather he remembered this and it reminded him that it was my birthday. God rest his soul. Love you Dad.
Parental guidance brought me here
Same
Don Delillo's Underworld
True fans up in here
This video is like a hundred years old and the quality is still better than new videos of sports history when I search fir them.
the most famous home run of all times...Leo Durocher had been fired by the Dodgers and was the Giant's manager...
Karma bit the Dodgers for firing one of the best damn managers to ever grace the diamond. I wish we had more Leo Durochers around today. the man was a true legend. Won WS rings as a player and a manager. Played for some of the greatest managers in Miller Huggins and Frankie Frisch and masted one of the best damn WS wins of all time by sweeping the heavily favored 100+ game winning Cleveland Indians who many said were unstoppable. Leo said that was a bunch of bullshit and went out and kicked their asses. Long live The Lip.
God Bless Russ Hodges...it was a pleasure to listen to him and Lon Simmons during the Mays, McCovey, Marichal years
1:03 what will smith is doing in the 50's
Haaaaa hell yeah lmao!
He was chillin' out, maxin, relaxin' all cool,
Shootin' some b-ball outside the school.
Just another Hollywood time traveler XD
whats he doing in the 50s at a gaints game hes a philles fan
Mr Gwarn Stylee when a couple o guys who were up to no good started making trouble in his neighbourhood.
I just won an Authentic autographed baseball by Ralph Branca and Bobby Thomson. Great collectors piece
THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!!!!
THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!!!!
THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!!!!
THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!!!!
Amazing....always get tears in my eyes when I watch, or just think about, this electrfying moment in baseball history....wow...getting chills again!
Thomson hit Branca like crazy that year.
Manager’s fault that Branca was facing him.
Also admitted to stealing signs...
I recently acquired a baseball autographed by BOTH Bobby Thompson and Ralph Branca. I did not see this game on TV but the '51 World Series is my earliest recollection of baseball, period. I am now 72 years old and wondering where the time has gone. Seeing this video now that I have this baseball gives me even more goosebumps. History.
I agree John time fly's too fast
Ah, when baseball was about the sport
Without a doubt the greatest call of any sporting event ever....not even close
At the 1:03 mark it seriously looks like Will Smith with a cigar in his mouth.
I always get goosebumps seeing this clip. There are so many factors to it. One hearing the announcer go crazy. You can hear the joy in his voice. Then seeing a player and the 3rd base coach jumping all over each other as Thompson is rounding the bases. Then there is Thompson himself. He seemed to be floating on air as he skipped towards 1st base. And then seeing him carried off the field by his team.
Thank you Bobby for one of the all time greastest moments in baseball. May you rest in peace.
Epic win!
The first instance of electronic buzzers being used to steal signs
Giants used the scheme to help climb back into the race in the second half of the season.
This should be my wake up alarm every morning 👍
I'm saying this because it's true the Giants cheated they used a telescope in center field to tip off their batters so the batters knew exactly what pitch was coming
Tristan Marinch but still a special moment
Such a wonderful call and reaction
Pee Wee Reese said this was his worst moment in sports.
Brings a tear to my eye when I watch this
Little did these people know at the time that the Giants were cheating. They had a coach in the center field clubhouse with binoculars, stealing the signs and relaying them electronically. They admitted their guilt 50 years later.
RobBanks81 thank you! They did cheat they actually used a telescope they didn't deserve that pennant
When you hit “the shot heard ‘round the world,” you are a legend without ever doing anything else.
ISHIKAWAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ben BamBoo THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT
I get chills every time I listen to this call. My Dad was a Ny Giants fan and my Grandma on my Moms side was for the Dodgers. When my Dad came home that nite, he didn't say anything and just smiled. My Grandma threw a plate of spaghetti at him, ha ha. I'm a Giants fan. I love this moment but, I love 1954 better.
Ha ha! Before I even read your name I knew you had to be Italian! So am I, that's a great story. Yes, '54 was great, the Giants swept Cleveland. ( I don't like Cleveland )