The Dodgers-Giants rivalry is one of the greatest in sports.
In 1951, the Dodgers and Giants had a special playoff to settle the NL pennant.
It came down to the bottom of the 9th.
It was Ralph Branca vs Bobby Thomson:
At 3:58 pm, Branca’s second pitch, another fastball, came in high and tight. Thomson swung, his uppercut driving the ball deep toward the corner in left.And the Giants did win the NL pennant but lost to the Yankees in the World Series!
Pafko, dashing toward the high wall, ran out of room. The ball landed in the first row, just above the 315 ft. sign for a three-run home run. Game over.
The Polo Grounds shook as the euphoric crowd erupted. Joe King wrote in The Sporting News, “(Thomson’s homer) touched off scenes in this place which never before had been witnessed in connection with the winning of a pennant.”
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