It’s time to climb back into the wayback machine. Today’s destination is the three-year span from 1951 to 1953.
I’m reliving nearly two decades of baseball in six installments, motivated by the arrival of my new book, A Brand New Ballgame: Branch Rickey, Bill Veeck, Walter O’Malley, and the Transformation of Baseball, 1945-1962, which has been published by McFarland & Co.
Today’s stop is the third, encompassing a period when two of the three men cited in my subhead suffered serious reversals.
Branch Rickey was pushed out as co-owner of the powerful Brooklyn Dodgers prior to the 1951 season, forced to relocate to Pittsburgh as general manager of the Pirates. And Bill Veeck was left with no option but to sell the St. Louis Browns in 1953, after his fellow American League owners refused permission to move the club to Baltimore. (The relocation was easily approved as soon as Veeck departed.)
The biggest off-field development of the 1951-1953 period was the transfer of the Boston Braves to Milwaukee in the span’s final year, the first change of address for any big-league club in five decades. The Braves’ wild success in their new city caused baseball’s powers-that-be to view franchise shifts as the ultimate remedy for the sport’s ills, a panacea for any team in desperate financial straits. A wild decade awaited.
But all of this occurred off of the diamond. I’m marking my book’s publication with six Tuesdays devoted to a review of on-field action. Below are the relevant headlines for today’s episode.
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Headlines: 1951
Rookies Mantle and Mays start slowly
Two all-time greats debuted in 1951 to massive acclaim unmatched by early production. “Mickey Mantle is the greatest prospect I can remember,” said the immortal Joe DiMaggio. But Mantle rapped only eight hits in his first 38 at-bats (.211) for the Yankees. Willie Mays fared even worse for the Giants, eking out a lone hit in his first 26 trips (.038). Both soon got untracked, and Mays went on to win the National League’s Rookie of the Year Award.
Giants overtake Dodgers for league crown
The NL race seemed over by August 11, with Brooklyn 13 games ahead of second-place New York. But the Giants won 37 of 44 games down the stretch, forcing a best-of-three playoff with the Dodgers. New York again fell behind — trailing 4-1 in the ninth inning of October 3’s deciding game — yet another miracle was in store. Bobby Thomson’s legendary home run clinched a 5-4 victory — and the pennant – for the Giants.
Yankees win third crown in a row
The Giants staggered into the World Series in a state of emotional exhaustion after their intense title drive. “Somebody said we needed a week’s rest. I said that we needed a month’s rest,” said infielder Bill Rigney. The Yankees secured their third consecutive world championship with relative ease, dispatching their crosstown rivals in six games.
DiMaggio calls it a career
Joe DiMaggio drove in five runs for the Yankees in the World Series, putting a bow on his distinguished 13-season career. He announced his retirement on December 11. “All the fun had gone out of playing the game,” said the famed center fielder, whose legacy included two batting titles, three Most Valuable Player Awards, and a lifetime batting average of .325.
Headlines: 1952
Pirates start slowly, finish badly
Branch Rickey’s Pirates floundered from the start in 1952. They were outscored 78-23 during 10 straight losses in April, then suffered separate losing streaks of six and eight games in May. Pittsburgh, already a full 20 games behind first-place Brooklyn as of May 25, was destined to finish 42-112, the worst record for any big-league team from 1936 through 1961.
Williams homers in possible swan song
Ted Williams wrapped up his 1952 season — and possibly his career — with a game-winning home run off Detroit’s Dizzy Trout on April 30. Fans at Fenway Park roared as the ball sailed into the right-field seats. The 33-year-old Williams would report for a lengthy hitch with the marines two days later, raising doubts that he would ever play ball again. “How can I tell what will happen in the next 17 months?” he asked querulously.
Mantle propels Yankees to fourth title
This finally seemed to be the year for Brooklyn. Duke Snider’s 11th-inning double plated Billy Cox with the winning run in Game Five of the World Series, leaving the Dodgers one victory away from their first championship. But Mickey Mantle blasted decisive home runs in the final two games, clinching the Yankees’ fourth straight title. “Mantle beat us,” said Jackie Robinson. “That kid was the difference between the two clubs.”
Dodgers fall short of sellout
A standing-room-only crowd was anticipated at Ebbets Field for Game Six of the World Series, with the Dodgers having an opportunity to secure a championship. But only 30,037 tickets were sold for the October 6 contest, roughly 2,000 below capacity. “Many fans believed they would have no chance to obtain ducats,” explained the Sporting News, “and remained at home to watch the game on television.” The empty seats did not amuse Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley.
Headlines: 1953
Braves set new attendance mark
The Milwaukee Braves drew a full house of 34,357 to their April 14 home opener at County Stadium, which was still under construction. Center fielder Bill Bruton, normally a singles hitter, rapped a 10th-inning home run to clinch a 3-2 victory. “Bruton’s homer, to me, set up all the wondrous years in Milwaukee’s baseball story,” Braves Manager Charlie Grimm later wrote. Milwaukee’s 1953 attendance of 1,826,397 would set a new National League record.
Mantle blasts tape-measure home run
Mickey Mantle launched a titanic homer over Washington’s left-center-field bleachers on April 17. The ball soared an estimated 565 feet, landing in a nearby backyard. Clark Griffith, who rarely spoke kindly of the younger generation, lauded the 21-year-old Mantle. “No doubt about it,” the Senators owner conceded. “That was the longest home run ever hit in the history of baseball.”
Holloman tosses no-hitter in first start
Bobo Holloman was toiling unhappily in the bullpen for the St. Louis Browns. “When you gonna start me?” he kept asking Manager Marty Marion. His demotion to the minors was imminent, so Marion threw him a bone on May 6. Bobo rose to the occasion, no-hitting the Athletics in the first start of his career. But the magic didn’t last. Holloman ended the season with an earned run average of 5.23.
Yankees make it five in a row
The Dodgers entered the 1953 World Series with more regular-season wins than the Yankees (105 to 99), as well as a better batting average (.285 to .273) and more homers (208 to 139). “There was nobody on the Dodgers to knock. We respected all those guys,” insisted Yankees outfielder Gene Woodling. But New York still managed to lock down its fifth consecutive title, defeating Brooklyn in six games.