A Brand New Ballgame, part 4
New York dominates the World Series in the mid-1950s, but changes are afoot
Back in time we go again.
Today’s destination is the three-year period from 1954 to 1956, tucked in the middle of the broader span covered by my new book, A Brand New Ballgame: Branch Rickey, Bill Veeck, Walter O’Malley, and the Transformation of Baseball, 1945-1962, published by McFarland & Co.
If you’re a regular reader, you know that I have been devoting Tuesdays to a progressive review of three-year chunks of the book’s timeline, though with a key difference.
The book details the evolution of major-league baseball from a monochromatic sport played in old ballparks in only 10 cities to a multiracial game presented in new stadiums from coast to coast. The focus between its covers is on the front-office machinations that brought about these momentous changes.
But my Tuesday summaries deal with on-field action, looking back to the outstanding players and teams that dominated this tumultuous period.
Great changes occurred between 1954 and 1956. The St. Louis Browns relocated to Baltimore in the former year, the Philadelphia Athletics shifted to Kansas City in 1955, and two of New York’s clubs (the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants) began to gaze westward themselves by 1956.
Yet there was a certainly stability when it came to the World Series champions. All three in this period were based in New York, as you’ll see in the rundown below.
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Headlines: 1954
Aaron makes promising debut for Braves
Charlie Grimm liked almost everything about 20-year-old Milwaukee prospect Henry Aaron, except his glovework. “As a second baseman, Aaron is a very good hitter,” the Braves manager laughed. “But we’ll find a place for that bat.” He converted the rookie into an outfielder. Aaron swatted the first homer of his career on April 23 against the Cardinals. Another 754 would follow.
Indians set torrid pace to win AL title
Nobody in 1954 could match the Indians’ pitching depth. Their staff posted an earned run average of 2.78, the lowest ERA for any team in a decade. Cleveland secured its 100th victory on September 9 — the first American League club to reach triple digits since the 1946 Red Sox — and finished with a 111-43 record, a comfortable eight games ahead of the second-place New York Yankees.
Giants pull surprising World Series sweep
The Indians entered the World Series as prohibitive favorites, but the New York Giants had Willie Mays, the National League’s Most Valuable Player with a .345 average and 41 homers. “He’s the spark,” said New York manager Leo Durocher. Mays repaid his faith with a sensational over-the-shoulder grab of a Vic Wertz blast in Game One, immortalized as one of the greatest catches of all time. The Giants went on to sweep the Indians.
Orioles, Yankees swing biggest trade ever
Dour, intense Paul Richards had revived the moribund Chicago White Sox during a four-year stint as manager, inspiring the lowly Baltimore Orioles to lure him away in mid-September. Richards engineered a 17-player trade with the Yankees on November 17, the biggest transaction in major-league history. “We got the best of it, as time will prove,” he crowed. But New York actually prevailed, receiving a pair of future World Series MVPs from Baltimore, Don Larsen and Bob Turley.
Headlines: 1955
Howard crosses Yankees’ color line
Vic Power, an outspoken first baseman, envisioned himself as the first black Yankee after batting .331 in AAA ball. But New York kept him down on the farm. “I think they were waiting for my skin to turn white,” Power said. The Yankees preferred quiet catcher/outfielder Elston Howard, who broke their color barrier on April 14. “He behaves on and off the field,” columnist Dan Daniel wrote approvingly.
Koufax launches career with Dodgers
Brooklyn shipped veteran Tommy Lasorda to the minors on June 8 to make way for 19-year-old pitcher Sandy Koufax. The bonus baby interspersed extreme wildness (eight walks on July 6) with flashes of greatness (14 strikeouts on August 27) in his rare outings. He pitched only 12 times in 1955. “I [was] with the team, but not of it,” Koufax said of his rookie year.
Dodgers win world championship at last
“Wait till next year” was the rallying cry for Brooklyn fans, whose Dodgers failed in all seven trips to the World Series prior to 1955. Next year finally arrived on October 4 with a 2-0 victory over the Yankees in Game Seven. The borough exploded in celebration. “This night, Brooklyn, not Manhattan, was the center of the world,” happily recalled author Doris Kearns Goodwin, then a 12-year-old Dodgers diehard.
Mahatma reaches end of the line in Pittsburgh
Branch Rickey’s attempt to resuscitate the Pittsburgh Pirates ended with his departure as general manager on October 19. His reign had begun with high expectations in 1951 — “I aim to win a pennant for Pittsburgh by 1954, hopefully sooner” — but the Pirates stumbled to a 269-501 record during his five-year tenure. It was announced that the 73-year-old Rickey was retiring, but he privately admitted being pushed out.
Headlines: 1956
Mantle reaches apex of career
Mickey Mantle came within inches of being the first batter to slug a fair ball out of Yankee Stadium. His May 30 homer against the Washington Senators struck the third deck 117 feet off the ground, a foot short of the roof. The prodigious blast heralded Mantle’s greatest season, which he capped with the Triple Crown (.353 average, 52 homers, 130 RBIs) and the American League’s Most Valuable Player Award.
Dodgers hunt down Braves at the wire
Milwaukee entered the final weekend with a half-game lead over Brooklyn. But the Dodgers swept a doubleheader from Pittsburgh on September 29, while the Braves lost a 12-inning heartbreaker to St. Louis, 2-1. Warren Spahn pitched a five-hit complete game for Milwaukee, yet took the loss. “We had every reason to win,” he said, “but it was like it wasn’t meant to be.” Brooklyn’s National League crown was its fourth in five years.
Larsen achieves immortality with perfect game
Fun-loving Don Larsen stayed out past midnight prior to Game Five of the World Series. “Don’t be surprised if I pitch a no-hitter,” he jokingly told his companion as they reached the hotel. The Yankees pitcher actually fared even better against the Dodgers on October 8, tossing the only perfect game in postseason history. New York’s series victory two days later seemed almost anticlimactic.
Robinson retires after trade to Giants
An era ended when Brooklyn traded Jackie Robinson to the Giants on December 13. Robinson chose instead to retire. Walter O’Malley was happy to be rid of the combative Robinson, yet the Dodgers owner sent a conciliatory note. “The roads of life have a habit of recrossing,” he wrote. “There could well be a future intersection.” But relations between the two men remained frosty.