The first ever walk-off homerun was hit in game 1 of the 1949 World Series.
And it was by "Old Reliable" himself, Tommy Henrich. Another Dodgers (still in Brooklyn) and Yankees game for the history books. I guess this homerun explains his other nickname.
"The Clutch", was it. Today, it would be, "Mr. Clutch", or something along the lines of what is said about Jordan or James from another sport!
Actually, this game 1, played on October 5, 1949, was a classic!
It was also a pitcher's duel!
Allie Reynolds went the distance for the Yankees, allowing just 2 hits, 4 walks and fanning 9. He needed that, because the Dodgers' Don Newcombe also "had it" on this day.
Newk allowed just 5 hits, 0 walks, and 11 K's. Actually, he was working on a fine 4-hit shutout through 8 innings. But then Henrich had to ruin it for him and the Dodgers in the bottom of the 9th.
On the last day of the 1949 season, Tommy drove in the Yankees first run. Later, he hit a homerun. Finally, he caught a pop fly to end the game and clinch the pennant for the Yanks. And here he was again, about to do something to end the game. Only this time, with the bat.
Alas, Henrich had done nothing so far. He grounded out in the first, he popped out in the third. In the sixth, with Reynolds on first after hitting a single, Tommy flied out to Duke Snider in center.
But he led off the bottom of the ninth, nonetheless.
And on Newcombe's third (and final) pitch of the at-bat, Reynolds made contact (he didn't know whether the pitch was a fastball or slider) and ended the game with a blast to deep right! That "1" on the scoreboard sure looks big when the other team has a zero on it's side.
The Yankees lost game 2, also by a 1-0 score. But that would be their only loss in this Series. In 1947, it had taken them 7 games to prevail over Brooklyn. Here, a little easier. But nothing was ever easy when it was New York and Brooklyn.
That's one of the reasons the Yankees needed reliability.
References
Enders, Eric. (2005). 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 01 Oct. 2013.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-CNgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3W4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=2909,745284&dq=tommy+henrich&hl=en
"The Clutch", was it. Today, it would be, "Mr. Clutch", or something along the lines of what is said about Jordan or James from another sport!
Actually, this game 1, played on October 5, 1949, was a classic!
It was also a pitcher's duel!
Allie Reynolds went the distance for the Yankees, allowing just 2 hits, 4 walks and fanning 9. He needed that, because the Dodgers' Don Newcombe also "had it" on this day.
Newk allowed just 5 hits, 0 walks, and 11 K's. Actually, he was working on a fine 4-hit shutout through 8 innings. But then Henrich had to ruin it for him and the Dodgers in the bottom of the 9th.
On the last day of the 1949 season, Tommy drove in the Yankees first run. Later, he hit a homerun. Finally, he caught a pop fly to end the game and clinch the pennant for the Yanks. And here he was again, about to do something to end the game. Only this time, with the bat.
Alas, Henrich had done nothing so far. He grounded out in the first, he popped out in the third. In the sixth, with Reynolds on first after hitting a single, Tommy flied out to Duke Snider in center.
But he led off the bottom of the ninth, nonetheless.
And on Newcombe's third (and final) pitch of the at-bat, Reynolds made contact (he didn't know whether the pitch was a fastball or slider) and ended the game with a blast to deep right! That "1" on the scoreboard sure looks big when the other team has a zero on it's side.
The Yankees lost game 2, also by a 1-0 score. But that would be their only loss in this Series. In 1947, it had taken them 7 games to prevail over Brooklyn. Here, a little easier. But nothing was ever easy when it was New York and Brooklyn.
That's one of the reasons the Yankees needed reliability.
References
Enders, Eric. (2005). 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 01 Oct. 2013.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-CNgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3W4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=2909,745284&dq=tommy+henrich&hl=en
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