Whitey Ford and Johnny Podres each won two games in the 1955 World Series.
Yes, these two had come a long was from my last post about them in the 1953 World Series. Actually, neither of them got to pitch in '54, because neither of their teams made it to the Fall Classic that year. But in '55 the Yankees and Dodgers were back, and Brooklyn still hadn't won a World Series!
Ford didn't look so tough in the opening game. Carl Furillo led off the top of the second by taking him out of the park. A triple by Jackie Robinson and a single by Don Zimmer made it 2-0, Brooklyn!
The Yankees tied the game in the bottom of the frame on a two-run home run by Elston Howard. But another Brooklyn home run, this time by Duke Snider in the top of the third and the Dodgers were back up, 3-2. How did the Yankees come back?
Well, Ford walked in the bottom of the third inning. He later scored on a double-play to tie it. But the Yankees would need more. Much more. Even at home, the ballpark wasn't small enough for all the power that the Dodgers seemed to have on this day!
Enter Joe Collins.
In the bottom of the 4th, he put the Yankees ahead in this game by going yard. In the top of the 7th, Joe put New York ahead by three runs with a two-run shot! The Yankees needed all those runs, as it turns out.
The Dodgers scored twice more in the top of the eighth. One of the runs scored on that clip I'm sure many of you have seen 1,000 times. You know, Robinson stealing home and Yogi Berra losing it? For my money, Jackie beat the tag by Yogi. But it was the Yankees that beat the Dodgers, 6-5. Ford was the winner.
The Yankees also won game 2, to got up 2-0 on Brooklyn. Games 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary) would be played in Ebbets Field. The Dodgers needed game three!
Enter Johnny Podres.
Roy Campanella put Brooklyn up 1-0 with a two-run dinger in the bottom of the first inning. Then, for one inning, Podres looked shaky. It was Mickey Mantle, who had a knack for going yard in the Fall Classic, that put New York on the board with one in the top of the second. Another run by the Yankees tied the game at 2.
If you can believe it, the tie didn't last. In the bottom of the second, the Dodgers again scored twice, and this time the Yankees would not recover. Indeed, still another two runs in the bottom of the fourth made it 6-2, Brooklyn, and Podres was in fine form.
The Yankees finally scored again in the top of the 7th, but again it was Brooklyn who answered back in the bottom of the inning. And again with two runs. Brooklyn won, 8-3. They were right back in the 1955 World Series. And Johnny Podres had his first World Series win. And it wouldn't be his last!
Brooklyn, buoyed by the big win at home, promptly won the next two games at home for good measure. Suddenly, the Dodgers were just a win away from it all!
But back came the Yankees. Behind Whitey.
It was one of Ford's best efforts in the World Series. Certainly not his best, as he tossed a pair of 2-hitters in his long illustrious Fall Classic career. But in game 6 of the 1955 World Series, The Chairman Of The Board sent the 1955 World Series to a seventh and deciding game with a masterpiece!
The Yankees scored five times in the bottom of the first inning. Ford had just come off a 1-2-3 performance in the top of the frame. The Dodgers scored a single run in the top of the 4th. Ford ended the game with four walks. But Brooklyn got only four hits and just that one run. Whitey added 8 K's for good measure. The home team had now won the first six games of this Fall Classic. This was the left-hander's first World Series with two wins. Alas, the Dodgers were about to have a left-hander win two games in one World Series for the first time, as well.
Game seven was quite a pitcher's duel. Tommy Byrne, the Yankees' pitcher, really gave New York a good enough effort to bring home another Fall Classic crown. But it was not to be.
With the game scoreless in the bottom of the third, New York had Phil Rizzuto on second and Billy Martin on first with two outs. The next batter, Gil McDougald, got a single. But the ball hit Rizzuto, meaning he was out!
The Dodgers took advantage of that situation by scoring in the top of the fourth. Gil Hodges scored Roy Campanella with a single. The Yankees got things off on the right track in the bottom of the frame as Yogi Berra led off with a double. But Yogi was stranded!
Byrne and Podres each had a 1-2-3 5th, but the Dodgers went back on the attack in the top of the 6th. They just found a way on this day!
A single by Pee Wee Reese. Then an error on a sac bunt from Duke Snider by the usually sure-handed Bill Skowron. Two on, nobody out. Campy bunted them both into scoring position. Furillo was walked intentionally. Bob Grim came in to pitch. Hodges was again clutch as he scored Reese with a fly to center. 2-0, Brooklyn! Grim allowed a wild pitch and a walk, but got out of the inning without another run scoring. He and Bob Turley would shutout the Dodgers for the rest of the game. When the game was over, Brooklyn had a grand total of five hits. That certainly doesn't seem like enough for beat the great New York Yankees, does it?
The Yankees got Billy Martin to second and McDougald to first in the bottom of the 6th. Gil reached on a bunt single. Berra, who batted left-handed, went the other way. It looked like at least a ground-rule double. But Sandy Amoros, racing at full speed, speared the ball along the foul line! A great catch. McDougald was doubled off on the relay to first. When Hank Bauer grounded out, a potentially huge New York rally had been snuffed out!
The Yankees were not done. In the bottom of the 8th, they got runners on the corners with just one out. Again the batter was Berra. Again, he flied out, but this time to right. Bauer fanned. The Yankees had eight hits in the game at this point. And no runs.
In the bottom of the 9th, with the Dodgers still up 2-0, Skowron grounded back to Podres. Bob Cerv was out on a fly to left. And when Elston Howard grounded out to Reese at short, the Dodgers were finally World Series Champions!
It had been a great Fall Classic in 1955. An amazing steal of home by Robinson, Snider's four home runs, Amoros' catch. Collins with two clutch round-trippers in a losing effort. The Yankees also got a .417 average by Berra, and a Series-leading .420 performance from Bauer.
But, when I think of the 1955 World Series, it's always two of the best clutch pitchers that come to mind. Johnny Podres (who wound up with the MVP) and Whitey Ford.
References
Baseball: A Film By Ken Burns. Prod. Ken Burns. PBS. 1994. Television. DVD.
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Ford, Whitey, and Phil Pepe. Slick. New York: W. Morrow, 1987. Print.
Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary Books, 2000. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Yes, these two had come a long was from my last post about them in the 1953 World Series. Actually, neither of them got to pitch in '54, because neither of their teams made it to the Fall Classic that year. But in '55 the Yankees and Dodgers were back, and Brooklyn still hadn't won a World Series!
Ford didn't look so tough in the opening game. Carl Furillo led off the top of the second by taking him out of the park. A triple by Jackie Robinson and a single by Don Zimmer made it 2-0, Brooklyn!
The Yankees tied the game in the bottom of the frame on a two-run home run by Elston Howard. But another Brooklyn home run, this time by Duke Snider in the top of the third and the Dodgers were back up, 3-2. How did the Yankees come back?
Well, Ford walked in the bottom of the third inning. He later scored on a double-play to tie it. But the Yankees would need more. Much more. Even at home, the ballpark wasn't small enough for all the power that the Dodgers seemed to have on this day!
Enter Joe Collins.
In the bottom of the 4th, he put the Yankees ahead in this game by going yard. In the top of the 7th, Joe put New York ahead by three runs with a two-run shot! The Yankees needed all those runs, as it turns out.
The Dodgers scored twice more in the top of the eighth. One of the runs scored on that clip I'm sure many of you have seen 1,000 times. You know, Robinson stealing home and Yogi Berra losing it? For my money, Jackie beat the tag by Yogi. But it was the Yankees that beat the Dodgers, 6-5. Ford was the winner.
The Yankees also won game 2, to got up 2-0 on Brooklyn. Games 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary) would be played in Ebbets Field. The Dodgers needed game three!
Enter Johnny Podres.
Roy Campanella put Brooklyn up 1-0 with a two-run dinger in the bottom of the first inning. Then, for one inning, Podres looked shaky. It was Mickey Mantle, who had a knack for going yard in the Fall Classic, that put New York on the board with one in the top of the second. Another run by the Yankees tied the game at 2.
If you can believe it, the tie didn't last. In the bottom of the second, the Dodgers again scored twice, and this time the Yankees would not recover. Indeed, still another two runs in the bottom of the fourth made it 6-2, Brooklyn, and Podres was in fine form.
The Yankees finally scored again in the top of the 7th, but again it was Brooklyn who answered back in the bottom of the inning. And again with two runs. Brooklyn won, 8-3. They were right back in the 1955 World Series. And Johnny Podres had his first World Series win. And it wouldn't be his last!
Brooklyn, buoyed by the big win at home, promptly won the next two games at home for good measure. Suddenly, the Dodgers were just a win away from it all!
But back came the Yankees. Behind Whitey.
It was one of Ford's best efforts in the World Series. Certainly not his best, as he tossed a pair of 2-hitters in his long illustrious Fall Classic career. But in game 6 of the 1955 World Series, The Chairman Of The Board sent the 1955 World Series to a seventh and deciding game with a masterpiece!
The Yankees scored five times in the bottom of the first inning. Ford had just come off a 1-2-3 performance in the top of the frame. The Dodgers scored a single run in the top of the 4th. Ford ended the game with four walks. But Brooklyn got only four hits and just that one run. Whitey added 8 K's for good measure. The home team had now won the first six games of this Fall Classic. This was the left-hander's first World Series with two wins. Alas, the Dodgers were about to have a left-hander win two games in one World Series for the first time, as well.
Game seven was quite a pitcher's duel. Tommy Byrne, the Yankees' pitcher, really gave New York a good enough effort to bring home another Fall Classic crown. But it was not to be.
With the game scoreless in the bottom of the third, New York had Phil Rizzuto on second and Billy Martin on first with two outs. The next batter, Gil McDougald, got a single. But the ball hit Rizzuto, meaning he was out!
The Dodgers took advantage of that situation by scoring in the top of the fourth. Gil Hodges scored Roy Campanella with a single. The Yankees got things off on the right track in the bottom of the frame as Yogi Berra led off with a double. But Yogi was stranded!
Byrne and Podres each had a 1-2-3 5th, but the Dodgers went back on the attack in the top of the 6th. They just found a way on this day!
A single by Pee Wee Reese. Then an error on a sac bunt from Duke Snider by the usually sure-handed Bill Skowron. Two on, nobody out. Campy bunted them both into scoring position. Furillo was walked intentionally. Bob Grim came in to pitch. Hodges was again clutch as he scored Reese with a fly to center. 2-0, Brooklyn! Grim allowed a wild pitch and a walk, but got out of the inning without another run scoring. He and Bob Turley would shutout the Dodgers for the rest of the game. When the game was over, Brooklyn had a grand total of five hits. That certainly doesn't seem like enough for beat the great New York Yankees, does it?
The Yankees got Billy Martin to second and McDougald to first in the bottom of the 6th. Gil reached on a bunt single. Berra, who batted left-handed, went the other way. It looked like at least a ground-rule double. But Sandy Amoros, racing at full speed, speared the ball along the foul line! A great catch. McDougald was doubled off on the relay to first. When Hank Bauer grounded out, a potentially huge New York rally had been snuffed out!
The Yankees were not done. In the bottom of the 8th, they got runners on the corners with just one out. Again the batter was Berra. Again, he flied out, but this time to right. Bauer fanned. The Yankees had eight hits in the game at this point. And no runs.
In the bottom of the 9th, with the Dodgers still up 2-0, Skowron grounded back to Podres. Bob Cerv was out on a fly to left. And when Elston Howard grounded out to Reese at short, the Dodgers were finally World Series Champions!
It had been a great Fall Classic in 1955. An amazing steal of home by Robinson, Snider's four home runs, Amoros' catch. Collins with two clutch round-trippers in a losing effort. The Yankees also got a .417 average by Berra, and a Series-leading .420 performance from Bauer.
But, when I think of the 1955 World Series, it's always two of the best clutch pitchers that come to mind. Johnny Podres (who wound up with the MVP) and Whitey Ford.
References
Baseball: A Film By Ken Burns. Prod. Ken Burns. PBS. 1994. Television. DVD.
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Ford, Whitey, and Phil Pepe. Slick. New York: W. Morrow, 1987. Print.
Golenbock, Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary Books, 2000. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
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