1951 Brooklyn Dodgers season
The 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers led the National League for much of the season, holding a 13-game lead as late as August. However, a late season swoon and a hot streak by the New York Giants led to a classic three-game playoff series. Bobby Thomson's dramatic ninth-inning home run off Dodger reliever Ralph Branca in the final game won the pennant for the Giants and was immortalized as the Shot Heard 'Round the World.
| 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers | |
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| Major League affiliations | |
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| Location | |
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| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Walter O'Malley (majority owner); James & Dearie Mulvey, Mrs. John L. Smith |
| General manager(s) | Buzzie Bavasi |
| Manager(s) | Chuck Dressen |
| Local television | WOR-TV |
| Local radio | WMGM Red Barber, Connie Desmond, Vin Scully |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
Offseason
- October 10, 1950: Chuck Connors and Dee Fondy were traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs for Hank Edwards and cash.[1]
- October 13, 1950: Buddy Hicks was purchased from the Dodgers by the Philadelphia Phillies.[2]
- November 16, 1950: Morrie Martin was drafted from the Dodgers by the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1950 rule 5 draft.[3]
- February 6, 1951: Chico Fernández was signed by the Dodgers as an amateur free agent.[4]
Regular season
Season standings
| National League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | 98 | 59 | 0.624 | — | 50–28 | 48–31 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 97 | 60 | 0.618 | 1 | 49–29 | 48–31 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 81 | 73 | 0.526 | 15½ | 44–34 | 37–39 |
| Boston Braves | 76 | 78 | 0.494 | 20½ | 42–35 | 34–43 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 73 | 81 | 0.474 | 23½ | 38–39 | 35–42 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 68 | 86 | 0.442 | 28½ | 35–42 | 33–44 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 64 | 90 | 0.416 | 32½ | 32–45 | 32–45 |
| Chicago Cubs | 62 | 92 | 0.403 | 34½ | 32–45 | 30–47 |
Record vs. opponents
1951 National League Records Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | BR | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Boston | — | 10–12–1 | 10–12 | 10–12 | 8–14 | 12–10 | 13–9 | 13–9 | |||||
| Brooklyn | 12–10–1 | — | 14–8 | 14–8 | 14–11 | 15–7 | 10–12 | 18–4 | |||||
| Chicago | 12–10 | 8–14 | — | 10–12 | 7–15 | 7–15 | 9–13 | 9–13–1 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 12–10 | 8–14 | 12–10 | — | 5–17 | 11–11 | 12–10–1 | 8–14 | |||||
| New York | 14–8 | 11–14 | 15–7 | 17–5 | — | 16–6 | 14–8 | 11–11 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 10–12 | 7–15 | 15–7 | 11–11 | 6–16 | — | 15–7 | 9–13 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 9–13 | 12–10 | 13–9 | 10–12–1 | 8–14 | 7–15 | — | 5–17 | |||||
| St. Louis | 9–13 | 4–18 | 13–9–1 | 14–8 | 11–11 | 13–9 | 17–5 | — | |||||
Opening Day lineup
Notable transactions
- June 8, 1951: Tommy Brown was traded by the Dodgers to the Philadelphia Phillies for Dick Whitman and cash.[5]
- June 15, 1951: Bruce Edwards, Joe Hatten, Eddie Miksis and Gene Hermanski were traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs for Johnny Schmitz, Rube Walker, Andy Pafko and Wayne Terwilliger.[6]
- June 18, 1951: Bob Lillis was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers.[7]
- July 24, 1951: Ben Taylor was traded by the Dodgers to the St. Louis Browns for Johnny Bero, Joe Lutz and cash.[8]
- August 31, 1951: Ross Grimsley was purchased from the Dodgers by the Chicago White Sox.[9]
Roster
| 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
Other batters
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Roy Campanella | 143 | 505 | 164 | .325 | 33 | 108 |
| 1B | Gil Hodges | 158 | 582 | 156 | .268 | 40 | 103 |
| 2B | Jackie Robinson | 153 | 548 | 185 | .338 | 19 | 88 |
| SS | Pee Wee Reese | 154 | 616 | 176 | .286 | 10 | 84 |
| 3B | Billy Cox | 142 | 455 | 127 | .279 | 9 | 51 |
| OF | Duke Snider | 150 | 606 | 168 | .277 | 29 | 101 |
| OF | Carl Furillo | 158 | 667 | 197 | .295 | 16 | 91 |
| OF | Andy Pafko | 84 | 277 | 69 | .249 | 18 | 58 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cal Abrams | 67 | 150 | 42 | .280 | 3 | 19 |
| Rocky Bridges | 63 | 134 | 34 | .254 | 1 | 15 |
| Don Thompson | 80 | 118 | 27 | .229 | 0 | 6 |
| Gene Hermanski | 31 | 80 | 20 | .250 | 1 | 5 |
| Rube Walker | 36 | 74 | 18 | .243 | 2 | 9 |
| Dick Williams | 23 | 60 | 12 | .200 | 1 | 5 |
| Wayne Terwilliger | 37 | 50 | 14 | .280 | 0 | 4 |
| Bruce Edwards | 17 | 36 | 9 | .250 | 1 | 8 |
| Hank Edwards | 35 | 31 | 7 | .226 | 0 | 3 |
| Tommy Brown | 11 | 25 | 4 | .160 | 0 | 1 |
| Jim Russell | 16 | 13 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Miksis | 19 | 10 | 2 | .200 | 0 | 0 |
| Mickey Livingston | 2 | 5 | 2 | .400 | 0 | 2 |
| Wayne Belardi | 3 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Newcombe | 40 | 272 | 20 | 9 | 3.28 | 164 |
| Preacher Roe | 34 | 257.2 | 22 | 3 | 3.04 | 113 |
| Ralph Branca | 42 | 204 | 13 | 12 | 3.26 | 118 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Erskine | 46 | 189.2 | 16 | 12 | 4.46 | 95 |
| Clem Labine | 14 | 65.1 | 5 | 1 | 2.20 | 39 |
| Johnny Schmitz | 16 | 55.2 | 1 | 4 | 5.34 | 20 |
| Joe Hatten | 11 | 49.1 | 1 | 0 | 4.56 | 22 |
| Chris Van Cuyk | 9 | 29.1 | 1 | 2 | 5.52 | 16 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clyde King | 48 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 4.15 | 33 |
| Bud Podbielan | 27 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3.50 | 26 |
| Erv Palica | 19 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4.75 | 15 |
| Phil Haugstad | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.46 | 22 |
| Dan Bankhead | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15.43 | 9 |
| Earl Mossor | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32.40 | 1 |
Shot Heard 'Round the World
One of the more famous episodes in major league baseball history, and possibly one of the greatest moments in sports history, the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" is the name given to Bobby Thomson's walk-off home run that clinched the National League pennant for the New York Giants over their rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers. This game was the third of a three-game playoff series resulting from one of baseball's most memorable pennant races. The Giants had been thirteen and a half games behind the league-leading Dodgers in August, but under Durocher's guidance and with the aid of a sixteen-game winning streak, caught the Dodgers to tie for the lead on the last day of the season.
Awards and honors
- National League Most Valuable Player
- TSN Pitcher of the Year Award
All-Stars
- 1951 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
- Roy Campanella starter
- Gil Hodges starter
- Jackie Robinson starter
- Don Newcombe reserve
- Pee Wee Reese reserve
- Preacher Roe reserve
- Duke Snider reserve
- TSN Major League All-Star Team
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Montreal, Santa Barbara
Notes
- Dee Fondy at Baseball-Reference
- Buddy Hicks at Baseball-Reference
- Morrie Martin at Baseball-Reference
- Chico Fernández at Baseball-Reference
- Tommy Brown at Baseball-Reference
- Eddie Miksis at Baseball-Reference
- Bob Lillis at Baseball-Reference
- Ben Taylor at Baseball-Reference
- Ross Grimsley at Baseball-Reference
