1949 World Series

The 1949 World Series featured the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers, with the Yankees winning in five games for their second defeat of the Dodgers in three years, and the twelfth championship in team history. This victory would start a record run of five consecutive World Series championships by the Yankees, and was also the first of 14 AL pennants in 16 years (1949–1964 except for 1954 and 1959) for the Yankees.

Both teams finished the regular season with exactly the same records and winning their respective leagues by exactly one game.

Summary[edit]

AL New York Yankees (4) vs. NL Brooklyn Dodgers (1)

Matchups[edit]

Game 1[edit]

Don Newcombe of the Dodgers threw a complete game, five-hitter allowing only one run in a 1–0 losing effort. He struck out eleven Yankees during that game to tie the record for most strikeouts during a World Series game by a losing pitcher. Tommy Henrich led off the bottom of the ninth by tagging Newcombe for the first walk-off home run in World Series history.

Game 2[edit]

Preacher Roe pitched a six-hit shutout, getting the only run he needed early when Jackie Robinson doubled and Gil Hodges singled. Yankee Stadium came alive in the ninth with Joe DiMaggio's leadoff hit, but Roe retired the next three Yankees for the win, the second straight 1-0 result of the Series.

Upon the completion of game 2, 1949 became the first World Series to contain multiple one-run, 1-0 games, a distinction only matched in 1966.

Game 3[edit]

In Game 3, the Yankees struck first in the third on Phil Rizzuto's sacrifice fly with two on off of Ralph Branca, but Pee Wee Reese tied the game in the fourth on a home run off of Tommy Byrne. In the ninth, two walks and a single loaded the bases with two outs when Johnny Mize delivered a two-run pinch single. Brooklyn starter Ralph Branca was then replaced by Jack Banta, who gave up an RBI hit to Jerry Coleman that made it 4-1 Yankees. It seemed safe until Luis Olmo and Roy Campanella homered in the bottom of the ninth, but Joe Page hung on for the win after 5.2 innings of relief.

Game 4[edit]

Cliff Mapes broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning with a two-run double off of Don Newcombe. Yankee pitcher Eddie Lopat aided his own cause with an RBI double, and the advantage ballooned to 6-0 after a bases-loaded Bobby Brown triple scored three more in the fifth off of Joe Hatten. Lopat pitched five scoreless innings before allowing two leadoff singles in the sixth. After a double play moved Pee Wee Reese to third, Jackie Robinson's RBI single put the Dodgers on the board. After a Gil Hodges single, RBI singles by Luis Olmo, Roy Campanella, and Gene Hermanski chased Lopat and cheered Ebbets Field's fans, bringing the Dodgers back to within 6-4. After that, though, Allie Reynolds held the home team scoreless and hitless.

Game 5[edit]

A shaky start by Rex Barney. proved costly for Brooklyn. In the first, the Yankees loaded the bases on two walks and an error before Joe DiMaggio's sacrifice fly and Bobby Brown's RBI single put them up 2–0. In the third, the Yankees again loaded the bases on two walks and a single before a Jerry Coleman two-run single knocked Barney out of the game. Vic Raschi's RBI single off of Jack Banta made it 5–0 Yankees. The Dodgers got on the board in the bottom half off of Raschi when Roy Campanella doubled and scored on Pee Wee Reese's single, but the Yankees got that run back with a Joe DiMaggio home run in the fourth. Next inning, Gene Woodling hit a leadoff double and scored on two groundouts. In the sixth, after a walk and single off of Carl Erskine, Yogi Berra's sacrifice fly made it 8–1 Yankees, then after a pop out, a Bobby Brown RBI triple aided by an error that allowed Brown himself to score extended their lead to 10–1. The Dodgers got a run in the bottom half on Gene Hermanski's RBI single after a double and walk. Next inning, after a one-out single and walk, Jackie Robinson's sacrifice fly made it 10–3 Yankees, then after another walk, Gil Hodges's three-run home run cut their lead to 10–6. However, Joe Page held the Dodgers scoreless for the rest of the game to give the Yankees the championship.

History was made in the ninth inning when the Ebbets Field lights were turned on, making this the first World Series game finished under artificial lights. The first scheduled Series night game would not be held until 1971.

Composite box[edit]

1949 World Series (4–1): New York Yankees (A.L.) over Brooklyn Dodgers (N.L.)

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

• Cohen, Richard M.; Neft, David S. (1990). The World Series: Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903–1989. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 225–229. ISBN 0-312-03960-3. 
• Reichler, Joseph (1982). The Baseball Encyclopedia (5th ed.). Macmillan Publishing. p. 2157. ISBN 0-02-579010-2. 

External links[edit]

• 1949 World Series at WorldSeries.com (MLB.com)
• 1949 World Series at Baseball Almanac
• 1949 World Series at Baseball-Reference.com
• The 1949 Post-Season Games (box scores and play-by-play) at Retrosheet
• History of the World Series - 1949 at The SportingNews. Archived from the original on 2008.
• Audio: Game 3 radio broadcast, part 1
• Audio: Game 3 radio broadcast, part 2
• Audio: Game 3 radio broadcast, part 3
• Audio: Game 3 radio broadcast, part 4