Mickey Owens drops the third strike

VINTAGE BASEBALL MEMORABILIA

Vintage Baseball Memorabilia

On October 5, 1941, Brooklyn Dodgers catcher Mickey Owen drops a third strike on Tommy Henrich, allowing the New York Yankee outfielder to reach base. Joe DiMaggio followed with a single and Charlie Keller hit a double to drive in Henrich and DiMaggio and take the lead. Bill Dickey would follow up with a walk and, along with Keller, score on a Joe Gordon double to make the final score 7–4. Johnny Murphy pitched two shutout innings to close the game as the Yankees were one win away from the championship.

If Owen had held on to the ball, the Dodgers would have won Game Four of the World Series, 4-3. Instead, the Yankees rally to win, 7-4…

“It wasn’t a strike. It was a low inside curve that I should have had. But I guess the ball struck my glove and by the time I got hold of it I couldn’t have thrown anybody out at first. It was an error.” Owens would say.

Earlier in the game the Yankees struck first in the top of the first on Keller’s RBI single with two on off of Kirby Higbe. In the fourth, they loaded the bases with no outs on a double, walk and single and two outs later, Johnny Sturm’s two-run single made it 3–0 Yankees and knock Higbe out of the game. In the bottom half,  Atley Donald walked two with two outs before both runners scored on Jimmy Wasdell’s double. Next inning, Pete Reiser’s two-run home run put the Dodgers up 4–3

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