October 3, 1956 President Eisenhower is about to throw out the first pitch at Ebbets Field for game 1 of the 1956 World Series. Walter O’Malley checks his watch for the starting time. Just beside O’Malley is commissioner Ford Frick. In the left hand side of this photo is Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles….
Major League Baseball Season Recap 1956 World Series – New York Yankees AL over Brooklyn Dodgers NL 4 games to 3 World Series MVP – Don LarsenBabe Ruth Award – Don Larsen Awards – Major League Cy Young Award Don Newcombe MVP Awards – NL Don Newcombe AL Mickey MantleMajor League Rookie of The Year – NL Rookie of The Year…
1956 – The New York City Board of Estimate votes $25,000 for a survey regarding the Brooklyn Dodgers’ proposed new stadium for downtown Brooklyn.
New York Yankee star Phil Rizzuto signs on as one of the team’s radio and television broadcasters
1956 – Dale Berra is born in Ridgewood, NJ. Yogi’s son doesn’t have his father’s talents but closes his eleven-year big league career with 19 games as an Astro in 1987 where he bats .178.
1956 – The Dodgers trade Jackie Robinson to the cross-town rivals, the Giants, for pitcher Dick Littlefield and $35,000. Jackie, according to some accounts had already decided privately to leave the game to work for Chock Full of Nuts, publicly retires from baseball rather than accept the trade.
The Major Leagues vote at a joint meeting to reduce player limits to 28 by Opening Day.
A major league player association is formed with Bob Feller, a future Hall of Fame hurler with the Indians, being named its first president. The labor organization, one of many attempts by the players to form a union, will prove to be very successful a decade later when Marvin Miller is hired to be the MLBPA’s first executive director in 1966.
The Cubs buy perennial backup C Charlie Silvera from the Yankees. They also trade pitchers Sad Sam Jones and Jim Davis, IF Eddie Miksis, and C Hobie Landrith to the Cardinals for pitchers Tom Poholsky and Jackie Collum, C Ray Katt, and a minor league pitcher.
Similar to the National League, the Junior Circuit opts for a three-game playoff in case of a tie at the end of the regular season. Previously, a deadlock in the American League had been broken with one-game winner-take-all format. However, the new format will never need to be used until the leagues break into two divisions in 1969.