October 3, 1951. Over 34,000 fans came too see this one-game playoff between the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers at the Polo Grounds. The Giants had come from behind, 13.5 games during the regular season, something no team had ever done. Don Newcombe and Sal Maglie had kept the game at a 1-1…
Don Mueller hits two more home runs, giving him five in two days, to tie a major league mark. His second homer, again off Phil Haugstad, comes a minute after he learns he is a new father. Bobby Thomson adds his 25th homer and Jim Hearn beats the Dodgers, 11 – 2. After Mueller’s second homer, Haugstad decks Thomson and hits Willie Mays with a pitch, evoking a warning from umpire Al Barlick. Barlick had earlier thumbed Ralph Branca and Dick Williams in the 5th inning, Don Newcombe in the 6th when he objected to a call, and Jackie Robinson and rookie Clem Labine. Chuck Dressen then clears his bench to avoid any more thumbings. The Giants move to five games behind Brooklyn.
Giants P Jim Hearn defeats the Dodgers, 3 – 1, as Willie Mays makes a miraculous play in the 8th. With the score 1 – 1 and Billy Cox on third, Mays makes a running catch of a Carl Furillo drive in deep right center field and whirls counterclockwise to throw out the astonished Cox at home. Wes Westrum’s two-run homer off Ralph Branca in the 8th provides the two-run margin. Hearn allows just six hits, all singles, as the Giants move to 10 1/2 behind Brooklyn.
Monte Irvin clubs two homers off Ralph Branca as the Giants edge the Dodgers, 5 – 4. The second homer, a three-run shot in the 8th, gives the win to reliever Sheldon Jones. The Dodgers now lead the Giants by five games.
1950 – Sal Maglie’s string of scoreless innings ends at 45, but he beats the Pirates, 3 – 1, in a rain-shortened seven-inning game. Pirate Gus Bell’s 257-foot fly ball barely clears the RF wall at the Polo Grounds. For Maglie, it is his 11th straight win.
1950 – Sid Gordon of the Boston Braves hits the first National League grand slam of the season, as Boston beats the New York Giants, 10 – 6, at the Polo Grounds. There will be 35 grand slams in the league and 68 in all this year. Both are records but both will later be topped.
Sam Jethroe, former Cleveland Buckeyes star of the Negro American League, becomes the first black player for the Braves. The 33 year-old highly-touted prospect, who will lead the majors with 35 stolen bases, will be named the National League’s Rookie of the Year.
At the Polo Grounds, Dodger Rex Barney no-hits the Giants, 2-0. The Brooklyn 23 year-old right-hander had to endure a one-hour rain delay, as well as showers in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings to finish his gem.
On April 24, 1947, Johnny Mize of the New York Giants becomes the first major leaguer to hit three home runs in a game on five different occasions. The “Big Cat” hits his most recent trio against Johnny Sain of the Boston Braves. In spite of Mize’s barrage, the Giants lose the game, 14-5.
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