The 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers had some tall pitchers on their Fall Classic roster. There were two Don's, a Roger and Sandy!
The two Don's were Don Newcombe and Don Drysdale. They both made it to the hill. The Sandy, Koufax, did not. Sandy had been there in 1955 as a bonus baby. Drysdale himself was a rookie in 1956.
Newcombe, Newk as he was called, had a rough time. The menacing pitcher was 6'4 and looking to put his Dodgers up two games to none at the Fall Classic. Sal Maglie had won the opener, and now, it was game two. It was Newk's turn. The problem was, Brooklyn, opposed by the New York Yankees in this game at Ebbet's Field, got scored on in the top of the first. Then the floodgates opened in the top of the second.
Billy Martin got it all started with a single. Jerry Coleman drew a walk. Don Larsen (Hey, another Don!) the opposing pitcher, singled. That made it 2-0. Another single, a walk and a grand slam by Yogi Berra made it 6-0, New York and Newcombe was done. Brooklyn was not, however. They scored six times in the bottom of the frame, then outscored Brooklyn 7-2 the rest of the way to win 13-8. Well, both Don's didn't have it. But Brooklyn would take that tradeoff. The problem was, Larsen returned to the hill in game five and pitcher the only perfect game in World Series history.
New York went home and took game three, 5-3. Their ace, Whitey Ford, was in in fine form. Game four was all New York. It was 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh when Don Drysdale took the hill. Don was 20 years old, and 5-5 with a 2.64 ERA in 25 games. He was almost as imposing as Newk at this point. And he was actually taller. 6'5!
He quickly got Gil McDougald out on a grounder. But then, Andy Carey singled. Don fanned pitcher Tommy Sturdivant. However, any hope of getting out of the inning unscathed ended when Hank Bauer hit a home run. Shaken, Don walked Joe Collins before finally getting out of there. But it was now 6-1, New York.
Drysdale finished the game. He pitched the bottom of the eighth and got Yogi Berra to ground out. Enos Slaughter also grounded out. When Billy Martin became the third Yankee to do that in the inning, Don had 'em 1-2-3. New York would next hear from him in 1963. But they won this game, 6-2. The 1956 Fall Classic was knotted at two games apiece. The next game, the last at Yankee Stadium in '56, was on for the ages.
Don Larsen went out and pitched a perfect game, and New York won 2-0. Back at Ebbets Field for game six, the Dodgers showed they were not done. They took a ten-inning thriller, 1-0 behind the pitching of Clem Labine.
So it was down to a winner-take-all game seven. And Don Newcombe was back. It wasn't one of his finer efforts.
Hank Bauer got things rolling for New York with a single as the game's first batter. Don tamed Billy Martin on a K, but Hank took advantage of Newk's preoccupied state of mind with the batter. He stole second. Mickey Mantle went down on a strikeout as well. But Yogi Berra hit one out of the park. It was 2-0.
The Dodgers put the tying run on first with just one out in the bottom of the frame, but then Jackie Robinson hit into a inning-ending double play. Newk had a fairly easy second inning, save for a walk. But the Dodgers went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning. It was going to be a long day for Brooklyn hitters.
But for Newk, the afternoon ended soon enough. Bauer led off the top of the third and Don got him. But Billy Martin singled. His buddy, Mantle, fanned again. However, Yogi Berra got New York two more with another two-run blast. It was 4-0. The Dodgers again were retired 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame.
Elston Howard's leadoff home run in the top of the fourth ended Newcombe's day. It ended the game for all intents and purposes. New York went on to win, 9-0. Drysdale did not come in to pitch.
The 1956 World Series had a bit of the old (Newcombe) and a bit of the new (Drysdale). Plus Koufax, who was 6'2. He may not of pitched, but clearly, Brooklyn had some idea they had two special newcomers that year. Newk's drinking got the better of him, and he was never quite as good as he'd been again.
The Dodgers left Brooklyn in 1958, for Los Angeles. And when they made it back to the Fall Classic, it was Drysdale and Koufax with a start each. Newk was gone. Johnny Podres, who'd missed the 1956 World Series, but was the hero in 1955, also was there. Thus, the Dodgers used the old in the new again, and this time it worked. But in their primes, beating Newk, Don and Don was certainly as tall an order as the height of each!
References
Ford,
Whitey, and Phil Pepe. Slick. New York: W. Morrow, 1987. Print.
Retrosheet. Web. 21 Jan. 2015. <www.retrosheet.org>.
The two Don's were Don Newcombe and Don Drysdale. They both made it to the hill. The Sandy, Koufax, did not. Sandy had been there in 1955 as a bonus baby. Drysdale himself was a rookie in 1956.
Newcombe, Newk as he was called, had a rough time. The menacing pitcher was 6'4 and looking to put his Dodgers up two games to none at the Fall Classic. Sal Maglie had won the opener, and now, it was game two. It was Newk's turn. The problem was, Brooklyn, opposed by the New York Yankees in this game at Ebbet's Field, got scored on in the top of the first. Then the floodgates opened in the top of the second.
Billy Martin got it all started with a single. Jerry Coleman drew a walk. Don Larsen (Hey, another Don!) the opposing pitcher, singled. That made it 2-0. Another single, a walk and a grand slam by Yogi Berra made it 6-0, New York and Newcombe was done. Brooklyn was not, however. They scored six times in the bottom of the frame, then outscored Brooklyn 7-2 the rest of the way to win 13-8. Well, both Don's didn't have it. But Brooklyn would take that tradeoff. The problem was, Larsen returned to the hill in game five and pitcher the only perfect game in World Series history.
New York went home and took game three, 5-3. Their ace, Whitey Ford, was in in fine form. Game four was all New York. It was 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh when Don Drysdale took the hill. Don was 20 years old, and 5-5 with a 2.64 ERA in 25 games. He was almost as imposing as Newk at this point. And he was actually taller. 6'5!
He quickly got Gil McDougald out on a grounder. But then, Andy Carey singled. Don fanned pitcher Tommy Sturdivant. However, any hope of getting out of the inning unscathed ended when Hank Bauer hit a home run. Shaken, Don walked Joe Collins before finally getting out of there. But it was now 6-1, New York.
Drysdale finished the game. He pitched the bottom of the eighth and got Yogi Berra to ground out. Enos Slaughter also grounded out. When Billy Martin became the third Yankee to do that in the inning, Don had 'em 1-2-3. New York would next hear from him in 1963. But they won this game, 6-2. The 1956 Fall Classic was knotted at two games apiece. The next game, the last at Yankee Stadium in '56, was on for the ages.
Don Larsen went out and pitched a perfect game, and New York won 2-0. Back at Ebbets Field for game six, the Dodgers showed they were not done. They took a ten-inning thriller, 1-0 behind the pitching of Clem Labine.
So it was down to a winner-take-all game seven. And Don Newcombe was back. It wasn't one of his finer efforts.
Hank Bauer got things rolling for New York with a single as the game's first batter. Don tamed Billy Martin on a K, but Hank took advantage of Newk's preoccupied state of mind with the batter. He stole second. Mickey Mantle went down on a strikeout as well. But Yogi Berra hit one out of the park. It was 2-0.
The Dodgers put the tying run on first with just one out in the bottom of the frame, but then Jackie Robinson hit into a inning-ending double play. Newk had a fairly easy second inning, save for a walk. But the Dodgers went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning. It was going to be a long day for Brooklyn hitters.
But for Newk, the afternoon ended soon enough. Bauer led off the top of the third and Don got him. But Billy Martin singled. His buddy, Mantle, fanned again. However, Yogi Berra got New York two more with another two-run blast. It was 4-0. The Dodgers again were retired 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame.
Elston Howard's leadoff home run in the top of the fourth ended Newcombe's day. It ended the game for all intents and purposes. New York went on to win, 9-0. Drysdale did not come in to pitch.
The 1956 World Series had a bit of the old (Newcombe) and a bit of the new (Drysdale). Plus Koufax, who was 6'2. He may not of pitched, but clearly, Brooklyn had some idea they had two special newcomers that year. Newk's drinking got the better of him, and he was never quite as good as he'd been again.
The Dodgers left Brooklyn in 1958, for Los Angeles. And when they made it back to the Fall Classic, it was Drysdale and Koufax with a start each. Newk was gone. Johnny Podres, who'd missed the 1956 World Series, but was the hero in 1955, also was there. Thus, the Dodgers used the old in the new again, and this time it worked. But in their primes, beating Newk, Don and Don was certainly as tall an order as the height of each!
References
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
2005. Print.
Fonseca, Lew, director. World Series Of 1956. Performance by Lew Fonseca, Major League Baseball Productions, 1956. DVD.
Fonseca, Lew, director. World Series Of 1956. Performance by Lew Fonseca, Major League Baseball Productions, 1956. DVD.
Golenbock,
Peter. Dynasty: The New York Yankees,
1949-1964. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary, 2000. Print.
Mantle,
Mickey, and Mickey Herskowitz. All My
Octobers: My Memories of Twelve World Series When the Yankees Ruled Baseball.
New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Print.
Neft,
David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St.
Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Neft,
David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World
Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York:
St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Nemec,
David et all. 20th Century Baseball
Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's
Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.
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Lewis J. Perfect: Don Larsen's Miraculous World Series Game And The Men Who
Made It Happen. New York, NY: New American Library, 2009. Print.
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Seaver,
Tom, and Martin Appel. Great Moments in Baseball. New York, NY: Carol
Pub. Group, 1992. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major
League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/.
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