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Bobby Thomson, 1923-2010

G-Fafif Aug 17 2010 12:08 PM

Bobby Thomson, New York sporting icon and gentleman of gentlemen, passes away at 86. The man who hit the most famous home run in baseball history is gone. Bobby Thomson, whose "shot heard 'round the world" capped a best-of-three playoff and the Giants' miracle comeback to win the 1951 National League pennant over the Dodgers, died Monday night at his home in Savannah, Georgia. He died peacefully according to his daughter Megan Thomson Armstrong. He had been in declining health for years. He was 86. Of baseball's historic walk-off home runs - Bill Mazeroski's in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, Joe Carter's in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series, Carlton Fisk's in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series - Thomson's shot off of Ralph Branca into the left-field seats of the Polo Grounds on Oct. 3, 1951, will always be regarded as the granddaddy of them al. The dramatic blast capped the Giants' incredible charge to the pennant after they had trailed the Dodgers by 13 1/2 games as late as Aug. 11. Beginning on Aug. 12, the Giants won 16 straight games and went 37-7 down the stretch to force a tie with the Dodgers at season's end. In the playoff series that ensued, the Giants won the first game, 3-1, on a two-run fourth-inning homer by Thomson off Branca and the Dodgers came back to win the second game, 10-0, behind the six-hit pitching of Clem Labine. That set the stage for the deciding game, which the Dodgers led, 4-1, going into the ninth inning. But Dodger starter Don Newcombe, who had logged 272 innings that season, tired in the ninth, surrendering a leadoff infield single to Alvin Dark, another single to Don Mueller, and then, after Monte Irvin fouled out, a two-run opposite field double to left field by Whitey Lockman. On the play, Mueller severely sprained his ankle sliding into third and as he was attended to and finally removed from the game for pinch-runner Clint Hartung, Dodger manager Charlie Dressen summoned Branca from the bullpen to replace Newcombe with Thomson coming to the plate. "I was sorry to see Don hurt," Thomson had said, "but the delay really helped me. I walked out to talk to (Giants manager) Leo (Durocher) and he said: 'If you ever hit one, hit one now.' I could see he was plenty excited too and I calmed down a bit. On my way back to the plate, I said to myself: 'You're a pro. Act like one!'" Like Newcombe, Branca had been used extensively as Dressen desperately sought to hold off the surging Giants, and after pitching 1 1/3 innings of relief in the last game of the season and eight more innings the next day as the Dodgers' starter in the Game 1 of the playoff, he didn't expect to be called on again two days later. But when Dressen called down to the bullpen, Clyde Sukeforth, the bullpen coach, reported that Carl Erskine, warming up with Branca, had just bounced a ball in the dirt, and the Dodger manager told him to send in the burly righthander from Mount Vernon, N.Y. Branca's first pitch was a fastball called strike. His second pitch, another fastball, Thomson hit on a low rising liner toward left. As Dodger leftfielder Andy Pafko drifted back to the wall, the ball sailed over his head into the seats for a 5-4 victory, and from the broadcast booth Giants announcer Russ Hodges could be heard screaming, "The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!" "Right away after I hit it I thought it was a home run," Thomson said. "Going around the bases, I could hardly breathe. I was starting to hyperventilate." Although Thomson and Branca actually became friends years after their careers ended and capitalized on the historic home run by doing card show autograph sessions together, their relationship became strained again some 50 years after the fact when an article by Joshua Harris Prager in the Wall Street Journal quoted backup Giants catcher Sal Yvars' detailing an elaborate sign-stealing scheme on the Giants' part during that 1951 season. The story, which was later incorporated into a book, essentially credited the Giants' historic comeback - and by extension Thomson's home run - to their ability to steal the opposing teams' signs. Branca took that as his exoneration while Thomson insisted he didn't know what pitch was coming. "Bobby was a really good guy," Branca said from his home in Rye, N.Y. "He was just doing job and I was just doing mine. I don't condemn him for knowing what pitch was coming. I condemn the leaders of the Giants - (manager Leo) Durocher, (coach) Herman Franks (team captain) Alvin Dark. Bobby was always a class act and I'll miss him." In some ways the home run was a bit of a mixed blessing in that, with it, came future expectations that Thomson was never able to meet. Thomson hit .293 with 32 homers and 101 in 1951 and had similar seasons in '52 and '53, but he never achieved superstar status. After the '53 season in which he hit .288 with 26 homers and 106 RBI, the Giants traded him to the Milwaukee Braves for pitchers Johnny Antonelli and Don Liddle, both of whom played key roles in their winning the world championship in 1954. For Thomson, the '54 season was a complete bust as he broke his ankle sliding into third base in spring training and appeared in only 32 games for the Braves. Thomson, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland and moved to Staten Island when he was two years old, would never again approach 100 RBI and was traded four more times before retiring in 1960 with a lifetime .270 average, 264 homers, 1,705 hits and 1,026 RBI for 15 years. "The Flying Scot", as he was called, took the high road when the Wall Street Journal story came out. Branca maintained the sign-stealing story vindicated him; that Thomson knew what pitch was coming. "Ralph has a right to believe what he wants," said Thomson who, through their mutual fate, had formed a close, lifetime friendship with Branca. "But I can assure you nobody gave me any sign. I was looking for a fastball and that's what I got. We're married to each other by this. This is the first sign of any trouble between us and it's nothing big. We're too damn old to let it bother us now."

metirish Aug 17 2010 12:15 PM Re: Bobby Thomson, 1923-2010

R.I.P. If asked I would have said he was dead.Did he lead a very quite life?, some of these old ballplayers seem to get forgotten.

Edgy DC Aug 17 2010 12:26 PM Re: Bobby Thomson, 1923-2010

He and Ralph Branca were regulars on the autograph circuit together for a while.

metirish Aug 17 2010 12:31 PM Re: Bobby Thomson, 1923-2010

How many of those old NY Giants players are still around? I met Sal Yvars' not long before he passed , in my job actually....

G-Fafif Aug 17 2010 12:32 PM Re: Bobby Thomson, 1923-2010

Bobby lived in Jersey until a few years ago and was always very accessible. To a person, every NYG fan I've met who met him (and they all seemed to) glowed when they spoke of the experience. I saw him on two occasions (once when he was the featured attraction, once with Branca) and he was soft-spoken and humble and seemingly never not conscious that his big moment was just one moment in a long life. Once heard a great story about Bobby, a Rangers fan, was sweating out the Rangers-Devils Game 7 semi-final in 1994, how he couldn't stand the tension while watching such a big game at home on TV, how he had to step out onto his patio to compose himself between periods. The person who told the story was dumbfounded. "Bobby, YOU got nervous watching a playoff game?" It's different to watch than to play, he said.

Edgy DC Aug 17 2010 12:33 PM Re: Bobby Thomson, 1923-2010

Well, Willie Mays is certainly still around. Russ Hodges, another New York broadcaster from the South.

smg58 Aug 17 2010 12:36 PM Re: Bobby Thomson, 1923-2010

I'm sorry that there is still some controversy around the home run. But you can't love baseball and not love Hodges' call.

Ashie62 Aug 17 2010 12:42 PM Re: Bobby Thomson, 1923-2010

Alive Al Dark 88 Monte Irvin 91 Willie Mays 79 Don Mueller 83 I'm sure there are others but these are the standouts.

Edgy DC Aug 17 2010 12:49 PM Re: Bobby Thomson, 1923-2010

Bill Taylor, whose card is so infused with color, he looks like a Met. Still alive.

seawolf17 Aug 17 2010 12:56 PM Re: Bobby Thomson, 1923-2010

One of the great TTM ("through the mail") autograph signers; RIP Bobby.

G-Fafif Aug 17 2010 01:00 PM Re: Bobby Thomson, 1923-2010

Personal remembrance of listening to Bobby speak (and meeting him ever so briefly) here.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 17 2010 02:05 PM Re: Bobby Thomson, 1923-2010

I never knew he was actually born in Scotland. (I just thought they called him that they way they called people whose parents were Dutch "Dutch.")

Willets Point Aug 17 2010 05:38 PM Re: Bobby Thomson, 1923-2010

I think the best tribute to Bobby Thomson would be for a New York team to come from behind and clinch the NL Pennant. R.I.P.

G-Fafif Aug 18 2010 01:35 AM Re: Bobby Thomson, 1923-2010

Dave Anderson remembers here. Over the years, I often played in Bobby Thomson’s annual charity golf outing at Plainfield Country Club in New Jersey to benefit arthritis research. After the last tournament, in 2007, before he moved to Savannah, I received a thank-you letter from him, as many others did. Next to his signature, he wrote: “Dave, you were with us from the start. Thank you so much. In case you’re interested, I did not get a sign. Bobby T.”

Met Hunter Aug 18 2010 07:00 AM Re: Bobby Thomson, 1923-2010

-Joey Amalfitano, -Hub Andrews, -Johnny Antonelli, -Hal Bamberger, -Jackie Brandt, -Ed Bressoud, -Pete Burnside, -Foster Castleman, -Gil Coan, -Ray Crone, -Al Dark, -Chuck Diering, -Joe Garagiola, -Billy Gardner, -Harvey Gentry, -Gail Harris, -Jack Harshman, -Monte Irvin, -Les Layton, -Joe Margoneri, -Willie Mays, -Windy Mccall, -Mike Mccormick, -Charlie Mead, -Stu Miller, -Don Mueller, -Mario Picone, -Rudy Rufer, -Ron Samford, -Red Schoendienst,-Daryl Spencer, -George Spencer, -Bill Taylor, -Wayne Terwilliger, -Valmy Thomas, -Ozzie Virgil, -Bill White, -Artie Wilson, -Al Worthington, -Roy Wright. Total Number of Players-40

Met Hunter Aug 18 2010 07:12 AM Re: Bobby Thomson, 1923-2010

Whitey Lockman, the runner on second came home last year, followed by Clint Hartung, the runner on third, last month. Now Bobby is home and can celebrate with his boys in the clubhouse. RIP to a guy who handled winning better than anyone I've ever met.

G-Fafif Aug 19 2010 02:57 PM Re: Bobby Thomson, 1923-2010

Some of you serious autograph collectors will enjoy this piece from Mark Simon at ESPN on he and his Giants fan dad tracking down the signatures of the '51 Giants when he was a kid and the "teach your children well" aspect of fandom. I had a discussion with a group of people about the idea that young fans don’t have any idea who Thomson is, or his significance in baseball history. I think that’s pretty sad. If you’re the father of a son or daughter who is a baseball fan, take the time to show him Thomson’s home run and explain the significance of the moment to him. Maybe take the time to write a former player or two, and explain to your son the importance of baseball past to baseball present. I can assure you the payoff will be worthwhile. In the vein of Bobby Thomson's signature, came across this on Facebook the other day: Did you hear that Bobby Thomson died yesterday? He was such a nice guy. When he lived in NJ, he came into the Post Office my dad was supervising at and my dad asked him for an autograph and he said wait until tomorrow and he came in the next day with a 16x20 of "The Shot Heard Around the World" He filled in all the names of the players and wrote about the Home Run. I still have that hanging up to this day.