Baseball legend passes away

[jk3521]

Though I was only 5 yrs old at the time of "The shot heard 'round the world", this was one of the great stories in the history of baseball.

http://abc7ny.com/sports/shot-heard-round-world-pitcher-ralph-branca-dies/1622143/

[Inner Dirt]

I was -10 (Born in 1961) at the time, and the pitchers name doesn't ring a bell but the hitter did.

[Marshall Bennett]

Same here. Remember Thompson's name well, but few losing pitchers. I know Al Downing gave up Aaron's record breaker only because I was a huge Yankee fan during the 60's when Al pitched there.

[CincyHorseplayer]

Know the game from highlights but didn't know him til I looked. Had a few nice seasons.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brancra01.shtml

[Zaf]

I was -10 (Born in 1961) at the time, and the pitchers name doesn't ring a bell but the hitter did.

Me too (Born in 1961) Heard the clip 1000's of times, still gives me chills. As far as Branca a 20 game winner in 1947 and 88-68 record in the majors. Both guys a bucket of win. R.I.P.

Z

[NJ Stinks]

My father played semi-pro baseball with Bobby Thomson on Staten Island when they were teenagers. Dad said Thomson was a great guy to play with - not big-headed when he could have been...

I remember Ralph Branca only for that homer he gave up. I was six when he retired....TV's were kind of fuzzy back then.... ;)

[Jess Hawsen Arown]

What is never said about the 'shot heard round the world' was that the home run Thompson hit off Branca would not have been a home run in any other major league ball park in its history.

Thompson tomahawked a soft line drive down the left field line and it cleared the fence just to the right of the 270' foot mark. (Note the LA Coliseum which was home to the LA Dodgers when they first moved to LA was only 250' feet down the line, but that fence was was very high and Thompson's ball never would have cleared it.

But to Branca's credit, he never used that as an excuse. From everything I have heard about him he was an incredible gentleman, and for those who did not know, Branca raced harness horses. The great Kassa Branca was named after him.

[Marshall Bennett]

Polo grounds was flat-out weird. Straight away center was like 480 ft. Mays made his famous over-the-shoulder catch back there somewhere.

[Ocala Mike]

RIP - Branca was a straight-up guy and a devout Catholic. He handled his notoriety well through the years and kept his faith.

I was 9 when Thomson hit the homer, and a Dodger fan, so I was quite devastated.

[DSB]

I was -10 (Born in 1961) at the time, and the pitchers name doesn't ring a bell but the hitter did.
Something's wrong with your math here.

The "shot" occurred in 1951. For you to have been 10 at the time, you'd have had to have been born in 1941.

Ralph Branca finished his career in 1956. After spending all of 1955 in the minors, he got into one game with Brooklyn in September, 1956. In his final game he pitched two scoreless innings of relief... against the NY Giants.

[Tape Reader]

I was +9 at the time. Born in 1942. Watched the game with my Dad. We lived in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and some of the Dodgers were sort of neighbors.

The next day when my father and I were walking to school/work, I asked why that dummy was hanging from the lamp pole. He explained to me “hung in effigy.”

About 30 years later my family had reserved seats at Saratoga. Ralph Branca and I think another ball player had seats next to us. I introduced the family and he very graciously posed for pictures with my 10 year old son.

[Inner Dirt]

Something's wrong with your math here.

The "shot" occurred in 1951. For you to have been 10 at the time, you'd have had to have been born in 1941.

Ralph Branca finished his career in 1956. After spending all of 1955 in the minors, he got into one game with Brooklyn in September, 1956. In his final game he pitched two scoreless innings of relief... against the NY Giants.

I wrote -10 which is MINUS 10, or 10 years away from being born. Maybe you need better glasses or to clean your monitor.

[DSB]

I wrote -10 which is MINUS 10, or 10 years away from being born. Maybe you need better glasses or to clean your monitor.
I'd tell you to kiss my ass, but I don't think that's allowed on here.