Baseball and Autumn in New York
Hosting the World Series 10 Years in a Row
In one of the most colorful segments of the century-old history of the World Series, one or more New York teams battled for the world championship for ten straight years. From 1949 through 1958, the dominant Yankees won seven times, and the Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers once each. The only "out-of-towners" to intrude on the Big Apple's mastery during that stretch were the Milwaukee Braves, who beat the Yanks in 1957 but lost a rematch in 1958.
The Streak Begins
The remarkable run began in 1949, when brand new manager Casey Stengel led the Yankees to the first of an unprecedented (and never since equalled) five consecutive world championships. Without a season-long .300 hitter in the lineup, Stengel parlayed the pitching talents of Vic Raschi, Allie Reynolds, and Ed Lopat, backed up by reliever Joe Page, and his own platooning system into a last-day pennant win over the Boston Red Sox. Long-time Yankee star Joe DiMaggio missed two months after heel surgery, but came on to bat .346 the rest of the way. The brilliant pitching also overcame the Dodgers in the World Series, 4-1.
A young Philadelphia Phillies team nick-named the "Whiz Kids" provided the Yankees' opposition in 1950. All four games were close, but the Yanks took them all, one on a home run by DiMaggio. Whitey Ford, who was to set a record with ten world series victories, made his first winning appearance before being drafted for the Korean War.
The next all-New York series was in 1951, when the Manhattan-based New York Giants, fresh from the Bobby Thomson "Home Run Heard 'Round the World," challenged their Bronx neighbors. Featuring a rookie named Willie Mays and 23-game winners Larry Jansen and Sal Maglie, the Giants had enough momentum to win two of the first three games, but then faded to lose in six. A Yankee first-year man, Mickey Mantle, also made a Series debut, but it was stopped short by an ankle injury. Mantle was to appear in 12 World Series and set the still-standing home run record of 18.
The Dodgers and Yankees pounded each other in 1952 and 1953, with the Yankees coming out on top both times. The usual starring roles of the pitchers were shared with the young Mantle, reliever Bob Kuzava and scrappy second baseman Billy Martin. Brooklyn's "Boys of Summer," Jackie Robinson, PeeWee Reese, Gil Hodges, Duke Snider, Carl Furillo, and Roy Campanella seemed destined for annual frustration
Streaks Interrupted
The Cleveland Indians ended the Yankees' pennant streak with a then-record 111-win season in 1954, and were heavily favored to whip the Giants. But pinch-hitting heroics by a journeyman named Dusty Rhodes and a running catch by Mays often called unbelievable set the tone for a four-game Giants sweep.
1955 finally saw the long-awaited Dodgers breakthrough. Behind the timely hitting of the "Boys of Summer" and two fine pitching performances by the unheralded Johnny Podres, the Dodgers won in seven games. A Jackie Robinson steal of home was also a film and morale highlight. Ironically, it was to be the only world championship for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Yankees regained the crown in 1956, aided notably by the Don Larsen perfect game, and at the end of the 1957 season, the Dodgers left for Los Angeles, where they have since won five titles.
The Yanks and then-Milwaukee Braves split the 1957 and 1958 series. Sparked by Lew Burdette's three wins and slugging by Eddie Mathews and young Hank Aaron, the Braves triumphed in the first match-up. Seeking to establish a dynasty of their own, they took three of the first four games the following year, only to fall victim to a powerful Yankee comeback for the last of Stengel's record-tying seven world championships.
The remarkable decade of New York City World Series ended when the the now-Los Angeles Dodgers, scarcely two years out of Brooklyn, beat the Chicago White Sox in six games in 1959. With the advent of the expanded leagues, playoff eliminations, and the free agent system, we are unlikely to see such a total single-city domination.
