This is considered the single greatest moment, not only in the history of New York City baseball, but in all of American sports: Bobby Thomson's come from behind home run that won the National League pennant for the New York Giants over the Brooklyn Dodgers.
October 3, 1951. At the bottom of the 9th inning, with all three bases loaded and the Giants losing 1-4, Thomson whacked the ball into the stands and the Giants overwhelmed the Dodgers to snag the game, 5-4. The crowd went wild (Dodgers fans, like my own grandfather, excepted). The city had shut down for this penultimate game of the series and, when it was over, nearly exploded from the emotion it unleashed.
The next day the newspapers declared this home run "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" - and it literally was, as serviceman fighting in Korea heard it on the radio.
On the same day as this historic game, the Soviet Union tested the first nuclear bomb - another metaphorical, much more ominous shot heard 'round the world.
For many Americans, these two events on the same day became the turning point for 20th century America -- the official end of the World War Two era, the beginning of the Cold War era, and the rise of American of dominance. The tour-de-force prologue of Don DeLillo's great 1997 novel Underworld is devoted to this game and moment, and the rest of this novel - part fiction, part fact - covers the next 50 years of turbulent history that unfurled afterwards.
DeLillo describes it best - the memories of great moments like this, the vicissitudes of history, and feelings they all inspire - when he writes at the end of the prologue: "It's all falling indelibly into the past,"
Here's a partial transcript of Russ Hodges calling the game (since the recording is a little hard to understand):
"There's a long drive... it's gonna be, I believe...THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! Bobby Thomson hits into the lower deck of the left-field stands! The Giants win the pennant and they're goin' crazy, they're goin' crazy! HEEEY-OH!!!'' [long pause for crowd noise]
I don't believe it! I don't believe it! I do not believe it! Bobby Thomson... hit a line drive... into the lower deck... of the left-field stands... and this blame place is goin' crazy! The Giants! Horace Stoneham has got a winner! The Giants won it... by a score of 5 to 4... and they're pickin' Bobby Thomson up... and carryin' him off the field!"
October 3, 1951. At the bottom of the 9th inning, with all three bases loaded and the Giants losing 1-4, Thomson whacked the ball into the stands and the Giants overwhelmed the Dodgers to snag the game, 5-4. The crowd went wild (Dodgers fans, like my own grandfather, excepted). The city had shut down for this penultimate game of the series and, when it was over, nearly exploded from the emotion it unleashed.
The next day the newspapers declared this home run "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" - and it literally was, as serviceman fighting in Korea heard it on the radio.
On the same day as this historic game, the Soviet Union tested the first nuclear bomb - another metaphorical, much more ominous shot heard 'round the world.
For many Americans, these two events on the same day became the turning point for 20th century America -- the official end of the World War Two era, the beginning of the Cold War era, and the rise of American of dominance. The tour-de-force prologue of Don DeLillo's great 1997 novel Underworld is devoted to this game and moment, and the rest of this novel - part fiction, part fact - covers the next 50 years of turbulent history that unfurled afterwards.
DeLillo describes it best - the memories of great moments like this, the vicissitudes of history, and feelings they all inspire - when he writes at the end of the prologue: "It's all falling indelibly into the past,"
Here's a partial transcript of Russ Hodges calling the game (since the recording is a little hard to understand):
"There's a long drive... it's gonna be, I believe...THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! Bobby Thomson hits into the lower deck of the left-field stands! The Giants win the pennant and they're goin' crazy, they're goin' crazy! HEEEY-OH!!!'' [long pause for crowd noise]
I don't believe it! I don't believe it! I do not believe it! Bobby Thomson... hit a line drive... into the lower deck... of the left-field stands... and this blame place is goin' crazy! The Giants! Horace Stoneham has got a winner! The Giants won it... by a score of 5 to 4... and they're pickin' Bobby Thomson up... and carryin' him off the field!"
The Brooklyn Dodgers reference reminded me of this video from the Crooklyn soundtrack:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfXJ_IUlBA4