It was no surprise that a representative from the great city of New York was listed on the ticket stub to the 1954 World Series. However, it was surprising that the name that appeared printed was not that of the New York Yankees. After winning five consecutive Fall Classics, the “Bronx Bombers” had fallen short (despite winning one-hundred three games) and were replaced by the Cleveland Indians who boasted the strongest pitching rotation in all of baseball. Bob Lemon, Early Wynn and Mike Garcia had dominated the American League (.721 winning percentage) and were clearly favored going into the ‘54 contest. Their opponents, the New York Giants, had rebounded after a fifth place finish in ‘53 for a five-game lead over the defending National League champion Brooklyn Dodgers. Willie Mays (National League-leading .345, with forty-one home runs and one-hundred ten runs batted in) had returned from the United States Army and Johnny Antonelli (with twenty-one wins) was acquired during the off-season for a formidable 1-2 combination. Still, many had predicted that the Indians would sweep the Series due to the Giants post-season debacles of the past and Cleveland’s surprise dethroning of the perennial champion Yankees.

Game 1 was held at the Polo Grounds and the fans in attendance witnessed what is considered by many to be the greatest defensive play in World Series history: Willie Mays and “The Catch”!

Saturday Baseball Classic – 9/29/1954 – 1954 World Series Game One, Cleveland Indians at New York Giants

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The 1939 season was not a memorable one for either the Cleveland Indians or the Washington Senators. Granted Cleveland did finish the year 20 games over .500 but they finished a distant third, 13 games back from the pennant winning New York Yankees. The Senators were never in contention as they continued their franchise woes ending up with a mark of 65-87.

This is the final game of the season for both teams and it picks up in the 4th inning. I find this to be an interesting broadcast simply because it’s a reminder of how dry and slow moving the calls of 1930s games could be.

Saturday Baseball Classic – 9/31/1939 – Cleveland Indians at Washington Senators

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The 1938 World Series matched the two-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Chicago Cubs. The Yankees, as usual, cruised to the American League pennant, finishing 9 ½ games ahead of the second-place Red Sox. The Cubs traveled a significantly tougher path to the National League flag. Chicago spent most of the season chasing, first, the Giants, and then the Pirates. But on September 28, with twilight descending upon Wrigley Field, Cubs catcher Gabby Hartnett, who had been named manager in July, hit a home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, lifting Chicago to a victory over the Pirates and sole possession of first place. Hartnett’s blow would be immortalized in Cubs lore as “the Homer in the Gloamin’.” A few days later, the Cubs clinched the pennant.

The World Series opened in Chicago, where the fans in Wrigley Field witnessed a tight contest. The Yanks scored a pair of runs in the second, the Cubs scored once in the third, the Yanks a single run in the sixth, and that’s how it ended, 3-1 Yankees. Red Ruffing went the distance and scattered nine hits to earn the victory with Bill Lee taking the loss.

Game 2 matched Yankee ace Lefty Gomez against Dizzy Dean, bereft of his once-great fastball but still effective…

Saturday Baseball Classic – 1938 World Series Game Two, Yankees at Cubs

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The 1936 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the New York Giants. The Yankees played their first World Series without Babe Ruth and their first with Joe DiMaggio; Ruth having retired from the Yankees after the 1934 season. The Yankees return to the Series also coincided with the comeback of the National League champion New York Giants who were returning to the big show after a three year hiatus. Although the Giants did not share the dominant pennant run that the Yanks had (winning by only five games), they did have the most dangerous pitcher in all of baseball. Carl Hubbell, a thirty-three year-old lefty, had just won his last sixteen games and finished the season 26-6 with a 2.31 ERA.

Hubbell had more than earned the start for Game 1 and went up against twenty-game winner Red Ruffing. Mid-season acquisition, Jake Powell (who came over from Washington) was obviously not intimidated by the Giants’ “giant” and managed three base hits in his first three attempts. It mattered little as Ruth’s replacement in rightfield, George Selkirk, scored the Yankees’ only run with a homer in the third inning. Hubbell struck out eight and only allowed seven hits (none of which flew past the infield) on his way to a 6-1 opening lead. In Game 2, the Yankees blasted Hal Schumacher and four relievers for seventeen hits including the second grand slam in World Series history by Tony Lazzeri. The entire line-up (all nine) had at least one hit and scored one run in the 18-4 massacre (Bill Dickey and Lazzeri each had five runs batted in apiece).

This brought on game three where the Yankees hosted their first game of the Series as Bump Hadley would face off against the visiting starter, Freddie Fitzsimmons.

Saturday Baseball Classic – 1936 World Series Game Three, Giants at Yankees

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The 1951 New York season saw the Giants finish first in the National League with a record of 98 wins and 59 losses. Yet they were tied with their arch-rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, prompting a three-game playoff for the pennant. Although some had considered them a pre-season favorite to win the pennant, the Giants faltered badly in the early going. By mid-August, they were 13½ games behind the league-leading Dodgers. But the Giants went on a late-season tear, winning 37 of their final 44 games to tie the Brooklyn team on the final day.

That set up the game which follows and includes what has now become known, in the baseball world, as The Shot Heard ‘Round the World!

Saturday Baseball Classic – 1951 National League Playoff Game Three, Dodgers at Giants

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Bob Shaw squares off against future hall of famer, Sandy Koufax, as the White Sox look to bring the series back to Chicago with a win. Game 5 drew 92,706 fans – a major league record unlikely to be broken under current arrangements, as no current MLB stadium has a capacity of even 70,000!

Saturday Baseball Classic – 1959 World Series Game Five, White Sox at Dodgers

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Vin Scully remarked at the beginning of the official World Series film What a Change of Scenery! that this was the first Series since 1948 in which no games were played in New York, breaking the streak of the city that documentary filmmaker Ken Burns later called the 1950s’ “Capital of Baseball”. The Yankees won the A.L. pennant every year from 1949 through 1964, except for 1954, when the Cleveland Indians finished first, and 1959 when the White Sox finished first. Al Lopez was the manager of both these teams.

Historic Comiskey Park is host to its first World Series in 40 years as Game 1 unfolds and Early Wynn opposes Roger Craig.

Saturday Baseball Classic – World Series Game One, Dodgers at White Sox

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The Yankees visit Fenway in this mid-season matchup. Prior to the game there is a moment of silence to commemorate the passing of baseball legend Babe Ruth.

Saturday Baseball Classic – Yankees at Red Sox

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