In fall 1952, the Brooklyn Dodgers (96-57-1) managed by Chuck Dressen with general manager Buzzie Bavasie met the New York Yankees (95-59) managed by Casey Stengel and who had as their general manager George Weiss.
The Dodgers were led by Jackie Robinson (19 HR, .308 BA, 24 SB, 104 RS) Roy Campanella (22 HR, 97 RBI), Gil Hodges (32 HR, 102 RBI, 87 RS), Pee Wee Reese ( 30 SB, 94 RS), Duke Snider (21 HR, 92 RBI, .303 BA), Andy Pafko ( 19 HR, 85 RBI, .287 BA) and George Shuba (.305 BA).
Their starting pitchers were Carl Erskine (14-6, 2, 79 ERA), Billy Loes (13-8, 2.69), Ben Wade (11-9), Preacher Roe (11-2) and in the bullpen Joe Black (15-4, 2.15 ERA, 15 saves) and Clem Labine (8-4).
The Yankees were led by catcher Yogi Berra (30 HR, 98 RBI, 97 RS), Gene Woodling (.309 BA), Hank Bauer (.293 BA), and twenty-year-old Mickey Mantle (23 HR, 87 RBI, .311 BA) of whom Casey Stengel said that he had the speed of Cobb and the power of Ruth.
They had starting pitchers Allie Reynolds (20-8, 2.06 ERA), Vic Raschi (16-6 2,78 ERA) and Eddie Lopat (10-5 2.53 ERA) and in the bullpen former Boston Braves starter and participant in the 1948 World Series Johnny Sain (11-6 )with seven saves.
Game one was at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn with Allie Reynolds pitching for the Yankees and Joe Black for Brooklyn. In a close game, Jackie Robinson homered in the second inning to give the Dodgers the lead and a two-run home run by Duke Snider in the sixth gave Black all the runs he needed for a 4-2 Brooklyn win.
Gil McDougald added a solo home run for the Yankees as did Pee Wee Reese for the Dodgers.
The Yankee bats came alive in game two as they erupted for five runs in the sixth inning with the help of a three-run Billy Martin home run. They went on to a 7-1 win behind a three hit complete game effort by Vic Raschi and the series was tied 1-1.
For game three, the teams switched to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City and it was the Dodgers’ turn for a complete game victory, this time by Preacher Roe. The Yankees had home runs by Yogi Berra and Johnny Mize but they were both solo and the Dodgers won 5-3 to go up 2-1.
In game four, the streak of complete games pitched continued as Allie Reynolds pitched a four hit shutout and with the help of another home run by thirty-nine year Johnny Mize, the Yankees won 2-0 to even the series at two games each.
In game five, former Cincinnati Reds’ star Ewell Blackwell got the only World Series start of his career. It was another close game with this one going into extra innings until Duke Snider doubled in Billy Cox in the top of the eleventh inning with the winning run as Carl Erskine went all the way for the Dodgers. They took the lead in the series 3-2 with a 6-5 victory.
Johnny Mize added a three run home run for the Yankees.
Game six was another tight game as Mickey Mantle’s first of his eighteen lifetime World Series home runs, a solo one in the top of the eighth, proved to be the winning run in spite of two solo home runs by Duke Snider for the Dodgers.
The Yankees won 3-2 to tie the series at 3-3 and the teams prepare for a game seven.
For the second day in a row, the twenty year old Mantle provided what proved to be the winning run as his solo home run in the sixth inning gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead and they went on to win the game 4-2 and the World Series.
Mantle’s home runs in the sixth and seventh games were gargantuan achievements for a twenty year old.
Gene Woodling also had a home run for New York.
Mize, Blackwell and Sain were examples of players who had been stars with other teams but who late in their careers the Yankees picked up and contributed to their winning success.
Mize had 51 home runs for the Giants in 1947, Blackwell was 22-8 for the Reds in the same year and Johnny Sain won twenty games four times, including 24 for the 1948 pennant winning Boston Braves.
Both teams were back the following year to meet again in the fall classic.
Statistics for this article were from baseball-reference.com.
