1951 Major League Baseball postseason
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | October 1-10, 1951[1] |
| Teams | 3 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | New York Yankees (14th title) |
| Runners-up | New York Giants |
The 1951 Major League Baseball season resulted in a tie for the National League pennant between the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants. Both finished the regular season with identical 96-58 records.
The tie thus required a three-game playoff to be held between the two teams. This series was played from October 1-3, 1951 at Polo Grounds in Manhattan and Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. The Giants defeated the Dodgers and advanced to the 1951 World Series, where they fell to their cross-town rivals, the American League champion New York Yankees in six games.
Bracket
| National League playoff | World Series | ||||||||
| AL | NY Yankees | 4 | |||||||
| NL | NY Giants | 2 | NL | NY Giants | 2 | ||||
| NL | Brooklyn | 1 | |||||||
National League tiebreaker playoff
New York Giants vs. Brooklyn Dodgers
New York won the series, 2–1.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 1 | New York Giants – 3, Brooklyn Dodgers – 1 | Ebbets Field | 2:39 | 30,706[2] |
| 2 | October 2 | Brooklyn Dodgers – 10, New York Giants – 0 | Polo Grounds | 3:25 | 38,609[3] |
| 3 | October 3 | New York Giants – 5, Brooklyn Dodgers – 4 | Polo Grounds | 4:18 | 36,528[4] |
The Giants defeated the Dodgers to advance to the World Series for the first time since 1937.
Jim Hearn pitched a five-hit complete game as the Giants took Game 1 headed to Brooklyn. In Game 2, Jackie Robinson, Gil Hodges, Andy Pafko, and Rube Walker all homered for the Dodgers as they blew out the Giants to force a decisive third game back in Manhattan.
Game 3 was the most memorable contest of the series. With the Dodgers leading 4-2 in the bottom of the ninth and two outs away from the pennant, Bobby Thomson hit a walk-off three-run homer to secure the pennant for the Giants, which went down in Giants baseball lore as the Shot Heard 'Round the World. Giants radio play-by-play announcer Russ Hodges called the play as it happened:
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!
1951 World Series
New York Yankees (AL) vs. New York Giants (NL)
The "Subway Series"
New York (AL) won the series, 4–2.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 4 | New York Giants – 5, New York Yankees – 1 | Yankee Stadium | 2:58 | 65,673[5] |
| 2 | October 5 | New York Giants – 1, New York Yankees – 3 | Yankee Stadium | 2:05 | 66,018[6] |
| 3 | October 6 | New York Yankees – 2, New York Giants – 6 | Polo Grounds | 2:42 | 52,035[7] |
| 4 | October 8† | New York Yankees – 6, New York Giants – 2 | Polo Grounds | 2:57 | 49,010[8] |
| 5 | October 9 | New York Yankees – 13, New York Giants – 1 | Polo Grounds | 2:31 | 47,530[9] |
| 6 | October 10 | New York Giants – 3, New York Yankees – 4 | Yankee Stadium | 2:59 | 61,711[10] |
This was the sixth World Series matchup in the history of the Yankees-Giants rivalry, and the last to occur during the Giants’ time in New York City. They last met in 1937, which the Yankees won in five games. The Yankees defeated the Giants in six games to win their fourteenth championship in franchise history.
Dave Koslo pitched a complete game as the Giants stole Game 1 on the road. In Game 2, Eddie Lopat pitched a complete game and a solo homer from Joe Collins secured a Yankees victory in Game 2, evening the series headed to Manhattan. In Game 3, a three-run homer from Whitey Lockman built up a big lead for the Giants that they wouldn’t relinquish as they regained the series lead. Allie Reynolds pitched another complete game for the Yankees as they took Game 4 to even the series at two. Lopat pitched another complete game for the Yankees in Game 5 as they blew out the Giants to take a 3–2 series lead headed back to the Bronx. In Game 6, with the score tied, Hank Bauer hit a bases-loaded RBI triple in the bottom of the sixth to put the Yankees in the lead for good, and would later catch the final out of the series to stop a late rally by the Giants and clinch the championship. Game 6 was Joe DiMaggio’s final postseason game.
The Yankees would return to the World Series the next year for another Subway Series matchup against the Brooklyn Dodgers, and defeated them in seven games for their fourth straight championship after being nine outs away from elimination in Game 6.
The Giants would return to the World Series in 1954, and swept the Cleveland Indians for what would be their last championship won during their time in New York City, as the team would move to San Francisco in 1958.
References
- ^ "1951 Major Leagues Schedule". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
- ^ "1951 Playoff for NL Pennant Game 1 – New York Giants vs. Brooklyn Dodgers". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
- ^ "1951 Playoff for NL Pennant Game 2 – Brooklyn Dodgers vs. New York Giants". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
- ^ "1951 Playoff for NL Pennant Game 3 – Brooklyn Dodgers vs. New York Giants". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
- ^ "1951 World Series Game 1 – New York Giants vs. New York Yankees". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ^ "1951 World Series Game 2 – New York Giants vs. New York Yankees". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ^ "1951 World Series Game 3 – New York Yankees vs. New York Giants". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
- ^ "1951 World Series Game 4 – New York Yankees vs. New York Giants". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ^ "1951 World Series Game 5 – New York Yankees vs. New York Giants". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ^ "1951 World Series Game 6 – New York Giants vs. New York Yankees". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 9, 2026.