1954 World Series
From BR Bullpen
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New York Giants (97-57, NL) over Cleveland Indians (111-43, AL)
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The 1954 World Series matched the National League champion New York Giants against the American League champion Cleveland Indians. The Giants swept the Series in 4 games to win their first championship since 1933, defeating the heavily favored Indians, who had won an AL-record 111 games in the regular season. The Series is perhaps best-remembered for "The Catch", a sensational running catch made by Giants center fielder Willie Mays in Game 1, snaring a long drive by Vic Wertz near the outfield wall with his back to the infield. It is also remembered for utility player Dusty Rhodes' clutch hitting in three of the four games. Giants manager Leo Durocher won his only title among the three pennants he captured in his career. As of 2006, it remains the last World Series victory for the Giants.
Records: New York Giants (W: 97, L: 57, Pct: .630, GA: 5) - Cleveland Indians (W: 111, L: 43, Pct: .721, GA: 8)
Managers: Leo Durocher (New York), Al Lopez (Cleveland)
Umpires: Al Barlick (NL), Charlie Berry (AL), Jocko Conlan (NL), Johnny Stevens (AL), Lon Warneke (NL: outfield only), Larry Napp (AL: outfield only)
Note: Lon Warneke became the fifth person to appear in the Series both as a player and as an umpire.
Television: NBC (Jack Brickhouse and Russ Hodges announcing)
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[edit] Summary
NL New York Giants (4) vs. AL Cleveland Indians (0)
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indians – 2, Giants – 5 (10 innings) | September 29 | Polo Grounds | 52,751 |
| 2 | Indians – 1, Giants – 3 | September 30 | Polo Grounds | 49,099 |
| 3 | Giants – 6, Indians – 2 | October 1 | Cleveland Stadium | 71,555 |
| 4 | Giants – 7, Indians – 4 | October 2 | Cleveland Stadium | 78,102 |
[edit] Matchups
[edit] Game 1
September 29, 1954 at the Polo Grounds in New York, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland (A) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| New York (N) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 3 |
| W: Marv Grissom (1-0) L: Bob Lemon (0-1) | |||||||||||||
| HR: NYG – Dusty Rhodes (1) | |||||||||||||
[edit] Game 2
September 30, 1954 at the Polo Grounds in New York, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland (A) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| New York (N) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | x | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| W: Johnny Antonelli (1-0) L: Early Wynn (0-1) | ||||||||||||
| HR: CLE – Al Smith (1) NYG – Dusty Rhodes (2) | ||||||||||||
[edit] Game 3
October 1, 1954 at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York (N) | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 1 |
| Cleveland (A) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| W: Ruben Gomez (1-0) L: Mike Garcia (0-1) S: Hoyt Wilhelm (1) | ||||||||||||
| HR: CLE – Vic Wertz (1) | ||||||||||||
[edit] Game 4
October 2, 1954 at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York (N) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 3 |
| Cleveland (A) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| W: Don Liddle (1-0) L: Bob Lemon (0-2) S: Johnny Antonelli (1) | ||||||||||||
| HR: CLE – Hank Majeski (1) | ||||||||||||
[edit] Composite Box
1954 World Series (4-0): New York Giants (N.L.) over Cleveland Indians (A.L.)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 33 | 7 | |
| Cleveland Indians | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 26 | 4 | |
| Total Attendance: 251,507 Average Attendance: 62,877 | ||||||||||||||
| Winning Player’s Share: – $11,118 Losing Player’s Share – $6,713 | ||||||||||||||
[edit] Trivia
- Hank Thompson set a World Series record for bases on balls received during a four-game series with seven and Bob Lemon set a World Series record for bases on balls given up during a four game Series with eight.
- This was the first time the Cleveland Indians had been swept in a World Series and the second time the New York Giants swept an opponent — their first occurred during the 1922 World Series (though there was a tie during that Series).
- The Indians, by winning the American League pennant, kept the Yankees from winning their sixth straight series. The last time the Yankees had not won the series or pennant beforehand was 1948, when, again, the Indians kept them out (although that year, they won the Series). It was also the only World Series from 1949 to 1958 which did not feature the Yankees.
[edit] Stats
[edit] New York Giants
[edit] Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|
[edit] Pitching
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|
[edit] Cleveland Indians
[edit] Batting
Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|
[edit] Pitching
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|
[edit] Reference(s)
- Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series. 1st ed. New York: St Martins, 1990. (Neft and Cohen 250-253)
- A Day in the Bleachers, by Arnold Hano (who later wrote Mays' biography). The author describes sitting in the left-center field bleachers at the Polo Grounds for Game 1. An entire chapter is devoted to The Catch.
[edit] External links
- 1954 World Series at WorldSeries.com (MLB.com)
- 1954 World Series at Baseball-Almanac.com
- 1954 World Series box scores and play-by-play at Retrosheet.org
- Baseball's Best: 1954 World Series (MLB.com)
- Kodak Presents - Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments, Willie Mays' Catch
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