The 1952 World Series featured the 3-time defending champions

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

beating the Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games. The Yankees won their 4th consecutive title, tying the mark they set in 1936–1939 under manager Joe McCarthy, and

Casey Stengel Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, the expansion New Y ...

became the second manager in Major League history with 4 consecutive World Series championships. This was the Yankees' 15th World Series championship win, and the 3rd time they defeated the Dodgers in 6 years. In Game 7, the Yankees' second baseman

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

made a great catch, preserving the Yankees' two-run lead. Also, the home run hit by

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Commerce Comet" and "the Mick", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

during the 8th inning of Game 6 was significant because it was the first of his record 18 career

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

home runs.

Summary

Matchups

In 1952 the Dodgers, led by manager

Chuck Dressen Charles Walter Dressen (September 20, 1894Dressen's birthdate has been revised from 1898, as was commonly reported in ''The Sporting News' Baseball Register'' and ''Macmillan's Baseball Encyclopedia'', to 1894 by both Baseball Reference and Retro ...

, paced the NL in runs scored (775), home runs (153) and stolen bases (90).

Duke Snider Edwin Donald "Duke" Snider (September 19, 1926 – February 27, 2011), nicknamed "the Silver Fox" and "the Duke of Flatbush", was an American professional baseball player. Primarily a center fielder, he spent most of his Major League Baseball (M ...

, Jackie Robinson and George Shuba batted over .300, while

Roy Campanella Roy Campanella (November 19, 1921 – June 26, 1993), nicknamed "Campy", was an American baseball player, primarily as a catcher. The Philadelphia native played in the Negro leagues and Mexican League for nine years before entering the minor lea ...

(97) and

Gil Hodges Gilbert Ray Hodges (''né'' Hodge; April 4, 1924 – April 2, 1972) was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his 18-year career for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. He was widely regarded as t ...

(102) paced the team in RBIs. The Dodgers had no dominant pitchers with

Carl Erskine Carl Daniel Erskine (born December 13, 1926) is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1948 through 1959. He was a pitching mainstay on Dodger team ...

(206) the lone pitcher with over 200 innings and rookie

Joe Black Joseph Black (February 8, 1924 – May 17, 2002) was an American right-handed pitcher in Negro league and Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Redlegs, and Washington Senators who became the first black pitcher to win a Wor ...

leading the team with 15 wins. Manager Dressen used 14 starting pitchers on the year, but as a unit, the pitchers combined to finish second in the NL in team ERA. Defensively, the Dodgers led the NL with a .982 fielding percentage, and Campanella gunned down 29 of 52 (56%) would-be base stealers. The Yankees, led by the effusive

, recovered from the retirement of

Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "The Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major League Baseball for the New York Yank ...

, and the loss of

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

Jerry Coleman Gerald Francis Coleman (September 14, 1924 – January 5, 2014) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman for the New York Yankees and manager of the San Diego Padres for one year. Coleman was named the rookie of the year in 1949 by Ass ...

and Tom Morgan to the service. The Yankees matched the Dodgers in hitting as they finished first or second in the AL in runs scored, home runs, batting average, and slugging percentage.

had a breakout season leading the Yankees in batting (.311), and slugging (.530).

Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of manager and coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1946–1963, 1965), all but ...

led the Yanks in runs (97), HRs (30) and RBIs (98). The Yankees had a pitching staff that led the AL in ERA (3.14).

Allie Reynolds Allie Pierce Reynolds (February 10, 1917 – December 26, 1994) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Reynolds pitched 13 years for the Cleveland Indians (1942–1946) and New York Yankees (1947–1954). Reynolds was nicknam ...

led the team with 20 wins and led the league with 2.08 ERA. Casey Stengel rotated his pitchers all year with seven having at least 12 starts, but none working more than 35 games. Defensive standout

Phil Rizzuto Philip Francis Rizzuto (September 25, 1917 – August 13, 2007), nicknamed "The Scooter", was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He spent his entire 13-year baseball career with the New York Yankees (1941–1956), and was elected to th ...

led AL shortstops with 458 assists and made only 19 errors.

Game 1

pitched a complete game and became the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

pitcher to win a World Series game. Jackie Robinson's lead off home run in the second off of

put the Dodgers up 1–0, but Gil McDougald tied the game with a lead off home run of his own in the third.

's two-run home run in the sixth put the Dodgers back in front 3–1. The Yankees cut the lead to 3–2 on a

Gene Woodling Eugene Richard Woodling (August 16, 1922 – June 2, 2001) was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder between and , most prominently as a member of the New York Yankees dynas ...

triple and

Hank Bauer Henry Albert Bauer (July 31, 1922 – February 9, 2007) was an American right fielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He played with the New York Yankees (–) and Kansas City Athletics (–); he batted and threw right-handed. He served as ...

sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth, but

Pee Wee Reese Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese (July 23, 1918 – August 14, 1999) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1940 to 1958. A ten-time All-Star ...

gave the Dodgers that run back with a two-out home run in the eighth off

Ray Scarborough Rae Wilson Scarborough (July 23, 1917 – July 1, 1982) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Washington Senators (1942–1943 and 1946–1950), Chicago White Sox (1950), Boston Red Sox (1951–52), New York Yankees ( ...

as Brooklyn won 4–2 to take a 1–0 series lead.

Game 2

Vic Raschi Victor John Angelo Raschi (March 28, 1919 – October 14, 1988) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. Nicknamed "The Springfield Rifle," he was one of the top pitchers for the New York Yankees in the late 1940s and early 1950s, forming (w ...

's complete-game three-hitter and nine strikeouts dominated this game. He was behind 1–0 after a

RBI single in the third, then in the fourth, the Yankees tied it when

doubled, took third on a groundout and scored on a

sacrifice fly off

. Next inning, Gil McDougald drew a leadoff walk, stole second and scored on

's single to put the Yankees up 2–1. A five-run Yankee sixth broke it open. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases before

Billy Loes William Loes (December 13, 1929 – July 15, 2010) was an American right-handed pitcher who spent eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1950, 1952–56), Baltimore Orioles (1956–59) and San Francis ...

relieved Erskine and allowed an RBI groundout to Joe Collins, RBI single to McDougald, and three-run home run to Martin to put the Yankees up 7–1. The series was tied 1–1 shifting to the Bronx.

Game 3

In Game 3, the Yankees struck first in the second on

Eddie Lopat Edmund Walter Lopat (originally Lopatynski) (June 21, 1918 – June 15, 1992) was a Major League Baseball pitcher, coach, manager, front office executive, and scout. He was sometimes known as "The Junk Man", but better known as "Steady Eddie ...

's RBI single with two on off

Preacher Roe A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...

, but the Dodgers tied the game off Lopat in the third on Jackie Robinson's sacrifice fly with two on. In the fifth,

Billy Cox William Cox (born October 18, 1941) is an American bassist, best known for performing with Jimi Hendrix. Cox is the only surviving musician to have regularly played with Hendrix: first with the experimental group that backed Hendrix at Woodstoc ...

singled, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on

's RBI single. In the eighth, after two leadoff singles,

Andy Pafko Andrew Pafko (February 25, 1921 – October 8, 2013) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs (1943–51), Brooklyn Dodgers (1951–52), and Milwaukee Braves (1953–59). He bat ...

's sacrifice fly made it 3–1 Dodgers.

's home run in the bottom of the inning cut the lead to 3–2, but in the ninth, Reese and Robinson singled, then (after Lopat was relieved by Tom Gorman) did a double steal. A passed ball allowed both to score to make it 5–2 Dodgers.

Johnny Mize John Robert Mize (January 7, 1913 – June 2, 1993), nicknamed "Big Jawn" and "The Big Cat", was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He played as a first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 15 seasons between 1936 ...

's home run in the bottom of the inning made it 5–3 Dodgers, but Roe retired the next two men to end the game and give the Dodgers a 2–1 series lead.

Game 4

In Game 4, the score was 1–0 in the eighth, a

home run in the fourth off

being the difference, when Dodgers reliever

Johnny Rutherford John Sherman "Johnny" Rutherford III (born March 12, 1938), also known as "Lone Star JR", is an American former automobile racing driver. During an Indy Car career that spanned more than three decades, he scored 27 wins and 23 pole positions in ...

came into the game. The first batter he faced was

, who tripled to deep left-center, then kept coming home when the throw to third got away, scoring a key insurance run for the Yankees. Both sides got just four hits in the contest.

pitched a complete game shutout as the Yankees 2–0 win tied the series at two games apiece.

Game 5

The Dodgers struck first in the second off

Ewell Blackwell Ewell Blackwell (October 23, 1922 – October 29, 1996) was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Nicknamed "The Whip" for his sidearm, snap-delivery, Blackwell played for the Cincinnati Reds for most of his career ...

's RBI single with two on. In the fourth, with runners on second and third,

's sacrifice fly made it 2–0 Dodgers, then

's two-run home run extended their lead to 4–0.

pitched four shutout innings before the Yankees torched him in the fifth. After a walk and single,

Irv Noren Irving Arnold Noren (November 29, 1924 – November 15, 2019) was an American professional baseball and basketball player. He was an outfielder in the Major Leagues from 1950 through 1960 for the Washington Senators, New York Yankees, Kansas C ...

's RBI single and Gil McDougald's forceout scored a run each. After a single and pop out,

's three-run home run put the Yankees ahead 5–4. In the seventh,

singled, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on Snider's RBI single, tying the game off

Johnny Sain John Franklin "Johnny" Sain (September 25, 1917 – November 7, 2006) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who was best known for teaming with left-hander Warren Spahn on the Boston Braves teams from 1946 to 1951. He ...

. The game went into extra innings and in the top of the 11th,

got his third hit of the game, moved up on a

hit and scored on

's double off reliever

for what turned out to be the winning run. Erskine pitched all 11 innings for Brooklyn, retiring the last 19 batters he faced, closing it out by retiring future Hall of Famers

and

1-2-3. The Dodgers were one win away from a championship as the series returned to Brooklyn.

Game 6

In Game 6, with a 3–2 Series lead and the final two at Ebbets Field, the Dodgers looked to chase away the demons of 1951.Comments made by Mel Allen or Red Barber during NBC's original game broadcast.

(13–8) faced

(16–6). Dodgers Manager

made a curious lineup change with George Shuba batting fifth, replacing

. Dressen placed

in the sixth spot and left

to bat seventh. In the Dodgers half of the first inning, with

on second and Jackie Robinson on first, Shuba grounded out to

to end the inning. In the Yankees fourth,

reached second base when

uncorked a wild throw on a double-play attempt, but the Yankees could not capitalize. In the fifth inning, the Dodgers turned a remarkable double play. Yankee

led off with a single, followed by a

bunt. Gil Hodges picked up the bunt, turned and fired to Reese at second, who in lightning succession fired to Robinson covering first just in time to retire Raschi. In the Dodgers sixth, Snider sent Raschi's first pitch over the of screen in back of right field and onto

Bedford Avenue Bedford Avenue is the longest street in Brooklyn, New York City, stretching and 132 blocks, from Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint south to Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay, and passing through the neighborhoods of Williamsburg, Bedford-Stuyves ...

for 1–0 lead. In the top of the seventh,

matched Snider's home run with one of his own, again onto Bedford Avenue.

followed with a single and Dodgers pitcher

balked him to second. Raschi then made up for his bunt-turned-double-play by getting a hit, literally off Loes. The ball ricocheted off Loes and into right field bringing Woodling home for a 2–1 lead. In another curious move Dressen allowed pitcher Billy Loes to hit for himself in the seventh. Loes singled and promptly stole second. But Raschi struck out

to end the inning. Mantle led off the Yankees eighth inning with the first of his 18 World Series home runs. Mantle's shot set a record for home runs by one team and for both teams in a single Series at 13. Snider continued the home run fest by launching another one in the bottom of the eighth. Jackie Robinson then sent left fielder Gene Woodling to the wall for an out and Shuba doubled to send Raschi to the showers.

relieved and quickly ended the Dodgers eighth. Reynolds, known as "The Chief", again made quick work of the Dodgers in the ninth including striking out Rocky Nelson, who had pinch-hit for Hodges, preserving the 3–2 win.

Game 7

Game 7 pitted

(15–4) vs

(10–5). Black, who came out of the

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

and was not even on the Dodgers spring training roster, had already pitched a complete game win in Game 1 of the Series, pitched seven innings in a 2–0 loss in Game 4 and would be starting his third game in seven days. At that time there were no days off between games as both teams played in New York. For the Yankees,

continued his solid play. Martin sat on the bench for most of the season's first two months and took over second base duties when

moved Gil McDougald from second to third base to replace military-bound

led off the Yankees fourth with a double and

singled him home for a 1–0 lead. In the Dodgers fourth, a single by

followed by two consecutive sacrifice attempts by Jackie Robinson and

, intended to move runners over, loaded the bases instead.

replaced Lopat and retired

with a fly to left scoring Snider. Reynolds struck out George Shuba, then induced

Carl Furillo Carl Anthony Furillo (March 8, 1922 – January 21, 1989), nicknamed "The Reading Rifle" and "Skoonj", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB), spending his entire career with the Brooklyn / ...

to ground out, leaving Robinson at third and the game tied 1–1. In the fifth inning,

homered for the Yankees, and the Dodgers'

doubled followed by a

single tied the game at 2–2.

demonstrated his penchant for coming up big in World Series play with a home run in the sixth inning and RBI single in the seventh (off

) to give the Bronx Bombers a 4–2 lead. The Brooklyn boys loaded the bases again in the seventh, when

walked Furillo, Cox singled and Reese walked. Stengel called on

Bob Kuzava Robert Leroy "Sarge" Kuzava (May 28, 1923 – May 15, 2017) was an American professional baseball player, a left-handed pitcher for the Cleveland Indians (1946–1947), Chicago White Sox (1949–1950), Washington Senators (1950–1951), New York ...

, who retired Snider, setting the stage for

. With two out and the runners moving, Jackie Robinson popped-up to the right of the mound. Kuzava hesitated, looking to his fielders. Martin charged hard from his position deep at second and caught the ball off his shoetops, to end the inning and save as many as 3 runs. Kuzava then quickly put the Dodgers down in the eighth and ninth to give the Yankees their fourth consecutive World Championship. The Yankees batted .216 and the Dodgers only .215 in this tightly contested series.

Composite line score

1952 World Series (4–3):

(A.L.) over Brooklyn Dodgers (N.L.)

Notes

References

External links

*
Audio – Billy Martin Describes his Catch in the Series
{{Subway Series World Series

New York Yankees postseason Brooklyn Dodgers postseason Jackie Robinson

Sports competitions in New York City 1950s in the Bronx 1950s in Brooklyn Flatbush, Brooklyn Yankee Stadium (1923)