Many casual fans have never heard of Bobby Thomson. In his time, he was a good-but-not-great outfielder for 15 seasons between 1946 and 1960, with 264 career home runs and three All-Star appearances.
But Bobby Thomson is an unmistakable and unforgettable part of baseball history. It was his three-run home run in the bottom of the 9th, in the final of a best-of-3 playoff series in 1951 - "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" - that gave the New York Giants the pennant over the Brooklyn Dodgers.
There have been many dramatic homers in baseball history, but what sets Thomson's bash apart is the famous radio call by Russ Hodges. Hodges' account of this great moment still gives me goosebumps, every single time I hear it. It is arguably the greatest piece of sports broadcasting in history; and if not the greatest, it is certainly among the first and most important sports broadcasting moments.
Here's the call, overlaying the television feed. Enjoy it - and Bobby, rest in peace, and thanks for giving us a sliver of history that we'll always cherish.
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4 comments:
I'm trying to think of a more famous call and drawing a blank.
RIP Bobby
Perhaps the call of the 1980 US Hockey team, "Do you believe in miracles?.. Yes!" would be in the same stratosphere?
"Do you believe in miracles?" is definitely up there. So is Jack Buck's "I don't believe what I just saw!" call of Kirk Gibson's Game 1 homer in the '88 Series. Surely, Al Michael's "I think we're having an earthqu..." is memorable, but not for the same reasons.
I just thought of a couple more:
"Havlicek stole the ball! Havlicek stole the ball!"
That was a pretty good one.
For Clevelanders only:
"Mark Price... for Tha-reeeee!"
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