In a classic rematch of the previous year's classic, "The Bronx Bombers" and "The Bums from Brooklyn" returned for yet another "Subway Series". The Yankees were poised for their fifth consecutive championship title and the Dodgers were ready for revenge. Brooklyn had given their cross-town rivals a run for their money, but had come up short in Game 7 thanks to a miraculous catch by Billy Martin that stopped a late inning comeback. Many felt that this was their year as the pitching staff had come up big during the regular season. Carl Erskine led the rotation with twenty victories, Russ Meyer went 15-5 and Billy Loes boasted a 14-8 record. Preacher Roe posted an 11-3 total, boosting his three-year mark to 44-8 and Clem Labine won ten games in relief and eleven outings overall. The veterans weren't the only ones contributing as rookie pitchers Johnny Podres and Bob Milliken both combined for a 17-8 mark. This solid line-up on the mound enabled Charlie Dressen's team to win the National League pennant race by a staggering thirteen games over the newly moved Milwaukee Braves.
The '53 American League representative was the typical Yankees team that featured strong performances on both sides of the plate throughout the regular season. Yogi Berra (who hit .296) and Mickey Mantle (who batted .295) both combined for two-hundred runs batted in and Gene Woodling (.306) and Hank Bauer (.304) led the line-up in hitting. The Yankees top five pitchers were even better with a 74-30 record. Whitey Ford, who had returned from a military tour of duty, led the staff with eighteen victories and veteran Eddie Lopat, who topped the league with a 2.43 ERA.
Game 1 of the '53 Series began as Game 7 in '52 had ended with Billy Martin knocking the wind out of the Dodger's sails. The second baseman nailed a three-run triple in the first and went on to collect three more hits in the 9-5 opening victory. Berra and Joe Collins both hit homers for the Yankees, and Jim Gilliam, Gil Hodges and George Shuba contributed for the Dodgers. On a side note, Shuba's shot was the first "pinch homer" by a National League player in World Series history, but the record did little to numb Brooklyn's pain. Martin continued to plague the Dodger's pitching rotation in Game 2 by adding a game-tying, bases-empty homer in the seventh. Mantle also continued adding to his ever-growing, post-season stats with a two-run drive that nailed down Lopat's 4-2 win over Preacher Roe.
Things changed dramatically in Game 3, as it was the Dodgers besting the Yanks on the phenomenal arm of Carl Erskine. Brooklyn's leading ace set a World Series record of his own with fourteen strikeouts (four of them versus Mantle) and MVP Roy Campanella finished the job with a tie-breaking homer in the eighth that lifted Brooklyn to a 3-2 victory. Hitting was the decisive factor for the Dodgers in Game 4 as the ever-present Duke Snider contributed two doubles and a homerun along with Gilliam who had three doubles of his own for the 7-3 victory. Unfortunately, that was all they could muster and the Yankees would have little resistance for the rest of the contest.
Game 5 once again belonged to Billy Martin and Mickey Mantle who both knocked one out of the ballpark on the way to an 11-7, twenty-five hit blowout (Mantle's was a grandslam). Game 6 was a closer effort, but unbelievably, it would be Martin again who would seal his second Series victory in a row with the game-winning run in a 4-3 triumph. The combative second baseman had tallied twelve hits (a record), eight RBIs and a staggering .500 average against the Dodgers who had lost the Series for the seventh time in seven outings. The Yankees on the other hand, had won a record fifth consecutive title, were fifteen for sixteen in World Series appearances and had kept the trophy in the American League clubhouse for the seventh year in a row.
"The New York Yankees had done it again. And so, too, had the Brooklyn Dodgers. Casey Stengel's Bronx Bombers had won the World Series for a record fifth consecutive time. The Dodgers had lost in the Series for the seventh time in seven chances." - The Sporting News
1953 World Series1953 World Series Official Program 1953 World Series Official Program New York Yankees (4) vs Brooklyn Dodgers (2) |
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1953 World Series Fast Facts | |||
Game 1 | Date / Box Score | 09-30-1953 | |
Location | Yankee Stadium | ||
1st Pitch | From | To | |
Cy Young (1903 World Series Pitcher) | Undetermined | ||
Attendance | 69,374 | ||
National Anthem | Lucy Monroe (Yankees National Anthem Singer) | ||
Game 2 | Date / Box Score | 10-01-1953 | |
Location | Yankee Stadium | ||
1st Pitch | From | To | |
Bill Dinneen (1903 World Series Pitcher) | Undetermined | ||
Attendance | 66,786 | ||
National Anthem | Lucy Monroe (Yankees National Anthem Singer) | ||
Game 3 | Date / Box Score | 10-02-1953 | |
Location | Ebbets Field | ||
Attendance | 35,270 | ||
Game 4 | Date / Box Score | 10-03-1953 | |
Location | Ebbets Field | ||
Attendance | 36,775 | ||
Game 5 | Date / Box Score | 10-04-1953 | |
Location | Ebbets Field | ||
Attendance | 36,775 | ||
Game 6 | Date / Box Score | 10-05-1953 | |
Location | Yankee Stadium | ||
Attendance | 62,370 | ||
National Anthem | Lucy Monroe (Yankees National Anthem Singer) | ||
1953 World Series Fast Facts |
1953 World Series
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1953 World Series Game 1 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
Brooklyn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 2 |
New York | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | x | 9 | 12 | 0 |
Brooklyn Pitcher(s) | New York Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Carl Erskine Jim Hughes (2nd) Clem Labine (L, 6th) Ben Wade (8th) |
Allie Reynolds Johnny Sain (W, 6th) - - |
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Brooklyn Home Runs | New York Home Runs | |||||||||||
Jim Gilliam (5th) Gil Hodges (6th) George Shuba (6th) |
Yogi Berra (5th) Joe Collins (7th) - |
1953 World Series
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1953 World Series Game 2 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
Brooklyn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 1 |
New York | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | x | 4 | 5 | 0 |
Brooklyn Pitcher(s) | New York Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Preacher Roe (L) | Ed Lopat (W) | |||||||||||
Brooklyn Home Runs | New York Home Runs | |||||||||||
None - |
Billy Martin (7th) Mickey Mantle (8th) |
1953 World Series
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1953 World Series Game 3 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
Brooklyn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | x | 3 | 9 | 0 |
New York Pitcher(s) | Brooklyn Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Vic Raschi (L) | Carl Erskine (W) | |||||||||||
New York Home Runs | Brooklyn Home Runs | |||||||||||
None | Roy Campanella (8th) |
1953 World Series
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1953 World Series Game 4 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
Brooklyn | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | x | 7 | 12 | 0 |
New York Pitcher(s) | Brooklyn Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Whitey Ford (L) Tom Gorman (2nd) Johnny Sain (5th) Art Schallock (7th |
Billy Loes (W) Clem Labine (S, 9th) - - |
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New York Home Runs | Brooklyn Home Runs | |||||||||||
Gil McDougald (5th) | Duke Snider (6th) |
1953 World Series
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1953 World Series Game 5 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
New York | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 11 | 1 |
Brooklyn | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 1 |
New York Pitcher(s) | Brooklyn Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Jim McDonald (W) Bob Kuzava (8th) Allie Reynolds (S, 9th) - |
Johnny Podres (L) Russ Meyer (3rd) Ben Wade (8th) Joe Black (9th) |
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New York Home Runs | Brooklyn Home Runs | |||||||||||
Gene Woodling (1st) Mickey Mantle (3rd) Billy Martin (7th) Gil McDougald (9th) |
Billy Cox (8th) Jim Gilliam (9th) - - |
1953 World Series
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1953 World Series Game 6 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
Brooklyn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 3 |
New York | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 0 |
Brooklyn Pitcher(s) | New York Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Carl Erskine Bob Milliken (5th) Clem Labine (L, 7th) |
Whitey Ford Allie Reynolds (W, 8th) - |
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Brooklyn Home Runs | New York Home Runs | |||||||||||
Carl Furillo (9th) | None |
1953 World SeriesComposite Hitting Statistics |
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Name | Pos | G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | Avg | BB | SO | SB |
Hank Bauer Yogi Berra Don Bollweg Joe Collins Whitey Ford Tom Gorman Bob Kuzava Ed Lopat Mickey Mantle Billy Martin Jim McDonald Gil McDougald Johnny Mize Irv Noren Vic Raschi Allie Reynolds Phil Rizzuto Johnny Sain Art Schallock Gene Woodling |
of c 1b-1 1b p p p p of 2b p 3b ph ph p p ss p p of |
6 6 3 6 2 1 1 1 6 6 1 6 3 2 1 3 6 2 1 6 |
23 21 2 24 3 1 1 3 24 24 2 24 3 1 2 2 19 2 0 20 |
6 9 0 4 1 0 0 0 5 12 1 4 0 0 0 1 6 1 0 6 |
0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 |
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 |
6 3 0 4 0 0 0 0 3 5 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 5 |
1 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 7 8 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 |
.261 .429 .000 .167 .333 .000 .000 .000 .208 .500 .500 .167 .000 .000 .000 .500 .316 .500 .000 .300 |
2 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 3 0 0 6 |
4 3 2 8 0 1 1 2 8 2 1 3 1 0 1 1 2 1 0 2 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 |
Totals | 201 | 56 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 33 | 32 | .279 | 25 | 43 | 2 | ||
1953 World SeriesComposite Hitting Statistics |
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Name | Pos | G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | Avg | BB | SO | SB |
Wayne Belardi Joe Black Roy Campanella Billy Cox Carl Erskine Carl Furillo Jim Gilliam Gil Hodges Jim Hughes Clem Labine Billy Loes Russ Meyer Bob Milliken Bobby Morgan Johnny Podres Pee Wee Reese Jackie Robinson Preacher Roe George Shuba Duke Snider Don Thompson Ben Wade Dick Williams |
ph p c 3b p of 2b 1b p p p p p ph p ss of p ph of of p ph |
2 1 6 6 3 6 6 6 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 6 6 1 2 6 2 2 3 |
2 0 22 23 4 24 27 22 1 2 3 1 0 1 1 24 25 3 1 25 0 0 2 |
0 0 6 7 1 8 8 8 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 5 8 0 1 8 0 0 1 |
0 0 0 3 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 0 1 1 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 |
0 0 6 3 0 4 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 3 0 0 0 |
0 0 2 6 0 4 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 5 0 0 0 |
.000 .000 .273 .304 .250 .333 .296 .364 .000 .000 .667 .000 .000 .000 1.000 .208 .320 .000 1.000 .320 .000 .000 .500 |
0 0 2 1 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 |
1 0 3 4 1 3 2 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 6 0 0 1 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
Totals | 213 | 64 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 27 | 26 | .300 | 15 | 30 | 2 |
1953 World SeriesComposite Pitching Statistics |
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Name | W | L | G | GS | CG | S | Sh | IP | ERA | H | SO | ER | BB |
Whitey Ford Tom Gorman Bob Kuzava Ed Lopat Jim McDonald Vic Raschi Allie Reynolds Johnny Sain Art Schallock |
0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 |
1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 |
2 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 1 |
2 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 |
0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
8.0 3.0 0.2 9.0 7.2 8.0 8.0 5.2 2.0 |
4.50 3.00 13.50 2.00 5.87 3.38 6.75 4.76 4.50 |
9 4 2 9 12 9 9 8 2 |
7 1 1 3 3 4 9 1 1 |
4 1 1 2 5 3 6 3 1 |
2 0 0 4 0 3 4 1 1 |
Totals | 4 | 2 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 52.0 | 4.50 | 64 | 30 | 26 | 15 |
1953 World SeriesComposite Pitching Statistics |
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Name | W | L | G | GS | CG | S | Sh | IP | ERA | H | SO | ER | BB |
Joe Black Carl Erskine Jim Hughes Clem Labine Billy Loes Russ Meyer Bob Milliken Johnny Podres Preacher Roe Ben Wade |
0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 |
1 3 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 2 |
0 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 |
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 |
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
1.0 14.0 4.0 5.0 8.0 4.1 2.0 2.2 8.0 2.1 |
9.00 5.79 2.25 3.60 3.38 6.23 0.00 3.38 4.50 15.43 |
1 14 3 10 8 8 2 1 5 4 |
2 16 3 3 8 5 0 0 4 2 |
1 9 1 2 3 3 0 1 4 4 |
0 9 1 1 2 4 1 2 4 1 |
Totals | 2 | 4 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 51.1 | 4.91 | 56 | 43 | 28 | 25 |
The Brooklyn Dodgers batted .300 as a team, yet lost. This was the ninth time in World Series history where a losing team "hit better" and only the fifth time where a team batted at least .300.
Almost everyone has read about the Mickey Mantle grand slam during Game 5 (only the fourth in World Series history), but did you know that on October 2, 1953, Yogi Berra was struck twice by the pitcher making him the first American League player in World Series history to be struck twice by a pitch during the same game?
During Game 3, Carl Erskine mowed down fourteen (14) batters for a new World Series single game record — one later beaten by Bob Gibson during the 1968 World Series.