Russ Hodges' call of Bobby Thomson's 1951 home run
File photo shows New York Giants baseball player Bobby Thomson waving from the clubhouse steps to a crowd of fans at the Polo Grounds in New York. Thomson's ninth-inning homerun gave the Giants a 5-4 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers and the National League pennant. (Oct. 3, 1951) Credit: AP
On Oct. 3, 1951, the voice of the New York Giants, Russ Hodges, was behind the microphone for WMCA radio at the Polo Grounds as the Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers battled in Game 3 of the National League playoffs. His call of Bobby Thomson's home run:
"So don't go away. Light up that Chesterfield. Stay with us and we'll see how Ralph Branca will fare against Bobby Thomson . . . Bobby Thomson up there swinging. He's had two out of three, a single and a double, and Billy Cox is playing him right on the third-base line . . . One out, last of the ninth, Branca pitches and Bobby Thomson takes a strike called, on the inside corner . . . Bobby hitting at .292. He's had a single and a double and he drove in the Giants' first run with a long fly to center . . . Brooklyn leads it 4-2 . . . Hartung down the line at third not taking any chances. Lockman without too big of a lead at second, but he'll be running like the wind if Thomson hits one . . . Branca throws . . . 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. Bobby Thomson hits it into the lower deck of the leftfield stands. The Giants win the pennant and they're going crazy . . . They're going crazy. I don't believe it. I don't believe it. I do not believe it."
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