Former Major Leaguer Bobby Thomson passed away Monday at the age of 86, but his 1951 “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” will undoubtedly live on as long as the game of baseball is played. Thomson’s walk-off homerun, which sent the New York Giants to the World Series over their bitter cross-town rival Brooklyn Dodgers, capped an improbable comeback that saw the Giants 13 ½ games back of the Dodgers on August 11 and going 37-7 down the stretch to force the three game playoff. This playoff was eventually, and so famously, decided by Thomson’s left-field wall-scraper that barely escaped the confines of the Polo Grounds.
Thomson’s homerun, labeled the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” because of the large number of American troops listening to the game from Korea on Armed Forces radio broadcast, has been etched into national lore for reasons much bigger than the smash itself. Thanks to the exuberant commentary of radio broadcaster Russ Hodges alone, as a young sports fan growing up I was captivated by the play even with zero understanding of its context or importance, other than the obvious fact that the Giants had made the World Series. This happened half a century before I ever saw it and I didn’t know any of the incredible back story, but even still I could certainly have told you about the time “THE GIANTS WON THE PENNANT!”
With the combination of Thomson’s clutch hitting, the genuine exhilaration of Hodges’ play calling, and the dogged competition between the Giants and Dodgers that even after an entire season remained unresolved, that NL Pennant-clinching at-bat became one of those rare plays that transcended sports to remain forever a part of American culture itself. While it may not have had the significance of the 1980 USA-USSR “Miracle on Ice” hockey game, or the bizarre ending of Cal-Stanford’s “The Play” in 1982, Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” is equal in its indelibility to all those who watched it happen or even just saw the replay, as I did so many times growing up watching countdowns of sports’ greatest moments. It was arguably the most spectacular homerun in baseball history, and seeing him carried off the field by his teammates, surrounded by the roaring Polo Grounds fans; it’s easy to understand why nobody seems to remember that the Giants actually lost that World Series to the Yankees in six games.
This heroic moment turned the rest of Thomson’s career into mere footnotes. And while it would be difficult to ever match such a single memorable performance, Bobby Thomson was definitely no one-hit-wonder. As a rookie in 1947, the 23-year-old Thomson hit .283 with 29 homeruns, 85 runs batted in, and an .844 OPS. He would be voted an All-Star three of the next five seasons along with finishing in the top 20 for Most Valuable Player voting three times as well. Over his fifteen MLB seasons, split between four other teams after being traded by the Giants in 1957, Bobby Thomson carried a .270 career batting average, hit 264 homers and drove in 1026 runs. While these are solid numbers no doubt, his other 263 homeruns, along with the rest of his statistics, will never be what people remember about Bobby Thomson.
Even though his “shot” will be all that most fans ever recall about Thomson, he was remembered as a great friend and teammate to those who knew and played with him. He eventually even befriended the goat who gave up his memorable bomb, losing pitcher Ralph Branca. The two would even capitalize on their fame and shame by signing autographs together at memorabilia conventions.
By all other accounts Thomson was a very caring and loyal man who will surely be missed.
While his “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” will live on for all eternity, may Bobby Thomson rest in peace.
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Brett Phelps is a regular writer for The Golden Sombrero who splits most of his time between the Land of Enchantment and the Biggest Little City in the World and contributes weekly to You Been Blinded. Known in other circles as Slo-Mo and Captain Buck Nasty, he is a wandering gypsy and amateur conspiracy theorist. He likes skiing, getting thrown out of sporting events, and long walks on the beach. He hates being in handcuffs, as this is usually a sign he will spend the night in jail. Any questions, comments, concerns, love or hate mail can be sent to him at brettsta04@yahoo.com
