The 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers season was the 62nd season for the Brooklyn Dodgers franchise in the MLB. The Dodgers led the National League for much of the season, holding a 13-game lead as late as August. However, a late season collapse and a hot streak by the New York Giants led to a classic three-game playoff series. Bobby Thomson's dramatic ninth-inning home run off Dodger reliever Ralph Branca in the final game of a tie-breaker series won the pennant for the Giants and was immortalized as the Shot Heard 'Round the World.
Offseason October 10, 1950: Chuck Connors and Dee Fondy were traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs for Hank Edwards and cash.Dee Fondy at Baseball-Reference October 13, 1950: Buddy Hicks was purchased from the Dodgers by the Philadelphia Phillies.Buddy Hicks at Baseball-Reference November 16, 1950: Morrie Martin was drafted from the Dodgers by the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1950 rule 5 draft.Morrie Martin at Baseball-Reference February 6, 1951: Chico Fernández was signed by the Dodgers as an amateur free agent.Chico Fernández at Baseball-Reference
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Opening Day Lineup +Opening Day Lineup # Name Position29 Don Thompson LF6 Carl Furillo RF4 Duke Snider CF42 Jackie Robinson 2B14 Gil Hodges 1B39 Roy CampanellaC1 Pee Wee Reese SS9 Rocky Bridges 3B17 Carl Erskine P
1951 Opening Day Lineup at Baseball-Reference
Notable transactions June 8, 1951: Tommy Brown was traded by the Dodgers to the Philadelphia Phillies for Dick Whitman and cash.Tommy Brown at Baseball-Reference June 15, 1951: Bruce Edwards, Joe Hatten, Eddie Miksis and Gene Hermanski were traded by the Dodgers to the Chicago Cubs for Johnny Schmitz, Rube Walker, Andy Pafko and Wayne Terwilliger.Eddie Miksis at Baseball-Reference June 18, 1951: Bob Lillis was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers.Bob Lillis at Baseball-Reference July 24, 1951: Ben Taylor was traded by the Dodgers to the St. Louis Browns for Johnny Bero, Joe Lutz and cash.Ben Taylor at Baseball-Reference August 31, 1951: Ross Grimsley was purchased from the Dodgers by the Chicago White Sox.Ross Grimsley at Baseball-Reference
Roster 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers Roster Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Manager
Coaches
Player stats = Indicates team leader
= Indicates league leader Batting
Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C 143 505 164 .325 33 108 1B 158 582 156 .268 40 103 2B 153 548 185 .338 19 88 SS 154 616 176 .286 10 84 3B 142 455 127 .279 9 51 OF 150 606 168 .277 29 101 OF 158 667 197 .295 16 91 OF 84 277 69 .249 18 58
Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI 67 150 42 .280 3 19 63 134 34 .254 1 15 80 118 27 .229 0 6 31 80 20 .250 1 5 36 74 18 .243 2 9 23 60 12 .200 1 5 37 50 14 .280 0 4 17 36 9 .250 1 8 35 31 7 .226 0 3 11 25 4 .160 0 1 16 13 0 .000 0 0 19 10 2 .200 0 0 2 5 2 .400 0 2 3 3 1 .333 0 0
Pitching
Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 40 272.0 20 9 3.28 164* 34 257.2 22 3 3.04 113 42 204.0 13 12 3.26 118 Tied with Warren Spahn (Boston) for league lead
Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 46 189.2 16 12 4.46 95 14 65.1 5 1 2.20 39 16 55.2 1 4 5.34 20 11 49.1 1 0 4.56 22 9 29.1 1 2 5.52 16
Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO 48 14 7 6 4.15 33 27 2 2 0 3.50 26 19 2 6 0 4.75 15 21 0 1 0 6.46 22 7 0 1 0 15.43 9 3 0 0 0 32.40 1
Shot Heard 'Round the World
One of the more famous episodes in major league baseball history, and possibly one of the greatest moments in sports history, the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" is the name given to Bobby Thomson's walk-off home run that clinched the National League pennant for the New York Giants over their rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers. This game was the third of a three-game playoff series resulting from one of baseball's most memorable pennant races. The Giants had been thirteen and a half games behind the league-leading Dodgers in August, but under Durocher's guidance and with the aid of a sixteen-game winning streak, caught the Dodgers to tie for the lead on the last day of the season. The radio broadcast of Bobby Thomson's pennant-winning home run was chronicled on a 1955 Columbia Masterworks vinyl LP record, "The Greatest Moments in Sports."
Awards and honors National League Most Valuable Player Roy Campanella TSN Pitcher of the Year Award Preacher Roe
All-Stars 1951 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Roy Campanella starter Gil Hodges starter Jackie Robinson starter Don Newcombe reserve Pee Wee Reese reserve Preacher Roe reserve Duke Snider reserve TSN Major League All-Star Team Preacher Roe Roy Campanella Jackie Robinson
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Montreal, Santa Barbara
Notes
References Baseball-Reference season page Baseball Almanac season page
External links 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers uniform Brooklyn Dodgers reference site Acme Dodgers page Retrosheet