SF Giants History 1950's

For the next part of my blog about the SF Giants, I will be discussing the events between 1950 and 1960, starting with the 1951 season.

 

(1951)

The Giants erased a 13.5 game lead by the rivaled Dodgers to win in a 3 game series for the NL pennant with one of the most memorable homeruns in Giants history as well as baseball history. The Giants win 16 straight games and 37 out of the last 44 to force a tie with the Dodgers. The 3 game series came down to game 3 and it was a dandy. It was called “The Shot Heard Around The World.” The Giants saw themselves down 4-2 in the bottom of the 9^th inning. Bobby Thompson was at the plate with 2 on while Ralph Branca was the opposing pitcher. The Giants season was on the line and Thompson nailed a 3 run homerun to give the Giants the pennant! This would lead to a World Series battle with the Yankees with the Giants losing in 6 games. Hall of Famer Willie Mays made his debut in 1951 where he won the Rookie of the Year.

 

To watch the “Shot Heard Around The World,” click here.

(1954)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Giants capture their 5^th World Series Title and 1^st since 1933. Willie Mays led the way with quite possibly one of the best defensive catches that baseball had ever seen.  Mays made an over the shoulder catch in Game 1 of the World Series with the game tied at 2 apiece. The Giants went onto win the game 5-2 and blow away the Indians in a 4 game sweep to capture the title. The Indians led the majors with 111 wins in the season.   

 

 

(1957)

The Giants head out to the west coast in the 1957 campaign. The Giants see a decrease in fans compared to the New York Years.  The Giants officially moves to the Bay Area for the 1958 season. This starts the San Francisco Giants era.

 

(1958)

The new San Francisco Giants receive a parade and great welcome at their new stadium Seals Stadium. The opener was April 15 and fans filled the stadium quickly. The Giants defeat the rival Dodgers 8-0, which made the opener that much better. The Giants defeated the Dodgers 16 of 22 times in the season, making the 75 year old rivalry awesome.

I think that the 1950’s was a great building block for the Giants. With the upcoming players they had to go along with the move to San Francisco along with a new manager and a World Title, the 1950’s was a special decade. Willie Mays today is still known as one of the best baseball players to ever play the game and it was awesome that he was a Giant. The Giants were considered “underdogs” in all of its World Championships. I think that is pretty cool that everyone doubts em yet they go out and surprise the world. It only gets better from here.

 

Video Talking About "Shot Heard Around The World" and Willie Mays.