1951 in baseball.html |
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The following are the baseball events of the year 1951 throughout the world.
Contents |
Headline Event of the Year
Baseball's Shot Heard 'Round the World gives the New York Giants the National League Pennant in the third game of a best-of-three-games tiebreaker series over the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Champions
Major League Baseball
- World Series: New York Yankees over New York Giants (4-2)
- All-Star Game, July 10 at Briggs Stadium: National League, 8-3
Other champions
- Caribbean World Series: Cangrejeros de Santurce (Puerto Rico)
- College World Series: Oklahoma
- Japan Series: Yomiuri Giants over Nankai Hawks (4-2)
- Little League World Series: Stamford, Connecticut
- All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: South Bend Blue Sox
Awards and honors
- MLB Most Valuable Player Award
- MLB Rookie of the Year Award
- The Sporting News Player of the Year Award
- The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award
Statistical Leaders
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Major League Baseball final standings
American League final standings
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National League final standings
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Events
January-March
- January 23 - Guido Rugo sells his interest in the Boston Braves to copartners Lou Perini and treasurer Joe Maney.
- January 26 - The baseball writers vote Mel Ott and Jimmie Foxx into the Hall Of Fame.
- March 10 - The St. Louis Browns reveal plans to move the club to Milwaukee because of poor attendance.
- March 21 - Pittsburgh Pirates' lefty first baseman Dale Long makes his first appearance as a catcher in an exhibition game against San Diego.
April-June
- May 6 - In the second game of a double-header, Cliff Chambers pitches a no-hitter, as the Pittsburgh Pirates top the Boston Braves, 3-0.
July-September
- July 1 - In the first game of a double-header, Bob Feller tosses the third no-hitter of his career for the Cleveland Indians in a 2-1 win over the Detroit Tigers.
- July 10 - Exploding for a record four home runs, the National League trounces the American League, 8-3, at the annual All-Star Game, at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. Pittsburgh Pirates' slugger Ralph Kiner hits a home run for the 3rd year in a row.
- July 12 - New York Yankees hurler Allie Reynolds pitches a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians in a 1-0 win.
- July 17 - After pitching for Bill Veeck in Cleveland in 1948, Satchel Paige rejions him with the St. Louis Browns.
- July 28 - Clyde Vollmer, who started the month on the bench, continues his explosive fireworks against the Indians. Vollmer singles in the tying run in the 15th inning and then in the 16th hits a grand slam off reliever Bob Feller for an 8-4 Red Sox win. The grand slam is the latest hit in a game in major-league history. Mickey McDermott pitches all 16 innings for the Sox, striking out 15 and walking one.
- August 11 - Robin Roberts of the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Giants, 4-0, dropping the Giants 13.5 games behind the first-place Brooklyn Dodgers.
- August 19 - Bill Veeck, the showman and maverick owner of the St. Louis Browns, pulls of one of the greatest stunts in baseball history. In the second game of a double-header against the Detroit Tigers, Veeck send Eddie Gaedel to the plate as a pinch-hitter for leadoff batter Frank Saucier. At 3 feet 7 inches tall, Gaedel became the shortest player in baseball history. Due to his extremely small strike zone, Gaedel walked on four consecutive pitches and was immediately pulled for a pinch-runner. American League president Will Harridge, saying Veeck was making a mockery of the game, voided Gaedel's contract the next day. Detroit went on the win the game, 6-2.
October-December
- September 28 - Allie Reynolds turns in the second no-hitter of his career, and his second this season, as the New York Yankees blank the Boston Red Sox, 8-0.
- October 3 - The New York Giants had been thirteen and a half games behind the National League leading Brooklyn Dodgers in August, but under Leo Durocher's guidance and with the aid of a sixteen-game winning streak, caught the Dodgers to tie for the lead with two days left in the season. As both teams won their last 2 games they ended up tied. The two teams play a best-of three playoff. In Game 3 with two outs in the ninth inning and runners on second and third, the Giants were down 4-2 to the Dodgers when Bobby Thomson hit a home run to win the game 5-4. The "Shot heard 'round the world" clinched the National League pennant for the Giants, and WMCA-AM radio announcer Russ Hodges' frantic "The Giants won the pennant!" repeated four times is one of the most famous home run calls in baseball history.
- October 10 - The New York Yankees defeat the New York Giants, 4-3, in Game 6 of the World Series to win their third consecutive World Championship, and fourteenth overall. Just before the game, Giants manager Leo Durocher turns over a letter he received to Ford Frick that offer the Giants manager a $15,000 bribe "if the Giants managed to lose the next 3 games".
- October 17 - The Yomiuri Giants win the Japan Series over the Nankai Hawks. Incredibly, they will win the pennant 19 times in the next 23 years, including 9 in succession (1965-1973).
- November 23 - The New York Yankees send young catcher Clint Courtney to the St. Louis Browns in exchange for pitcher Jim McDonald. Courtney, regarded as the first major league catcher to wear eyeglasses, appeared in one game for New York.
- November 27 - In an eight-player trade, The St. Louis Browns send C Sherm Lollar, P Al Widmar and IF Tom Upton to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for C Gus Niarhos, P Dick Littlefield, 1B Gordon Goldsberry, SS Joe DeMaestri and OF Jim Rivera. Rivera, a favorite of Browns manager Rogers Hornsby, will return to the Sox in eight months.
- November 28 - The St. Louis Browns trade C Gus Niarhos, acquired yesterday, along with OF Ken Wood to the Boston Red Sox for C Les Moss and OF Tom Wright. The Browns also signs Marty Marion, former St. Louis Cardinals shortstop/manager.
Movies
Births
January-March
- January 2 - Jim Essian
- January 2 - Bill Madlock
- January 6 - Don Gullett
- January 6 - Joe Lovitto
- January 14 - Derrel Thomas
- January 23 - Charlie Spikes
- February 4 - Stan Papi
- February 7 - Benny Ayala
- February 8 - Steve Dillard
- February 12 - Don Stanhouse
- February 15 - Tommy Cruz
- February 16 - Glenn Abbott
- February 25 - César Cedeño
- March 4 - Sam Perlozzo
- March 7 - Jeff Burroughs
- March 27 - Dick Ruthven
April-June
- April 5 - Rennie Stennett
- April 6 - Bert Blyleven
- April 7 - Dave Cripe
- April 11 - Sid Monge
- April 29 - Rick Burleson
- May 8 - Dennis Leonard
- May 12 - Joe Nolan
- May 18 - Jim Sundberg
- June 9 - Dave Parker
- June 24 - Ken Reitz
- June 29 - Bruce Kimm
July-September
- July 5 - Rich Gossage
- July 8 - Alan Ashby
- July 29 - Dan Driessen
- July 29 - Ken Kravec
- July 29 - Greg Minton
- August 1 - Pete Mackanin
- August 7 - Jim Sadowski
- August 9 -Steve Swisher
- August 19 - Butch Hobson
- August 21 - John Stearns
- August 22 - John Doherty
- August 27 - Buddy Bell
- August 28 - Joel Youngblood
- September 3 - Alan Bannister
- September 8 - Steve Barr
- September 28 - Dave Rajsich
October-December
- October 3 - Dave Winfield
- October 15 - Mitchell Page
- October 18 - Andy Hassler
- October 25 - Al Cowens
- October 25 - John LaRose
- October 26 - Steve Ontiveros
- November 3 - Dwight Evans
- November 16 - Herb Washington
- November 25 - Bucky Dent
- December 19 - Mike Flanagan
- December 24 - John D'Acquisto
Deaths
- January 26 - Bill Barrett, 50, outfielder for the Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators between 1921 and 1930
- February 6 - Gabby Street, 68, manager of the Cardinals' 1931 World Series champions, previously a catcher for Walter Johnson
- February 25 - Smokey Joe Williams, 64, fireballing Negro Leagues pitcher
- March 25 - Eddie Collins, 63, Hall of Fame second baseman and career .333 hitter for the Athletics and White Sox, the 1914 AL MVP, the sixth player to make 3000 hits, and second to Ty Cobb in career steals
- May 26 - George Winter, pitcher who won 82 games for the Boston Americans/Red Sox from 1901 to 1908, and the only member both of the original 1901 and 1908 teams
- July 9 - Harry Heilmann, 56, right fielder and 4-time AL batting champion who batted .342 in his career, primarily with the Detroit Tigers
- August 2 - Guy Cooper, 68, pitcher for the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the 1910s
- August 4 - Tony Tonneman, 69, catcher who played briefly for the 1911 Boston Red Sox
- August 10 - Win Kellum, 75, who in 1901 became the first Opening Day starting pitcher in Boston American League franchise's history
- September 16 - Bill Klem, 77, named "father of baseball umpires", who worked in a record 18 World Series during a 37-year career, and introduced the inside chest protector
- November 18 - Wally Mayer, 61, catcher who played from 1911 through 1919 for the Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Browns
- November 19 - Marty Griffin, 50, pitcher for the 1928 Boston Red Sox
- November 26 - Pete Hill, 71, baseball's first great black outfielder
- December 5 - Shoeless Joe Jackson, 63, career .356 hitter who was the most prominent of the eight players banned from baseball after the Black Sox scandal
- December 8 - Bobby Lowe, 86, second baseman for multiple Boston champions in the 1890s