The 1949 World Series featured the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

and

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californ ...

, with the Yankees winning in five games for their second defeat of the Dodgers in three years, and the 12th championship in team history. This victory would start a record run of five straight World Series championships by the Yankees, and was also the first of 14 AL pennants in 16 years (1949–1964 except for 1954 and 1959) for the Yankees. Both teams finished the regular season with exactly the same records and winning their respective leagues by one game.

Summary

Matchups

Game 1

Don Newcombe of the Dodgers threw a complete game, five-hitter allowing only one run in a 1–0 losing effort. He struck out 11 Yankees during that game to tie the record for most strikeouts during a World Series game by a losing pitcher. Tommy Henrich led off the bottom of the ninth by tagging Newcombe for the first

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not ...

in World Series history.

Game 2

Preacher Roe pitched a six-hit shutout, getting the only run he needed early when

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color lin ...

doubled and

Gil Hodges Gilbert Ray Hodges ('' né'' Hodge; April 4, 1924 – April 2, 1972) was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his 18-year career for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. He was widely regarded as ...

singled. Yankee Stadium came alive in the ninth with

Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "The Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major League Baseball for the New York Ya ...

's leadoff hit, but Roe retired the next three Yankees for the win, the second straight 1–0 result of the Series. Upon the completion of game 2, 1949 became the first World Series to contain multiple 1–0 games, a distinction only matched in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo is ...

Game 3

In Game 3, the Yankees struck first in the third on

Phil Rizzuto Philip Francis Rizzuto (September 25, 1917 – August 13, 2007), nicknamed "The Scooter", was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He spent his entire 13-year baseball career with the New York Yankees (1941–1956), and was elected to ...

's sacrifice fly with two on off Ralph Branca, but

Pee Wee Reese Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese (July 23, 1918 – August 14, 1999) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1940 to 1958. A ten-time All-Star ...

tied the game in the fourth on a home run off Tommy Byrne. In the ninth, two walks and a single loaded the bases with two outs, when

Johnny Mize John Robert Mize (January 7, 1913 – June 2, 1993), nicknamed "Big Jawn" and "The Big Cat", was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He played as a first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 15 seasons between 1936 an ...

delivered a two-run pinch-hit single to right. Brooklyn starter Ralph Branca was then replaced by Jack Banta, who gave up an RBI single to

Jerry Coleman Gerald Francis Coleman (September 14, 1924 – January 5, 2014) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman for the New York Yankees and manager of the San Diego Padres for one year. Coleman was named the rookie of the year in 1949 by Ass ...

that made it 4–1 Yankees. It seemed safe until

Luis Olmo Luis Olmo (August 11, 1919 – April 28, 2017) was a major league baseball outfielder and right-handed batter. Olmo played in the majors with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1943–45, 1949) and Boston Braves (1950–51). Early years Olmo (birth name: Lu ...

and Roy Campanella homered in the bottom of the ninth, but Joe Page hung on for the win after innings in relief.

Game 4

Cliff Mapes broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning with a two-run double off Don Newcombe. Yankee pitcher

Eddie Lopat Edmund Walter Lopat (originally Lopatynski) (June 21, 1918 – June 15, 1992) was a Major League Baseball pitcher, coach, manager, front office executive, and scout. He was sometimes known as "The Junk Man", but better known as "Steady Eddie", ...

aided his own cause with an RBI double, and the advantage ballooned to 6–0 after a bases-loaded

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

triple scored three more in the fifth off Joe Hatten. Lopat pitched five scoreless innings before allowing two lead-off singles in the sixth. After a double play moved

to third,

's RBI single put the Dodgers on the board. After a

single, RBI singles by

, Roy Campanella, and Gene Hermanski chased Lopat and cheered

Ebbets Field Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team of the National League (1913–1957). It was also home to five p ...

's fans, bringing the Dodgers back to within 6–4. After that, though,

Allie Reynolds Allie Pierce Reynolds (February 10, 1917 – December 26, 1994) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Reynolds pitched 13 years for the Cleveland Indians (1942–1946) and New York Yankees (1947–1954). Reynolds was nicknam ...

held the home team hitless.

Game 5

A shaky start by

Rex Barney Rex Edward Barney (December 19, 1924 – August 12, 1997) was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1943 and from 1946 through 1950. As a teenage phenom, Barney was signed by the Dodgers at the age of 18, in 1943. He pitche ...

. proved costly for Brooklyn. In the first, the Yankees loaded the bases on two walks and an error before

's sacrifice fly and

's RBI single put them up 2–0. In the third, the Yankees again loaded the bases on two walks and a single before a

two-run single knocked Barney out of the game.

Vic Raschi Victor John Angelo Raschi (March 28, 1919 – October 14, 1988) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. Nicknamed "The Springfield Rifle," he was one of the top pitchers for the New York Yankees in the late 1940s and early 1950s, forming (with ...

's RBI single off Jack Banta made it 5–0 Yankees. The Dodgers got on the board in the bottom half off Raschi when Roy Campanella doubled and scored on

's single, but the Yankees got that run back with a

home run in the fourth. Next inning, Gene Woodling hit a leadoff double and scored on two groundouts. In the sixth, after a walk and single off Carl Erskine,

Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of manager and coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1946–1963, 1965), all but th ...

's sacrifice fly made it 8–1 Yankees, then after a pop out, a

RBI triple aided by an error that allowed Brown himself to score extended their lead to 10–1. The Dodgers got a run in the bottom half on Gene Hermanski's RBI single after a double and walk. Next inning, after a one-out single and walk,

's sacrifice fly made it 10–3 Yankees, then after another walk,

's three-run home run cut their lead to 10–6. However, Joe Page held the Dodgers scoreless for the rest of the game to give the Yankees the title. History was made in the ninth inning when the

lights were turned on, making this the first World Series game finished under artificial lights. The first scheduled Series night game would not be held until . With the death of Eddie Robinson in 2021, this is the earliest World Series from which a player is still living ( Tommy Brown and Carl Erskine).

Composite box

1949 World Series (4–1):

(A.L.) over

(N.L.)

Notes

References

External links

Audio: Game 3 radio broadcast, part 1

Audio: Game 3 radio broadcast, part 2

Audio: Game 3 radio broadcast, part 3

Audio: Game 3 radio broadcast, part 4
{{Subway Series World Series

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 World Series, 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The ...

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Sports competitions in New York City World Series, 1949 World Series, 1949 Flatbush, Brooklyn Yankee Stadium (1923)