1956 World Series: Whitey Ford Shatters Brooklyn Dodgers Hopes of a Sweep

The Brooklyn Dodgers won the seventh game of the 1955 World Series at Yankee Stadium to become World Champions for the first time in their storied history.

In 1956, the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in the first two games, both played at Ebbets Field, of the World Series.

Now with the scene shifting to Yankee Stadium, it was up to Whitey Ford, the opening game loser, to stem the tide.

No team had ever won the World Series after dropping the first three games. To this day, that still has never happened.

The year before, the Yankees had won the first two games of the World Series, but then the Dodgers became the first team to win the Series after losing the first two games. The Yankees and Ford hoped they would become the second.

Ford was starting on only two days’ rest since he had lasted only three innings in the opener. Brooklyn countered with Roger Craig.

After a perfect first inning, Ford ran into trouble in the second as Brooklyn scored a run on a Roy Campanella sacrifice fly.

Brooklyn’s greatest nemesis Billy Martin removed the deficit by hitting a home run in the bottom of the second inning.

The teams remained tied 1-1 until PeeWee Reese tripled and scored on Duke Snider’s sacrifice fly in the sixth inning.

Once again, the Brooklyn lead was short-lived.

Hank Bauer led off the Yankees sixth with a single and after Craig retired Joe Collins and Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra singled and the ancient Enos Slaughter hit one of the most important home runs of his career into the right field stands to give Ford a 4-2 lead.

The Yankees had acquired Slaughter, who never played in a World Series that his team lost, for the second time in August when they claimed him on waivers from their good friends in Kansas City. Ironically, it was the first home run Slaughter hit since joining the Yankees.

But Brooklyn wasn’t finished yet.

Gil Hodges worked a walk off Ford leading off the Dodgers seventh and Carl Furillo, almost as much a pain to the Yankees as Martin was to the Dodgers, singled, moving Hodges to third.

Ford reached back, retired Campanella on a foul pop up and then induced Charley Neal to hit a ground ball to shortstop Gil McDougald, but the usually sure-fielding McDougald booted the ball, allowing Hodges to score. Furillo stopped and second and Neal, the potential lead run, was on first.

It is fascinating to look back on the situation 55 years later. There wasn’t any though of removing Ford. He was in a jam, not entirely of his own making and he was expected to get out of it.

Today, he might not have even started the seventh innings, especially since he was pitching on two days’ rest.

Ford retired pinch-hitter “Handsome” Ransom Jackson and Jim Gilliam without further damage.  The Yankees scored an unearned run in the eighth, and Ford held on for a complete game win.

After the game, Ford conceded that the game he pitched was good enough to win at spacious Yankee Stadium but not at Ebbets Field.

The win was Ford’s fourth in World Series competition.

References:

Ford goes route. (1956, Oct 07). New York Times (1923-Current File), pp. 201. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/113731180?accountid=46260

Ford says he pitched well enough to win in stadium, but not at Ebbets field. (1956, Oct 07). New York Times (1923-Current File), pp. 202-202. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/113750078?accountid=46260