Old Times

It was like old times--a subway series, the Yanks and the Dodgers again, scrapping for the baseball championship of the world. But in Brooklyn at least, fans had a feeling that, this once, things might be different. Seven times since the turn of the century the Dodgers, winning a pennant, had lost the World Series. Five times the Yankees had knocked them off. This once, Dodger fans figured to be backing a winner.

The record book bore them out. With an astonishing show of early foot, the Dodgers had made a runaway of the National League pennant race. Their pitchers had faltered in the stretch, but they were rested now. In the field they were sure and sharp. At bat they were loaded. Their right-handed sluggers could murder left-handed pitchers--and the Yankees' best (Ford and Byrne) were lefties.

The Yanks, on the other hand, had barely limped home. They looked less like pennant winners than any Yankee team in years. Their pitchers were worn out from working overtime. Half their fielders were held together by adhesive tape. Even so, every bookmaker operating a safe distance from the shores of the Gowanus Canal chalked them up as favorites. Why? Well, there was that Yankee habit of winning the money games. And then there was Casey Stengel, who could always be counted on to outmaneuver the opposition.

The First Game, at Yankee Stadium, made the smart money seem safe. Seldom out of trouble, Southpaw Ford held off the Dodgers through eight tight innings. Furillo and Snider reached him for homers; Jackie Robinson stole home--like a Mack truck. Still the Yanks stayed in front. They knocked out Big Don Newcombe before he finished six innings. Trying too hard to be the team sparkplug, Billy Martin was thrown out stealing home, but he saved the game with his fielding. First Baseman Joe Collins more than made up for the absence of injured Mickey Mantle by belting two home runs. Score: Yankees 6, Dodgers 5.

The Second Game saw the Dodgers still suffering from the Stadium jitters. Aging (35) Southpaw Tommy Byrne, a rehabilitated major-league castoff, kept them in check all the way. At bat in the fourth inning, he won his own game by knocking in two runs. Starting with volatile Billy Loes, Dodger Manager Walter Alston used four pitchers keeping the score down to Yankees 4, Dodgers 2.

The Third Game moved the series to Ebbets Field and the Dodgers came to life. Sore-armed Johnny Podres celebrated his 23rd birthday by pitching the best ball of his life. With Outfielder Hank Bauer on the sidelines now, with a pulled muscle, and Mickey Mantle hobbled, the Yankees never had a chance. Their righthanded fireballer Bob Turley lasted only 1 1/3 innings. Morgan, Kucks and Sturdivant did little better. Mantle managed to hit a home run, but Campanella matched him and Robinson once more ran wild on the base paths. Final score: Dodgers 8, Yankees 3.

The Fourth Game found Casey Stengel still saving his veteran pitchers while Alston was forced to work his best. They were more than good enough. Carl Erskine lasted only three innings, but Don Bessent and Clem Labine teamed up behind him to hold the Yankees off. Snider, Campanella and Hodges all homered, and Snider was superb in the field. The Yanks got scant consolation from McDougald's wasted first-inning home run. Final score: Dodgers 8, Yankees 5.

The Fifth Game rang to the sound of Dodger bats. In the second inning little Sandy Amoros homered with one on; Snider hit homers in the third and fifth-his eighth and ninth in series play. Still Casey Stengel stuck with his starting pitcher. Bob Grim. In the seventh, the Yanks began to rough up Dodger Rookie Roger Craig; Pinch Hitter Bob Cerv reached him for a home run and Dodger Manager Alston brought in Clem Labine. Casey countered with Bob Turley and Berra contributed a home run. It was not enough. The Dodgers scored once more in the eighth, won the game, 5-3.

The Sixth Game was played back in Yankee Stadium and the Yankees made the most of it. They won, 5-1, stretching the series into a nerve-racking seven-game scrap.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.