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BOB ELLIOTT |
BOSTON BRAVES
...
SPAHN & SAIN and PRAY FOR RAIN ...
The Braves win the National League Pennant
September 26, 1948 ... Bob
Elliott belted a three run home run off Larry Jansen, in the first
inning, to defeat the New York Giants, 3 to 2 at Braves Field and
ended
a 34 year famine, that gave Boston their first National League
pennant since 1914. Six scoreless innings were pitched by Vern
Bickford and the superb relief pitching of Nelson Potter was also a
contributing factor. The Braves captured the title by beating their
nemesis, 18 game winner Larry Jansen, who owned a seven and two record against
the Braves going into the game. But for the second time this year, and Elliott
home run brought defeat for Jansen. Back on August 11th, he slammed one out of
the park to give the Braves a 4 to 3 win against him.
Tommy Holmes started it off by cracking a one and one serve for single over
second. Al Dark went to two and two before pushing a single to right as Holmes
stopped at second. Earl Torgeson took Jansen's first pitch and sent a harmless
pop up to Don Mueller, in left, for the first out. Up strode Elliott who was
leading the team in RBIs. He took a pair of pitches and then fouled one into the
stands behind the Giants dugout. So with the count two and one, he teed off on
the next pitch to clear the fence in right-center, adjacent to the Jury Box,
with plenty to spare, for his 22nd home run of the year.
Jansen allowed but two hits and one pass in the remaining seven innings.
Meanwhile, the Giants were rendered harmless by Bickford, until they finally
broke out in the eighth-inning, to give the Southworth clan a scare. Bickford
had been touched for one hit off the glove of Elliott in the fourth inning. He
road into the eighth, holding a 3 to 0 lead and carrying a one-hitter.
Don Mueller singled to Elliott's left to start the eighth inning. Rookie
catcher Sal Yvars singled over second with Mueller stopping their. With Potter
and Warren Spahn both warming up, Jack McCarthy was sent up to pinch-hit for
Buddy Kerr. He took a one ball count and poked the next serve for a lazy single
into right-center that scored Mueller and moved Yvars over to third. Lonnie
Frye, the ex-Yankee, was sent up to bat for Jansen and Southworth brought in
Potter.
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VERN BICKFORD, BOB ELLIOT
& NELSON POTTER |
Nels threw a called strike to Frey and then Lonnie sent a dribbler off the
end of his bat to left to the mound. Dark had only one play possible and that
was a force at second base. In the meantime, Yvars crossed the plate with the
second Giants run, making it 3 to 2. Jack Lohrke next strode to the plate and
hit one down to Elliott, who forced Ryan at second, but Lohrke beat Sisti's
return throw to first. Potter quickly tried to pick him off before he threw his
first pitch, and threw it wildly past Torgeson, allowing Lohrke to slide into
third safely. With Whitey Lockman at the plate, Potter pitched carefully and
walked him on four pitches.
Sid Gordon, with his 30 home runs, came to bat and immediately Lockman stole
second base to put runners in scoring position, at second and third. Gordon took
a called strike and then two balls, before he hit a ground ball down to Elliott
who made the long and sure throw over to Torgy for the out.
In spite of the Braves six-game lead, every fan in the park felt the tension
as Potter took the mound for the Giants' ninth after the Braves gone down in
their half of the eighth. Johnny Mize, Willard Marshall and Mueller were all due
to bat. Mize hit Potter's first pitch on the ground to Sisti for the first out
and Marshall set a week infield pop that Sisti also grabbed. Mueller came up for
the final chance and hit a screwball back to Potter on two hops. Nels tossed the
ball over to Torgy, who jumped up in the air and the celebration commenced, as
the Braves were now the winners of the National League pennant.
It took 34 years, a dozen managers and "Three Steam Shovels" to bring Boston
the first National League pennant since the legendary miracle men of George
Stallings. The only member of the current team who was born at the time, was
Frank McCormick, only 15 months old. As the 31,172 Braves fanatics whooped it up
after last out, to the band playing "Tessie", a lone figure was seen moving
slowly off the playing field. He had on a New York Giants uniform but was
weeping tears of joy. His name was Hank Gowdy and he was a hero of the 1914
World Series victory over the Athletics. He was not a part of the victory
celebration, but he could not keep back the floodgates of the memory. |
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