October 5, 1947: The Al Gionfriddo Game

October 5, 1947: Game 6 of the World Series. The New York Yankees trail the Brooklyn Dodgers, 8-5 in the bottom of the 6th inning, but have 2 men on. Joe Hatten pitches to Joe DiMaggio, and the Yankee Clipper rips the ball deep to left-center field.

But, in Yankee Stadium, that's "Death Valley." Dodger left fielder Al Gionfriddo makes a leaping catch near the bullpen gate. Red Barber had the call on the Dodgers' radio station, WMGM, AM 1050:

Here's the pitch. Swung on, belted, it's a long one! Back goes Gionfriddo, back, back, back, back, back, back, he makes a one-handed catch against the bullpen! Oh, Doctor!

In a rare show of emotion, DiMaggio kicked the infield dirt, caught by at least 2 newsreel cameras.

The Yankees closed to within 8-6, but that was as close as they would get. Ralph Branca, winner of 21 regular-season games this year at age 21, but to whom baseball history would get considerably less kind, was the winning pitcher. Hugh Casey, to whom baseball history was nasty in 1941 but had already been the winning pitcher in Game 4, got the save in Game 6.

Game 7 was played the next day, and the Yankees won it, 5-2. The Dodgers won the 2 best-remembered games of the Series, but the Yankees won the Series itself. It was similar to 1975, when the Boston Red Sox won the memorable Game 6, but the Cincinnati Reds won Game 7.

Gionfriddo became a hero, but, like Game 4 heroes Bill Bevens and Cookie Lavagetto, he never plays another major league game after the next day's Game 7. He played in the minors until 1953, managed in the minors until 1959, and died in 2003.

This was also the day that the 1st televised speech by a President from the White House was delivered, by Harry Truman. I have a separate entry for this event.

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October 5, 1947 was a Sunday. This was the only baseball game played that day. And it was too early for the NBA or the NHL to start there seasons. But there were professional football games played. In the NFL:

* The New York Giants lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 23-0 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Boston Yanks, 21-7 at Fenway Park in Boston. Yes, there was a football team named the Boston Yanks, who existed from 1944 to 1948. Yes, these Yanks played at Fenway. No, they did not wear Pinstripes, choosing instead the kelly green and gold of Notre Dame.

* The Washington Redskins beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-26 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Chicago Cardinals beat their cross-town rivals, the Chicago Bears, 31-7 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The Cardinals would win the NFL Championship in 1947. In the three-quarters of a century since, including moves to St. Louis in 1960 and Phoenix in 1988, including 2 Super Bowl defeats as the Arizona Cardinals, they have never won another.

* And the Green Bay Packers beat the Los Angeles Rams, 17-14 at the Dairy Bowl in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis, Wisconsin. The Dairy Bowl was a football stadium built in the infield of a speedway, now known as the Milwaukee Mile, at the Wisconsin State Fair Park.

In the All-America Football Conference, which challenged the NFL from 1946 to 1949, and produced 3 teams that would join it in 1950:

* The Cleveland Browns beat the New York Yankees, 26-17 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. These football Yankees played their home games at Yankee Stadium, were owned solely by Yankee half-owner Dan Topping, and had former NFL Giants star Ray Flaherty as head coach. They lost the AAFC Championship Game to the Browns in 1946 and 1947, and were not welcomed into the NFL, as the Browns were.

* The Baltimore Colts and the San Francisco 49ers, the other 2 AAFC teams that would be absorbed into the NFL, played to a 28-28 tie at Baltimore Municipal Stadium. In 1954, this facility was converted into Memorial Stadium.

* And the Buffalo Bills beat the Los Angeles Dons, 27-25 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. In Spanish-era California, "Don" was a term meaning "Lord," and was given to the landowners. The term was also used in Italy, and the term "Don" for a Mafia boss comes from this.

The Bills reached the 1949 AAFC Championship Game, losing to the Browns, but were not invited into the NFL. This quickly became known as "The Screwing of Buffalo."

In 1959, Ralph Wilson, a former part-owner of the Lions, was offered a team in the American Football League by founder Lamar Hunt. He wanted Miami, but was turned down. When the first choice for a Buffalo team's owner backed out, Wilson told Hunt, "Count me in with Buffalo." And he named the team after the AAFC team, the Buffalo Bills, who were named after Wild West showman William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody.

Also on this day, Brian Johnson, who was hired to replace the late Bon Scott as lead singer of rock band AC/DC, was born.