October 5, 1949: Tommy Henrich Is "Old Reliable" Again

Tommy Henrich (left) and Allie Reynolds

October 5, 1949: Game 1 of the World Series is played at Yankee Stadium. Allie Reynolds of the New York Yankees and Don Newcombe of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitch a scoreless game, taking it to the bottom of the 9th.

Tommy Henrich leads off that inning for the Yankees, and shows why Yankee broadcaster Mel Allen nicknamed him "Old Reliable." Or maybe he just liked hitting against the Dodgers. Or maybe he liked October 5 -- it was, after all, the 8th anniversary of his benefit of Mickey Owen's Muff. Henrich hits a home run into the right-field stands, and the Yankees win, 1-0.

That was pretty much the Series: Despite putting together one of the best teams in franchise history, the Dodgers couldn't beat the Yankees, winning only Game 2 on a shutout by Elwin "Preacher" Roe. Henrich's shot is the 1st game-ending home run in the history of postseason baseball, the 1st October "walkoff."

With Newcombe's death in 2019, all the players who appeared in this game have died. Yogi Berra was the last surviving Yankee, living until 2015.

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October 5, 1949 was a Wednesday. This was the only baseball game on the day. Football was in midweek. And it was too early for the NBA or the NHL season. So there were no other scores on this historic day. 

July 12, 1949: Baseball's 1st Black All-Stars

Left to right: Roy Campanella, Larry Doby,

Don Newcombe and Jackie Robinson.

July 12, 1949: Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, hosts the All-Star Game for the only time. This is the 1st All-Star game with black players. Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe of the Dodgers become the National League's 1st black All-Stars. Larry Doby of the Cleveland Indians becomes the American League's 1st black All-Star. Newcombe and Doby had been teammates on the Negro League's Newark Eagles in 1944.

The starting pitchers are Warren Spahn of the Boston Braves for the National League, and Mel Parnell of the Boston Red Sox for the American League. The AL tagged Spahn for 4 runs in the top of the 1st, but the NL got 2 back in the bottom of the 1st, on a double by Robinson and a home run by Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals. Newcombe, a good hitter for a pitcher, scored Willard Marshall of the New York Giants with a sacrifice fly, and it was 4-3 AL after 2.

The NL took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the 3rd. Eddie Joost of the Philadelphia Athletics singled home 2 runs in the top of the 4th, and it was 6-5 AL. Joe's brother, Dom DiMaggio of the Red Sox, led off the top of the 6th with a double. George Kell of the Detroit Tigers drew a walk. Bob Dillinger of the St. Louis Browns pinch-ran for Kell. Ted Williams of the Red Sox flew to center. But Joe DiMaggio doubled his brother and Dillinger home, and it was 8-5. Kell would end up beating Williams for the batting title by .0002, and denying him the Triple Crown by the smallest margin ever.

Ralph Kiner of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit a home run in the bottom of the 6th, driving in Robinson ahead of him. But the AL tacked on 3 runs in the top of the 7th, and won, 11-7. Newcombe was the losing pitcher. The winning pitcher was Virgil Trucks of the Tigers, and Raschi got the save.

Robinson played the entire game, going 1-for-4 with a walk, and also reached base due to a fielder's choice. Campanella replaced Andy Seminick of the Philadelphia Phillies behind the plate for the 4th inning, and went 0-for-2. Doby pinch-ran for Joe DiMaggio in the 6th, and moved into right field, while Dom DiMaggio moved from right to center. Doby batted only once, grounding out.

So while there were black players in the All-Star Game for the 1st time, only 1, Newcombe, made much of a difference. He would still win the NL's Rookie of the Year award, while Robinson would win the NL's Most Valuable Player award, and lead the Dodgers to the Pennant, before losing the World Series to the Yankees. Doby had helped the Indians win the previous year's World Series.

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July 12, 1949 was a Tuesday, as most All-Star Game days have been. There were no other scores on this historic day, as no other major league sport was in season.