Red Schoendienst

Bob Buhl

Casey Stengel

Bobby Richardson

Game 1: Coleman relays to first as Covingon sildes in.

Yankees squeeze home Berra in Game 1

Burdette hurls in Game 2.

Covington makes catch in Game 2.


Hank Aaron homers in Game 3

Mathews mobbed after walkoff HR in Game 4

Game 5: Nippy Jones shows ump mark on ball where it hit him on foot to start winning rally in 10th

Berra out at home on flyout in Game 6

The National League saw a changing of the guard as the young turks from Milwau­kee soared past the aging Dodgers.

• Brooklyn's downfall was easy to pinpoint.
  Jackie Robinson retired before the season began.
  35-year-old Roy Campanella played in only 103 games and hit just .242 with 62 RBIs and 13 HRs, both his lowest since his rookie season in '48.
  SS Pee Wee Reese, three years Campy's senior, moved to 3B, but the Little Colonel hit just .224, 31 points lower than his average in any prior season.
  The Dodgers as a team hit only .253, seven points below the league average.
  Don Newcombe, depressed by his failure in the '56 World Series, fell from 27 victories to 11. Nevertheless, the Flatbush crew finished as high as they did because of an NL-leading 3.35 ERA.
  20-year-old Don Drysdale led the staff with 17 wins.
• Meanwhile, the team the Bums had edged out by a single game in '56, the Milwaukee Braves, roared to 95 victories to take the pennant by eight games over the Cardinals.
  23-year-old Hank Aaron emerged as a superstar, topping the NL with 44 HR, 132 RBIs, and 118 runs to win the MVP award.
  None other than Mickey Mantle was quite impressed with Hank Aaron. He had the quickest wrists I ever saw. ... But what impressed me most about him was how stable he was. With the possible exception of Stan Musial, nobody played twenty years in the majors and changed less than Aaron. ... He was easily the most underrated player of my time ...
  3B Eddie Mathews, just two years older than Aaron, clubbed 32 HR, knocked in 94, and hit .292.
  Aging 2B Red Schoendienst (34), acquired in mid-year from the Giants, led the league with 200 hits and batted. 309 and greatly improved the infield's weakest defensive position.
  Wes Covington came up from the minors to fill the hole in LF when Bobby Thomson was traded and hit .284 and knocked home 65.
  The Braves mound corps posted a 3.47 ERA, second in the circuit.
  Southpaw Warren Spahn showed no sign of decline at age 36, winning 21 games with a 2.69 ERA.
  Two righthanders also contributed strong seasons. Bob Buhl won 18 with a 2.74 ERA. Lew Burdette threw what he called a sinker and opponents dubbed a spitball for 17 victories.
  No one stood out in the bullpen, but that wasn't a problem as the Braves led the league with 60 complete games, six more than anyone else.
  The Braves drew an astonishing 2,215,404 fans in their fifth season in Beer­town after leaving Boston to the Red Sox.
  The NL pennant was snatched from the East Coast for the first time since 1946 when the Cardinals won.
  In their fifth season in Milwaukee after moving from Boston, the Braves were the toast of the town. The players couldn't pick up a check anywhere - free groceries, free laundry, free beer.

• Seven who started the final game of the '56 World Series returned to the lineup led by the reigning Triple Crown winner, CF Mickey Mantle, and old pro C Yogi Berra. At 2B, 21-year-old Bobby Richardson took over for Billy Mar­tin, who was traded to Kansas City at midyear.
  GM George Weiss never appreciated Martin and considered him an ena­bler for the off-the-field escapades of Mantle and Whitey Ford, both of whom cried unabashedly when Billy was traded. It's like losing a brother, Mickey said. He was the best friend I had. Stengel, who was like an adop­tive father to Martin, also resented the trade. However, Billy couldn't for­give Casey for not stopping the trade and refused to speak to the old man for three years.
  The young player that Casey liked the best was rookie Tony Kubek. A left­handed hitting SS on a team with Gil McDougald entrenched at that position, Kubek also played 3B, LF, and even CF in 1957. Stengel personally coached Tony on outfield play.
  The deep and talented pitching staff added 31-year-old Bobby Shantz in a trade with KC. The 1952 MVP with a 24-7 for the Philadelphia A's, was con­sidered washed up after pulling tendons in his shoulder. But the "Little Fel­ler," as Casey called the 5'5" hurler, contributed 11 victories and led the league with a 2.45 ERA.
• Writers considered the Bronx Bombers a shoo-in for the pennant, one going so far as to predict the Yanks would clinch by Labor Day.
  However, the scribes didn't count on Yogi's annual slow start lasting far long­er than usual aided by a broken nose the C suffered on a foul tip into his mask or staff bell cow Ford missing May and June with arm miseries or Mantle suffering a nasty gash in his leg in August.
  But when you lead the league both in runs and ERA, you usually win the pen­nant. The Yankees took over first place for good on June 30 and outdistanced the pesky Chicago White Sox by eight games, the same margin that the Braves enjoyed in the Senior Circuit.

The Yankees wore the favorite's mantle (8-to-5) despite injuries to two of their stars.

• Stengel didn't decide until the day before Game One to put Mantle and 1B Bill Skowron on his World Series roster. Mickey was said to be suffering from "shin splints" to keep secret the fact that he injured his leg while doing some­thing he wasn't supposed to during the season. Skowron's problem was a dislocated sacroiliac that befell him when he lifted a two-ton air conditioning unit in his home. If Moose played, he would do so with a tight-fitting corset.
• Writers wondered if Casey would indulge his penchant of going with experi­ence in the Fall Classic over regular season production. If so, he would start veteran Jerry Coleman at 2B in place of Richardson and 41-year-old Enos Slaughter in LF instead of Elston Howard or Kubek. Howard or veteran Joe Collins could hold down 1B if Skowron couldn't go.
• On the other side, CF Bill Bruton would miss the series with torn knee liga­ments suffered in a collision with SS Felix Mantilla while chasing a pop fly on July 11. Aaron had moved to CF for the remainder of the season, turning RF over to Bob "Hurricane" Hazle, who lived up to his nickname by hitting a blustery .403 with seven HR after being called up to replace Bruton.
  Hazle recalled his surprising '57 season: ... only six or so months earlier I was on the brink of quitting. My wife and I both agreed that I would play out the season in the minors, and if nothing happened that would be it. But then Bill Bruton hurt his knee and I was called up. In a way, it was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. If Bruton hadn't been hurt, I doubt whether I ever would have seen the major leagues.
• But manager Fred Haney might well follow Stengel's lead and use the ;much more experienced Andy Pafko in RF. Milwaukee 1B Joe Adcock would be available after recovering from a June 23 broken leg.

Series Results

1. Wednesday, October 2 @ New York: Yankees 3 Braves 1
   WP: Whitey Ford; LP: Warren Spahn
2. Thursday, October 3 @ New York: Braves 4 Yankees 2
   WP: Lew Burdette; LP: Bobby Shantz
   
3. Saturday, October 5 @ Milwaukee: Yankees 12 Braves 3
   WP: Don Larsen; LP: Bob Buhl
4. Sunday, October 6 @ Miilwaukee: Braves 7 Yankees 5 (10 innings)
   WP: Spahn; LP: Bob Grim
5. Monday, October 7 @ Milwaukee: Braves 1 Yankees 0
   WP: Burdette; LP: Ford
6. Wednesday, October 9 @ New York: Yankees 3 Braves 2
   WP: Bob Turley; LP: Ernie Johnson

The Series went to seven games for the third year in a row.

• Normally, Haney would have brought back Spahn with three days rest. But Warren came down with the flu the night before Game Six and spent the next day in his hotel room. Though much improved, he wouldn't have enough strength to start the most important game of the season. So when the Braves trudged into the clubhouse with worried faces after losing Game 6, Haney announced before anyone asked, "Burdette tomorrow." And why not? Lew had allowed only two runs in his two starts.
  Some of the other Braves were coming down sick also but were able to play. Two days after the Series, Hazle was so sick he had to go to bed.
• Stengel went with Don Larsen, who had allowed only two runs in 7 1/3 innings of relief for the victory in Game 3. Big Don would take the hill a year and two days after his perfect game in the '56 Series.
• His pitching rotation might be in good shape, but Casey had a big problem with his star CF. In addition to his injured leg, Mickey suffered from a right shoulder injury that occurred in Game 3 when he slid back into 2B on a pickoff attempt. Schoendienst leaped in a futile attempt to snare the errant peg and landed on Mickey. The young OF would never again display the strong throw­ing arm that so impressed spectators. He also had problems batting left- handed the rest of his career.
  Across town, Brooklyn owner Walter O'Malley made official what had been expected for months. The Dodgers were moving to Los Angeles to join the Giants in California.

Bob Hazle

Johnny Logan

Burdette at work

Hank Bauer

Enos Slaughter

Yogi Berra

Felix Mantilla

Del Crandall

Jerry Coleman

Joe Collins

Bobby Shantz

Bill Skowron

Art Ditmar

Tom Sturdivant

Elston Howard

• Larsen with his abbreviated windup started strong.
  RF Bob Hazle fanned on three pitches.
  SS Johnny Logan, who had sparkled defensively in the Series, ground­ed to 3B.
  3B Eddie Mathews, 4-for-18 in the Series, took a called third strike.
• It's unusual to have both teams with the RF in the leadoff spot, but that was the case this day.
  Hank Bauer swung at the first pitch and hit a chopper down the LF line for a double to establish a new World Series record of hitting safely in 14 straight games. Burdette thought to himself, Holy smokes, they're not going to get me out of here this fast, are they?
  LF Enos Slaughter tapped a 1-2 pitch back to Burdette, who caught Bauer in a rundown. But Logan missed the tag on Hank, who reached 2B safely just as Slaughter slid into the same bag. Logan tagged both, but the base belonged to Bauer. So Slaughter was out 1-6-5-6-1-6.
  CF Mickey Mantle batted for the first time since the tenth inning of Game 4. Swinging hard despite an aching shoulder and leg, the Com­merce Comet hit a high chop that the P snagged and threw to 1B.
  Haney ordered an intentional pass to Yogi Berra, whose two-run HR had keyed the Game 6 victory. It would be Burdette's only free pass of the afternoon.
  SS Gil McDougald (5-for-20) hoped to get his first RBI of the Series. Instead, Gil popped a 3-1 pitch to 3B Mathews.
  Burdette thus continued his scoreless streak to 16 innings.
  Mantle on Burdette's effectiveness: His control was what really sur­prised us. We didn't believe anyone could be so consistent at catching strikes on low pitches. We thought we could wait him out on his low stuff, and make him come up when he got behind on the count. We were wrong.

• The hitting star of the Series, Hank Aaron, led off. Hammerin' Hank had gone 9-for-23 (.391) with six RBI, a triple, and three HR, including one into the distant LCF bullpen in Game 6.
  Mantle told a story about Aaron's first at-bat in the Series. Yogi no­ticed that Aaron held the bat in a way that violated a long-held baseball position. "Hey," said Berra ...always willing to engage opposing hitters in friendly talk, "you got the bat facing the wrong way. Turn it around so you can see the trademark."
  The standard belief was that if you hit the ball on the trademark you were more likely to crack your bat. I never questioned the theory and don't know of any hitters who did.
  But Henry continued to stare at the mound. Out of the side of his mouth, he said, "Didn't come up here to read. Came up here to hit."
  Years later, Aaron clarified his attitude toward Yogi's talking. I always enjoyed coming to bat when Yogi was catching. He helped me relax, and I hit better. I had no problem talking to him. I just wasn't very interested in talking about the label on my bat. I just wished he had talked to me about movies or fishing or somethign else.
  The 23-year-old CF looped a single in front of Slaughter in LF to continue his streak of getting at least one hit in every game of the Series.
  Wes Covington had gotten four hits in the first two games of the Series but none since. So Haney ordered the big LF to sacrifice. Larsen picked up the beautiful bunt down the 3B line and threw to 1B as Aaron took 2B.
  Brooklyn native Frank Torre, 3-for-8 with 2 HRs, took a walk on four pitches - an unintentional intentional walk.
  Torre's 17-year-old brother Joe watched from the stands in the sta­dium where he would one day manage the Yankees to six pennants and four World Series championships.
  Stengel had Whitey Ford and RHP Tom Sturdivant warming up.
  SS Felix Mantilla, hitless in the Series, smacked a fly deep into LCF. Aaron took 3B after Slaughter's catch, Torre holding 1B.
  Bobby Shantz took Ford's place in the bullpen.
  Larsen got out of the jam by inducing C Del Crandell to ground into a 5-4 forceout.
  
• Tony Kubek, at 3B today for the second time after playing LF and CF five Series contests, had two HRs and four RBIs. He smacked a hard grounder that Mathews snared in the hot corner and threw to 1B for the out.
  Kubek, born and raised in Milwaukee, had sparked the Yanks' Game 3 victory in his hometown with two HRs. It was probably the greatest day I ever had in baseball, he recalled. After the game, Casey came up to me in the locker room, put his hand on my shoulder, and said, "Go home and thank your parents for me." But when Tony's proud parents drove home after the game, they found garbage in their yard and a sign that said, Get out of town, you bush traitor!
  Jerry Coleman, age 32, had gone 6-for-18 to justify his skipper's de­cision to play him at 2B instead of rookie Bobby Richardson. The Yank­ees had not accused Burdette of throwing a spitter, but Jerry asked the umpire to look at the ball. He then stepped in and hit a grounder just inside the 3B line that Mathews snagged. Considered one of the best fielding 1Bs in the NL, Torre backhanded Eddie's throw in the dirt for the out.
  1B Joe Collins, who had batted only three times in the Series, went down swining on a 2-2 pitch.

3rd inning

• Burdette hit the first pitch in the air to Kubek outside the foul line.
  Hazle smacked the first pitch, a curve ball, on a line between 3B and SS for his first hit of the Series.
  Hazle recalled why he cooled off for the Series. ... we had a few days off before the Series started, and then the Yanks threw two lefties, Ford and Shantz, in the first two games. So Pafko played and I sat. By the time I got back in there I was kind of out of the groove.
  After trying to hit to RF but missing, Logan blooped a foul behind the plate that Berra couldn't reach before it hit the ground near the stands.
  Yogi admitted afterwards that he didn't see the ball right away.
  Given another chance, Johnny grounded sharply to Kubek, but Tony's high throw to 2B pulled the leaping Coleman off the bag. Jerry's throw to 1B was ruled too late, bringing Stengel out to argue with 1B umpire Augie Donatelli. Instead of inning over, the Braves enjoyed first and second with no outs and their two best hitters coming up.
  Mathews pulled a slow curve over Collins' head into the RF corner to score both runners, Eddie winding up on 2B.
  Stengel took out Larsen and brought in southpaw Shantz to face Aa­ron. Bobby was making his third appearance in the Series, having been the starter and loser in Game 2.
  After taking a curve for ball one, Aaron hit the second pitch on the ground into CF to drive home Mathews.
  Covington fell behind 1-2 before looping a single to LCF on a 3-2 pitch to send Hank to 3B.
  The NY infield moved in as Torre stood in. With the count 1-1, Frank hit to Coleman's left. Jerry threw to 2B for the force on Covington, but McDougald's peg to 1B was too late as Aaron scored.
  Bob Grim and Art Ditmar continued to work in the bullpen.
  Mantilla hit one a long way into RCF, but Bauer cruised off and took it in to end Milwaukee's biggest inning of the series. Two of the runs were unearned.
  Braves 4 Yankees 0
  
• Burdette, taking more time between pitches than he did in Games 2 and 5 because so much was on the line, retired the side 1-2-3 again.
  Jerry Lumpe, with two pinch hits in the Series, batted for Shantz but fanned on a 3-2 delivery.
  Bauer, the only batter to get a hit off Burdette the first time through the order, flew to Aaron in LCF.
  Slaughter bounced to Torre unassisted.
  

4th inning

• Art Ditmar, 8-3 during the regular season, made his first appearance since relieving in Game 2.
  Crandell flew to Slaughter near the LF line.
  Strong applause greeted Burdette as he walked to the plate. Ditmar whiffed him.
  Hazle, whose first hit of the Series started the rally in the 3rd, singled on the ground to RF.
  Logan grounded to McDougald deep in the hole, but Coleman dropped the low throw trying for the force. E6.
  With a chance to put the game away, Mathews lined to Mantle in RCF.
• Continuing to mesmerize batters with a mixture of sliders, screwballs, and curves, Burdette mowed down the heart of the Yankee order.
  Hazle tied a record held by many when he made all three putouts in RF - Mantle on a short fly, Berra on a hard hit liner, and McDougald on another line drive in RCF.
  

5th inning

• Aaron bunted in front of the plate, but Berra fumbled the ball before throwing too late to 1B. The Yanks had now committed three errors.
  Covington tapped a 1-2 pitch down the 3B line, Aaron moving to 2B.
  Torre smacked Ditmar's first delivery right to Collins, who tagged 1B as Hank took 3B.
  Mantilla, who had hit the ball well both previous at-bats, went down 5-3.
• NL hitters learned not to look at the fidgety Burdette until he started his windup. The pride of Nitro WV looked nervous on the mound but was actually cool and collected.
  Kubek lashed the first pitch into LCF, but Covington ran down the fly.
  After fouling a ball off his ankle, Coleman worked the count full, then singled into RCF. That broke Lew's streak of retiring eleven batters in a row.
  Spahn started warming in the bullpen.
  Collins bounced to Logan who got the force at 2B. Torre moved off the bag to snag Mantilla's relay to first.
  Bill Skowron, hitting for Ditmar, grounded to Logan who took it on one knee and flipped to 2B to retire the side.

6th inning

• Skowron stayed in the game at 1B, and Tom Sturdivant became the fourth Yankee P on the afternoon. He had started Game 4 but did not figure in the decision.
  Crandall hit a grounder to the left of the mound into CF.
  Burdette bunted his C to 2B, 3-4.
  With Hazle at the dish, Crandall took off for 3B. Del, who stole all of one base during the season, beat the throw but overslid the bag and was tagged out by Kubek. Bob then skied to Bauer.
• Bauer, who homered off Burdette in Game 2, smashed a grounder to Mathews.
  Slaughter sent Aaron deep into CF for his fly.
  Mantle lined the first pitch into RF for the Yanks' third hit.
  Playing near the line, the usually sure-handed Mathews fumbled Berra's grounder for the Braves' third error of the Fall Classic.
  With a chance to put his team back into the game with one swing, McDougald forced Mantle, Mathews unassisted.

• Logan whacked a hard grounder off Coleman's glove for a single.
  Mathews bunted along the 1B line, sending the runner to 2B. Score it 3-4.
  Sturdivant fired a fast ball that Aaron took for strike three.
  Covington lined straight to McDougald to retire the side.
• Trying to start a rally, Kubek lined a single over the SS's head.
  Coleman bounced back to Burdette, who threw to 1B instead of trying to force Kubek.
  Elston Howard came in from the bullpen to bat for Sturdivant. Burdette struck him out on a sidearm fastball.
  Skowron smacked the first pitch on one hop to Logan, who threw to 1B for the easy out.
  

8th inning

• NY pitcher #5 was lefthander Tommy Byrne, whose Series had con­sisted of 1 1/3 innings.
  Torre walked on four pitches, causing Berra to visit the mound.
  Mantilla hit a bounder to McDougald to start a 6-4-3 DP, the Yanks' fifth of the Series compared to twice that many for Milwaukee.
  Crandall tagged a 3-2 pitch into the lower LF bleachers just out of the reach of Slaughter.
  Byrne's 3-2 delivery to Burdette sailed wide.
  Andy Pafko, a righthanded batter, stepped in for Hazle, a lefty, and fouled to Skowron.
  Braves 5 Yankees 0
  
• Pafko went to RF.
  After clouting a long foul to LF, Bauer popped to Logan in short LCF.
  Slaughter fouled out to Crandall.
  Finding the first pitch to his liking, Mantle hit a long fly to Covington.

• One pitch, one swing, one out. Logan lined to Kubek.
  Coleman easily threw out Mathews.
  Mantle moved back to take Aaron's fly.
• Berra picked on the first pitch but popped to 1B.
  McDougald slapped a sidearm delivery into CF for the Yanks' fifth hit.
  Another first-pitch swinger, Kubek hit a casual fly to Aaron in RCF.
  The last hope for the Yankees came to bat in the person of Jerry Coleman, who had singled in the 5th. He sliced a hit into RF, McDou­gald stopping at 2B.
  Some of the fans who had started for the exits stopped to watch as Byrne hit for himself. With a large segment of the crowd roaring on every strike, Tommy hit a ball over 2B that Mantilla dove and knocked down to preserve the shutout.
  Bases loaded, two out. Could this be an historic rally to add to the Yankees' lore?
  Don McMahon and Warren Spahn were throwing the bulllpen, but Haney stuck with Burdette.
  Skowron smashed a low liner down the 3B line that Mathews swiped on the first hop, stepped on the bag, and headed straight for the mound to join in the celebration of the Braves franchise's first champ­ionship since 1914.

• But Lew was just the fourth to post three complete-game vic­tories, the others being Christy Mathewson of the Giants (1905), Jack Coombs of the Philadelphia Athletics (1910), and Stanley Coveleski of the Cleveland Indians (1920).
• In terms of runs allowed in the three starts, Burdette's two was topped only by Mathewson, who twirled 27 scoreless innings.

Burdette and Haney interviewed by Braves announcer Earl Gillespie

Burdette and Spahn rejoice

Lou Perini

Warren Giles

Braves championship ring

Braves Clubhouse

The Braves ran in yelling like a bunch of Comanches, hugging each other, slap­ping each others' backs, with a few even crying.

• Haney joked, Oh that Burdette. If he could cook, I'd marry him.
  When asked what he would have done if Skowron's shot down the 3B line had not been corraled by Mathews, Fred replied, There'd have been another pitcher in there. Spahn? someone asked. No, I think it would have been Don McMa­hon. He's a right-hander who throws hard. And Hank Bauer, a right-handed hitter, was the next batter. ... But I wanted him [Burdette] to finish real bad. I knew he was getting tired, but I wanted him in there at the end.
  Referring to the charges that the Braves had choked in the pennant drive in '56 to permit the Dodgers to win it at the end, Fred said, I guess they will lay off that choke up business from now.
• The three victories had extra meaning for Burdette because he began in the Yankees system before being traded to the Braves in August 1951.
  I was trying my darnedest to beat 'em, and I know they were trying like mad to get me out of there. They kept yelling at me from the dugout all game. I couldn't hear what they were yelling about.
  Lew shrugged off the challenge of pitching on two days rest. It was nothing special for me. I had pitched three complete games in eight days before.
  On the bases loaded jam in the 9th: I wasn't worried about it even with Bill Skowron coming up, because we'd still have been one run ahead if he had belted one out. ... I didn't have to be as careful in the ninth as I did all through that 1-0 ball game two days ago. Any slip then would have been curtains. In this one, I had a chance to relax a little.
  The Brave hero explained his approach to the Yankee hitters. I threw a lot of sliders and slow curves. I threw Berra and Mantle a lotta "junk" - mixed stuff, mostly changeups and nibblers. ...
  On Mathews' final play: Eddie made a great play. He made some others, too.
  Told about a remark of his manager, Lew said: So Haney said I'm tired. Well, for the record, I'm not. But I don't have to pitch again until next spring. So that's a help.
  On the Yankees: We'd like to play them again next year. And I'm sure we're going to win the pennant, but I'm not so sure about them.
• Spahn agreed with Haney's decision not to start him. I deserve a big medal. I got sick so he [Burdette] could pitch. He's a great competitor.
  I'm pretty weak right now. In a game that meant so much, I would have as­sayed myself, and I wouldn't have gone in unless I felt sure I could go a couple of innings. I think I might have been able to do that. But the way it turned out, I'm happy. That Burdette is really one great guy out there.
  When Burdette pushed his way over and threw his arms around him, Spahn asked, When do I get a ride in your car? He was referring to the white Corvette awarded annually by Sport Magazine to the series MVP.
  Like Lew, Warren couldn't resist needling the AL champs. The Yankees couldn't finish fifth in the National League.
  The comments of Burdette and Spahn would provide strong motivation to the Yankees when they did indeed win the AL and meet the Braves again in 1958.
• Crandall on his batterymate: I don't think he was as fast as he was in the first two games he won. But he never had better control. He was keeping that ball low all afternoon. Everything he threw - sliders, screwballs, and sinkers - he had them all in there where he wanted them and where the batters didn't want them.
  Del on his HR: It was some kind of a slow pitch. I don't know exactly what it was. I was too busy swinging.
• Mathews, when complimented on the final play as well as a similar one in the second inning: I just stuck my glove down and was lucky enough to come up with the ball.
• Logan: All year we won the money games, and today we won the big money game. We were just one game better than the Yankees.
• Aaron was his usual calm self. Why should we get excited here? We'll wait until we get back to Milwaukee.
• Owner Lou Perini: My stomach turned over all afternoon, and it got worse in that ninth inning. But this I want to say. I'd rather not have won the champ­ionship of our league if the Yankees hadn't won in the other one. It was the Yankees I wanted our fellows to play. They've won so many World Series that it wouldn't have meant so much to beat any other club. He added, It really hurts me that we couldn't have won it in Milwaukee for our folks out there. This is great, but the ambition of all of us was to win it before the home crowd.
• Stengel came into the crowded dressing room to offer congratulations to Haney and Perini. You fellers did splendid. You did wonderful. The team did wonderful, and your coaches did a fine job, too. Haney responded, Thanks, Case. You don't know what this means to me. Nobody does. This makes up for everything. Stengel added, You did a very wonderful and very efficient job all year, and you ran that club very well during this Series, too. You beat us, and you beat us right. There's no question about it. ... You've got a great club, but then it takes a great club to beat us. If we couldn't win it, there's no one I'd rather see do it than Milwaukee. That town deserves it. When asked to smile for a picture, Casey replied, What have I got to smile about? You don't think I'm going to smile, do you?
• Commissioner Ford Frick, former head of the National League, called the victory A great thing for baseball. NL President Warren Giles went even futher. This is the most popular victory in the history of baseball. Fans every­where wanted Milwaukee to win.