Information AboutRalph Branca |
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Branca was known as a very good starter during his years in Brooklyn . A three-time All-Star , he won 80 games for the Dodgers with a career-high 21 wins in 1947 . Unfortunately, he is also remembered for one infamous Relief appearance in a 1951 playoff game against the crosstown rival New York Giants . Branca entered the game in the ninth inning and surrendered a Walk-off Home Run known as "The Shot Heard 'Round The World" to Bobby Thomson , giving the Giants the National League pennant. Branca was engaged to be married to Ann Mulvey, whose cousin, Father Pat Rowley, was a priest. When Branca asked, "Why me?" Father Pat told him, "Because God knew your faith would be strong enough to bear this cross." Ralph married Ann a few weeks later, and would not only express no bitterness over the gopher ball, but begin a friendship with Thomson that lasted into each man's old age, including many joint television appearances. Branca's experience is in stark contrast to that of Donnie Moore of the California Angels , who gave up a dramatic home run to Boston 's Dave Henderson in the 1986 American League Championship Series , and committed suicide three years later. In a 12-year career, Branca posted an 88-68 record with 829 Strikeout s and a 3.79 ERA in 1484.0 Innings Pitched . He would later claim that a back injury suffered during spring training in 1952 , and not the reaction to the previous year's home run, cut down on his effectiveness and cut short his career. "The Shot Heard Round The World" is reputed to be the most exciting moment in the history of baseball and has forever immortalized the Polo Grounds. After the Giants left New York City for San Francisco in 1957, the stadium remained empty for five years until the Mets occupied it during the 1962 and 1963 seasons. Nostalgia ran wild when the Giants and Dodgers returned to the Polo Grounds to play the Mets. In 1964, the Mets moved to Shea Stadium in Queens, and the Polo Grounds was demolished. Ralph Branca was interviewed at the demolition site when the wrecking ball was thrown against the wall. Thirteen years after Bobby Thomson's electrifying home run, he watched the stadium come crumbling down. The site is now occupied by a housing project. Ralph Branca lives at the Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York, where he has been a member for about 40 years. He is also a member of the Italian American Sports Hall Of Fame “YOU CAN’T BLAME RALPH BRANCA!” In October 2005 , ESPN Classic aired an episode of '' The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame... '' series, in which it examined "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" and explained why Branca cannot be held as the Scapegoat :
TRIVIA Branca originally wore the uniform number 12, but switched to number 13, one of the few players of that time to wear it, due to a long-standing Superstition that the number brings bad luck. After the Shot Heard 'Round the World, he kept the number. Ralph and Ann Branca's daughter Mary married a later Dodger player, later manager of the New York Mets , Bobby Valentine . EXTERNAL LINKS |
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