1954 World Series

vs. 1954 World Series (4-0) New York Giants (97-57, NL) over Cleveland Indians (111-43, AL) BR 1954 World Series Summary

The 1954 World Series matched the National League champion New York Giants against the American League champion Cleveland Indians. The Giants swept the Series in four games to win their first championship since 1933, defeating the heavily favored Indians, who had won an AL-record 111 games in the regular season. The Series is perhaps best-remembered for "The Catch", a sensational running catch made by Giants center fielder Willie Mays in Game 1, snaring a long drive by Vic Wertz near the outfield wall with his back to the infield. It is also remembered for utility player Dusty Rhodes' clutch hitting in three of the four games. Giants manager Leo Durocher won his only title among the three pennants he captured in his career. The Giants would not win another World Series until 2010.

Records: New York Giants (W: 97, L: 57, Pct: .630, GA: 5) - Cleveland Indians (W: 111, L: 43, Pct: .721, GA: 8)

Managers: Leo Durocher (New York), Al Lopez (Cleveland)

Umpires: Al Barlick (NL), Charlie Berry (AL), Jocko Conlan (NL), Johnny Stevens (AL), Lon Warneke (NL: outfield only), Larry Napp (AL: outfield only)
Note: Lon Warneke became the fifth person to appear in the Series both as a player and as an umpire.

Television: NBC (Jack Brickhouse and Russ Hodges announcing)

Summary

NL New York Giants (4) vs. AL Cleveland Indians (0)

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Indians – 2, Giants – 5 (10 innings)	September 29	Polo Grounds	52,751
2	Indians – 1, Giants – 3	September 30	Polo Grounds	49,099
3	Giants – 6, Indians – 2	October 1	Cleveland Stadium	71,555
4	Giants – 7, Indians – 4	October 2	Cleveland Stadium	78,102

Matchups

Game 1

September 29, 1954 at the Polo Grounds in New York, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Cleveland (A)	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	8	0
New York (N)	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	5	9	3
W: Marv Grissom (1-0)   L: Bob Lemon (0-1)
HR: NYG – Dusty Rhodes (1)

Game 2

September 30, 1954 at the Polo Grounds in New York, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cleveland (A)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	8	0
New York (N)	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	x	3	4	0
W: Johnny Antonelli (1-0)   L: Early Wynn (0-1)
HR: CLE – Al Smith (1)    NYG – Dusty Rhodes (2)

Game 3

October 1, 1954 at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York (N)	1	0	3	0	1	1	0	0	0	6	10	1
Cleveland (A)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	4	2
W: Ruben Gomez (1-0)  L: Mike Garcia (0-1)   S: Hoyt Wilhelm (1)
HR: CLE – Vic Wertz (1)

Game 4

October 2, 1954 at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York (N)	0	2	1	0	4	0	0	0	0	7	10	3
Cleveland (A)	0	0	0	0	3	0	1	0	0	4	6	2
W: Don Liddle (1-0)  L: Bob Lemon (0-2)   S: Johnny Antonelli (1)
HR: CLE – Hank Majeski (1)

Composite Box

1954 World Series (4-0): New York Giants (N.L.) over Cleveland Indians (A.L.)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
New York Giants	1	2	6	0	7	1	1	0	0	3	21	33	7
Cleveland Indians	3	0	0	0	3	0	2	1	0	0	9	26	4
Total Attendance: 251,507   Average Attendance: 62,877
Winning Player’s Share: – $11,118   Losing Player’s Share – $6,713

Trivia

• Hank Thompson set a World Series record for bases on balls received during a four-game series with seven and Bob Lemon set a World Series record for bases on balls given up during a four-game Series with eight.
• This was the first time the Cleveland Indians had been swept in a World Series and the second time the New York Giants swept an opponent — their first occurred during the 1922 World Series (though there was a tie during that Series).
• The Indians, by winning the American League pennant, kept the New York Yankees from winning their sixth straight series. The last time the Yankees had not won the series or pennant before that was 1948, when, again, the Indians kept them out (although that year, they won the Series). It was also the only World Series from 1949 to 1958 which did not feature the Yankees.

References and Further Reading

• Arnold Hano: A Day in the Bleachers, Da Capo Press, Cambridge, MA, 1995 (originally published in 1955). The author describes sitting in the left-center field bleachers at the Polo Grounds for Game 1. An entire chapter is devoted to The Catch.[1]
• Bill Madden: 1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever, Da Capo Press, Boston, Ma, 2014. ISBN 978-0306823329
• David S. Neft and Richard M. Cohen: The World Series, St Martins Press, New York, NY, 1990, pp. 250-253.
• Gary Webster: .721: A History of the 1954 Cleveland Indians, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2013. ISBN 978-0-7864-7655-8
• Joseph Wancho, ed.: Pitching to the Pennant: The 1954 Cleveland Indians, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 2014. ISBN 978-0-8032-4587-7

External links

• 1954 World Series at WorldSeries.com (MLB.com)
• 1954 World Series at Baseball-Almanac.com
• 1954 World Series box scores and play-by-play at Retrosheet.org
• Baseball's Best: 1954 World Series (MLB.com)
• Kodak Presents - Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments, Willie Mays' Catch

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Giants over Indians (4-0)