1955 Brooklyn Dodgers

1955 Brooklyn Dodgers / Franchise: Los Angeles Dodgers / BR Team Page

Record: 98-55-1, Finished 1st in National League (1955 NL)

Clinched Pennant: September 8, 1955, At Milwaukee Braves

World Series Champions

Managed by Walter Alston

Coaches: Joe Becker, Billy Herman and Jake Pitler

Ballpark: Ebbets Field

History

The 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers finally fulfilled the promise of many previous Dodger teams. Although the club had won several pennants in the past, and had won as many as 105 games in 1953, it had never won a World Series. This drought ended when the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in seven games in the 1955 World Series.

Walter Alston, in his second year as Dodger manager, went all the way. He would continue as Dodger manager for many years, winning more World Series in 1959, 1963 and 1965.

His players, of course, are legendary. Roy Campanella won the 1955 National League Most Valuable Player Award. Duke Snider led the National League in RBI and was second in the MVP voting that year. Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese, both 36 years old, could still play. Gil Hodges, 31, hit 27 home runs (and drove in both Dodger runs in the seventh game of the Series) while Carl Furillo, 33, hit 26 home runs with a .314 batting average. Jim Gilliam scored 110 runs. Sandy Amoros, the youngest regular at age 25, hit 10 home runs and played left field.

Other players on that immortal team included 24-year-old Don Zimmer, who hit 15 home runs in 88 games, and Don Hoak, who had an on-base percentage of .350.

The pitching staff was anchored by Don Newcombe, who was 20-5. Billy Loes was 10-4 and Carl Erskine was 11-8. Russ Meyer went 6-2. The 22-year-old Johnny Podres was 9-10 but became the hero of the World Series by shutting out the Yankees in the seventh game.

Ed Roebuck and Clem Labine had the most saves while Roger Craig posted an ERA of 2.78.

Sandy Koufax, at age 22, went 2-2 with an ERA of 3.02 while 27-year-old Tommy Lasorda appeared in four games.

At one point, the team won 11 straight road games, one shy of the 1924 Robins' franchise record. No Dodger team topped the 11-game run until the 2013 Dodgers.

Awards and Honors

• All-Stars: Roy Campanella, Gil Hodges, Don Newcombe and Duke Snider
• NL MVP: Roy Campanella
• Manager of the Year Award: Walter Alston

World Series

NL Brooklyn Dodgers (4) vs. AL New York Yankees (3)

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Dodgers – 5, Yankees – 6	September 28	Yankee Stadium	63,869
2	Dodgers – 2, Yankees – 4	September 29	Yankee Stadium	64,707
3	Yankees – 3, Dodgers – 8	September 30	Ebbets Field	34,209
4	Yankees – 5, Dodgers – 8	October 1	Ebbets Field	36,242
5	Yankees – 3, Dodgers – 5	October 2	Ebbets Field	36,796
6	Dodgers – 1, Yankees – 5	October 3	Yankee Stadium	64,022
7	Dodgers – 2, Yankees – 0	October 4	Yankee Stadium	62,465

Further Reading

• Roger Kahn: The Era, 1947-1957: When the Yankees, the Giants, and the Dodgers Ruled the World, Bison Books, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 2002 (originally published in 1993). ISBN 0803278055
• Rudy Marzano: The Last Years of the Brooklyn Dodgers: A History, 1950-1957, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2008. ISBN 978-0-7864-3006-2
• Roscoe McGowen: "Dodgers Take Eleventh Pennant", New York Times, September 9, 1955

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