OCTOBER 23, 1951 | NEW YORK, NEW YORK – The Brooklyn Dodgers were comfortably in first place for most of the 1951 season. They had a 13-game lead on August 11th. That’s when everything changed. The New York Giants, lead by manager Leo Durocher, caught fire. made a dramatic comeback to win the National League pennant, and on this date in 1951 Durocher was voted Manager of the Year.
Leo Durocher was credited with patiently guiding the Giants through a horrible first half which included an 11-game losing streak. Durocher was also in charge when the Giants won 37 of their last 45 games. They tied the Dodgers on the last day of the season, forcing a 3-game playoff . The Giants’ Bobby Thomson settled the matter with the “shot heard ’round the world,” a stunning 3-run home run to win the pennant.
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Leo Durocher was flamboyant, combative and a solid shortstop during a 20-year playing career. He won over 2,000 games in a 26=year managerial career. As exhilarating as the 1951 season was, he felt the opposite emotion managing the collapse of the 1969 Chicago Cubs, a team that seemed headed for the World Series.
Leo Durocher was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.
Contributing Sources:
Leo Durocher-Stats
1951 game-by-game results/standings
Misc – Wikipedia
