On Oct. 3, 1951, despite trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning, New York Giants’ Bobby Thomson’s three-run, walk-off home run against the Brooklyn Dodgers won the National League pennant in a playoff game. It was known as the Shot Heard Around the World, and Croton-on-Hudson’s Thomas Glauber heard it while in his mother’s womb. He told River Journal, “Mom experienced this moment on the radio, and I’m sure the excitement entered my prenatal consciousness. She rooted for the Giants, and her favorite player was Willie Mays. My favorite player was the Yankees’ Mickey Mantle.”
From 1947 through 1957, New York was known as the baseball capital with three teams, the Yankees, Giants and Dodgers at the center of intense rivalries. Each team had its own field—Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, the Giants’ Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan, and the Dodgers’ Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Most years, at least one New York team made it into the World Series. Multiple Subway Series highlighted renowned players like the Yankees’ Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Joe MiMaggio; the Giants’ Willie Mays and Bobby Thomson; and the Dodgers’ Jackie Robinson and Duke Snider.
In 1957, the Dodgers’ owner wanted a modern stadium which was impossible to achieve in New York. The Giants’ declining revenue and attendance led them to become part of a deal that included both the Giants and Dodgers relocating or neither team could. The Giants moved to San Francisco and the Dodgers, Los Angeles, leaving the Yankees as the only New York baseball team in 1958.
Glauber recalls, “Back then, not every game was televised. We listened on the radio, and we watched on our tiny black-and-white TV. In 1960 or so, my mom took my brother and me to our first live baseball game. When I walked through that tunnel, I came out on the third base side of Yankee Stadium. The hugeness and greenness of the ballpark and the gleaming home white and road grey uniforms created a lasting and stunning impression. Day games were the norm; night games were only occasional. And I remember stadium announcer Bob Sheppard’s booming and echoing voice over the public address: ‘Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Yankee Stadium! Now batting for the Yankees, Number 7, Mickey Mantle’.”
The human auditory system develops while in the womb to enable the recognition of familiar sounds that provide comfort after birth. It must have been the crack of the bat and the roar of the baseball stadium crowd bellowing from the radio while his mother listened to the game that made Thomas Glauber a lifelong baseball fan. Through the years, trades, injuries, and retirement caused players to leave the team, but Glauber remains a loyal Yankee fan. He said, “We still see Yankee games at the stadium, now with our kids and grandkids.” His love for baseball began well before he made his first entrance into Yankee Stadium through the tunnel; possibly even before he made his entrance into the world.
Old Traditions, New Beginnings is a compilation of stories 250-1000 words per submission from those 60 years and older. Those interested in contributing their own writing or volunteering to help others share their contributions are encouraged to email district95@nyassembly.gov.
