This is for those of you who have been living under a rock and haven’t heard about his passing. Bobby Thomson, author of perhaps the most famous home run ever—“The Shot Heard ‘Round the World”—passed away at the age of 86 on August 16.
Thomson is most known for that historical October 3, 1951 blast off Brooklyn Dodgers’ pitcher Ralph Branca, which clinched the National League pennant for the New York Giants. It also led to perhaps the most famous home run call of all-time—that is, Russ Hodges’ immortal “THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!”
Let not that one home run be the entire story of Thomson’s career, however. It would make for a mighty large chapter, but it should not be the only one. For outside of that historic blast, Thomson was a slugging outfielder who hammered 264 home runs over the course of 15 seasons. He was thrice an All-Star, and he received MVP votes three years as well. From 1947 to 1953, he averaged 26 home runs and 94 RBI a year.
And now, he lies peacefully in the great eternal sleep—much as the lore of his incredible home run lies in the minds of all baseball fans, eternally.
