October 9, 1958. County Stadium, Milwaukee. The Yankees trailed the Braves three games to one in the World Series, and the baseball world had written them off. The same Braves team had beaten them a year earlier, and now Milwaukee was one win from repeating as champions. Then Bob Turley threw a shutout. Then he saved an extra-inning game. Then he pitched 6.2 innings of championship relief in Game 7 while Moose Skowron drove one into the left-center seats. The New York Yankees became only the second team in World Series history to come back from a 3-1 deficit, and they did it against the team that had broken their hearts 364 days earlier.
The Weight of '57
The 1958 World Series wasn't just another October. It was personal. The Braves had beaten these same Yankees in the 1957 Series -- their first postseason defeat in 12 years -- and Lew Burdette had done the damage, winning three games including a Game 7 shutout. had torn a tendon in his left shoulder during a Game 1 collision with Red Schoendienst. The wound was physical and psychological, and the Yankees carried both into the rematch.
Casey Stengel's club had cruised through the regular season -- 92-62, 10 games up on the White Sox -- but none of that mattered once October arrived. This was about settling a debt.
Games 1-4: Familiar Nightmare
The Braves took Games 1 and 2 at County Stadium, and the series felt like a rerun of '57. The Yankees came home and won Game 3 with a shutout, but Milwaukee grabbed Game 4 to seize a 3-1 advantage.
Only the 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates had ever come back from 3-1 down in the World Series. Thirty-three years of history said the Yankees were finished.
Game 5: Turley's Shutout (October 6)
Facing elimination, Stengel handed the ball to -- the right-hander who'd gone 21-7 in the regular season and won the Cy Young Award. Turley responded with a complete-game shutout that kept the Yankees alive. The margin for error was zero, and Turley threw zeros.
Game 6: Extra-Inning Survival (October 8)
Back in Milwaukee, the Yankees won 4-3 in 10 innings. Turley -- who'd thrown a complete game two days earlier -- came out of the bullpen to record the save in the 10th and force a deciding Game 7. The man had thrown a shutout on Monday and was closing games on Wednesday. Nobody questioned it. October doesn't wait for full rest.
Game 7: Skowron Breaks It Open (October 9)
The Braves sent Burdette to the mound for Game 7 -- the same pitcher who'd beaten the Yankees three times in the '57 Series. The Yankees countered with Don Larsen, but the didn't have it. Turley replaced him in the third inning and proceeded to throw 6.2 innings of two-hit relief.
The score sat at 2-2 through seven. Then the eighth inning happened.
doubled with two outs to start the rally. Elston Howard singled him home -- 3-2, Yankees. Then Skowron stepped in against Burdette, and the slider came in too high.
Skowron crushed it to left-center. Three-run homer. The Stadium (well, County Stadium -- same energy) erupted. Yankees 6, Braves 2.
A lousy pitch. It was a slider -- the same thing he looked bad on before -- but this one I got in too high.
Turley finished the game and earned the win. Three games, three different roles -- starter, closer, long reliever -- and the Yankees had their 18th championship.
The Aftermath
Hank Bauer hit .323 in the Series with four home runs and eight RBI, the kind of performance that gets overshadowed when someone else does what Turley did. Turley took home the World Series MVP, a fitting bookend to a that redefined what a single pitcher could mean to a championship run.
The . Their dynasty window -- two pennants, one title -- closed with Skowron's swing in the eighth inning of Game 7. Milwaukee wouldn't see another championship before the franchise packed up for Atlanta after 1965.
For the Yankees, it was validation. They'd been embarrassed a year earlier and came back with the most dramatic World Series comeback in three decades. Revenge doesn't always deliver, but in October 1958, it delivered a trophy.
| Series Result | Yankees 4, Braves 3 |
| WS MVP | Bob Turley (2 W, 1 SV) |
| Hank Bauer | .323 AVG, 4 HR, 10 H, 8 RBI |
| Skowron (Game 7) | 4 RBI, three-run HR in 8th |
| Turley (Games 5-7) | CG shutout, save, 6.2 IP relief win |
| Deficit Overcome | 3-1 (only 2nd time in WS history) |
Braves Take Command
Milwaukee wins Games 1 and 2 at County Stadium, taking a 2-0 series lead and establishing themselves as heavy favorites for a repeat championship.
Yankees Get on the Board
New York wins Game 3 with a shutout at Yankee Stadium, but the Braves take Game 4 the next day to go up 3-1.
Turley's Elimination Shutout
Bob Turley throws a complete-game shutout in Game 5, keeping the Yankees alive with their backs against the wall.
10-Inning Survival
Yankees win Game 6 in 10 innings, 4-3. Turley earns the save two days after his shutout, forcing a winner-take-all Game 7.
Skowron Ends It
Moose Skowron's three-run homer off Lew Burdette in the eighth inning caps a 6-2 Game 7 win. Turley pitches 6.2 innings of two-hit relief. The Yankees are champions for the 18th time.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Yankees come back from 3-1 in the World Series?
The Yankees overcame a 3-1 World Series deficit against the Milwaukee Braves in October 1958, winning Games 5, 6, and 7 to take the series four games to three. It was only the second time in World Series history that a team had rallied from 3-1 down, after the 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates.
Who was the 1958 World Series MVP?
Bob Turley won the 1958 World Series MVP after three consecutive critical appearances -- a complete-game shutout in Game 5, a save in the 10-inning Game 6, and 6.2 innings of two-hit relief to win Game 7. He also won the Cy Young Award for his 21-7 regular season.
Who hit the decisive home run in the 1958 World Series?
Moose Skowron hit a three-run homer off Lew Burdette in the eighth inning of Game 7, turning a 3-2 lead into a 6-2 advantage that clinched the championship. Burdette -- the hero of the 1957 Series -- called the pitch "a lousy slider" that he got "in too high."