1955 Yankees

The 1955 New York Yankees won 96 games, ran away with the American League pennant by three games over Cleveland, and watched Johnny Podres shut them out in Game 7 of the World Series. For the first time since 1942 -- thirteen years and six championships ago -- the Yankees lost in October. The Brooklyn Dodgers, who'd spent two decades getting their hearts broken by the Bombers, finally got theirs. It was the best team in the American League, and it wasn't enough.

A Rotation Rebuilt

Casey Stengel's club looked different from the 1953 dynasty squad that had completed five straight titles. The brought Bob Turley and Don Larsen to the Bronx in exchange for a package headlined by Gene Woodling and Gus Triandos -- a deal that shipped out five-ring veterans for young arms with upside. GM George Weiss didn't do sentiment. He did math.

The gamble paid immediate dividends. Whitey Ford anchored the staff at 18-7 with a 2.63 ERA, throwing two consecutive one-hit games that spring and looking every bit like the best left-hander in the league. Turley slotted in behind him and won 17 games. Tommy Byrne, a 35-year-old lefty making his second run with the club, chipped in 16 wins. With Larsen filling the fourth-starter role, Stengel had options -- and Stengel with options was a dangerous thing.

Mantle Takes Flight

Mickey Mantle was 23 years old and, for the first time, he looked like the player everyone had been promised. He'd been very good before. In 1955, he was the best hitter in the American League and it wasn't particularly close.

He led the league in home runs (37), slugging (.611), OPS (1.042), on-base percentage (.431), and walks (113). His .306 batting average trailed Al Kaline's .340, and his RBI count fell short of the leaders -- Berra actually led the team with 108 -- but everything else belonged to Mantle. The was a rehearsal. The full performance would come in 1956.

On May 13, Mantle gave the Stadium something it hadn't seen before. Facing the Detroit Tigers, he hit three home runs -- becoming the first Yankee to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game. The New York Times reported the combined distance "end to end would have measured in the neighborhood of 1,300 feet." Ford won his fourth game that afternoon, and the club was rolling.

The Supporting Cast

Berra was Berra -- 108 RBI, the anchor behind the plate, the guy who managed a pitching staff and punished mistakes in the same at-bat. At 30, he was in the middle of a run that would produce three AL MVP awards in five seasons (he'd won in 1951 and 1954, and he'd take the '55 trophy too). Nobody in the league did more for his team on a daily basis.

Phil Rizzuto was 37 and running on fumes at shortstop. He'd been the AL MVP in 1950, the glue of five championship teams, and by 1955 he was watching his playing time dwindle. The club would release him the following August, and he'd move to the broadcast booth where a second career -- and a generation of "Holy Cow!" calls -- awaited. But in 1955, he was still in pinstripes, still making the throws from the hole, still part of the furniture.

Elston Howard appeared in the World Series that October, the club's first Black player contributing on the biggest stage. Hank Bauer hit 20 home runs from right field. Eddie Robinson added power off the bench. The depth was real.

October Heartbreak

The opened at Yankee Stadium, and the first two games went to the Bronx. The Yankees won 6-5 in Game 1 (despite Jackie Robinson stealing home in the eighth inning, a moment Berra still argued about for the rest of his life) and 4-2 in Game 2. The script looked familiar -- Brooklyn had lost five World Series to the Yankees, and here they were falling behind again.

Then the Dodgers went home to Ebbets Field and won three straight. Johnny Podres took Game 3. The Dodgers rolled in Games 4 and 5. Suddenly it was 3-2 Brooklyn, and the Series shifted back to the Stadium.

The Yankees fought off elimination in Game 6, winning 5-1 behind Ford. Game 7 would decide everything.

Podres was brilliant. The 23-year-old lefty threw a complete-game shutout, scattering eight hits and never letting the Yankees get comfortable. Sandy Amoros made a sprinting catch in left field in the sixth inning that killed a rally and broke the club's back. The final score was 2-0. Brooklyn had its championship -- the first and only one it would ever see before the Dodgers packed up and left for Los Angeles after the 1957 season.

For the Yankees, it was the first World Series loss in 13 years. Mantle, the most dominant hitter in the AL all summer, struggled at the plate throughout the Series. The irony stung: the man most responsible for winning 96 games couldn't carry the team when it counted.

They beat us fair and square. Now let's go get 'em next year.

What Came Next

Stengel didn't mope. He retooled, adjusted, and brought the same core back in 1956 with a sharper edge. Mantle won the Triple Crown. The Yankees beat Brooklyn in the rematch. And Don Larsen -- the middling fourth starter Weiss had acquired from Baltimore -- threw a in Game 5 of the World Series. Everything that hurt in 1955 paid off in 1956.

But that was next year. In October 1955, Brooklyn danced in the streets, and the Bronx sat quiet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did the Yankees win the 1955 World Series?

No. The Yankees lost the 1955 World Series to the Brooklyn Dodgers, 4 games to 3. It was the franchise's first World Series loss since 1942 and the Dodgers' first -- and only -- championship while based in Brooklyn. Johnny Podres pitched a complete-game shutout in Game 7 to clinch the title for Brooklyn.

What was Mickey Mantle's 1955 season like?

Mantle led the American League in home runs (37), slugging (.611), OPS (1.042), on-base percentage (.431), and walks (113). He batted .306 and hit three home runs against Detroit on May 13, becoming the first Yankee to homer from both sides of the plate in one game. The season foreshadowed his 1956 Triple Crown campaign.

How did the Dodgers beat the Yankees in 1955?

After losing the first two games at Yankee Stadium, the Dodgers won three straight at Ebbets Field to take a 3-2 series lead. The Yankees forced a Game 7 by winning Game 6, but Johnny Podres shut out the Bombers 2-0 in the decisive game. Sandy Amoros made a crucial catch in left field to preserve Podres' shutout.

Who was the 1955 World Series MVP?

Johnny Podres of the Brooklyn Dodgers was named the first World Series MVP in history. He won Games 3 and 7, with his Game 7 complete-game shutout clinching Brooklyn's only championship before the franchise moved to Los Angeles.