On This Date in Sports October 5, 1953: Five in a Row

Frank The Tank 10/5/2023 12:00 AM

The New York Yankees won their fifth straight World Series, beating the Brooklyn Dodgers again in six games. The Yankees win the finale 4-3 on a walk-off single by Billy Martin, scoring Hank Bauer with the winning run. Martin had a monster World Series, batting .500 with 12 hits in 24 at-bats, two home runs, and eight RBI. Three of the five series wins were at the expense of the Dodgers.

The New York Yankees dynasty was at its pinnacle under Casey Stengel. Since being named manager in 1949, the Yankees were a perfect five-for-five, winning five American League Pennants and Five World Series. The 1953 Yankees posted a 99-52 record in the regular season, finishing eight and a half games ahead of the Cleveland Indians.

The Brooklyn Dodgers were also in their golden era, completing the best season in franchise history with a record of 105-49 under Manager Chuck Dressen to beat out the Milwaukee Braves by 13 games. The Dodgers were led during the season by Roy Campanella, who won the National League MVP by batting .312, with 41, setting a new single-season record for catchers, and 142 RBI. For the Dodgers, it was the fourth World Series appearance in six years, all resulting in losses to the Yankees.

Allie Reynolds got the start for the Yankees in the opener, while Carl Erskine started for Brooklyn. In the bottom of the first, the Yankees put four runs on the board, highlighted by a bases-clearing triple from Billy Martin, scoring Hank Bauer, who drove in the first run. Mickey Mantle and Gene Woodling from Martin were about to embark on one of the greatest performances in World Series history. The Dodgers began scratching their way back in the fifth with a home run by Jim Gilliam, which the Yankees answered with a homer by Yogi Berra. However, in the sixth, Brooklyn got home runs from Gil Hodges and George Shuba to cut the deficit to 5-4. In the seventh, the Dodgers tied the game as Carl Furillo singled off reliever Johnny Sain, scoring Roy Campanella. However, in the bottom of the inning, the Yankees got a home run by Joe Collins to retake the lead and did not look back, adding three runs in the eighth on a two-run double by Sain, who came into score on a single by Collins to give the Yankees a 9-5 win in Game 1.

Eddie Lopat started for the Yankees against Preacher Roe in Game 2. The Yankees again scored early as Yogi Berra played Woodling with a sacrifice fly in the first. The Dodgers would take their first lead of the series in the fourth, courtesy of a two-run double by Billy Cox, but could get no more as Lopat went the distance. The Yankees, meanwhile, tied the game with a home run by Billy Martin in the seventh and won 4-2 on a two-run home run by Mickey Mantle in the eighth.

Carl Erskine got the start again for the Dodgers in Game 3. As they hoped to get back in the series, it shifted to Ebbets Field for the next three games. The Yankees countered with Vic Raschi, as the game was scoreless through the first four innings. In the fifth, the Yankees drew first blood when Gil McDougald singled home Martin. However, the Dodgers answered with an RBI single by Billy Cox. In the sixth, Jackie Robinson drove home Duke Snider to give Brooklyn the lead. The Yankees would fight back again, tying the game on an RBI single by Woodling in the eighth. In the bottom of the inning, Brooklyn got the lead right back. Roy Campanella homered with one out and went on to win 3-2 as Erskine set a World Series record with 14 strikeouts.

Whitey Ford got the start for the Yankees in Game 4 and got hit hard, surrendering three runs in the first, as Jackie Robinson and Duke Snider provided the damage. The Dodgers made it 4-0 against Tom Gorman when Jim Gilliam doubled home Carl Furillo. The Yankees tried to fight back, as Gil McDougald homered with Martin on base in the fifth. The Dodgers attack would not slow down as they added two more runs in the sixth, with Snider hitting a home run off Sain and Gilliam driving in Cox. Snider added another RBI in the seventh to back Billy Loes, who earned the win as the Dodgers evened the series with a 7-3 win.

Jim McDonald started for the Yankees in Game 5, while Johnny Podres started for Brooklyn in a game that would turn into an old-fashioned slugfest. The Yankees started the damage right away with a leadoff home run by Gene Woodling. After Brooklyn tied the game in the second, the Yankees took advantage of some bad Dodger defense as an error by Gil Hodges allowed the go-ahead run to score. The Yankees would load the bases, as Podres was relieved by Russ Meyer. The move did not work well for the Dodgers, as Mantle greeted the Dodgers reliever with a Grand Slam to make the score 6-1. Duke Snider drove in a run in the fifth for Brooklyn, but the Yankees bats continued to scorch the Dodgers, as Billy Martin homered with Yogi on board to make it 8-2. Three batters later, it was Jim McDonald doubling home Phil Rizzuto to make the score 9-2 in the seventh. Yogi added a sac fly in the eighth to all but put Brooklyn’s hopes to rest. The Dodgers, though, would not go down quietly as they scored four runs in the eighth, with Billy Cox delivering a three-run homer after Furillo singled home Robinson. The Yankees bats were relentless as McDougald went deep in the ninth to make it 11-6. The Dodgers would get a homer from Gilliam but could not get anything else as the Yankees took back control of the series with an 11-7 win.

Back in the Bronx for Game 6, the Yankees looked to clinch their fifth straight World Championship with Whitey Ford on the mound. Carl Erskine meanwhile started for Brooklyn, hoping to get the series to a seventh game. Powered by a Yogi Berra ground rule double, the Yankees got two runs home in the first inning. Woodling made it 3-0 with a sacrifice fly in the second. Ford was on top of his game, allowing just one run on six hits in the eighth inning, with Campanella’s sac fly in the sixth being the Dodgers' lone run. With hope running out, the Dodgers were down 3-1 in the ninth inning, with the Yankees looking to close out their fifth straight World Championship and 16th overall. After Gil Hodges flew out to start the inning, Yankees reliever Allie Reynolds walked Duke Snider, setting up dramatics in the Bronx as Carl Furillo tied the game with a two-run home run. Reynolds would strikeout Cox and Labine, as the game went to the bottom of the ninth tied 3-3. Labine made a critical mistake, walking Hank Bauer to lead off the inning. After a lineout by Berra, Mantle got a single to put runners on the corner. Billy Martin, who was feasting the entire series on Dodgers pitching, drove the stake through their heart with a single up the middle, scoring Bauer to win the game 4-3 and win the World Series.