October 5, 1949: Tommy Henrich Is "Old Reliable" Again

Tommy Henrich (left) and Allie Reynolds

October 5, 1949, 75 years ago: Game 1 of the World Series is played at Yankee Stadium. Allie Reynolds of the New York Yankees and Don Newcombe of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitch a scoreless game, taking it to the bottom of the 9th.

Tommy Henrich leads off that inning for the Yankees, and shows why Yankee broadcaster Mel Allen nicknamed him "Old Reliable." Or maybe he just liked hitting against the Dodgers. Or maybe he liked October 5 -- it was, after all, the 8th anniversary of his benefit of Mickey Owen's Muff. Henrich hits a home run into the right-field stands, and the Yankees win, 1-0.

That was pretty much the Series: Despite putting together one of the best teams in franchise history, the Dodgers couldn't beat the Yankees, winning only Game 2 on a shutout by Elwin "Preacher" Roe. Henrich's shot is the 1st game-ending home run in the history of postseason baseball, the 1st October "walkoff."

With Newcombe's death in 2019, all the players who appeared in this game have died. Yogi Berra was the last surviving Yankee, living until 2015.