1947 Brooklyn Dodgers season

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1947 Brooklyn Dodgers
1947 National League Champions
Major League affiliations
  • National League (since 1890)
Location
Other information
Owner(s)James & Dearie Mulvey, Walter O'Malley, Branch Rickey, John L. Smith
General manager(s)Branch Rickey
Manager(s)Clyde Sukeforth, Burt Shotton
Local radioWHN
Red Barber, Connie Desmond
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On April 15, Jackie Robinson was the opening day first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first black player in Major League Baseball. Robinson went on to bat .297, score 125 runs, steal 29 bases and be named the first African-American Rookie of the Year. The Dodgers won the National League title and went on to lose to the New York Yankees in the 1947 World Series. This season was dramatized in the movie 42.

Offseason[]

  • October 2, 1946: Steve Nagy was purchased from the Dodgers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.[1]
  • October 19, 1946: Art Herring was purchased from the Dodgers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.[2]
  • December 4, 1946: Augie Galan was traded by the Dodgers to the Cincinnati Reds for Ed Heusser.[3]
  • December 5, 1946: Eddie Basinski was traded by the Dodgers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Al Gerheauser.[4]
  • Prior to 1947 season: Marion Fricano was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers.[5]

Regular season[]

Due to the suspension of Leo Durocher for a year for "conduct detrimental to baseball", coach Clyde Sukeforth managed the first 2 games of the season on an emergency basis, but declined to manage for the full season, so Burt Shotton took over as manager for the rest of the season.

The Dodgers had a home attendance of 1.8 million paying fans, a National League record at the time.[6] On road, the Dodgers drew 1.9 million paying fans, also a National League record at that time.

Season standings[]

  • v
  • t
National League 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
Brooklyn Dodgers 94 60 0.610 — 52–25 42–35
St. Louis Cardinals 89 65 0.578 5 46–31 43–34
Boston Braves 86 68 0.558 8 50–27 36–41
New York Giants 81 73 0.526 13 45–31 36–42
Cincinnati Reds 73 81 0.474 21 42–35 31–46
Chicago Cubs 69 85 0.448 25 36–43 33–42
Philadelphia Phillies 62 92 0.403 32 38–38 24–54
Pittsburgh Pirates 62 92 0.403 32 32–45 30–47

Record vs. opponents[]

1947 National League Records
  • v
  • t

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Team BOS BR CHC CIN NYG PHI PIT STL
Boston — 12–10 13–9 13–9 13–9 14–8 12–10 9–13
Brooklyn 10–12 — 15–7 15–7 14–8 14–8 15–7 11–11–1
Chicago 9–13 7–15 — 12–10 7–15 16–6–1 8–14 10–12
Cincinnati 9–13 7–15 10–12 — 13–9 13–9 13–9 8–14
New York 9–13 8–14 15–7 9–13 — 12–10 15–7–1 13–9
Philadelphia 8–14 8–14 6–16–1 9–13 10–12 — 13–9 8–14
Pittsburgh 10–12 7–15 14–8 9–13 7–15–1 9–13 — 6–16–1
St. Louis 13–9 11–11–1 12–10 14–8 9–13 14–8 16–6–1 —


Opening Day lineup[]

Name Position
Eddie Stanky Second baseman
Jackie Robinson First baseman
Pete Reiser Center fielder
Dixie Walker Right fielder
Gene Hermanski Left fielder
Bruce Edwards Catcher
Spider Jorgensen Third baseman
Pee Wee Reese Shortstop
Joe Hatten Starting pitcher

Season chronology[]

  • April 15: On Opening Day, Jackie Robinson made his debut as the Dodgers' first baseman. He went 0-for-3, scoring a run. He also had one sacrifice hit and grounded into a double play before being replaced late in the game by Howie Schultz. In the field, he had 11 putouts without an error.[7]
  • April 22: In a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Robinson committed an error for the first time in his major league career.[8]
  • May 13: Robinson played in his first game in Cincinnati. The Reds won the game 7–5. Despite the loss, Robinson had a walk, a single, and a run.[9] Various racial slurs were hurled at Robinson by the fans. Pee Wee Reese put his hand on Robinson's shoulder to hush the crowd.[10]
  • May 18: 46,572 paying fans (while there were 20,000 fans outside) came to Chicago's Wrigley Field to see Robinson play against the Cubs. The Dodgers won by a score of 4–2.[11]
  • June 24: Against the Pirates, Robinson stole home plate for the first time in his career.[12] The Pirates catcher was Dixie Howell, who had started the season in Brooklyn's farm system.
  • September 11: St. Louis Cardinals catcher Joe Garagiola and Robinson were involved in an incident at home plate. Garagiola stepped on Robinson's foot and the two started arguing. Umpire Beans Reardon held back Garagiola while Robinson clapped.[13] The incident was later part of a children's book titled Year of the Boar and Jackie.

Notable transactions[]

  • May 3, 1947: Kirby Higbe, Hank Behrman, Cal McLish, Gene Mauch and Dixie Howell were traded by the Dodgers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Al Gionfriddo and cash.[14]
  • May 10, 1947: Howie Schultz was purchased from the Dodgers by the Philadelphia Phillies.[15]
  • May 13, 1947: Tommy Tatum was purchased from the Dodgers by the Cincinnati Reds.[16]

Roster[]

1947 Brooklyn Dodgers
Roster
Pitchers Catchers
  • 24 Bobby Bragan
  • 10 Bruce Edwards
  • 14 Gil Hodges

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats[]

Batting[]

Starters by position[]

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
C Bruce Edwards 130 471 139 .295 9 80
1B Jackie Robinson 151 590 175 .297 12 48
2B Eddie Stanky 146 559 141 .252 3 53
3B Spider Jorgensen 129 441 121 .274 5 67
SS Pee Wee Reese 142 476 135 .284 12 73
OF Dixie Walker 148 529 162 .306 9 94
OF Pete Reiser 110 388 120 .309 5 46
OF Carl Furillo 124 437 129 .295 8 88

Other batters[]

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Gene Hermanski 79 189 52 .275 7 39
Arky Vaughan 64 126 41 .325 2 25
Eddie Miksis 45 86 23 .267 4 10
Duke Snider 40 83 20 .241 0 5
Stan Rojek 32 80 21 .263 0 7
Gil Hodges 28 77 12 .156 1 7
Cookie Lavagetto 41 69 18 .261 3 11
Al Gionfriddo 37 62 11 .177 0 6
Bobby Bragan 25 36 7 .194 0 3
Tommy Brown 15 34 8 .235 0 2
Don Lund 11 20 6 .300 2 5
Ed Stevens 5 13 2 .154 0 0
Dick Whitman 4 10 4 .400 0 2
Marv Rackley 18 9 2 .222 0 2
Tommy Tatum 4 6 0 .000 0 0
Howie Schultz 2 1 0 .000 0 0

Pitching[]

Starting pitchers[]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Ralph Branca 43 280 21 12 2.67 148
Joe Hatten 42 225.1 17 8 3.63 76
Kirby Higbe 4 15.2 2 0 5.17 10

Other pitchers[]

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Vic Lombardi 33 174.2 12 11 2.99 72
Harry Taylor 33 162 10 5 3.11 58
Hal Gregg 37 104.1 4 5 5.87 59
Clyde King 29 87.2 6 5 2.77 31
Rex Barney 28 77.2 5 2 4.75 36
Jack Banta 3 7.2 0 1 7.04 3
Rube Melton 4 4.2 0 1 13.50 1

Relief pitchers[]

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Hugh Casey 46 10 4 18 3.99 40
Hank Behrman 38 5 3 8 5.30 31
Ed Chandler 15 0 1 1 6.37 8
Phil Haugstad 6 1 0 0 2.84 4
Dan Bankhead 4 0 0 1 7.20 6
George Dockins 4 0 0 0 11.81 1
Erv Palica 3 0 1 0 3.00 1
Willie Ramsdell 2 1 1 0 6.75 3
Johnny Van Cuyk 2 0 0 0 5.40 2

1947 World Series[]

Main article: 1947 World Series

Game 1[]

September 30, 1947, at Yankee Stadium in New York City

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Brooklyn 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 6 0
New York 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 X 5 4 0
WP: Spec Shea (1–0)   LP: Ralph Branca (0–1)

Game 2[]

October 1, 1947, at Yankee Stadium in New York City

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Brooklyn 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 9 2
New York 1 0 1 1 2 1 4 0 X 10 15 1
WP: Allie Reynolds (1–0)   LP: Vic Lombardi (0–1)
Home runs:
BKLYN: Dixie Walker (1)
NY: Tommy Henrich (1)

Game 3[]

October 2, 1947, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York 0 0 2 2 2 1 1 0 0 8 13 0
Brooklyn 0 6 1 2 0 0 0 0 X 9 13 1
WP: Hugh Casey (1–0)   LP: Bobo Newsom (0–1)
Home runs:
NY: Joe DiMaggio (1), Yogi Berra (1)
BRK: None

Game 4[]

October 3, 1947, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 8 1
Brooklyn 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 3 1 3
WP: Hugh Casey (2–0)   LP: Bill Bevens (0–1)

Game 5[]

October 4, 1947, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 5 0
Brooklyn 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 4 1
WP: Spec Shea (2–0)   LP: Rex Barney (0–1)
Home runs:
NY: Joe DiMaggio (2)
BRK: None

Game 6[]

October 5, 1947, at Yankee Stadium in New York City

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Brooklyn 2 0 2 0 0 4 0 0 0 8 12 1
New York 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 6 15 2
WP: Ralph Branca (1–1)   LP: Joe Page (0–1)

Game 7[]

October 6, 1947, at Yankee Stadium in New York City

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Brooklyn 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 0
New York 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 0 X 5 7 0
WP: Joe Page (1–1)   LP: Hal Gregg (0–1)

Awards and honors[]

  • 1947 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
    • Dixie Walker starter
    • Ralph Branca reserve
    • Bruce Edwards reserve
    • Pee Wee Reese reserve
    • Eddie Stanky reserve
  • Rookie of the Year Award
    • Jackie Robinson
  • TSN Major League Executive of the Year
    • Branch Rickey
  • TSN Major League All-Star Team
    • Ralph Branca
  • TSN Rookie of the Year Award
    • Jackie Robinson

Farm system[]

Level Team League Manager
AAA Montreal Royals International League Clay Hopper
AAA St. Paul Saints American Association Herman Franks
Curt Davis
AA Ft. Worth Cats Texas League Les Burge
AA Mobile Bears Southern Association Alfred Todd
A Greenville Spinners South Atlantic League Frenchy Bordagaray
Pepper Martin
A Pueblo Dodgers Western League Walter Alston
B Asheville Tourists Tri-State League William Sayles
B Danville Dodgers Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League Paul Chervinko
B Nashua Dodgers New England League John Dantonio
B Newport News Dodgers Piedmont League John Fitzpatrick
B Spokane Indians Western International League Ben Geraghty
C Abilene Blue Sox West Texas–New Mexico League Art Bowland
Hayden Greer
C Greenwood Dodgers Cotton States League Jim Bivin
C Johnstown Johnnies Middle Atlantic League Jay Kirke, Jr.
C Santa Barbara Dodgers California League Ray Hathaway
D Trois-Rivières Royals Canadian–American League Lou Rochelli
D Cambridge Dodgers Eastern Shore League Roy Nichols
D Kingston Dodgers North Atlantic League George Scherger
D Olean Oilers Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League Greg Mulleavy
D Ponca City Dodgers Kansas–Oklahoma–Missouri League Boyd Bartley
D Pulaski Counts Appalachian League Larry Kinzer
D Valdosta Dodgers Georgia–Florida League Hugh Holliday
D Zanesville Dodgers Ohio–Indiana League Clay Bryant

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Mobile, Pueblo, Nashua, Spokane, Greenwood, Zanesville

Notes[]

  1. ^ Steve Nagy page at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ Art Herring page at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ Augie Galan page at Baseball Reference
  4. ^ Eddie Basinski page at Baseball Reference
  5. ^ Marion Fricano page at Baseball Reference
  6. ^ Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, p. 231, Jonathan Eig, Simon & Schuster, 2007, New York, ISBN 978-0-7432-9461-4
  7. ^ Box score of Robinson's first game from Retrosheet
  8. ^ Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, p. 75
  9. ^ Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, p. 125
  10. ^ Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, p. 127
  11. ^ Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, p. 141
  12. ^ Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, p. 167
  13. ^ Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, p. 228
  14. ^ Kirby Higbe page at Baseball Reference
  15. ^ Howie Schultz page at Baseball Reference
  16. ^ Tommy Tatum page at Baseball Reference

References[]

External links[]

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