Ralph Branca, the Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher who gave up the home run dubbed the "Shot Heard 'Round the World," has died at the age of 90. NY1's Budd Mishkin filed the following report.
Ralph Branca's life was always about a lot more than one pitch, even if that pitch led to arguably the most famous home run in baseball history.
"You have to get on with your life," Branca said in a 2001 NY1 interview. "And basically, I realized it was just a game. They won, he beat me, and that was it."
Ralph Branca grew up in Mount Vernon, north of the Bronx.
He pitched for 12 years in the big leagues, mostly with the brooklyn dodgers and was a three time all star.
In 1951, the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers played the deciding game of a playoff series, for the right to meet the yankees in the world series.
Branca came in for the Dodgers in relief with one out in the bottom of the ninth to protect a 4-2 lead.
Bobby Thomson's three-run home run was called "The shot heard 'round the world."
Branca was praised for how gracefully he handled a tough situation. But he told NY1 on the 50th anniversary of the home run yjsy it wasn't always easy.
"I'd get introduced to somebody, and they would say, 'Oh, Bobby Thomson. What am I supposed to do now, faint or have a heart attack?' So those are the moments that I really didn't like."
Remarkably, Branca and Thompson formed an enduring friendship.
Mishkin: Is there a lesson or a theme in your friendship?
Thomson: It seemed to me, obviously, we were going to be linked together. We were always going to be married so to speak.
"We got on with our lives, took care of our families, and I think that's the big lesson," Branca said.
Branca's class was also on display in 1947. When Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier, not all of his Dodgers teammates supported him. One of his first friends and supporters on the team was Ralph Branca.
A life is never defined by one moment or, in baseball, one pitch. Branca's response through the years to The Shot Heard 'Round the World, and how he stepped up to the plate for Jackie Robinson in 1947, are lessons that will live on.