NEW YORK - OCTOBER 1, 1951. Bobby Thomson waves to the cheering crowd after his walk off home run defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers for the National League pennant on October 1, 1951 in the Polo Grounds. (Photo by Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics, Getty Images)
When a home run is commonly known by a nickname, you know it was huge.
This one is known simply as "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" -- and it is arguably the most famous homer in major-league history.
On Oct. 3, 1951, New York Giants slugger Bobby Thomson hit a walk-off, three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Brooklyn Dodgers and clinch the NL pennant.
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Thomson's homer capped a remarkable late-season surge for the Giants, who trailed the Dodgers by 13 ½ games in mid-August. They went 37-7 down the stretch, including a 16-game winning streak, to catch the Dodgers and force a best-of-three playoff. The teams split the first two games, and Brooklyn led 4-1 in the ninth inning of the decisive Game 3. But with the score 4-2, Thomson connected off reliever Ralph Branca for the win.
Giants radio broadcaster Russ Hodges then delivered the famous, "The Giants win the pennant!" line.
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