YANKEE STADIUM - October 7, 1956
The Sports Time Traveler spent all last year in 2025 following the 1955 Dodgers day-by-day. That experience culminated in a book, THE 1955 BROOKLYN DODGERS - MY DAD’s TEAM. The book is now a part of the Hall of Fame Museum Library Collection in Cooperstown.
Now I’m following the 1956 World Series which started out like a mirror image of the 1955 World Series. “Last year” the Yankees took the first 2 games and appeared possibly headed for a sweep, but the Brooks bounced back.
“This year” in 1956, the Dodgers crushed the Yankees in the first 2 games by a combined score of 19 - 11 and now they appeared headed for a sweep.
“Yesterday” here in 1956 was game 3 at Yankee Stadium. There was an incredible crowd of 79,377 at the game. That was just 88 fans short of the Yankees record crowd for a World series game. And it was more than number of fans that saw the first 2 games at Ebbets Field combined, such is the vast difference in the size of the two ballparks.
The temperatures were a touch chilly, starting out in the high 50s and perhaps reaching 60 degrees.
The Yankees had their ace Whitey Ford on the mound on just 2 days rest. Ford had started game 1 but was knocked out by the Dodgers in just 3 innings. Ford was back on the mound because this was a game the Yankees had to win. And despite his performance in game 1, Ford was their best pitcher by a wide margin and perhaps the best starter in the American League.
It had to look like a winnable game to the Yankees as the Dodgers were starting 2nd year pitcher Roger Craig who had only moderate success at best during the season winning only 12 of his 32 starts.
Yet going into the bottom of the 6th inning, Craig had outdueled Ford and the Dodgers led 2 - 1.
Dem Bums were 3 innings away from going up 3 games to none on the Bronx Bombers, and no team has ever come back from such a deficit in the World Series.
The Yankees had the top of the order due up in the 6th. If the Yankees didn’t come back now they might not have another strong opportunity until the 9th inning. This was now the most critical set of at bats so far in this World Series for the Yankees.
First to the plate was Hank Bauer the leadoff man. He had been a key player on the Yankees 5 straight World Series championship teams from 1949 - 1953, and this year had seen the best power production of his career with 26 homers. Bauer singled off Roger Craig.
Next was Joe Collins. Collins had been the regular 1st baseman for the Yankees for the past 5 years, and had a knack for coming up big. His 2 homers in game 1 of the 1955 World Series, when Mickey Mantle couldn’t play, propelled the Yankees to victory. But in this at bat he flew out to Duke Snider.
Now came the Mick himself. Mantle had a monster season in 1956 winning the triple crown in a big way with 52 homers, 130 RBIs and a .353 batting average. It was the best year of his career. But in this critical situation Mantle struck out.
With 2 outs, and Bauer on 1st, Yogi Berra stepped in. Berra has already won 3 MVPs, and had another great season this year finishing 2nd in the MVP voting to Mantle. Berra came through with a single. Bauer moved over to 3rd and represented the tying run. Berra was on 1st with the potential go ahead run.
The next batter was… wait… could it possibly be? Oh my! It was Enos “Country” Slaughter!
I didn’t even know Enos Slaughter was still playing baseball in 1956. He was 40 years old.
Who is Enos “Country” Slaughter
I interrupt this article for a little back story on Enos Slaughter.
Enos “Country” Slaughter began his career playing on the very tail end of the Gas House Gang era of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1930s.
Before the departing for 3 years of military service, he was a rising superstar, finishing 3rd in the MVP voting in 1942, a year in which he led the league in triples and led the Cardinals to a World Series victory over the Yankees.
Coming back after the war in 1946, he had an even better year, finishing 2nd in MVP voting, driving in a league high 130 runs, and then firmly establishing himself with one of the most legendary plays in World Series history.
In game 7 of the 1946 World Series against the Red Sox, with the score tied at 3 - 3 in the 8th inning, Slaughter singled and then made what became known as the “Mad Dash.” In a daring move he raced from 1st to home to score the go ahead run when teammate Harry Walker smashed line drive hit into left-center field.
Slaughter’s Mad Dash from 1st to home turned out to provide the winning run that decided the ‘46 series. It cemented Slaughter as a hero forever for the St. Louis Cardinals franchise.
Now back to 1956.
Enos Slaughter had been acquired in the last week of August after he was put on waivers by the Kansas City A’s. He played in just 24 games for the Bronx Bombers.
When you’re 40-years-old and put on waivers by the worst team in baseball, a team that went on to lose over 100 games, it usually means you’re playing days are done.
But Slaughter was able to fill a gap for Casey Stengel in left field. Elston Howard, the regular left fielder, after a promising rookie year in 1955, had batted poorly in 1956. And his back-up, rookie Norm Siebern, was hitting barely over .200.
In addition, the righty hitting Howard was not a great option against the predominantly right-handed pitching Dodgers.
So it seems that the Yankees engineered an agreement with the A’s to enable them to acquire Slaughter through the waivers system.
And when the regular season ended, 40-year-old Enos “Country” Slaughter started the first 3 games of the 1956 World Series. Not only did he start, but he hit like he was still with the Gas House Gang. Prior to his at bat in the bottom of the 6th inning, 40-year-old, Enos “Country” Slaughter, was batting .500 in this 1956 World Series (6 for 12).
Now Slaughter stepped in against Roger Craig with Hank Bauer on 3rd base and Yogi Berra on 1st. The 1st pitch from Roger Craig was over the plate for a called strike as Slaughter just looked at the pitch. After that Slaughter kept looking as Craig’s pitches as Roger threw 3 consecutive balls.
Now with the count 3 and 1, Roger Craig fired a low fastball. Slaughter finally swung at a pitch from Craig. He blasted it over Carl Furillo’s head in right field. Furillo followed the ball to the right field fence, and straining, tried to reach it. But it landed in the 4th row of seats.
40-year-old Enos “Country” Slaughter had himself a 3-run go ahead homer. The Yankees were suddenly out in front 4 - 2.
And with Whitey Ford on the mound, the Yankees were good. Ford gave up an unearned run in the 7th, but he shut down the Dodgers the rest of the way save for a single from 37-year-old Jackie Robinson, who is also having himself a pretty good World Series, having reached base in 6 of 13 plate appearances including a home run.
The Yankees won game 3 by a score of 5 - 3 to put themselves firmly back in the series, especially with games 4 and 5 at home at Yankee Stadium.
And Enos “Country” Slaughter was once a again a World Series hero. And he was a most unlikely one at that since just 6 weeks prior he had been released from the worst team in baseball and is career seemed finished.
Today, October 7, 1956, an article by Enos Slaughter for the United Press appeared in newspapers across the country. He wrote, “Some of the guys call me “Old Folks” but I felt prouder than a high school kid on graduation day when I saw the ball sail into the seats in the sixth… You know I’m getting toward the second half of my career, so to speak, and you like to prove you can still do it even though they call you, “Old Folks.”
What is even more incredible about Slaughter’s performance is that his wife was expecting to deliver a baby yesterday. Slaughter wrote about that, “Some of the reporters asked me whether I was worried at the plate because my wife, Helen, is expecting in Kansas City. When I’m up there at the plate, I don’t think about nothing except hitting that ball. My wife and I have it all arranged. As soon as she has to leave our home for the hospital, she will call me.
In St. Louis, there was a warm feeling for Enos Slaughter. One of the banner headlines in the sports section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch read, “Just Like The Old Country.”
Bob Broeg of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch started his article on the game with this:
“Enos Slaughter, champion of lost causes and pin-up boy of arm-chair athletes, today turned back time’s hand again. The Old Warhorse, at 40 one of the youngest old players ever to participate in a World Series, gave the desperate Yankees the same lift that took the Cardinals out of post-season trouble 10 and 14 years ago.
If there is a turning point for the proud, but tattered New York Americans in this October battle of the boroughs, it’ll have to be a decisive three-run homer Slaughter socked today, enabling Casey Stengel’s Yankees to come from behind for a 5 - 3 victory over Brooklyn, just as in 1942 it was a Slaughter clutch throw, and in 1946 another home run that enabled the Redbirds to rebound to world championships.
Real life World Series stories just don’t get any better than this.
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