It Wasn't Thunder-- It Was the Dodgers
15-Run Inning Breaks Four Major Marks
By Harold C. Burr, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 22, 1952
It took the Dodgers one hour and three minutes to come out of their batting slump at Ebbets Field
last night- but that was just the playing time of the first inning. Brooklyn bats broke four official
major league modern records and two that were unofficial. A seventh record was tied.
In one of the wildest rounds ever beheld in Flatbush, where wild life abounds, the maddened Dodgers
sent 21 men to bat- Billy Cox, Peewee Reese and Duke Snider came up three times- got 10 safe blows,
drew seven bases on balls and had two batsmen hit by pitched balls, knocking out Ewell Blackwell,
Bud Byerly and Herman Weheimer in the merciless carnage.
Moreover, they scored 12 of their 15 runs after two were out. Nineteen batters in a row reached
first base safely, Reese doing it three times, which were the unofficial records. The official
marks were the scoring of 15 runs, surpassing the 14 registered by the Cubs of 1922, and the Yankees,
Red Sox and Indians of the American League. The 15 runs batted in, the 21 batters and the scoring of
12 men with two gone were the other new figures in the baseball books. Cox, Reese and Snider
equalled a record by batting three times in one inning.
Second Warmup
Chris Van Cuyk, Dressen's sleigh ride starter, became chilled waiting for the inning to end in the
cold wind that was blowing and had to go out to the bull pen and warm up all over again. Chris came
up twice in the frame and delivered two hits, his first of the year, and went on to collect four
safeties in his 19 to 1 romp, or more than he had hit previously in his entire big league career.
Brooklyn's biggest innings heretofore were 11 tallies they scored in 1901, again in 1930 and a
third time in 1932.
Once the game got beyond all control Charley Dressen and Luke Sewell sprinkled their lineup with
substitutions. Bobby Morgan took over at third for Cox, hit just above the left elbow and so
painfully bruised he probably won't play today in the final with the Reds. The Oklahoma Kid
signalized his return to the lineup by smashing out successive home runs in the third and fifth
innings to bat four runners across. They were his first at Ebbets Field, but he has made seven on
the road as a Dodger.
Snider hit his fourth circuit clout in the riotous first, and Dixie Howell poled his first for the
visitors, also his initial hit of the year. Brooklyn, in its sensational uprising, racked up 17 hits
against five for the Reds, and went back into first place over the Giants, who split with the
Cardinals at the Polo Grounds.
The crowd of 11,850 fans yelled when the public address system blared that their favorite ball club
had broken the run-scoring record, but thereafter seemed to grow dissatisfied and lose interest.
They began drifting toward the exits even before it became an official game.
Shotgun George Shuba was in left field and pulled the ball nicely for a single and a double. Dressen
is planning to keep Shuba there now and will play Morgan at third pending the recovery of Cox.
He sent in Carl Furillo with the rest of the jay vees in what was left of the ball game, but
Furillo struck out in what was his one turn at the dish.
The game was speeded up after the issue was settled and it took only two hours and 26 minutes to
reach the final decision, which was a near record in itself.
The box score:
CINCINNATI (N.) BROOKLYN (N.)
ab. r. h.po. a ab. r. h.po. a
Hatton, 2b.........1 0 0 0 0 Cox, 3b............2 1 1 0 0
Temple, 2b.........3 0 0 1 3 Morgan, 3b.........3 2 2 1 3
Adams, 3b..........1 0 0 2 1 Reese, ss..........3 2 2 0 3
Kazak, 3b..........3 0 0 0 0 Snider, cf.........4 2 2 2 0
Kl'sz'ski, 1b......1 0 0 1 0 Williams, cf.......1 0 0 1 0
Wyrostek, 1b.......3 0 1 8 0 Robinson, 2b.......1 2 1 0 0
Adcock, lf.........4 0 0 1 0 Bridges, 2b........3 0 0 3 3
Westlake, cf.......3 0 1 2 0 Pafko, rf..........4 1 1 1 0
Borkowski, rf......3 0 0 2 0 Furillo, rf........1 0 0 0 0
Howell, c..........3 1 2 4 2 Shuba, lf..........5 2 2 4 0
McMillan, ss.......1 0 1 0 0 Hodges, 1b.........2 2 0 9 0
Pellagrini, ss.....2 0 0 3 2 Walker, c..........5 2 2 6 0
Blackwell, p.......0 0 0 0 0 Van Cuyk, p........5 3 4 0 2
Byerly, p..........0 0 0 0 0 -------------
Weheimer, p........0 0 0 0 0 Total..........39 19 17 27 11
Smith, p...........1 0 0 0 1
aPost..............1 0 0 0 1
Nuxhall, p.........1 0 0 0 1
-------------
Total..........31 1 5 24 11
aStruck out for Smith in sixth.
Cincinnati........0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0-- 1
Brooklyn.........15 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 .-- 19
Error- Pafko.
Runs batted in- Cox, Morgan 4, Reese 2, Snider 2, Robinson, Pafko 2,
Shuba, Hodges, Walker 3, Van Cuyk 2, Howell.
Two base hits- Robinson, Shuba, Reese.
Home runs- Snider, Morgan 2, Howell.
Double plays- Reese, Bridges and Hodges; Pellagrini, Temple and
Wyrostek; Morgan, Bridges and Hodges.
Left on bases- Cincinnati 3, Brooklyn 8.
Bases on balls- Off Blackwell 2, Byerly 1, Weheimer 1, Smith 6.
Struck out- By Smith 2, Nuxhall 3, Van Cuyk 5.
Hits- Off Blackwell 3 in 1/3 innings, Byerly 4 in 1/3, Weihemer 1
in 0, Smith 8 in 4 1/3, Nuxhall 1 in 3.
Runs and earned runs- Off Blackwell 4 and 4, Byerly 5 and 5,
Weheimer 3 and 3, Smith 7 and 7, Nuxhall 0 and 0, Van Cuyk 1 and 1.
Hit by pitcher- By Weheimer (Robinson), by Smith (Cox).
Winning pitcher- Van Cuyk (3-2).
Losing pitcher- Blackwell (1-6).
Umpires- Goetz, Dascoli, Secory and Warneke.
Time of game- 2:26.
Attendance- 11,850.
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