A Subway Series in Major League Baseball (MLB) is one played between teams based in New York City , currently the New York Yankees and New York Mets , and historically the Yankees versus the New York Giants or Brooklyn Dodgers . The venues for games have been accessible via the New York City Subway , hence the name of the series.
151-499: The term historically refers to World Series games played between the city's teams. The Yankees have appeared in all Subway Series games as they have been the only American League (AL) team based in the city. Since 1997, the term has also been applied to interleague play during the regular season between the Yankees and Mets. Although organized games between all-stars from New York teams against all-stars from Brooklyn teams date back to
302-517: A Southern exhibition tour, for example), the Montreal fan base enthusiastically supported Robinson. Whether fans supported or opposed it, Robinson's presence on the field was a boon to attendance; more than one million people went to games involving Robinson in 1946, an astounding figure by International League standards. In the fall of 1946, following the baseball season, Robinson returned home to California and briefly played professional basketball for
453-624: A single in the same game. The Dodgers briefly moved into first place in the National League in late August 1948, but they ultimately finished third as the Braves went on to win the pennant and lose to the Cleveland Indians in the World Series . Racial pressure on Robinson eased in 1948 when a number of other black players entered the major leagues. Larry Doby (who broke the color barrier in
604-423: A 3–4 pattern due to World War II travel restrictions; in 1944 , the normal pattern was followed because both teams were based in the same home ballpark. Gambling and game-fixing had been a problem in professional baseball from the beginning; star pitcher Jim Devlin was banned for life in 1877 when the National League was just two years old. Baseball's gambling problems came to a head in 1919, when eight players of
755-643: A 7–6 Red Sox victory. The National and American Leagues operated under essentially identical rules until 1973, when the American League adopted the designated hitter (DH) rule, allowing its teams to use another hitter to bat in place of the (usually) weak-hitting pitcher. The National League did not adopt the DH rule. This presented a problem for the World Series, whose two contestants would now be playing their regular-season games under different rules. From 1973 to 1975,
906-637: A Dodgers team trailing 4–3 in the ninth. After getting the first two outs, Eckersley walked Mike Davis of the Dodgers, who were playing without Gibson, their best position player and the NL MVP. Gibson had injured himself in the NLCS and was expected to miss the entire World Series. Yet, despite not being able to walk without a noticeable limp, Gibson surprised all in attendance at Dodger Stadium (and all watching on TV) by pinch-hitting. After two quick strikes and then working
1057-496: A Negro player "with guts enough not to fight back." After obtaining a commitment from Robinson to "turn the other cheek" to racial antagonism, Rickey agreed to sign him to a contract for $ 600 a month, equal to $ 10,155 today. Rickey did not offer compensation to the Monarchs, instead believing all Negro league players were free agents due to the contracts not containing a reserve clause. Among those with whom Rickey discussed prospects
1208-628: A black ballplayer. In the mid-1940s, Branch Rickey , club president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers , began to scout the Negro leagues for a possible addition to the Dodgers' roster. Rickey selected Robinson from a list of promising black players and interviewed him for possible assignment to Brooklyn's International League farm club , the Montreal Royals . Rickey was especially interested in making sure his eventual signee could withstand
1359-495: A century (until the 2016 season) for their next trophy. They did not appear in the World Series from 1945 until 2016, the longest drought of any MLB club. The New York Yankees purchased Babe Ruth 's contract from the Boston Red Sox after the 1919 season, appeared in their first World Series two years later in 1921 , and became frequent participants thereafter. The 1921 World Series was the first to be broadcast on radio. Over
1510-439: A confidant for Robinson, a Christian. Toward the end of his PJC tenure, Frank Robinson (to whom Robinson felt closest among his three brothers) was killed in a motorcycle accident. The event motivated Jackie to pursue his athletic career at the nearby University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he could remain closer to Frank's family. After graduating from PJC in spring 1939, Robinson enrolled at UCLA, where he became
1661-690: A convenient form of travel between the three city ballparks: the Polo Grounds , in upper Manhattan ; Yankee Stadium , in the Bronx ; and Ebbets Field in Brooklyn . The 155th Street elevated and subway stations, the 161st Street station, and the Prospect Park respectively, served the ballparks. (New York's subway and elevated systems—the IRT , BRT / BMT , and IND —were in competition with each other until 1940.) In
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#17328455510761812-456: A criminal conspiracy trial. Meanwhile, to deal with the fallout from the scandal baseball owners had agreed to reform the discredited National Commission. However, when they offered esteemed federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis a role on the reformed Commission, he quickly made clear he would only accept an appointment as the sole Commissioner of Baseball with virtually unchecked authority over
1963-713: A division winner in the other league if it had a better record or wins the tie-breaking procedure). The World Series has been contested 120 times through the 2024 season, with the AL team winning 68 times and the NL team 52. Before 1882, when the American Association was formed as a second major league, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (1871–1875) and then the National League (founded 1876) represented
2114-523: A few words into Robinson's ear", which Robinson later characterized as "words of encouragement". Greenberg had advised him to overcome his critics by defeating them in games. Robinson also talked frequently with Larry Doby , who endured his own hardships since becoming the first black player in the American League with the Cleveland Indians , as the two spoke to each other via telephone throughout
2265-590: A game between the Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies , Phillies players and manager Ben Chapman called Robinson a " nigger " from their dugout and yelled that he should "go back to the cotton fields". Rickey later recalled that Chapman "did more than anybody to unite the Dodgers. When he poured out that string of unconscionable abuse, he solidified and united thirty men." However, Robinson received significant encouragement from several major league players. Robinson named Lee "Jeep" Handley , who played for
2416-519: A jump of 25 ft. 6 + 1 ⁄ 2 in. on May 7, 1938. As at Muir High School, most of Jackie's teammates were white. While playing football at PJC, Robinson suffered a fractured ankle, complications from which would eventually delay his deployment status while in the military. In 1938, he was elected to the All-Southland Junior College Team for baseball and selected as the region's Most Valuable Player. That year, Robinson
2567-470: A period of 45 years from 1920 to 1964, the Yankees played in 29 World Series championships, winning 20. The team's dynasty reached its apex between 1949 and 1964 when the Yankees reached the World Series 14 times in 16 years, helped by an agreement with the Kansas City Athletics , after that team moved from Philadelphia during 1954–1955 offseason, whereby the teams made several deals advantageous to
2718-413: A prologue to the modern baseball era. As late as approximately 1960, some sources treated the 19th-century Series on an equal basis with the post-19th-century series. After about 1930, however, many authorities list the start of the World Series in 1903 and discuss the earlier contests separately. (For example, the 1929 World Almanac and Book of Facts lists "Baseball World's Championships 1884–1928" in
2869-750: A residential plot containing two small houses at 121 Pepper Street in Pasadena. Robinson's mother worked various odd jobs to support the family. Growing up in relative poverty in an otherwise affluent community, Robinson and his minority friends were excluded from many recreational opportunities. As a result, Robinson joined a neighborhood gang, but his friend Carl Anderson persuaded him to abandon it. In 1935, Robinson graduated from Washington Junior High School and enrolled at John Muir Technical High School . Recognizing his athletic talents, Robinson's older brothers, Frank and Mack (himself an accomplished track and field athlete and silver medalist behind Jesse Owens in
3020-496: A second major league. No championship series were played in 1901 or 1902 as the National and American Leagues fought each other for business supremacy (in 1902, the top teams instead opted to compete in a football championship ). After two years of bitter competition and player raiding, the National and American Leagues made peace and, as part of the accord, several pairs of teams squared off for interleague exhibition games following
3171-534: A senior at UCLA, Robinson met his future wife, Rachel Isum (b.1922), a UCLA freshman who was familiar with Robinson's athletic career at PJC. He played football as a senior, but the 1940 Bruins won only one game. In the spring, Robinson left college just shy of graduation, despite the reservations of his mother and Isum. He took a job as an assistant athletic director with the government's National Youth Administration (NYA) in Atascadero, California . After
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#17328455510763322-411: A single table, but the 1943 edition lists "Baseball World's Championships 1903–1942". ) Following the collapse of the American Association after the 1891 season, the National League was again the only major league. The league championship was awarded in 1892 by a playoff between split season champions. This scheme was abandoned after one season. Beginning in 1893—and continuing until divisional play
3473-506: A speaking tour of the South. Between the tours, he underwent surgery on his right ankle. Because of his off-season activities, Robinson reported to training camp 30 pounds (14 kg) overweight. He lost the weight during training camp, but dieting left him weak at the plate. In 1948, Wendell Smith's book, Jackie Robinson: My Own Story , was released. In the spring of 1949, Robinson turned to Hall of Famer George Sisler , working as an advisor to
3624-401: A stand for Robinson. Manager Leo Durocher informed the team, "I do not care if the guy is yellow or black, or if he has stripes like a fuckin' zebra. I'm the manager of this team, and I say he plays. What's more, I say he can make us all rich. And if any of you cannot use the money, I will see that you are all traded." Robinson was also derided by opposing teams. According to a press report,
3775-618: Is remembered for the iconic home run by the Los Angeles Dodgers' Kirk Gibson with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 1. The Dodgers were huge underdogs against the 104-win Oakland Athletics, who had swept the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. Baseball's top relief pitcher, Dennis Eckersley , closed out all four games in the ALCS, and he appeared ready to do the same in Game 1 against
3926-590: The 1905 Series and beat the Philadelphia Athletics four games to one. Since then the Series has been held every year except 1994, when it was canceled due to a players' strike . The name of the event, initially known as the World's Championship Series, was gradually shortened in common usage to "World's Series" and, by the 1930s, to "World Series". The list of postseason rules evolved over time. From 1919 to 1921 ,
4077-456: The 200 meters at the Berlin 1936 Summer Olympics ) inspired Jackie to pursue his interest in sports. At Muir Tech, Robinson played numerous sports at the varsity level and lettered in four of them: football , basketball , track and field , and baseball . He played shortstop and catcher on the baseball team, quarterback on the football team, and guard on the basketball team. With
4228-548: The 761st "Black Panthers" Tank Battalion . While at Fort Hood, Robinson often used his weekend leave to visit the Rev. Karl Downs, President of Sam Huston College (now Huston–Tillotson University ) in nearby Austin, Texas ; in California, Downs had been Robinson's pastor at Scott United Methodist Church while Robinson attended PJC. An event on July 6, 1944, derailed Robinson's military career. While awaiting results of hospital tests on
4379-433: The American League on July 5, 1947, just 11 weeks after Robinson) and Satchel Paige played for the Cleveland Indians , and the Dodgers had three other black players besides Robinson. In February 1948, he signed a $ 12,500 contract (equal to $ 158,518 today) with the Dodgers; while a significant amount, this was less than Robinson made in the off-season from a vaudeville tour, where he answered pre-set baseball questions and
4530-555: The Boston Braves in March 1948, Robinson took over second base, where he logged a .980 fielding percentage that year (second in the National League at the position, fractionally behind Stanky). Robinson had a batting average of .296 and 22 stolen bases for the season. In a 12–7 win against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 29, 1948, he hit for the cycle —a home run , a triple , a double , and
4681-772: The Chicago White Sox were alleged to have conspired to throw the 1919 World Series . The Sox had won the Series in 1917 and were heavy favorites to beat the Cincinnati Reds in 1919, but first baseman Chick Gandil had other plans. Gandil, in collaboration with gambler Joseph "Sport" Sullivan, approached his teammates and got six of them to agree to throw the Series: starting pitchers Eddie Cicotte and Lefty Williams , shortstop Swede Risberg , left fielder Shoeless Joe Jackson , center fielder Happy Felsch , and utility infielder Fred McMullin . Third baseman Buck Weaver knew of
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4832-510: The Cincinnati Reds . The 1985 Kansas City Royals won the series four games to three over the St. Louis Cardinals. The key turning point of the series was a Kansas City win in Game Six aided by a controversial call by Don Denkinger at first base. Kansas City later won Game Seven 11–0 to take the series. The series is best remembered for its Game 6, which saw the Mets rally from a two-run deficit in
4983-771: The Jersey City Giants ' season opener against the Montreal Royals , marking the professional debut of the Royals' Jackie Robinson and the first time the color barrier had been broken in a game between two minor league clubs. Pitching against Robinson was Warren Sandel who had played against him when they both lived in California. During Robinson's first at bat, the Jersey City catcher, Dick Bouknight, demanded that Sandel throw at Robinson, but Sandel refused. Although Sandel induced Robinson to ground out at his first at bat, Robinson ended up with four hits in his five at bats ; his first hit
5134-765: The Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro leagues, where he caught the eye of Branch Rickey , general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who thought he would be the perfect candidate for breaking the color line in MLB. During his 10-year MLB career, Robinson won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, was an All-Star for six consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1954, and won the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player Award in 1949—the first black player so honored. Robinson played in six World Series and contributed to
5285-580: The Macombs Dam Bridge over the Harlem River . The term was used again in 1941 when the Dodgers made their first World Series appearance since 1920 . Multiple Hall of Famers took part in these contests between the "Bronx Bombers" and "Dem Bums from Brooklyn" and the games involved numerous achievements including Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier as the first African-American baseball player in
5436-746: The Mets–Willets Point station. It can also refer to any time two New York City-based teams play each other, such as the Knicks and Nets in the NBA , and the Rangers and Islanders in the NHL . All of these teams' venues are easily accessible via the city's public transport as well: the Knicks and Rangers via 34th Street–Penn Station , the Nets via Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center , and
5587-620: The New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals , did not win their first championship until the 1920s; and three of the teams that were highly successful prior to 1920 (the Boston Red Sox , Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs ) went the rest of the 20th century without another World Series win. The Red Sox and White Sox finally won again in 2004 and 2005, respectively. The Cubs had to wait over
5738-631: The Oakland Athletics , and 1998 to 2000 by the Yankees. In an 18-year span from 1947 to 1964, except for 1948 and 1959, the World Series was played in New York City, featuring at least one of the three teams located in New York at the time. The Dodgers and Giants moved to California after the 1957 season, leaving the Yankees as the lone team in the city until the Mets were enfranchised in 1962. In 1947, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, and 1956, both teams in
5889-743: The Pittsburgh Pirates , in 1971 and 1979, who defeated the Baltimore Orioles both times. The less successful side during this era also featured repeats. The Orioles themselves made multiple World Series appearances, including three consecutive: 1969, losing to the "amazing" seven-year-old franchise New York Mets , 1970, beating the Reds in their first World Series appearance of the decade, and their 1971 and 1979 defeats by Pittsburgh. The Los Angeles Dodgers lost to Oakland in 1974, and made back-to-back World Series appearances in 1977 and 1978, both losses to
6040-681: The St. Louis Cardinals threatened to strike if Robinson played and spread the walkout across the entire National League. Existence of the plot was said to have been leaked by the Cardinals' team physician, Robert Hyland, to a friend, the New York Herald Tribune ' s Rud Rennie . The reporter, concerned about protecting Hyland's anonymity and job, in turn leaked it to his Tribune colleague and editor, Stanley Woodward , whose own subsequent reporting with other sources protected Hyland. The Woodward article made national headlines. After it
6191-512: The University of California, Los Angeles , he was better known for football than he was for baseball, becoming a star college player with the UCLA Bruins football team. Following his college career, Robinson was drafted for service during World War II but was court-martialed for refusing to sit at the back of a segregated Army bus, eventually being honorably discharged. Afterwards, he signed with
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6342-570: The World War I "Work or Fight" order forcing an early end to that year's regular season, while some more recent editions have been played into November due to in-season delays and expansion of earlier postseason rounds. Because the series is played in the fall or autumn season in North America, it is often referred to as the Fall Classic . Before the AL and NL were split into divisions in 1969,
6493-410: The best-of-nine format first used in 1903 was employed. In 1925 , Brooklyn owner Charles Ebbets persuaded others to adopt as a permanent rule the 2–3–2 home game pattern first used in 1924 . Previously, the pattern had been to alternate by game or to make another arrangement convenient to both clubs. The 2–3–2 pattern has been used ever since save for the 1943 and 1945 World Series , which followed
6644-573: The "City Series" and were sometimes played in October while other teams played in the World Series. However, after 1940, this became difficult because the Yankees would routinely appear in the World Series. In the 17 years from 1941 to 1957 (after which the Giants and Dodgers left New York City for California), the Yankees appeared in the World Series 12 times, failing to reach the Series only in 1944, 1945, 1946, 1948, and 1954. The first and only game that featured
6795-407: The "Greatest of All Time" in their "World Series 100th Anniversary" countdown, with five of its games being decided by a single run, four games decided in the final at-bat and three games going into extra innings. The series was also notable for both participants having finished last in their divisions the year prior; no last place team before had ever finished first, let alone reached the World Series,
6946-572: The "inferiority" of the upstart American League. John McGraw , the Giants' manager, even went so far as to say that his Giants were already "world champions" since they were the champions of the "only real major league". At the time of the announcement, their new cross-town rivals, the New York Highlanders (now the New York Yankees ), were leading the AL, and the prospect of facing the Highlanders did not please Giants management. Boston won on
7097-511: The "subway series" possibility for the Giants and Yankees. (Ultimately, no New York team made it to the 1934 post-season.). The 1921 and 1922 match-ups were played in a single ballpark, as both the Giants and Yankees then played at the Polo Grounds. The Giants won both of these World Series against the Yankees, the first two Subway Series played. Despite cordial relations just a few years before when
7248-516: The 1850s, the first actual New York-Brooklyn " World Championship Series " occurred in 1889, a full nine years before Brooklyn was incorporated into the City of New York by the Greater New York Act of 1898. At the time, the series would not have been called a Subway Series , since New York's subway did not open until 1904 , but it was the first recorded series involving the teams who would later earn
7399-633: The 1903 season. These series were arranged by the participating clubs, as the 1880s World's Series matches had been. One of them, a best-of-nine affair matching that year's pennant winners – the Pittsburgh Pirates of the NL and Boston Americans (later known as the Red Sox ) of the AL – has come to be regarded as the 1903 World Series . It had been arranged well in advance by the two club owners, as both teams were league leaders by large margins. Boston upset Pittsburgh by five games to three, winning with pitching depth behind Cy Young and Bill Dinneen and with
7550-455: The 7 in a purple circle designating the number 7 train. Note: Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants last season in New York was 1957. Pennants won by all teams include pennants won before the modern World Series . As of October 10, 2024. Updated to most recent meeting, June 26, 2024. World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since 1903 between
7701-489: The Bay Area and killed 63 people. Television viewers saw the video signal deteriorate and heard Michaels say "I'll tell you what, we're having an earth--" before the feed from Candlestick Park was lost. Fans filing into the stadium saw Candlestick sway visibly during the quake. Television coverage later resumed, using backup generators, with Michaels becoming a news reporter on the unfolding disaster. Approximately 30 minutes after
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#17328455510767852-614: The Curse of the Bambino superstition used to explain the Red Sox's championship drought after the 1918 World Series. The 1987 Minnesota Twins became the first team in the history of the World Series to win the championship by winning all 4 games they hosted when they defeated the St. Louis Cardinals. They repeated this 4 years later in 1991 when they defeated the Atlanta Braves. The 1988 World Series
8003-474: The DH rule was used in all World Series games, regardless of home team. The 1984 Detroit Tigers gained distinction as just the third team in major league history (after the 1927 New York Yankees and 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers) to lead a season wire-to-wire, from opening day through their World Series victory. In the process, Tigers skipper Sparky Anderson became the first manager to win a World Series title in both leagues, having previously won in 1975 and 1976 with
8154-415: The Dodgers' 1955 World Series championship. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962 in his first year of eligibility. Robinson's character, his use of nonviolence , and his talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation that had then marked many other aspects of American life. He influenced the culture of and contributed significantly to the civil rights movement . Robinson also
8305-400: The Dodgers' organization in January. In Sanford, Florida , the police chief threatened to cancel games if Robinson and Wright did not cease training activities there; as a result, Robinson was sent back to Daytona Beach. In Jacksonville , the stadium was padlocked shut without warning on game day, by order of the city's Parks and Public Property director. In DeLand , a scheduled day game
8456-505: The Dodgers, Giants, and Yankees was the 1944 Tri-Cornered Baseball Game . The game was a World War II fundraiser, which saw the three teams play in a round-robin format in which each team batted and fielded during six innings and rested for the other three. Before New York's two National League teams left the city, the Yankees and Giants (from 1946–1950, 1955) and Yankees and Dodgers (1951–1954, 1957) played an annual midseason exhibition game called
8607-558: The Dodgers, for batting help. At Sisler's suggestion, Robinson spent hours at a batting tee, learning to hit the ball to right field. Sisler taught Robinson to anticipate a fastball, on the theory that it is easier to subsequently adjust to a slower curveball. Robinson also noted that "Sisler showed me how to stop lunging, how to check my swing until the last fraction of a second". The tutelage helped Robinson raise his batting average from .296 in 1948 to .342 in 1949. In addition to his improved batting average, Robinson stole 37 bases that season,
8758-419: The Giants this time in the third straight year of World Series competition between the two teams. Their new home would host the Yankees' first of 11 Subway World Series victories that year and first of an unprecedented 37 World Series until the stadium closed in 2008. The venues for the 1923, 1936, 1937, and 1951 World Series—the Polo Grounds and the old Yankee Stadium —were a short walk apart across
8909-450: The Islanders via Elmont-UBS Arena and Belmont Park on the Long Island Railroad . With the departure of the Dodgers and Giants in the 1950s New York was left without a crosstown rivalry. Even with the Mets joining MLB they were placed in the National League opposite of the Yankees. When interleague play was introduced in 1997 the teams finally got to play one another in a competitive fashion. The rivalry has included heated moments such as
9060-432: The Los Angeles Bulldogs. Robinson then accepted an offer from his old friend and pastor Rev. Karl Downs to be the athletic director at Samuel Huston College in Austin, then of the Southwestern Athletic Conference . The job included coaching the school's basketball team for the 1944–45 season. As it was a fledgling program, few students tried out for the basketball team, and Robinson even resorted to inserting himself into
9211-410: The Mayor's Trophy Game to benefit sandlot baseball in New York City. The proceeds raised by the Yankees were given to leagues in Manhattan and the Bronx, while proceeds raised by the Dodgers went to leagues on Long Island and Staten Island. The annual charity event was discontinued following the 1957 season, when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles and the Giants moved to San Francisco, leaving the Yankees as
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#17328455510769362-408: The Mets winning. During the 2000 World Series, the city decorated some of the trains that ran on the 7 train (which went to Shea Stadium in Queens , home of the Mets) and 4 train (which went to the old Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, home of the Yankees). The 7 trains were blue and orange and featured the Mets version of the "NY" logo, and the 4 trains were white with blue pinstripes and featured
9513-472: The Monarchs, hitting .387 with five home runs , and registering 13 stolen bases . He also appeared in the 1945 East–West All-Star Game , going hitless in five at-bats. During the season, Robinson pursued potential major league interests. No black man had played in the major leagues since Moses Fleetwood Walker in 1884, but the Boston Red Sox nevertheless held a tryout at Fenway Park for Robinson and other black players on April 16. The tryout, however,
9664-438: The National League for five years. This is the United States of America and one citizen has as much right to play as another." Woodward's article received the E. P. Dutton Award in 1947 for Best Sports Reporting. The Cardinals players denied that they were planning to strike, and Woodward later told author Roger Kahn that Frick was his true source; writer Warren Corbett said that Frick's speech "never happened". Regardless,
9815-409: The National League pennant, it was only able to win one World Series (1955) against the Yankees, the only time the Dodgers won a championship when in Brooklyn. All-New York match-ups in World Series play: In addition to the five World Series played between the Yankees and Giants before 1940, the two teams also played exhibition series against each other from time to time. The match-ups were known as
9966-403: The Negro leagues, and black talents Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson were upset when Robinson was selected first. Larry Doby , who broke the color line in the American League the same year as Robinson, said, "One of the things that was disappointing and disheartening to a lot of the black players at the time was that Jack was not the best player. The best was Josh Gibson. I think that's one of
10117-496: The Negro leagues. Robinson accepted a contract for $ 400 per month. Although he played well for the Monarchs, Robinson was frustrated with the experience. He had grown used to a structured playing environment in college, and the Negro leagues' disorganization and embrace of gambling interests appalled him. The hectic travel schedule also placed a burden on his relationship with Isum, with whom he could now communicate only by letter. In all, Robinson played 47 games at shortstop for
10268-400: The New York Yankees at Ebbets Field with 24,237 in attendance. On April 15, Robinson made his major league debut at the relatively advanced age of 28 at Ebbets Field before a crowd of 26,623 spectators, more than 14,000 of whom were black. Although he failed to get a base hit, he walked and scored a run in the Dodgers' 5–3 victory. Robinson became the first player since 1884 to openly break
10419-740: The Phillies at the time, as the first opposing player to wish him well. Dodgers teammate Pee Wee Reese once came to Robinson's defense with the famous line, "You can hate a man for many reasons. Color is not one of them." In 1947 or 1948, Reese is said to have put his arm around Robinson in response to fans who shouted racial slurs at Robinson before a game in Boston or Cincinnati. A statue by sculptor William Behrends , unveiled at KeySpan Park on November 1, 2005, depicts Reese with his arm around Robinson. Jewish baseball star Hank Greenberg , who had to deal with ethnic epithets during his career, also encouraged Robinson. Following an incident where Greenberg collided with Robinson at first base, he "whispered
10570-425: The Rev. Karl Downs. In 1946, Robinson arrived at Daytona Beach, Florida , for spring training with the Montreal Royals of the Class AAA International League . Clay Hopper , the manager of the Royals, asked Rickey to assign Robinson to any other Dodger affiliate, but Rickey refused. Robinson's presence was controversial in racially segregated Florida. He was not allowed to stay with his white teammates at
10721-428: The Roger Clemens and Mike Piazza feud. Currently the Yankees lead the "Subway Series" with the Mets 84–65 all time, as of June 26, 2024. The Mets and Yankees first met in a regular season game on June 16, 1997, with the introduction of interleague play. The Mets won the game 6–0. The Yankees took the next two games to win the series, all three being played at Yankee Stadium. 1999 marked the first year of this rendition of
10872-537: The Subway Series to be two three-game series, three hosted by the Mets and three hosted by the Yankees. The Mets won the series for the first time in 2004, four games to two. The Yankees lead the series all time with 11 series wins to the Mets 3 series wins with there being 10 ties. The Yankees lead in head-to-head wins 75-52, counting postseason. The first two series in the rivalry were only one three-game series hosted by one team, alternating each year. From 1999 to 2012
11023-834: The United States into World War II and ended Robinson's nascent football career. In 1942, Robinson was drafted and assigned to a segregated Army cavalry unit at Fort Riley, Kansas . Having the requisite qualifications, Robinson and several other black soldiers applied for admission to an Officer Candidate School (OCS) then located at Fort Riley. Although the Army's initial July 1941 guidelines for OCS had been drafted as race-neutral, few black applicants were admitted into OCS until after subsequent directives by Army leadership. The applications of Robinson and his colleagues were delayed for several months. After protests by heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis (then stationed at Fort Riley) and with
11174-430: The World Series alternated from year to year between the AL and NL. From 2003 to 2016, home-field advantage was given to the league that won that year's All-Star Game . Starting in 2017, home-field advantage was awarded to the league champion team with the better regular-season win–loss record, regardless of that team's seeding in earlier playoff rounds (i.e. a Wild Card team in one league will have home-field advantage over
11325-421: The World Series and Don Larsen 's performance in pitching the only perfect game in post-season history. The seven matchups between the Yankees and the Dodgers between 1941 and 1956 cemented the term as being mostly associated with the New York vs. Brooklyn contests, during the time when New York City was retroactively dubbed by historians as "The Capital of Baseball". Despite Brooklyn's repeated success at winning
11476-565: The World Series did not include a DH. Starting in 1976, the DH rule was used in the World Series held in even-numbered years. The Cincinnati Reds swept the 1976 Series in four games, using the same nine-man lineup in each contest. Dan Driessen was the Reds' DH during the series, thereby becoming the National League's first designated hitter. From 1986 to 2019, and in 2021, the DH was used only in World Series games played at American League parks, and pitchers were required to bat in games played at National League parks. In 2020, and starting in 2022,
11627-409: The World Series were from New York, with the Yankees playing against either the Dodgers or Giants. In 1958, the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants took their long-time rivalry to the west coast, moving to Los Angeles and San Francisco , respectively, bringing Major League Baseball west of St. Louis and Kansas City . The Dodgers were the first of the two clubs to contest a World Series on
11778-399: The Yankees allowed the Giants to share their home at Hilltop Park for a year in 1911 and the Giants more than returning the favor in kind by sharing Polo Grounds with the Yankees since 1913, the Yankees were issued an eviction notice in mid-1920 ending their lease after the 1922 season. The Yankees opened their new ballpark in 1923. Fortunes changed immediately for the Yankees as they defeated
11929-410: The Yankees version of the "NY" logo. Also, after each game in the series the city offered free subway rides home for attendees of the game. Yankee fans displayed signs that read "Yankees in 4 and not in 7", predicting that the Yankees would easily dispatch the Mets in a Series sweep as opposed to a difficult, full-length Series. The signs had the 4 in a dark green circle designating the number 4 train, and
12080-436: The Yankees, until ended by new Athletics' owner Charles O. Finley. During that span, the Yankees played in all World Series except 1954 and 1959 , winning nine of them. From 1949 to 1953, the Yankees won the World Series five years in a row; from 1936 to 1939 the Yankees won four World Series Championships in a row. There are only two other occasions when a team has won at least three consecutive World Series: 1972 to 1974 by
12231-536: The Yankees. Game 6 of the 1975 World Series is regarded by most as one of the greatest World Series games ever played. It found the Boston Red Sox winning in the 12th inning in Fenway Park , defeating the Cincinnati Reds to force a seventh and deciding game. The game is best remembered for its exciting lead changes, nail-biting turns of events, and a game-winning walk-off home run by Carlton Fisk , resulting in
12382-414: The ankle he had injured in junior college, Robinson boarded an Army bus with a fellow officer's wife; although the Army had commissioned its own unsegregated bus line, the bus driver ordered Robinson to move to the back of the bus. Robinson refused. The driver backed down, but after reaching the end of the line, summoned the military police , who took Robinson into custody. When Robinson later confronted
12533-517: The best win–loss record at the end of the regular season. A structured playoff series began in 1969 when both the National and American Leagues were reorganized into two divisions each, East and West. The two division winners within each league played each other in a best-of-five League Championship Series to determine who would advance to the World Series. In 1985, the format changed to best-of-seven. The National League Championship Series (NLCS) and American League Championship Series (ALCS), since
12684-414: The bottom of the 10th inning, despite having two outs and no one on base. The Red Sox, who held a 3–2 series lead, were twice one strike away from securing the championship, but failed to close out the inning as the Mets tie on a Bob Stanley wild pitch & win off an error by Boston first baseman Bill Buckner. Due to the Mets claiming the series in Game 7, the Game 6 collapse entered baseball lore as part of
12835-464: The case of the World Series contests listed, the entire Series could be attended by using the subway. The date of the first usage of the term "Subway Series" is uncertain. The term "Nickel Series" (a nickel was the old subway fare ) appeared in newspapers by 1927, and "Subway Series" appeared by 1928. "Subway Series" was clearly already a familiar concept by 1934, as discussed in this article about that year's All-Star Game to be held in New York, discussing
12986-509: The champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best-of-seven playoff , is awarded the Commissioner's Trophy . The series is traditionally played in October, although before expansion of the regular-season schedule from 154 to 162 games the event occasionally started in late September (most recently in 1955 ) and the entire 1918 series took place early in that month due to
13137-531: The charts; Count Basie recorded a famous version. Ultimately, the Dodgers won the National League pennant, but lost in five games to the New York Yankees in the 1949 World Series . Summer 1949 brought an unwanted distraction for Robinson. In July, he was called to testify before the United States House of Representatives ' Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) concerning statements made that April by black athlete and actor Paul Robeson . Robinson
13288-448: The count full, Gibson hit a home run to right, inspiring iconic pronouncements by two legendary broadcasters calling the game, Vin Scully (on TV) and Jack Buck (on radio). On NBC, after Gibson limped around the bases, Scully famously exclaimed, "The impossible has happened!" and on radio, Buck equally famously exclaimed, "I don't believe what I just saw!" Gibson's home run set the tone for
13439-478: The earthquake, Commissioner Fay Vincent ordered the game to be postponed. Fans, workers, and the teams evacuated a blacked-out (although still sunlit) Candlestick. Game 3 was finally played on October 27, and Oakland won that day and the next to complete a four-game sweep. The 1991 World Series saw the Minnesota Twins defeating the Atlanta Braves four games to three to win the championship. ESPN selected it as
13590-408: The expansion to best-of-seven, are always played in a 2–3–2 format: Games 1, 2, 6, and 7 are played in the stadium of the team that has home-field advantage, and Games 3, 4, and 5 are played in the stadium of the team that does not. Night games were played in the major leagues beginning with the Cincinnati Reds in 1935, but the World Series remained a strictly daytime event for years thereafter. In
13741-472: The field. In 1997, MLB retired his uniform number, 42, across all Major League teams; he was the first professional athlete in any sport to be so honored. MLB also adopted a new annual tradition, " Jackie Robinson Day ", for the first time on April 15, 2004, on which every player on every team wears no. 42. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, into a family of sharecroppers in Cairo, Georgia . He
13892-414: The fifth and final game of the 1949 World Series , a Series game was finished under the lights for the first time due to encroaching darkness in the ninth inning. The first scheduled night World Series game was Game 4 of the 1971 World Series at Three Rivers Stadium . Afterward, World Series games were frequently scheduled at night, when television audiences were larger. Game 6 of the 1987 World Series
14043-428: The first black player to openly play for a minor league team against a major league team since the de facto baseball color line had been implemented in the 1880s. Later in spring training, after some less-than-stellar performances, Robinson was shifted from shortstop to second base , allowing him to make shorter throws to first base. Robinson's performance soon rebounded. On April 18, 1946, Roosevelt Stadium hosted
14194-403: The fix but declined to participate, hitting .324 for the series from 11 hits and committing no errors in the field. The Sox, who were promised $ 100,000 for cooperating, proceeded to lose the best-of-nine series in eight games, pitching poorly, hitting poorly and making many errors. Though he took the money, Jackson insisted to his death that he played to the best of his ability in the series (he
14345-401: The following year. The series-deciding seventh game was a scoreless tie (0–0) through the regular nine innings, and went into extra innings; Minnesota won by a score of 1–0 in the 10th inning, after their starting pitcher, Jack Morris , pitched a complete 10 inning shutout 7th game. (Morris was named Most Valuable Player for the Series.) With 69 innings in total, the 1991 World Series shares
14496-405: The game. The owners agreed. Immediately after and notwithstanding the acquittals, Landis banned all of the players involved (including Weaver) for life. The White Sox would not win a World Series again until 2005 . The events of the 1919 Series, segueing into the "live ball" era , marked a point in time of change of the fortunes of several teams. The two most prolific World Series winners to date,
14647-675: The government ceased NYA operations, Robinson traveled to Honolulu in the fall of 1941 to play football for the semi-professional, racially integrated Honolulu Bears. After a short season, Robinson returned to California in December 1941 to pursue a career as running back for the Los Angeles Bulldogs of the Pacific Coast Football League . By that time, however, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had taken place, which drew
14798-545: The help of Truman Gibson (then an assistant civilian aide to the Secretary of War ), the men were accepted into OCS. The experience led to a personal friendship between Robinson and Louis. Upon finishing OCS, Robinson was commissioned as a second lieutenant in January 1943. Shortly afterward, Robinson and Isum were formally engaged. After receiving his commission, Robinson was reassigned to Fort Hood , Texas, where he joined
14949-561: The inaugural Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award (separate National and American League Rookie of the Year honors were not awarded until 1949). That year, the Brooklyn Dodgers won the National League pennant and went on to face the Yankees in the 1947 World Series . Robinson became the first black player to play in the World Series. He appeared in all seven games, with the Dodgers ultimately losing in Game 7. Following Stanky's trade to
15100-429: The inevitable racial abuse that would be directed at him. In a famous three-hour exchange on August 28, 1945, Rickey asked Robinson if he could face the racial animus without taking the bait and reacting angrily—a concern given Robinson's prior arguments with law enforcement officials at PJC and in the military. Robinson was aghast: "Are you looking for a Negro who is afraid to fight back?" Rickey replied that he needed
15251-432: The infamous Mike Piazza and Roger Clemens incident. Clemens, of the Yankees, threw part of a broken bat at Piazza, of the Mets, after a hit. On June 12, 2009 Luis Castillo of the Mets dropped a popup hit by Alex Rodriguez giving the Yankees a win in the series. On May 19, 2006 David Wright, the Mets' third baseman, had a walkoff hit off Yankees' star reliever Mariano Rivera to cap off a Mets comeback. The name "Subway Series"
15402-483: The investigating duty officer about racist questioning by the officer and his assistant, the officer recommended Robinson be court-martialed . After Robinson's commander in the 761st, Paul L. Bates , refused to authorize the legal action, Robinson was summarily transferred to the 758th Battalion —where the commander quickly consented to charge Robinson with multiple offenses, including, among other charges, public drunkenness, even though Robinson did not drink. By
15553-411: The last day of the season, and the leagues had previously agreed to hold a World's Championship Series in 1904, but it was not binding, and Brush stuck to his original decision. In addition to political reasons, Brush also cited a number of legitimate grievances, including the lack of rules under which revenue would be split, where games would be played, and how they would be operated and staffed. During
15704-488: The lineup for exhibition games. Although his teams were outmatched by opponents, Robinson was respected as a disciplinarian coach, and drew the admiration of, among others, Langston University basketball player Marques Haynes , a future member of the Harlem Globetrotters . In early 1945, while Robinson was at Sam Huston College, the Kansas City Monarchs sent him a written offer to play professional baseball in
15855-518: The major league baseball color line. Black fans began flocking to see the Dodgers when they came to town, abandoning their Negro league teams. Robinson's promotion met a generally positive, although mixed, reception among newspapers and white major league players. However, racial tension existed in the Dodger clubhouse. Some Dodger players insinuated they would sit out rather than play alongside Robinson. The brewing mutiny ended when Dodgers management took
16006-427: The modern World Series, with the terms arranged through negotiation of the owners of the championship teams beforehand. The number of games played ranged from as few as three in 1884 (Providence defeated New York three games to zero), to a high of fifteen in 1887 (Detroit beat St. Louis ten games to five). Both the 1885 and 1890 Series ended in ties, each team having won three games with one tie game. The series
16157-529: The modern era. Robinson broke the color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. The Dodgers signing Robinson heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball, which had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s. Born in Cairo, Georgia , Robinson was raised in Pasadena, California . A four-sport student athlete at Pasadena Junior College and
16308-451: The only major league team in the city. The game was revived in 1963, after the National League returned to New York with the expansion New York Mets in 1962. These games were played primarily to benefit sandlot baseball in the city, with proceeds going to the city's Amateur Baseball Federation. After dwindling interest and public bickering between the owners of both teams, the Mayor's Trophy Game
16459-475: The outstanding athlete at Muir, starring in football, basketball, track, baseball, and tennis." After Muir, Robinson attended Pasadena Junior College (PJC), where he continued his athletic career by participating in basketball, football, baseball, and track. On the football team, he played quarterback and safety . He was a shortstop and leadoff hitter for the baseball team, and he broke an American junior college broad-jump record held by his brother Mack with
16610-577: The phrase. The New York Giants squared off against (and defeated) the Brooklyn Bridegrooms , also called the " Trolley Dodgers ", of the American Association . The following season, Brooklyn withdrew from the Association and joined the League, setting the stage for many future intra-city competitions. By the 1920s, the subway had become an important form of public transport in the city and provided
16761-445: The picture's leading role, displays a calm assurance and composure that might be envied by many a Hollywood star." Robinson's Hollywood exploits, however, did not sit well with Dodgers co-owner Walter O'Malley , who referred to Robinson as "Rickey's prima donna ". In late 1950, Rickey's contract as the Dodgers' team President expired. Weary of constant disagreements with O'Malley, and with no hope of being re-appointed as President of
16912-616: The reasons why Josh died so early—he was heartbroken." Rickey's offer allowed Robinson to leave behind the Monarchs and their grueling bus rides, and he went home to Pasadena. That September, he signed with Chet Brewer 's Kansas City Royals, a post-season barnstorming team in the California Winter League . Later that off-season, he briefly toured South America with another barnstorming team, while his fiancée Isum pursued nursing opportunities in New York City. On February 10, 1946, Robinson and Isum were married by their old friend,
17063-536: The record for longest seven-game World Series ever, in terms of innings, with the 1924 World Series which was won by the Washington Senators , who would then become the Minnesota Twins. Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in
17214-471: The release of a film biography of Robinson's life, The Jackie Robinson Story , in which Robinson played himself, and actress Ruby Dee played Rachel "Rae" (Isum) Robinson. The project had been previously delayed when the film's producers refused to accede to demands of two Hollywood studios that the movie include scenes of Robinson being tutored in baseball by a white man. The New York Times wrote that Robinson, "doing that rare thing of playing himself in
17365-456: The report led to Robinson receiving increased support from the sports media . Even The Sporting News , a publication that had backed the color line, came out against the idea of a strike. Robinson nonetheless became the target of rough physical play by opponents (particularly the Cardinals). At one time, he received a seven-inch gash in his leg from Enos Slaughter . On April 22, 1947, during
17516-593: The school's first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football, and track. He was one of four black players on the Bruins' 1939 football team ; the others were Woody Strode , Kenny Washington , and Ray Bartlett. Washington, Strode, and Robinson made up three of the team's four backfield players. At a time when only a few black students played mainstream college football, this made UCLA college football's most integrated team. They went undefeated with four ties at 6–0–4. Robinson finished
17667-581: The season with 12.2 yards per attempt on 42 carries, which is the school football record for highest rushing yards per carry in a season as of 2022. Robinson also led the NCAA in punt return average in the 1939 and 1940 seasons. In track and field , Robinson won the 1940 NCAA championship in the long jump at 24 ft 10 + 1 ⁄ 4 in (7.58 m). Baseball was Robinson's "worst sport" at UCLA; he hit .097 in his only season, although in his first game he went 4-for-4 and twice stole home. While
17818-434: The season. Robinson finished the season having played in 151 games for the Dodgers , with a batting average of .297, an on-base percentage of .383, and a .427 slugging percentage . He had 175 hits (scoring 125 runs) including 31 doubles , 5 triples , and 12 home runs, driving in 48 runs for the year. Robinson led the league in sacrifice hits , with 28, and in stolen bases, with 29. His cumulative performance earned him
17969-479: The series was changed to two three-game series, with each team hosting three games. This format changed in 2013 to two series of two games hosted by each team, except in years that the AL East and NL east play each year when it goes back to a three-game series. The Mets and Yankees have played each other in games that live on as classics. The Yankees beat the Mets in the 2000 World Series 4 games to 1. This series included
18120-470: The series, as the Dodgers went on to beat the A's 4 games to 1. The severity of Gibson's injury prevented him from playing in any of the remaining games. When the 1989 World Series began, it was notable chiefly for being the first-ever World Series matchup between the two San Francisco Bay Area teams, the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics . Oakland won the first two games at home, and
18271-405: The short-lived Los Angeles Red Devils . In 1947, the Dodgers called Robinson up to the major leagues six days before the start of the season. With Eddie Stanky entrenched at second base for the Dodgers, Robinson played his initial major league season as a first baseman . Robinson made his debut as a Dodger wearing uniform number 42 on April 11, 1947, in a preseason exhibition game against
18422-434: The support of the band of Royal Rooters . The 1904 Series , if it had been held, would have been between the AL's Boston Americans (Boston Red Sox) and the NL's New York Giants (now the San Francisco Giants ). At that point there was no governing body for the World Series nor any requirement that a Series be played. Thus the Giants' owner John T. Brush refused to allow his team to participate in such an event, citing
18573-551: The team hotel, and instead lodged at the home of Joe and Dufferin Harris, a politically active African-American couple who introduced the Robinsons to civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune . Since the Dodgers organization did not own a spring training facility, scheduling was subject to the whim of area localities, several of which turned down any event involving Robinson or Johnny Wright , another black player whom Rickey had signed to
18724-519: The team with the best regular-season win–loss record in each league won its pennant and advanced to the World Series, barring a tie necessitating a pennant playoff . Since then each league has conducted a League Championship Series ( ALCS and NLCS ) preceding the World Series to determine which teams will advance, while those series have been preceded in turn by Division Series ( ALDS and NLDS ) since 1995, and Wild Card games or series in each league since 2012. Until 2002, home-field advantage in
18875-520: The time of the court-martial in August 1944, the charges against Robinson had been reduced to two counts of insubordination during questioning. Robinson was acquitted by an all-white panel of nine officers. Although his former unit, the 761st Tank Battalion, became the first black tank unit to see combat in World War II, Robinson's court-martial proceedings prohibited him from being deployed overseas, and he
19026-465: The top level of organized baseball in the United States. All championships were awarded to the team with the best record at the end of the season, without a postseason series being played. From 1884 to 1890, the National League and the American Association faced each other in a series of games at the end of the season to determine an overall champion. These series were disorganized in comparison to
19177-580: The track and field squad, he won awards in the broad jump . He was also a member of the tennis team. In 1936, Robinson won the junior boys singles championship in the annual Pacific Coast Negro Tennis Tournament and earned a place on the Pomona annual baseball tournament all-star team, which included future Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Bob Lemon . In late January 1937, the Pasadena Star-News newspaper reported that Robinson "for two years has been
19328-606: The two teams crossed the bridge to San Francisco to play Game 3 on Tuesday, October 17. ABC 's broadcast of Game 3 began at 5 pm local time, approximately 30 minutes before the first pitch was scheduled. At 5:04, while broadcasters Al Michaels and Tim McCarver were narrating highlights and the teams were warming up, the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred (having a surface-wave magnitude of 7.1 with an epicenter ten miles (16 km) northeast of Santa Cruz, California). The earthquake caused substantial property and economic damage in
19479-521: The west coast, defeating the Chicago White Sox in 1959 . The 1962 Giants made the first California World Series appearance of that franchise, losing to the Yankees. The Dodgers made three World Series appearances in the 1960s: a 1963 win over the Yankees , a 1965 win over the Minnesota Twins and a 1966 loss to the Baltimore Orioles . Prior to 1969, the National League and the American League each crowned its champion (the "pennant winner") based on
19630-448: The winter of 1904–1905, however, feeling the sting of press criticism, Brush had a change of heart and proposed what came to be known as the "Brush Rules", under which the series were played subsequently. One rule was that player shares would come from a portion of the gate receipts for the first four games only. This was to discourage teams from fixing early games in order to prolong the series and make more money. Receipts for later games
19781-415: Was Wendell Smith , writer for the black weekly Pittsburgh Courier , who, according to Cleveland Indians owner and team president Bill Veeck , "influenced Rickey to take Jack Robinson, for which he's never completely gotten credit." Although he required Robinson to keep the arrangement a secret for the time being, Rickey committed to formally signing Robinson before November 1, 1945. On October 23, it
19932-481: Was a farce chiefly designed to assuage the desegregationist sensibilities of powerful Boston City Councilman Isadore H. Y. Muchnick . Even with the stands limited to management, Robinson was subjected to racial epithets. He left the tryout humiliated, and more than 14 years later, in July 1959, the Red Sox became the final major league team to integrate its roster. Other teams, however, had more serious interest in signing
20083-479: Was a three-run home run in the game's third inning . He also scored four runs , drove in three, and stole two bases in the Royals' 14–1 victory. Robinson proceeded to lead the International League that season with a .349 batting average and .985 fielding percentage , and he was named the league's Most Valuable Player. Although he often faced hostility while on road trips (the Royals were forced to cancel
20234-408: Was arrested after vocally disputing the detention of a black friend by police. Robinson received a two-year suspended sentence, but the incident—along with other rumored run-ins between Robinson and police—gave Robinson a reputation for combativeness in the face of racial antagonism. While at PJC, he was motivated by a preacher (the Rev. Karl Downs) to attend church on a regular basis, and Downs became
20385-454: Was commonly applied to the 2000 World Series between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets . The Yankees won four games to one and celebrated their 26th championship in front of Mets fans at Shea Stadium. This was the only time that visiting teams had ever won a World Series at Shea Stadium. The other two times the World Series ended at Shea Stadium, in 1969 and 1986 , it ended with
20536-458: Was discontinued following the 1983 season. It was revived again as a pre- Opening Day series titled the "Mayor's Challenge" and held in 1989. In modern usage, the term "Subway Series" generally refers to a series played between the two current New York baseball teams, the New York Yankees and the New York Mets . Their stadiums remain directly accessible by subway: Yankee Stadium via the 161st Street–Yankee Stadium station, and Citi Field via
20687-527: Was introduced in 1969—the pennant was awarded to the first-place club in the standings at the end of the season. For four seasons, 1894–1897, the league champions played the runners-up in the postseason championship series called the Temple Cup . A second attempt at this format was the Chronicle-Telegraph Cup series, which was played only once, in 1900. In 1901, the American League was formed as
20838-653: Was never in combat. After his acquittal, he was transferred to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky , where he served as a coach for army athletics until receiving an honorable discharge in November 1944. While there, Robinson met a former player for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League , who encouraged Robinson to write the Monarchs and ask for a tryout. Robinson took the former player's advice and wrote to Monarchs co-owner Thomas Baird. After his discharge, Robinson briefly returned to his old football club,
20989-659: Was one of 10 students named to the school's Order of the Mast and Dagger ( Omicron Mu Delta ), awarded to students performing "outstanding service to the school and whose scholastic and citizenship record is worthy of recognition." Also while at PJC, he was elected to the Lancers, a student-run police organization responsible for patrolling various school activities. An incident at PJC illustrated Robinson's impatience with authority figures he perceived as racist —a character trait that would resurface repeatedly in his life. On January 25, 1938, he
21140-457: Was postponed, ostensibly because of issues with the stadium's electrical lighting. After much lobbying of local officials by Rickey himself, the Royals were allowed to host a game involving Robinson in Daytona Beach. Robinson made his Royals debut at Daytona Beach's City Island Ballpark on March 17, 1946, in an exhibition game against the team's parent club, the Dodgers. Robinson thus became
21291-639: Was promoted and referred to as "The Championship of the United States", "World's Championship Series", or "World's Series" for short. In his book Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 , Simon Winchester mentions in passing that the World Series was named for the New York World newspaper, but this view is disputed. The 19th-century competitions are, however, not officially recognized as part of World Series history by Major League Baseball , as it considers 19th-century baseball to be
21442-414: Was publicly announced that Robinson would be assigned to the Royals for the 1946 season. On the same day, with representatives of the Royals and Dodgers present, Robinson formally signed his contract with the Royals. In what was later referred to as "The Noble Experiment", Robinson was the first black baseball player in the International League since the 1880s. He was not necessarily the best player in
21593-456: Was published, National League President Ford Frick and Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler let it be known that any striking players would be suspended. "You will find that the friends that you think you have in the press box will not support you, that you will be outcasts," Frick was quoted as saying. "I do not care if half the league strikes. Those who do it will encounter quick retribution. All will be suspended and I don't care if it wrecks
21744-435: Was reluctant to testify, but he eventually agreed to do so, fearing it might negatively affect his career if he declined. In 1950, Robinson led the National League in double plays made by a second baseman with 133. His salary that year was the highest any Dodger had been paid to that point: $ 35,000 ($ 443,237 in 2023 dollars). He finished the year with 99 runs scored, a .328 batting average, and 12 stolen bases. The year saw
21895-557: Was second place in the league for both doubles and triples, and registered 124 runs batted in with 122 runs scored. For the performance Robinson earned the Most Valuable Player Award for the National League. Baseball fans also voted Robinson as the starting second baseman for the 1949 All-Star Game — the first All-Star Game to include black players. That year, a song about Robinson by Buddy Johnson , "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?", reached number 13 on
22046-503: Was split among the two clubs and the National Commission, the governing body for the sport, which was able to cover much of its annual operating expense from World Series revenue. Most importantly, the now-official and compulsory World Series matches were operated strictly by the National Commission itself, not by the participating clubs. With the new rules in place and the National Commission in control, McGraw's Giants made it to
22197-572: Was the best hitter in the series, including having hit the series' only home run, but had markedly worse numbers in the games the White Sox lost). During the Series, writer and humorist Ring Lardner had facetiously called the event the "World's Serious". The Series turned out to indeed have serious consequences for the sport. After rumors circulated for nearly a year, the players were suspended in September 1920. The " Black Sox " were eventually acquitted in
22348-623: Was the first black television analyst in MLB and the first black vice president of a major American corporation, Chock full o'Nuts . In the 1960s, he helped establish the Freedom National Bank , an African-American-owned financial institution based in Harlem , New York. After his death in 1972, Robinson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his achievements on and off
22499-677: Was the last World Series game played in the daytime, indoors at the Metrodome in Minnesota. The last World Series played outdoors during the day was the final game of the 1984 series in Detroit's Tiger Stadium . The start time of this game (Game 5) was 4:45 PM, making it the last outdoor World Series game to be started during daylight hours, but the game concluded after sunset and the final innings were technically played at night. The last World Series game to be played outdoors entirely during daylight hours
22650-473: Was the previous day's game, Game 4, which started at 1:45 PM. During this seven-year period, only three teams won the World Series: the Oakland Athletics from 1972 to 1974, Cincinnati Reds in 1975 and 1976, and New York Yankees in 1977 and 1978. This is the only time in World Series history in which three teams have won consecutive series in succession. This period was book-ended by World Championships for
22801-407: Was the youngest of five children born to Mallie (née McGriff) and Jerry Robinson, after siblings Edgar, Frank, Matthew (nicknamed "Mack"), and Willa Mae. His middle name honored former President Theodore Roosevelt , who died 25 days before Robinson was born. After Robinson's father left the family in 1920, they moved to Pasadena, California . The extended Robinson family established itself on
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