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The old timers in Brooklyn undoubtedly are shedding tears at the news that former Dodger pitcher Johnny Podres is dead. Podres, who became the toast of the borough in 1955 when his 2-0 shutout of the Yankees in the seventh game of the World Series gave Brooklyn its only title, passed on at the age of 75 on January 13th from heart and kidney troubles according to the New York Times. Johnny Podres was a left-handed pitcher who had gone just 9-10 in 1955, but found himself in the biggest spot of his life on October 4th of that year, in Yankee Stadium with all the marbles on the line. The mourning that is taking place now in Brooklyn tells you that he did indeed come through that day.

Born in New York’s Adirondack Mountains, Johnny Podres was an ardent Dodger rooter as a boy growing up. He signed with Brooklyn right out of high school and made his pitching debut with the club in 1953, going 9-4 as a 20 year old. The Baseball Reference website shows that he started the fifth game of the Series that season versus the Yanks, with the clubs both having won twice. He gave up a long home run to Joe Collins to start the game and was gone by the third inning, leaving the bases loaded for Mickey Mantle, who promptly poled a grand slam off of Russ Meyer to send the Yanks to an 11-7 victory and eventual Series triumph. Podres was 11-7 in 1954 but battled injuries in 1955, with his sub .500 record due to bruised ribs and a sore shoulder.

The ’55 Series was in serious jeopardy for Brooklyn by Game 3, as the Yanks had won a pair of close contests at home to forge a 2-0 advantage. Podres pitched Game 3, and his 8-3 victory that catapulted the Bums back into the fray is all but forgotten now. The Dodgers won the next couple of tilts and only Whitey Ford’s 5-1 win in the sixth game made a seventh necessary. It would be Tommy Byrne of the Bronx Bombers facing Podres, both left-handers; Byrne was a 35 year old veteran, while Podres was only 22.

Gil Hodges would knock in the game’s only runs with a single and later a sacrifice fly. Podres escaped a big jam in the third when Gil McDougald’s single struck a base runner with men on first and third for the final out of the frame. Podres certainly was not dominant, but he got men out when he had to. He allowed a pop fly double to Yogi Berra to start the fourth but left him stranded, and then in the sixth he was on the mound for perhaps the greatest play in Brooklyn Dodger history.

Billy Martin walked and McDougald’s bunt single put men on first and second with nobody out. Berra then hit a fly ball to deep left, but Sandy Amoros, a defensive replacement that had just entered the game, made a running one-handed grab of the potential game tying hit. His relay back to the infield was in time for shortstop Pee Wee Reese to double McDougald off of first, ending the rally. Podres was in trouble once more in the eighth, when with men on first and third he coaxed a fly ball from Berra and then fanned Hank Bauer. The Yankees, with Mickey Mantle limited to a pinch-hitting role because of an injury, went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth as Brooklyn erupted into chaos over their first, and only, world championship. Podres was named the MVP of the Series, an easy choice considering his complete game heroics. Podres had allowed 8 hits and struck out 4, but he walked only 2 to more than help his cause.

Podres would develop into a fine hurler over the next few campaigns. He would contribute to 2 more Dodger title runs, but by then they were in Los Angeles, having broken the Brooklynites’ heart by heading West in 1958. Podres even went 18-5 in 1961, and by the time he retired from baseball in 1969 at 36, after stints with the Tigers and Padres, he had a lifetime standard of 148-116, with 24 shutouts to his credit. His Brooklyn fans now grieve his loss, recalling the fellow that helped to provide many of them with the happiest moment of their lives.