“Dem Bums”, as they were affectionately known to their fans, beat their dreaded American League rival New York Yankees with the help of a 22-year-old Johnny Podres who came out of nowhere and shut out the Bombers 2-0 in game seven.
It was the culmination of a long road for these Dodgers, who fell short of a championship after taking home four pennants in eight years but falling short each time to the Yanks.
The team went 98-55 during the season, led by the usual suspects in Roy Campanella, Duke Snider and Gil Hodges on the offensive side, and Don Newcombe, Carl Erskine and Clem Labine on the pitching side.
Newcombe posted his first 20-win season, while Campy, Gil and the Duke all drove in 100+ runs, with Carl Furillo falling just short of that number with 95 ribbies.
Of course this was only the beginning for the organization, as the Dodgers would go on to move out West to Los Angeles, then win it all in 1959, 1963 and 1965, putting all thoughts of an “also-ran” behind them, along with millions of broken hearts in Brooklyn.
