Brooklyn Dodgers

Collecting Bobby Thomson and The Shot Heard Round The World Game

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One of Major League Baseball history’s most iconic games was the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World Game.” The shot refers to the game-winning home run that Bobby Thomson hit off of Ralph Branca on October 3, 1951, to win the National League Pennant. The three-run home run gave the New York Giants the win over the Brooklyn Dodgers in the bottom of the ninth inning to win the best of three playoff series. The Giants went on to lose the World Series to the Yankees in six games. But, the fact that this was the first televised game nationally, coupled with an epic homer and cross-town rivalry, made it legendary. There are many theories on why the name “shot heard round the world” stuck, but I think it’s because of the extended media coverage.

Russ Hodges gave the epic live description of Thomson’s home run on WMCA-AM:

There’s a long drive … it’s gonna be, I believe … The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! Bobby Thomson hits into the lower deck of the left-field stands! The Giants win the pennant and they’re going crazy! They’re going crazy! I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it! I do not believe it! Bobby Thomson hit a line drive into the lower deck of the left-field stands and this blame place is going crazy! The Giants! Horace Stoneham has got a winner! The Giants won it by a score of 5 to 4, and they’re picking Bobby Thomson up, and carrying him off the field!

Russ Hodges

In this post, I’ll focus on some obtainable collectibles of Bobby Thomson and his legendary home run.

First, collectors can obtain signed prints of the moment as it happened.

Bobby Thomson Shot Heard ‘Round the World Signed Image

Encapsulated playoff tickets are also available, though they’re pretty rare. Nineteen stubs, fourteen full tickets, and eight “game 2&3” passes exist in the PSA Population Report.

1951 N.L. Playoff Game 3 PSA Ticket

Bobby Thomson also signed baseballs with the game’s date. Sometimes, he inscribed them with “shot heard ’round the world’. Some are available with Ralph Branca’s signature, too.

Bobby Thomson Signed Baseball – Oct 3, 1951

Three different cards described or commemorated the game: the 1953 Red Man Tobacco #25, 1961 Nu-Card Scoops #480, and 1991 Bowman #410.

1953 Red Man Tobacco #25 Bobby Thomson
1961 Nu-Card Scoops #480 Thomson’s Homer Sinks Dodgers
1991 Bowman #410 The Shot Heard ‘Round the World
1991 Bowman #410 The Shot Heard ‘Round the World Reverse

Additionally, the 1952 Topps and Bowman cards of Bobby Thomson enumerate the season he had played leading up to this epic playoff game,

1952 Topps #313 Bobby Thomson
1952 Bowman #2 Bobby Thomson

Other artifacts, like Thomson’s game bat and shoes, can be found in the National Hall of Fame and Museum. His game jersey is part of a private collection, but the location of the ball isn’t known. However, the other items described are a great way to grow your post-war collection and commemorate one of the greatest games of the 20th century.

Happy Collecting!

1940’s Pee Wee Reese Wheaties Advertising Sign

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Have you had your Wheaties today? I previously wrote about a 1940s Tommy Henrich Wheaties ad; Pee Wee Reese was a spokesman for the brand, too!

Ron Oser Enterprises offered the above-pictured piece in their April 2001 catalog. They described it as follows:

A particularly striking and extremely rare (only example seen!) trolley sign, an 11″ x 21″ heavy paper sign with a large photo of Reese in his Brooklyn Dodgers cap, and opposite, the familiar orange & blue Wheaties “Breakfast of Champions” cereal box. The photo has a crease at the upper left corner, and the other corners (which were “hinged” at one time) have been lightly retouched (virtually undetectable). Excellent condition and one of the best Brooklyn Dodger advertising pieces we have ever offered. Framed & matted to 17 x 27 inches.

While it may have been the only example they had seen then, I managed to find a few more online. In February 2016, All Sports Auctions sold a “Vintage Pee Wee Reese Wheaties Ad Broadside” for $133.

Also, a collector on the Net54 forums sold a copy with the following description around March of 2021:

This is a very nice cardboard advertising display from the 1940s, featuring Wheaties brand cereal and Pee Wee Reese of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Likely to have been displayed in a grocery/corner store at the time. Piece measures approximately 17 in. by 9 in. Made of a thicker stock paper with some creases throughout each of the corners/sides, small chip in upper left, and some slight toning along edges and back of piece. Printed graphics are still bright and fully intact. Overall, very solid piece that would make a great addition to one’s Brooklyn and/or advertising collection!