1947 Brooklyn Dodgers season
On April 15, Jackie Robinson was the opening day first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first black player in Major League Baseball. Robinson went on to bat .297, score 125 runs, steal 29 bases and be named the first African-American Rookie of the Year. The Dodgers won the National League title and went on to lose to the New York Yankees in the 1947 World Series. This season was dramatized in the movie 42.
| 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers | |
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| 1947 National League Champions | |
| Major League affiliations | |
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| Location | |
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| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | James & Dearie Mulvey, Walter O'Malley, Branch Rickey, John L. Smith |
| General manager(s) | Branch Rickey |
| Manager(s) | Clyde Sukeforth, Burt Shotton |
| Local radio | WHN Red Barber, Connie Desmond |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
Offseason
- October 2, 1946: Steve Nagy was purchased from the Dodgers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.[1]
- October 19, 1946: Art Herring was purchased from the Dodgers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.[2]
- December 4, 1946: Augie Galan was traded by the Dodgers to the Cincinnati Reds for Ed Heusser.[3]
- December 5, 1946: Eddie Basinski was traded by the Dodgers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Al Gerheauser.[4]
- Prior to 1947 season: Marion Fricano was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers.[5]
Regular season
Due to the suspension of Leo Durocher for a year for "conduct detrimental to baseball", coach Clyde Sukeforth managed the first 2 games of the season on an emergency basis, but declined to manage for the full season, so Burt Shotton took over as manager for the rest of the season.
The Dodgers had a home attendance of 1.8 million paying fans, a National League record at the time.[6] On road, the Dodgers drew 1.9 million paying fans, also a National League record at that time.
Season standings
| National League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 94 | 60 | 0.610 | — | 52–25 | 42–35 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 89 | 65 | 0.578 | 5 | 46–31 | 43–34 |
| Boston Braves | 86 | 68 | 0.558 | 8 | 50–27 | 36–41 |
| New York Giants | 81 | 73 | 0.526 | 13 | 45–31 | 36–42 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 73 | 81 | 0.474 | 21 | 42–35 | 31–46 |
| Chicago Cubs | 69 | 85 | 0.448 | 25 | 36–43 | 33–42 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 62 | 92 | 0.403 | 32 | 38–38 | 24–54 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 62 | 92 | 0.403 | 32 | 32–45 | 30–47 |
Record vs. opponents
1947 National League Records Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | BR | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Boston | — | 12–10 | 13–9 | 13–9 | 13–9 | 14–8 | 12–10 | 9–13 | |||||
| Brooklyn | 10–12 | — | 15–7 | 15–7 | 14–8 | 14–8 | 15–7 | 11–11–1 | |||||
| Chicago | 9–13 | 7–15 | — | 12–10 | 7–15 | 16–6–1 | 8–14 | 10–12 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 9–13 | 7–15 | 10–12 | — | 13–9 | 13–9 | 13–9 | 8–14 | |||||
| New York | 9–13 | 8–14 | 15–7 | 9–13 | — | 12–10 | 15–7–1 | 13–9 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 8–14 | 8–14 | 6–16–1 | 9–13 | 10–12 | — | 13–9 | 8–14 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 10–12 | 7–15 | 14–8 | 9–13 | 7–15–1 | 9–13 | — | 6–16–1 | |||||
| St. Louis | 13–9 | 11–11–1 | 12–10 | 14–8 | 9–13 | 14–8 | 16–6–1 | — | |||||
Opening Day lineup
Season chronology
- April 15: On Opening Day, Jackie Robinson made his debut as the Dodgers' first baseman. He went 0-for-3, scoring a run. He also had one sacrifice hit and grounded into a double play before being replaced late in the game by Howie Schultz. In the field, he had 11 putouts without an error.[7]
- April 22: In a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Robinson committed an error for the first time in his major league career.[8]
- May 13: Robinson played in his first game in Cincinnati. The Reds won the game 7–5. Despite the loss, Robinson had a walk, a single, and a run.[9] Various racial slurs were hurled at Robinson by the fans. Pee Wee Reese put his hand on Robinson's shoulder to hush the crowd.[10]
- May 18: 46,572 paying fans (while there were 20,000 fans outside) came to Chicago's Wrigley Field to see Robinson play against the Cubs. The Dodgers won by a score of 4–2.[11]
- June 24: Against the Pirates, Robinson stole home plate for the first time in his career.[12] The Pirates catcher was Dixie Howell, who had started the season in Brooklyn's farm system.
- September 11: St. Louis Cardinals catcher Joe Garagiola and Robinson were involved in an incident at home plate. Garagiola stepped on Robinson's foot and the two started arguing. Umpire Beans Reardon held back Garagiola while Robinson clapped.[13] The incident was later part of a children's book titled Year of the Boar and Jackie.
Notable transactions
- May 3, 1947: Kirby Higbe, Hank Behrman, Cal McLish, Gene Mauch and Dixie Howell were traded by the Dodgers to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Al Gionfriddo and cash.[14]
- May 10, 1947: Howie Schultz was purchased from the Dodgers by the Philadelphia Phillies.[15]
- May 13, 1947: Tommy Tatum was purchased from the Dodgers by the Cincinnati Reds.[16]
Roster
| 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers | |||||||||
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| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Player stats
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Bruce Edwards | 130 | 471 | 139 | .295 | 9 | 80 |
| 1B | Jackie Robinson | 151 | 590 | 175 | .297 | 12 | 48 |
| 2B | Eddie Stanky | 146 | 559 | 141 | .252 | 3 | 53 |
| 3B | Spider Jorgensen | 129 | 441 | 121 | .274 | 5 | 67 |
| SS | Pee Wee Reese | 142 | 476 | 135 | .284 | 12 | 73 |
| OF | Dixie Walker | 148 | 529 | 162 | .306 | 9 | 94 |
| OF | Pete Reiser | 110 | 388 | 120 | .309 | 5 | 46 |
| OF | Carl Furillo | 124 | 437 | 129 | .295 | 8 | 88 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gene Hermanski | 79 | 189 | 52 | .275 | 7 | 39 |
| Arky Vaughan | 64 | 126 | 41 | .325 | 2 | 25 |
| Eddie Miksis | 45 | 86 | 23 | .267 | 4 | 10 |
| Duke Snider | 40 | 83 | 20 | .241 | 0 | 5 |
| Stan Rojek | 32 | 80 | 21 | .263 | 0 | 7 |
| Gil Hodges | 28 | 77 | 12 | .156 | 1 | 7 |
| Cookie Lavagetto | 41 | 69 | 18 | .261 | 3 | 11 |
| Al Gionfriddo | 37 | 62 | 11 | .177 | 0 | 6 |
| Bobby Bragan | 25 | 36 | 7 | .194 | 0 | 3 |
| Tommy Brown | 15 | 34 | 8 | .235 | 0 | 2 |
| Don Lund | 11 | 20 | 6 | .300 | 2 | 5 |
| Ed Stevens | 5 | 13 | 2 | .154 | 0 | 0 |
| Dick Whitman | 4 | 10 | 4 | .400 | 0 | 2 |
| Marv Rackley | 18 | 9 | 2 | .222 | 0 | 2 |
| Tommy Tatum | 4 | 6 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Howie Schultz | 2 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ralph Branca | 43 | 280 | 21 | 12 | 2.67 | 148 |
| Joe Hatten | 42 | 225.1 | 17 | 8 | 3.63 | 76 |
| Kirby Higbe | 4 | 15.2 | 2 | 0 | 5.17 | 10 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vic Lombardi | 33 | 174.2 | 12 | 11 | 2.99 | 72 |
| Harry Taylor | 33 | 162 | 10 | 5 | 3.11 | 58 |
| Hal Gregg | 37 | 104.1 | 4 | 5 | 5.87 | 59 |
| Clyde King | 29 | 87.2 | 6 | 5 | 2.77 | 31 |
| Rex Barney | 28 | 77.2 | 5 | 2 | 4.75 | 36 |
| Jack Banta | 3 | 7.2 | 0 | 1 | 7.04 | 3 |
| Rube Melton | 4 | 4.2 | 0 | 1 | 13.50 | 1 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugh Casey | 46 | 10 | 4 | 18 | 3.99 | 40 |
| Hank Behrman | 38 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 5.30 | 31 |
| Ed Chandler | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6.37 | 8 |
| Phil Haugstad | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.84 | 4 |
| Dan Bankhead | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7.20 | 6 |
| George Dockins | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11.81 | 1 |
| Erv Palica | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 | 1 |
| Willie Ramsdell | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.75 | 3 |
| Johnny Van Cuyk | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.40 | 2 |
1947 World Series
Game 1
September 30, 1947, at Yankee Stadium in New York City
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | |||||||||||
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 4 | 0 | |||||||||||
| WP: Spec Shea (1–0) LP: Ralph Branca (0–1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Game 2
October 1, 1947, at Yankee Stadium in New York City
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 2 | |||||||||||
| New York | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | X | 10 | 15 | 1 | |||||||||||
| WP: Allie Reynolds (1–0) LP: Vic Lombardi (0–1) Home runs: BKLYN: Dixie Walker (1) NY: Tommy Henrich (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Game 3
October 2, 1947, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 13 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Brooklyn | 0 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 9 | 13 | 1 | |||||||||||
| WP: Hugh Casey (1–0) LP: Bobo Newsom (0–1) Home runs: NY: Joe DiMaggio (1), Yogi Berra (1) BRK: None | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Game 4
October 3, 1947, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 1 | |||||||||||
| Brooklyn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||
| WP: Hugh Casey (2–0) LP: Bill Bevens (0–1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Game 5
October 4, 1947, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Brooklyn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | |||||||||||
| WP: Spec Shea (2–0) LP: Rex Barney (0–1) Home runs: NY: Joe DiMaggio (2) BRK: None | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Game 6
October 5, 1947, at Yankee Stadium in New York City
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 12 | 1 | |||||||||||
| New York | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 2 | |||||||||||
| WP: Ralph Branca (1–1) LP: Joe Page (0–1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Awards and honors
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Mobile, Pueblo, Nashua, Spokane, Greenwood, Zanesville
Notes
- Steve Nagy page at Baseball Reference
- Art Herring page at Baseball Reference
- Augie Galan page at Baseball Reference
- Eddie Basinski page at Baseball Reference
- Marion Fricano page at Baseball Reference
- Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, p. 231, Jonathan Eig, Simon & Schuster, 2007, New York, ISBN 978-0-7432-9461-4
- Box score of Robinson's first game from Retrosheet
- Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, p. 75
- Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, p. 125
- Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, p. 127
- Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, p. 141
- Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, p. 167
- Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season, p. 228
- Kirby Higbe page at Baseball Reference
- Howie Schultz page at Baseball Reference
- Tommy Tatum page at Baseball Reference
