report to general washington

today is the 73rd anniversary of "the shot heard around the world". back on this day in 1951, bobby thomson hit a game ending home run to deliver the national league pennant to the new york giants at the expense of ralph branca and the brooklyn dodgers.

i have a couple of cards in my lurkers collection that capture the event - this first one is from 1991 bowman

and this second one was produced ten years later and included in 2001 topps

i sent one of those cards to thomson to sign many years ago. now, i have it in my collection due to the number of brooklyn dodgers showing up on these cards. you've got branca on the mound and rube walker behind the plate. at third base is billy cox, and pee wee reese is the shortstop.

i don't recall exactly when i first learned about this tragic event in the history of the dodger franchise, but i am sure i was confused because of the schoolhouse rock song that initially addressed the "shot heard around the world" in my memory. i don't remember all of the lyrics, but i do remember that "it was the start of the revolution" and that the minutemen were supposed to "take your powder, take your gun" and "report to general washington". that is a better earworm than "the giants win the pennant!"