Back in the late 1950’s, I was a boy hearing my father and his friends talk baseball over some cigars and coffee. Back then, my father and his colleagues at the bank followed major leagues on the sports sheets, the radio and on television. Yes, the World Series was broadcast in Cuba and many watched.
On this day in 1956, Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in World Series history. He shut down a great Brooklyn Dodgers’ team that included future Hall of Famers Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson and Duke Snider, along with power hitter Gil Hodges. The game ended on a called strike 3 on Dale Mitchell.
Larsen played a few more years and was eventually traded to the Kansas City A’s. He retired with a 81-91 record.
A couple of trivia questions. Who was that fellow playing second base? The answer is future Yankee manager Billy Martin. Who was the Cuban in the Dodgers’ dugout? The answer is Sandy Amoros, who made the great catch the year before to preserve the Dodgers’ win over the Yankees.