Today is the 61st anniversary of Don Larsen’s perfect game for the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series — the first no-hitter in MLB postseason history.
Larsen retired all 27 Brooklyn Dodgers batters he faced at Yankee Stadium on Monday, October 8, 1956 for a 2-0 win.
In the ninth, Larsen enticed outs from Carl Furillo and Roy Campanella before Dodgers manager Walter Alston called back pitcher Sal Maglie and sent pinch hitter Dale Mitchell to the plate. With a 2-2 count, catcher Yogi Berra called for a fastball. Mitchell tried to check his swing, but home-plate umpire Babe Pinelli already called it Strike 3.
Berra jumped into Larsen’s arms, and the picture of that embrace remains on of baseball’s most quintessential images.
