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Post by A Clock Tower Purple on Oct 3, 2018 17:32:22 GMT -5
10.3.51
Thank you Bobby Thomson and Russ Hodges. And Ralph Branca as well...
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Post by hchoops on Oct 3, 2018 17:33:12 GMT -5
Never happened Giants cheated stole catcher’s signs from the outfield
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Post by moose1970 on Oct 4, 2018 1:16:14 GMT -5
yes, a great moment to be cherished by all. (but yankees win '51 world series in 6 games.)
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Post by rgs318 on Oct 4, 2018 5:52:11 GMT -5
I remember that day as well. My uncle had taken my grandmother to the Polo Grounds to see her beloved Giants. Despite her arthritis, he said she leaped into the air when Thompson hit that blast...a cherished family memory. That is why at a card show years ago, I got my son signed 8x10" color shots of both Thomson and Branca. The two were visiting card shows and giving autographs together. Each was courteous and did not rush you along (as I said it was years ago when card shows were less of a "business").
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Oct 4, 2018 8:09:01 GMT -5
Bobby Thomson (no "p" in last name) was a pretty good ball player, good for 20 -25 homers a year and about a .270 batting average. He was born in Scotland and moved to NY with his family as a child and grew up as a Giants fan.
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Post by hchoops on Oct 4, 2018 8:30:41 GMT -5
Believe it or not I remember that moment. I was a kid in my dad's office and these men were listening to the game on the radio. Thompson hit the home run, I heard the call on the radio too and there was pandemonium in the office. Grown men jumping up and shouting in unbridled joy, obviously they were good Giants fans as was I. (Hell of a way to act in a usually placid law office.) Nothing in sports has ever exceeded that moment for me, although Lentz to Kimener is right up there too. LoveHC to me no sports moment surpasses Lentz to Kimener
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Post by rgs318 on Oct 4, 2018 8:44:24 GMT -5
I have to yield to that choice!!!
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Post by sader1970 on Oct 4, 2018 9:24:32 GMT -5
I am a little partial to the kickoff return for a TD vs. Princeton with time expiring to the win that game. Like the '66 HC-BC game, it was a back & forth affair. Unlike the BC game, it was a "walk-off" win.
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Post by hchoops on Oct 4, 2018 9:25:57 GMT -5
I am a little partial to the kickoff return for a TD vs. Princeton with time expiring to the win that game. Like the '66 HC-BC game, it was a back & forth affair. Unlike the BC game, it was a "walk-off" win. no comparison Princeton is not bc
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Post by sader1970 on Oct 4, 2018 9:31:48 GMT -5
We are talking excitement and you might be a wee bit biased being that "the bomb" thrower and catcher were your classmates. I get that and appreciate your feelings.
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Post by hchoops on Oct 4, 2018 9:37:00 GMT -5
were you at the '66 game ? many hc folks there who were not of the great class of '67, inc freshmen, sophs and juniors, also consider it the most exciting sporting event of their lives
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Post by sader1970 on Oct 4, 2018 9:53:02 GMT -5
Nope. I missed it. My brother was there and gave the family a blow by blow. I was home for Thanksgiving holiday, my first trip home since the school year started. Please understand, I have no doubt or question that this was one of the best finishes to a HC game in its football history. Were you at the Princeton game? Correct me if I am wrong, but as I recall, the Lentz pass was with at least a minute or two in the game and HC defenses still had to stop BC to ensure the win. That's great. With Princeton, there was under 5 seconds left (I believe 2 or 3 seconds left) when Princeton scored and they were doing victory dances on the sidelines while the HC team and fans, who thought we were going to upset Princeton were hanging their heads. The one and only way we could win was with a kickoff return the entire distance which was done. There was a huge HC crowd that went nuts. After the Tigers scored to go ahead and what appeared to be a victory for them, my wife who loves football but was still a novice fan, was so disgusted at what looked like a last second Princeton win, that she and many other fans left the stadium. She said to me, "you can't run the length of the field in the time remaining! ." I could not get her to believe that once the play started, it continues even after the gun sounds. She was in the parking lot and heard all the cheering. When we caught up to her she asked what all the cheering was about and when I explained it, she was upset at me for not adequately explaining the rules. Never mind that I tried! The return came to the HC side of the field but with the players standing on the sidelines, we could not be sure that the ball carrier didn't step out of bounds, as he was very close. Then we looked for the usual flag for a block in the back, but there was none. If Princeton didn't happen, I would be foursquare with you. How about #1 and #1A?
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Post by hchoops on Oct 4, 2018 10:26:53 GMT -5
i did not see the Princeton game After the Lentz-Kimener TD, there was under 1:30 to play. The D had to and obviously did stop them. Did not take away from the PASS or win. Even without seeing the Princeton game there were many sporting events , even HC , that I would put before the Princeton win. Football--The win over BC in '63 with Morris and the win over undefeated Dartmouth in '66 Hoops--Potter's jumper to beat Providence to send us to dance--'78, I believe etc obviously not seeing the Princeton game colors my choices
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Oct 4, 2018 10:47:01 GMT -5
Another great last second victory was in 2007 versus Harvard as Dom hit Thomas Harrison with a long TD pass with under a minute to play. HC got the ball with 1:19 to play and took four passes to go the length of the field to win
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Post by sader1970 on Oct 4, 2018 11:17:44 GMT -5
Fine, hoops, "I guess you had to be there." And, KY, I was at the Harvard game too, no comparison to the Princeton game, IMO, on the degree of excitement other than, like hoops seeming to put some additional emphasis that the win was over BC, certainly a win over Harvard is more satisfying than one over Princeton who we rarely play.
As long as we all understand that these are all just opinions and one person's in not better than another's. They are all happy memories and hopefully a lot more to come.
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Post by alum on Oct 4, 2018 12:16:22 GMT -5
Bobby Thomson (no "p" in last name) was a pretty good ball player, good for 20 -25 homers a year and about a .270 batting average. He was born in Scotland and moved to NY with his family as a child and grew up as a Giants fan. Better to get baseball players from Scotland than whiskey or horses, right KY?
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Post by timholycross on Oct 4, 2018 12:27:40 GMT -5
Nope. I missed it. My brother was there and gave the family a blow by blow. I was home for Thanksgiving holiday, my first trip home since the school year started. Please understand, I have no doubt or question that this was one of the best finishes to a HC game in its football history. Were you at the Princeton game? Correct me if I am wrong, but as I recall, the Lentz pass was with at least a minute or two in the game and HC defenses still had to stop BC to ensure the win. That's great. With Princeton, there was under 5 seconds left (I believe 2 or 3 seconds left) when Princeton scored and they were doing victory dances on the sidelines while the HC team and fans, who thought we were going to upset Princeton were hanging their heads. The one and only way we could win was with a kickoff return the entire distance which was done. There was a huge HC crowd that went nuts. After the Tigers scored to go ahead and what appeared to be a victory for them, my wife who loves football but was still a novice fan, was so disgusted at what looked like a last second Princeton win, that she and many other fans left the stadium. She said to me, "you can't run the length of the field in the time remaining! ." I could not get her to believe that once the play started, it continues even after the gun sounds. She was in the parking lot and heard all the cheering. When we caught up to her she asked what all the cheering was about and when I explained it, she was upset at me for not adequately explaining the rules. Never mind that I tried! The return came to the HC side of the field but with the players standing on the sidelines, we could not be sure that the ball carrier didn't step out of bounds, as he was very close. Then we looked for the usual flag for a block in the back, but there was none. If Princeton didn't happen, I would be foursquare with you. How about #1 and #1A? I was listening on the radio to the Princeton game. When they kicked the field goal I switched the station. I don't know what prompted me to switch it back 30 seconds later. In fact, it was right as Princeton kicked off...it took me a second or two to figure out that there was still one play left in the game. The 1988 'Saders ran the table after that exciting win, winning the last 6 games. It was the only year under Duffner they did not win the Patriot League title; as Lafayette (who beat HC) edged them out. There is a book called The Echoing Green which details the signal stealing going on the second half of the 1951 season. There is no conclusive evidence that the home run had anything to do with the scheme specifically, but it certainly helped the Giants overcome a 13 game deficit and force a tie. One thing that the book points out is how overused the pitching staffs were in those days (hard to imagine how the game evolved from what it was then to what it is now in terms of innings pitched, pitch count, etc.). Branca was never the same, and in fact his career was on the down side before the homer.
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Post by hchoops on Oct 4, 2018 12:59:44 GMT -5
To Branca’s credit, he has never dodged(pun intended) any of the thousands of questions he has been asked about it over the years The Giants cheated
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Oct 4, 2018 13:38:54 GMT -5
Bobby Thomson (no "p" in last name) was a pretty good ball player, good for 20 -25 homers a year and about a .270 batting average. He was born in Scotland and moved to NY with his family as a child and grew up as a Giants fan. Better to get baseball players from Scotland than whiskey or horses, right KY? Right you are. Scotch whisky is a huge export product for the UK, but smart and discerning people around the world are more and more recognizing the superiority of Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey. Kentucky will always have the edge when it comes to thoroughbred breeding, but the UK (and Eire) do produce some fine runners.
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Post by lou on Oct 4, 2018 13:50:55 GMT -5
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