1956 World Series recap

In the opener, Brooklyn's 39-year-old Sal "The Barber" Maglie bested Yankee ace Whitey Ford, 6-3. Mickey Mantle hit a two-run homer in the top of the first inning, but after that it was all Dodgers, with Gil Hodges putting Brooklyn ahead with a three-run homer in the third.

After a day of rain, the Yankees went ahead early in Game 2, scoring five runs in the second frame thanks largely to Yogi Berra's grand slam. But in the bottom of the inning, the Dodgers scored six times, capped by Duke Snider's three-run homer, and tied the game at six runs apiece. With neither starting pitcher escaping the second, it became a battle of the bullpens, and Brooklyn won that battle, 13-8. Hodges followed up his Game 1 performance with a pair of two-run doubles.

In Yankee Stadium for Game 3, the Bombers finally got on the board with a 5-3 decision behind Whitey Ford's complete game. Enos Slaughter, a 40-year-old outfielder acquired from Kansas City late in the season, accounted for three Yankee runs with his sixth-inning round-tripper.

New York evened the Series in Game 4, cruising to a 6-2 win, Tom Sturdivant allowing six hits and going the distance. For Game 5, Yankee manager Casey Stengel called on journeyman Don Larsen. Larsen's counterpart was Maglie, and "The Barber" held the Yankees hitless until the fourth, when Mantle homered just inside the right-field foul pole. The Yanks made it 2-0 in the sixth, but by then the big story was Larsen, who still hadn't allowed a single Dodger to reach base. In the ninth, Larsen retired the first two hitters, then slipped a questionable third strike past pinch-hitter Dale Mitchell to complete the first no-hitter/perfect game in World Series history.

Back in Flatbush for Game 6, the two clubs played another thriller. After nine innings, both Bob Turley and Clem Labine were still working on shutouts. Labine retired the Yanks in the 10th, then popped out to lead off the Dodger half of the inning. Junior Gilliam walked, moved to second on a bunt, and scored when Jackie Robinson drove a single over Slaughter's head in left field, giving the Bums a 1-0 win.

Game 7 was, regrettably, no contest. The Yankees scored twice in the first inning, knocked out starter Don Newcombe with two more in the third, and rolled on to a 9-0 triumph. Unheralded Johnny Kucks went the distance, allowing just three hits.

Managers: Casey Stengel, NYY; Walter Alston, BRO

MVP: Don Larsen, NYY: Perfect Game, 7 K