Robert Brown "Bobby" Thomson (born October 25, 1923 in Glasgow, Scotland), nicknamed The Staten Island Scot, is a Scottish-American former Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter who played for the New York Giants (1946-53, 1957), Milwaukee Braves (1954-57), Chicago Cubs (1958-59), Boston Red Sox (1960) and Baltimore Orioles (1960).

Thomson became a celebrity for hitting a home run in a playoff game, off of Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca , to win the 1951 National League pennant, what is perhaps the most famous home run in baseball history.

This event was even more dramatic than it may seem to the modern sports observer, as league pennants were not routinely decided by playoff until 1969 and only occurred in years in which teams finished the regular season in a tie, as had happened in 1951.

The home run was an exclamation point on a dramatic season for the Giants. Although some had considered them a pre-season favorite to win the pennant, they faltered badly in the early going. By mid-August, they were 13 1/2 games behind the league-leading Dodgers. But the Giants went on a late-season tear, winning 37 of their final 45 games to tie the Brooklyn team on the final day of the season and force the three-game playoff.

The teams split the first two games, forcing the decisive contest on October 3rd at the Polo Grounds. The Dodgers took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Giants' cause appeared lost. But Thomson's homer turned what looked like a certain defeat into a 5-4 victory. The moment was immortalized by the famous call of Giants play-by-play announcer Russ Hodges who cried, "The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!"

Waiting to hit behind Thomson in the on deck circle was a young man who would hit a few few home runs of his own...rookie Willie Mays.

Thomson's career intersected with another of the game's all-time greats in 1954. During his first spring training with the Braves, he suffered a broken ankle. The injury allowed rookie Hank Aaron, the future home run king, to earn a place in the Milwaukee lineup.

Bobby Thomson was a .270 career hitter with 264 home runs and 1026 RBI in 1779 games. He was selected an All-Star in 1948, 1949 and 1952.

External links

• Page at Baseball Library
• Career statistics at Baseball Reference