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Show m I "NN V The World S enes Fll Never Forg (" I X ' The Los Angeles Podgers1 slugger was a goat in his first fall classic; then came the '52 games and a dramatic chance for revenge V ' Duke Snfder ivas an idol in- his Brooklyn days especially when his bat rocked the Yankees. VTI before the first pitch of the 1561 World practically every contestant in the classic will engage in the traditional routine. "It's just another ball game' they'll say," and they'll even try to convince themselves that they Sometime whistling-past-the-graveya- rd believe it. I doubt if any player really becomes calloused, to the excitement and tension of the Series. I've been in six big ones, and each time I stood out there and waited for the band to finish playing the National Anthem I had to fight the "butterflies" in my stomach. I'm not ashamed of that. Why, even the bat boy, the trainer, and the umpires get caught in this strange grip. And as for rookies well, they really have troubles. ; In my. first Series in 1949, for examplerthe thing -that gave me nightmares was the pitching of the New York Yankees. It had been my first full season with the Dodgers, and I hadn't done too badly for a young fellow. My batting average was .292, and I had beefed up this figure-wit- h 23 home runs-a- nd 92 runs batted in. Needless to say, I was hoping to put a little frosting on the cake with a few hits in the Series. But then I met up with Allie Reynolds Vic Raschi, Joe Page, and Eddie Lopat, the Yankee pitchers. To say that this meeting was disastrous would be an understatement. By the time the Yankees had finished us off in five games, these fellows had me eating out of their hands. Reynolds,, in the very opening game, struck me out three times in succession. The ball he threw resembled a little pea by the time it got up , to the plate. And when his partners were throwing, it wasn't any easier to hit I came up with three hits for a .143 average, and my eight strike-ou- ts tied an all-tiSeries record for futility. The only consolation here was that I joined a pretty good hitter in the record book rRogers Hornsby. . -- . me ' By bUKE SNIDER as told to John M. Ross 1 It was three years before I met up with Reynolds and his partners again, and I wasn't too sure that 1 would enjoyJtt Jt had had a pretty iair reason Jn 1952, hitting for a .303 average, but .season averages don't always hold lip fcne&"Tftererord'" book is full of such examples: Ted WUHanis' Series average was only .200. Stan Musial's is .269; Willie Mays, .222; Ty Cobb, .262; Hornsby, .245. As we came up to the '52 Series, I was lucky I was on a good " hitting spree. But when I dug in against Reynolds in the opening game, I didn't exactly feel I had the upper hand.0 In the fourth inning, however, I clipped him for a double, and I felt a little better. Well, at least I got one hit off him, I told myself. Maybe things won't be as bad as '49, had our chance to finish off the Yankees and I got another crack at solving Raschi's baffling stuff. By the third time around, I found the answer and tagged his fast ball fojrajiome run to gi time, I clipped him for another homer my fourth in the Series but by now the Yankees had pushed ahead. We lost, 2. We saw all the Yankee pitching stars Lopat, Reynolds, and Raschi, plus a terrific relief stint by big Wein the sixth game, In theiaxtfrinnm Pee Wee Reese on first, Reynolds fed me a high curve, and I hit it Over theEbbets Field right-fie- ld screen. I was so tickled I felt like jumping, up and down as I made the tour of the bases. In the 3-- BobKiizavainnhe over-nie--as-if-I-ha- discovered a new world. At least I had discoverec raculous shoestring catch by Billy Martin to save the game for New York in the last inning. The Yankees were winners and still champions. A ballplayer lives for his hits, and I was pretty pleased with my fowbigisnes against the Yankees. But honestly, I would have traded them gladly for a Series victory for our club. Baseball is as simple as that nothing else seems important when you lose. how to hit the great Reynolds and it helped us win the opener, 2, 4-- n THEix:QNPAMEas94911-over-agai- fanned me three times as we lost, 1. 1 contributed little more than a single as we won the third game, but a determined Reynolds came back and blanked us in the next game, 0, to even up the Series. In the fifth game, Carl Erskine, my roommate and bridge partner, was matched against EweU Blackwell, and I helped my buddy to a 0 lead homer in the fifth. Then the by hitting a three-ru- n roof caved in. In the bottom of the fifth, the Yankees rallied for five runs, sparked by a three-ru- n blast by Johnny Mize his third homer in three days. Most 7-- But, of 2-- strong-consolat- ion another four home runs in the '55 Series (Editor's note: Ihis is an all-tiSeries record) and I've seen our Dodgers win the Series twice. But getting back at Reynolds & Co. made the 1952 World Series the one I'll never forget. me J LEONARD $. DAVIDOW President and Publiaher 4 WAITER C. DREYFUS Vice President , PATRICK E. O'ROURKE Advertising kkrtctor MORTON FRANK Director of Publisher Relations 1961, FAMILY WEEKLY MAGAZINE, was-4Som-& ed I Send all advertising communication to Family Weekly, 153 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago 1, III. Addrew oil communicationi about editofial feature to Family Weekly, 60 E. 56th St., New York 22, N. Y. courseJt that I'd been able to answer the challenge , those strong-armYankee pitchers had thrown in my face. I've had some good days since then I hit 4-- COVER: Lawrence Schiller jlew to the French' Riviera to photograph lovely Deborah' Kerr for today's cover. The smiling gentleman in the background is husband Peter Viertel. Read about Deborah's two lives on page 4. pitchers, jolted in this manner, generally get the hook at this point. Manager Charley Dressen, however, had a hunch, and he permitted Erskine to remain in the, game. It was a perfect move. Erskine setUed down again Ttb pitch ''hlUeH'biffl'.IbFtheThext six innings. We tied the score in the seventh, and in the 11th I managed to knock across the winning run with a double. This undoubtedly was the most exciting game in which I have ever played. Ocioberl.mi Board of Editors Rlyn ERNEST V. HEYN Editor-in-Chi- ef 1EN KARTMAN Executive Editor ROBERT FITZGIBBON Managing Editor MARGARET BELL Feature Editor PHILLIP DYKSTRA Art Director MELANIE DE PROFT Food Editor Abr?vaya,John Hwhrnam, Jew Klinr Hal lanclon; Murray Miller, Jock Ryan; Peer J. Oppenhelmer, Hollywood. INC., 153 N Michigan Ave., Chjcago 1, III. AH right reserved |