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Many people know of the 1951 Shot Heard Round the World by Bobby Thomson. No other play-by-play call in baseball history has ever come close to raising the hairs on the back of your neck like that call. But many, many don’t know that Bobby Thomson, the Giants slugger who won the pennant with that single swing, also lived in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Articles over the years have said that, yes, Thomson lived in Staten Island and in Watchung; now Mr. Local History thinks otherwise and wants to share our research. Doubt our account? Read on, and you decide.
“There’s a long drive … it’s gonna be … I believe…the Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!”
New York Giants’ play-by-play man Russ Hodges met the moment of the “Shot Heard ’Round the World,” when Bobby Thomson hit a three-run, game-winning home run off Brooklyn’s Ralph Branca.
The call Later became known as “the shot heard around the world.”
In baseball, the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” was a game-winning home run hit by New York Giants outfielder and third baseman Bobby “The Flying Scot” Thomson off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca at the Polo Grounds in New York City on October 3, 1951, to win the National League pennant. Thomson’s dramatic three-run homer came in the ninth inning of the decisive third game of a three-game playoff for the pennant in which the Giants trailed, 4–1 entering the ninth, and 4–2 with two runners on base at the time of Thomson’s at-bat.
Against all odds, his walk-off home run instantly propelled his team to victory and the National League pennant that year. Besides being remembered for Giants play-by-play commentator Russ Hodges’ breathless call, it eventually became known as “the shot heard around the world.” The NY Giants would lose the 1951 World Series to the New York Yankees 4-2.
One thing was for sure. That one home run overshadowed his accomplishments, including eight 20-home-run seasons and three All-Star selections. Yet, while the call, Bobby’s bat, and the manager Chub Feeney’s scorecard are in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Bobby Thomson is not.
Side note: Thomson would continue to be productive for the Giants. The following year, 1952, may have been his best when he led the league with 14 triples and drove in a career-best 108 runs while making the All-Star team. Ranca, though, would never win more than four games in a season for the rest of his career.
Side note No. 2: The Dodgers could have walked Thomson (first base was open) and pitched to the next batter, rookie Willie Mays.
“It was the best thing that ever happened to me”.
Bobby Thompson about his 1951 accomplishment.
It may have been the best thing that ever happened to anybody.
Thomson was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on October 23, 1923, and moved to the United States in 1925 when he was just two years old. He grew up on Staten Island, where he attended Curtis High School, and signed with the New York Giants in 1942. The “Flying Scott,” as he was known to his peers, signed with the New York Giants (1946–53, 1957), Milwaukee Braves (1954–57), Chicago Cubs (1958–59), Boston Red Sox (1960), and Baltimore Orioles (1960). His lifetime batting average was .270, with 264 career home runs and 1,026 RBIs. Before retiring from baseball in 1960, he had been selected as a Major League All-Star on three occasions.
Bobby Thomson Ties To Basking Ridge
Before the late 1960s and early 1970s, the area now known as Deer Ridge Road was just farmland. A few houses were sprinkled along Mountain Road and the surrounding area, going back to the 1700s, but most of the area was farmland. However, many residents didn’t know that a few locals knew that Bobby Thomson, the professional ballplayer, lived on a farm back off what is now Deer Ridge Road in the Liberty Corner section of Bernards Township.
So, history has been short on telling us that Barry Thomson lived in Basking Ridge (actually Liberty Corner), and then we found a few photographs for sale on eBay, of all places. On January 13, 1956, UPI took photographs of Bobby Thomson at a farm off Mountain Road in Liberty Corner, after Thomson had been signed to the Milwaukee Braves. The farm, on the southern end of Bernards Township, just off Mountain Road, where Thomson lived on what was then Bernards Twp—farm country. We’ve learned that the farm was owned by his wife Elaine’s father, Henry J. Coley of Plainfield, New Jersey.
The area is the Liberty Corner section of Bernards Township, New Jersey. Farmstead c. 1950s. Source: Nancy Thomson Mitchell – Bobby’s daughter.
The Sporting News magazine noted that Bobby’s 1951 home run was the #1 baseball call of all time. Aren’t you glad you now know he spent part of his baseball career in Basking Ridge? We are.
Did you know Bobby Thomson lived in New Jersey after Baseball?
Bobby Thomson was far more than an occasional visitor to Watchung; it was his family’s longtime home. Thomson moved there with his wife, Elaine “Winkie,” and their children around 1958, near the end of his major-league career. After playing his final game on July 17, 1960, he worked as a sales executive for a New York paper-products company while continuing to reside in Watchung.
Despite being forever remembered for his legendary 1951 “Shot Heard ’Round the World,” Thomson remained a friendly and approachable local celebrity. He regularly spoke with baseball fans and rarely passed up an opportunity to sign an autograph. His family also developed deep roots in the community. In 1995, his son Robert Jr. married a daughter of Watchung Mayor Albert S. Ellis. Thomson experienced profound personal losses when Winkie, his wife of more than 40 years, died in 1993, and Robert Jr. died suddenly from a rare virus on Father’s Day in 2001.
Thomson remained in Watchung until approximately 2006, when he moved to the Savannah, Georgia, area to be closer to his daughter Nancy and his grandchildren. He died there in 2010 at the age of 86. Watchung remained such an important part of his life that a local memorial service was held at Wilson Memorial Church on August 31, 2010. Today, the Texier House Museum honors Bobby Thomson as one of Watchung’s celebrated resident sports heroes and displays memorabilia associated with his remarkable baseball career.
The Ultimate Bobby Thomson Baseball Card Collection (1947-1960)
As part of Basking Ridge’s history, MLH thought it’d be cool to share Bobby Thomson’s baseball card collection. Click on any image to start a slideshow.
What a nice man. He gave me a baseball years back. I remember his den was stacked with boxes of new baseballs. He signed for everyone. Humbling for sure.
Not sure but he was a dear friend of my dad’s. For Dad’s 60th, Bobby hitched a bat to a golf club and hung things like Geritol from it. Wish we still had it!
Bobby Thomson’s daughter, Nancy Mitchell, lives here on Skidaway Island in Savannah. We used to play on the same tennis team here at The Landings so I am absolutely gobsmacked to read that she had lived in Basking Ridge when we were kids. Have lots to talk about next time I run into her at Krogers!
I had the honor of being an usher in a wedding where Bobby Thomson was a guest. All the Groomsmen (me included) and the Best Man had him surrounded and asked questions for 45 minutes. He was humble, flattered and extremely friendly. I think he lived in Mountainside, NJ.
When I was 11 or 12, Bobby Thomson came to the Little League fields for opening day. I think he threw out the first pitch and signed autographs…