Notes On Last Brooklyn Dodgers And New York Giants Last Baseball Games Played On 9/29/1957

It seems they did not know it at the time but of course September 29, 1957 Brooklyn Dodgers at Philadelphia (Phillies) and New York Giants hosting the Pirates (Pitts a burgh), tilts were the last for the Dodgers as Brooklyn and the Giants as New York, respectively.

Some notes follow:

Phils’ first and two prominent ’62 Mets, the year the National League returned to N.Y. , Rich Ashburn batting and Roger Craig pitching.

Elsewhere at the venerable Polo Grounds, Bob Friend and the Pirates are on their way to victory. Baseball in New York had its new ballpark opening in April 1964 (Shea Stadium).

In that game the great Wilver Darnell Stargell, not yet a “Bucco” player in ’57, homered and Friend got the win, another in a first/last Pitts vs N.Y. team, game of note.

Most of the Dodgers players work in the off season, a far cry from today’s such, who begin the L.A. version’s 68th season as world title winners for the 8th time in franchise, 7th time in L.A. and 5th time in a complete L.A. season.

Their pitching coach, Joe Becker will train mules and some years before their greatness as pitchers, both Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale will be in the Army until April 1958, by then aware their team is in Los Angeles.

Roger Craig pitched for both the Dodgers (as Brooklyn and L.A.) and Mets. He also managed the San Francisco Giants, that is where the Giants moved, to their first pennant in 27/Juan Marichal years in 1989.

Ah some football as the closest a team came to appearing in a third straight Super Bowl as two time champions, something the Chiefs have accomplished, was the ’90 season when the 49ers were denied in the NFC title tilt/NFL semi by another team called the Giants, the New York football (Giants).

Namesake of Craig, Roger Craig an excellent player and two time Supe champion with the Niners did commit a horrible turnover on yet another great play by one of the greatest in any sport, Lawrence Taylor, leading to a Giants win that denied S.F. a chance to win a third straight crown.