ROY CAMPANELLA·1951

Campy’s 1951 was a catcher’s revenge on the baseball calendar. While the Polo Grounds boys hit their miracle, the big man behind the plate kept the Brooklyn machine thrumming—164 hits, 33 homers, 108 ribbies, and a .325 clip that made every Ebbets summer night feel like a block party. He caught damn near every inning and still swung the heaviest lumber in the borough. They handed him the MVP for it, and nobody in Flatbush argued. The season’s last act, though, was still unwritten.

NL MVP

MVP catcher — .325 line, thirty-three homers, and nobody in Flatbush argued the vote.

.325 HEAT

One hundred sixty-four hits and Brooklyn heat every Ebbets summer night.

TOOLS OF IGNORANCE

“Tools of ignorance” = catcher’s mask, chest protector, and shin guards — Campy wore the armor and still swung the heaviest lumber in the borough.

Roy Campanella, Brooklyn Dodgers, 1951. Bowman Gum / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain (US).