Steve Webb
DENVER, CO — Those who were lucky enough to stick around for the ninth inning on Tuesday night at Coors Field saw something truly remarkable. A huge 9th inning comeback to win a game when trailing by five or more at the top of the frame. According to baseball historian Sarah Langs, it’s a true black swan sort of event.
Let’s hop in the Wayback Machine and relive perhaps the most remarkable of these comebacks, one that happened probably before your grandparents were born.
Imagine this: it’s June 1929, and Brooklyn’s buzzing with baseball fever. The Dodgers—yeah, they were still the Robins back then—are trying to shake off a long streak of mediocrity. Meanwhile, across town, the Giants are aiming for another shot at glory under the legendary John McGraw.
The Robins weren’t exactly lighting up the league. Managed by Wilbert Robinson, they’d been stuck in sixth place for what felt like forever. But this season, something was different. Despite a rough start in spring training, where they couldn’t buy a win, they managed to surprise everyone by beating their cross-town rivals, the Giants, more times than expected.
Their lineup boasted some big names: pitcher Dazzy Vance, a veteran with a cannon for an arm, and up-and-comer Watty Clark. They had sluggers like Babe Herman and Johnny Frederick, who were starting to find their groove after a slow start.
On the other side of town, McGraw’s Giants were doing better—sitting comfortably in fourth place. With stars like Mel Ott, who was having a breakout year at just 20, and solid pitchers like Larry Benton, the Giants were aiming high.
So, on June 25th, with summer heating up, the Robins faced off against the Giants in what turned out to be a wild ride. Doug McWeeny took the mound for Brooklyn, hoping to turn around a lackluster season. Larry Benton, with his trusty fastball and new curveball, started for the Giants.
The game started with Brooklyn jumping ahead, scoring early against Benton. But then, the Giants fought back hard, racking up runs with hits from Leach, Lindstrom, and a monster homer from Ott.
McWeeny couldn’t hold them off, giving up runs until he was finally pulled in the third inning. By then, the Giants were up by a comfortable margin, and it looked like another loss for Brooklyn.
But hold up—Brooklyn wasn’t done. They clawed their way back with runs in the seventh, sparked by Frederick and Bissonette, and then—boom!—a grand slam by Val Picinich tied the game in the ninth. The crowd went nuts.
The game went into extra innings, and that’s when Brooklyn really turned it on. They scored two more runs in the top of the tenth, thanks to Frederick and Moore, and held off the Giants in the bottom half to seal the win. Johnny Morrison, pitching like a hero, shut down the Giants to secure the victory.
It was a comeback for the ages, a thriller that had the whole city talking. For Brooklyn fans, it was a sweet taste of victory against their more successful neighbors. Sure, the Robins didn’t end up winning the pennant—they finished in sixth place again. But that game against the Giants was a highlight in an otherwise tough season.
As for the Giants, well, they didn’t make it to the World Series either, finishing third in the standings. Benton, despite his efforts, struggled to replicate his past success with the fastball losing some zip.
But for one summer day in 1929, Brooklyn ruled New York baseball. And that’s a memory that still echoes through the boroughs, reminding us all of the magic of the game and the thrill of a historic comeback.
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