As Don Larsen worked his way through the celebration en route to the Yankee Stadium clubhouse in 1956, he knew only half of what he had done in that historic World Series Game 5.
Moments before, Yankees catcher Yogi Berra had charged the mound and jumped into Larsen’s arms, creating a memorable picture that circulated around the nation and is a treasured part of many historians’ collections.
“I knew I had pitched a no-hitter, but I didn’t know it was a perfect game until somebody told me in the clubhouse,” Larsen said last week from his home in Idaho. “When you’re pitching, you always think somebody would get on base one way or another.”
It was Oct. 8, 1956, when Larsen faced Brooklyn’s Sal Maglie in what turned out to be a monumental pitching duel. Larsen won 2-0, and his masterpiece put him into the record book as the only pitcher to throw a perfect game in World Series competition.
Larsen had pitched for the Denver Bears the year before as a member of a storied group of Yankees minor-league players who were about to burst on the scene in New York. He posted a 9-1 record for the Bears before moving up to the Yankees pitching staff, where he recorded a 9-2 record for an overall 18-3 mark for the 1955 season.
Along with six members of the Denver Bears teams of 1955-58, Lar- sen is taking part in a benefit Saturday for the Society of American Baseball Research at the Denver Athletic Club.
As is the case in almost any day of Larsen’s life, he’ll be asked about his perfect game.
“It was just a thrill for me being in the World Series, period,” Larsen said. “I sometimes wonder why it happened to me. All I know is that I was there, and that’s good enough for me.”
There was drama for Larsen before the game. He had started Game 2 but squandered a 6-0 Yankees lead, pitching just 1 2/3 innings and giving up four earned runs, and he didn’t expect to start again.
“If (coach) Frankie Crosetti put a baseball in your shoes, that meant you were starting,” Larsen said. “I swallowed hard and said to myself, ‘Don’t foul this one up.’ ”
There were a couple of tense moments. Accounts point out that third baseman Jackie Robinson, first baseman Gil Hodges and left fielder Sandy Amoros came close to spoiling Larsen’s perfect game. Defensive plays by third baseman Andy Carey, shortstop Gil McDougald, center fielder Mickey Mantle and the right-field foul line preserved the classic.
“Nobody would talk to me from about the seventh inning on,” Lar- sen remembered.
But the 97th and last pitch of Lar- sen’s game was the most anxious moment. Dale Mitchell, a career .312 hitter, was the Dodgers pinch hitter and was behind 1-2 in the count.
The tension was tremendous. Manager Casey Stengel had Whitey Ford warmed up in the bullpen.
Larsen’s last pitch appeared to some to be a little high and outside. Plate umpire Babe Pinelli called it a strike. Mitchell argued, but Larsen has his side to the story as well.
“Dale took a half swing at the ball,” Larsen said. “It would be a strike today or anytime for that matter.”
After his baseball career, Dale Mitchell became a businessman in Denver. His son Bo Mitchell was a standout basketball and baseball player at Thomas Jefferson High School and the University of Colorado.
Larsen lives with his memories of his Yankee teammates, and the second chance he didn’t waste. The Yankees went on to win the World Series in seven games.
“Casey Stengel gave me a lot of second chances,” Larsen said. “He’d talk to us about everything but baseball. I really was close to Hank Bauer. It’s a good thing he didn’t have a mean disposition. Mantle played hard. He tried to hit the ball 700 feet every time he was at bat.”
Larsen remembers pitching in Denver and not worrying about the light air. He just went out and hoped for the best.
Larsen’s mood becomes somber when noting that Carey, McDougald and Berra are the only other Yankees still alive from his perfect game.
“I see Yogi several times a year,” Larsen said. “We don’t talk much about that game. It’s just good to see him.”
Larsen bio
Born: Aug. 7, 1929, Michigan City, Ind.
High School: Point Loma High School, San Diego
Family: Wife Corrine, son Don Scott
Big-league career: Played for nine teams, twice for Baltimore
After baseball: Employed 25 years at a paper company in San Jose, Calif.
Hidden talent: Was considered to be a better basketball player in high school
Hobbies: Fishing in Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
