Johnny Podres Dead at 75: Pitcher Hurled the Brooklyn Dodgers to Their Sole World Series Win in 1955

Brooklyn Dodger Southpaw Threw Shoutout Against Hated Yankees in Game 7 of Fall Classic

Johnny Podres, the former major league left-hander who won the Brooklyn Dodgers their sole World Series title by pitching a shutout against the Yankees in Game 7 of the 1955 Fall Classic, died on Sunday, January 13, 2008 at the age of 75. He had been admitted to Glens Falls Hospital in Glens Falls, New York due to troubles with his heart and kidneys. Podres also had a leg infection.

Dodgers players and fans mourned the loss of the man who won "Dem Bums" their sole World's Championship.

"I lost a dear friend and a former teammate who excelled in big games," said Duke Snider, the Hall of Famer who ranks as one of the all-time Brooklyn Dodger greats.

"He was fun to play behind because he was always around the plate and he threw quality strikes when the game was on the line," the Duke told the press. "He was a tremendous person and I'm going to miss him quite a bit.''

Johnny Podres and the Duke played in three World Series together in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, where the Dodgers relocated after the 1957 season.

Born in Witherbee, New York, on September 30, 1932, Johnny Podres had grown up a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, and the team selected him in 1951 in the amateur draft. The 20-year-old Podres made his debut with the Dodgers on April 17, 1953, after two seasons in the minors, The left-hander was named the M.V.P. of the '55 World Series (the first time that honor was awarded), going 2-0 in two games with 2 complete games, compiling 10 strikeouts and 1.00 ERA.

Johnny Podres played most of his career with the Dodgers, first in Brooklyn and later in Los Angeles. Famed as a "Yankee killer," Podres appeared in the World Series with the Dodgers in 1953, '55, '59 and '63, going 4-1 with a 2.11 ERA.

It was for his performance in 1955 that he will always be remembered. Podres had had a mediocre record of 9-10 before going into the World Series. The Dodgers, who had lost five World Series to the Yankees, most recently in 1952 and '53, had already blown the first two games of the '55 Series. No team at the time had ever lost the first two games of a World Seres and come back to win.

The Brooklyn Dodgers did. Podres was the reason.