A paternal editor's note: It was the year I graduated from high school, Josh, and to be perfectly truthful I don't remember the Yankees game, my attention being focused more on local fields of play: girls, cars, and the newfound joy of finding myself a reputable soccer fullback. Ten years before Adam was born, and another seven before you emerged, a little the worse for wear, in Ellsworth, Maine. So courtesy of Garrison Keillor's Writers Almanac, this one's for you, who remain loyal to the Yankees through thick and thin.
On this day in 1956, Yankees pitcher Don Larsen pitched a perfect game. He faced 27 batters and not a single one made it to base. It remains the only perfect World Series game — indeed, the only perfect post-season game — and one of only 20 perfect games in baseball history.
For the fourth time in five years, the Yankees were playing the Brooklyn Dodgers; it was Game Five and the series was tied two games to two. According to Larsen, he didn't even know he would be pitching until he got to the ballpark. He'd had a disastrous Game Two, lasting only two innings and allowing four runs on four walks. The Yankees had been up 6-0 when he took the mound, and they ended up losing, with a score of 13-8. Larsen was as stunned as anyone when he reported to the park for Game Five to find that manager Casey Stengel had tucked a baseball in his spikes. In the locker room after the game, Larsen said, "When it was over, I was so happy, I felt like crying. I wanted to win this one for Casey. After what I did in Brooklyn, he could have forgotten about me and who would blame him? But he gave me another chance and I'm grateful."