By Jordan Heller
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Bobby Thomson wasn't the most prolific of home run hitters, but his "shot heard round the world" was arguably the most epic in the history of Major League Baseball.
The former New York Giant died Monday at the age of 86 at his home in Savannah, Ga. His daughter, Megan Thomson Armstrong, said his health had been failing and that he had recently had a fall, the New York Times reported.
Though it's been nearly 50 years since he wore a Major League uniform, Thomson's signal achievement endures as one of the most memorable in baseball.
October 3, 1951, the New York Giants are hosting the Brooklyn Dodgers at the Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan for the deciding match of a three-game playoff.
It's the bottom of the ninth inning with the Giants down 4-2 and two runners on when Thomson comes up to the plate.
With no balls and one strike, Dodgers hurler Ralph Branca — who would forever be linked with Thomson — delivers the fateful pitch.
And then, Giants radio announcer Russ Hodges' historic play-by-play:
"There's a long drive ... it's gonna be ... I believe — the Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!
"Bobby Thomson hits into the lower deck of the left-field stands! The Giants win the pennant, and they’re going crazy, they’re going crazy ...
"I don't believe it, I don't believe it, I do not believe it!"
The rest of Thomson's baseball career was unremarkable, and he eventually went on to be a salesman, according to the New York Times.
He reportedly moved to Savannah in 2006 to be near his daughter.
