No. 1941.10.05 · Live Ball Era
Owen's Dropped Third Strike
The Dodgers were one strike from tying the World Series. Mickey Owen missed the third strike, and the Yankees scored four runs.
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Mickey Owen in 1942. This is not the passed ball in the 1941 World Series.
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Game 4 of the 1941 World Series, October 5 at Ebbets Field. Brooklyn led 4–3 with two out in the ninth. Hugh Casey was pitching to Tommy Henrich. Henrich swung and missed. The inning, and a tied series, appeared to be over.
The ball got past catcher Mickey Owen, all the way to the screen, and Henrich reached first. Whether Casey's breaking ball was doctored is still argued and is not required to explain the rest. Joe DiMaggio singled. Charlie Keller doubled. Bill Dickey walked. Joe Gordon doubled. The Yankees scored four runs and won, 7–4. They took the series the next day.
Owen was an All-Star catcher, not a cartoon. One missed pitch with two out in October rewrote the game, and then the retelling rewrote Owen. The four hits that followed the miss are part of the inning too.