1926
Born January 6, 1926
Mount Vernon, NY, USA
Ralph Branca Notable
b. January 6, 1926 · Brooklyn Dodgers 1944–1953, 1956, Detroit Tigers 1953–1954, New York Yankees 1954
Ralph Branca played for three clubs across 13 seasons as a pitcher, opening with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1944 and closing with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956.
He went 88 and 68 with a 3.79 earned run average, pitching 1,484 innings in 322 games. He struck out 829, completed 71 of his 188 starts and threw 12 shutouts. Across 322 games he batted .142, with 66 hits and 35 runs. He finished with 2 home runs and 6 doubles.
He was selected to three consecutive All-Star teams, from 1947 to 1949.
He was born in Mount Vernon, NY, USA on January 6, 1926, and died on November 23, 2016. He batted right-handed and threw right-handed.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 3 | 1947, 1948, 1949 |
| Baseball Magazine All-Star | 1 | 1947 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 1 | 1947 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | BRO | 21 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 |
| 1945 | BRO | 16 | 40 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | .100 |
| 1946 | BRO | 24 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 0 | .111 |
| 1947 | BRO | 43 | 97 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 34 | 0 | .124 |
| 1948 | BRO | 36 | 74 | 3 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 0 | .203 |
| 1949 | BRO | 34 | 62 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 26 | 0 | .081 |
| 1950 | BRO | 43 | 34 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 0 | .118 |
| 1951 | BRO | 42 | 63 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 26 | 0 | .175 |
| 1952 | BRO | 16 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | .158 |
| 1953 | BRO/DET | 24 | 34 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 0 | .118 |
| 1954 | DET/NYY | 22 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | .353 |
| 1956 | BRO | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 322 | 464 | 35 | 66 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 31 | 36 | 160 | 0 | .142 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | BRO | 0 | 2 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 44.2 | 46 | 35 | 32 | 16 | 7.05 |
| 1945 | BRO | 5 | 6 | 16 | 15 | 1 | 109.2 | 73 | 37 | 79 | 69 | 3.04 |
| 1946 | BRO | 3 | 1 | 24 | 10 | 3 | 67.1 | 62 | 29 | 41 | 42 | 3.88 |
| 1947 | BRO | 21 | 12 | 43 | 36 | 1 | 280.0 | 251 | 83 | 98 | 148 | 2.67 |
| 1948 | BRO | 14 | 9 | 36 | 28 | 1 | 215.2 | 189 | 84 | 80 | 122 | 3.51 |
| 1949 | BRO | 13 | 5 | 34 | 27 | 1 | 186.2 | 181 | 91 | 91 | 109 | 4.39 |
| 1950 | BRO | 7 | 9 | 43 | 15 | 7 | 142.0 | 152 | 74 | 55 | 100 | 4.69 |
| 1951 | BRO | 13 | 12 | 42 | 27 | 3 | 204.0 | 180 | 74 | 85 | 118 | 3.26 |
| 1952 | BRO | 4 | 2 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 61.0 | 52 | 26 | 21 | 26 | 3.84 |
| 1953 | BRO/DET | 4 | 7 | 24 | 14 | 1 | 113.0 | 113 | 59 | 36 | 55 | 4.70 |
| 1954 | DET/NYY | 4 | 3 | 22 | 8 | 0 | 58.0 | 72 | 33 | 43 | 22 | 5.12 |
| 1956 | BRO | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Career | — | 88 | 68 | 322 | 188 | 19 | 1484.0 | 1372 | 625 | 663 | 829 | 3.79 |
On this day & linked events
2016
Died November 23, 2016
1944
Major-league debut: Ralph Branca
Ralph Branca made a major-league debut on June 12, 1944.
1956
Final major-league game: Ralph Branca
Ralph Branca played a final major-league game on September 7, 1956.