Don Larsen's Perfect Game

27-year old Don Larsen worked on his fourth Major League season, with high ERA records in his first two years. Larsen's ERA during his first year with the Browns in 1953 stood at 4.16, and the following year with the Orioles stood at 4.37. In 1955, Larsen was moved to the Yankees and in drastic numbers, his ERA lowered to 3.06.

Next season, the Yankees found themselves tied 2-All against the Brooklyn Dodgers, competing for the World Series title. Larsen was called to pitch Game 5, the most important game of the series.

This game determined whether or not the Dodgers could win back-to-back series against the Yankees. But, not all of Larsen's teammates were optimistic about the outcome of Game 5.

Yankees right fielder Hank Bauer recollected on his feelings about Larsen pitching in the 2003 documentary film titled 100 Years of the World Series. Bauer said, "I went up to (third base coach) Frankie Crosetti, and I said, 'Who's pitching today?' He said, 'Larsen.' I said, 'Oh God. Larsen.'"

Proving his teammate's prior dismay wrong, Larsen wrote his name into baseball history as the first person to pitch a perfect game in the World Series. The last person to pitch a perfect game was Charlie Robertson who pitched for the White Sox against the Tigers during the regular season in 1922.

All 27 batters faced Larsen's arm, with not a single Dodger to touch first base. On a 1-2 pitch, Larsen struck out pinch hitter Dale Mitchell to end the game. The final score was Yankees 2-0.

Yankees catcher Yogi Berra darted towards Larsen and leaped into his arms, celebrating their victorious win.

Statistics and Box Score

Larsen's stats for the year 1956 as follows:

YEAR	​Games	Wins	​Losses	​PCT	ERA	IP	SO
1956	​38	11	5	.688	3.26	179.2	107

In a brief 3 minutes, Decades TV Network give an overview of this memorable and iconic game, with photos and a clip of an interview of Larsen himself: