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Before Willie Mays “the Catch”, there was another well known World Series grab that caught the attention of the baseball world and brought sudden fame to a pint-size outfielder by the name of Al Gionfriddo.
In Game Six of the 1947 World Series, the Dodgers precariously held on to a 8-5 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning with the Yankees threatening to close the gap with Snuffy Stirnweiss and Yogi Berra on base and Joe DiMaggio up at bat. DiMaggio would hit a 400-plus foot shot to deep left field that looked like trouble, but Gionfriddo, in as a defensive replacement, made a running one hand catch they brought him crashing into the outfield fence. At first it was thought he robbed DiMaggio of a home run but game film would prove he caught it feet before the fence and at most took away a triple from the Yankee Clipper.
Brooklyn would hold on to win the game and force a seventh game in their quest for their first World Series title. But the Yanks would storm back with a 5-2 win and once again break the hearts of Dodgers fans, winning their eleventh World Series championship in team history.
