Ralph Branca, victim of ‘Shot Heard ‘Round World’, dies at age of 90

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

7 years ago

In this April 15, 2012, file photo, former baseball player Ralph Branca throws out the first pitch before a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays in Boston. (Michael Dwyer/AP

FILE – In this Oct. 10, 1951, file photo, Bobby Thomson, left, of the New York Giants, and Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers, engage in horse play before a World Series game at Yankee Stadium in New York. Branca, the Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher who gave up the home run dubbed the "Shot Heard ‘Round the World," has died at the age of 90. His son-in-law Bobby Valentine, a former major league manager, says Branca died Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, at a nursing home in Rye, New York. (AP Photo/File)

FILE – In this Aug. 18, 1999, file photo, former Brooklyn Dodgers baseball player Ralph Branca, left, talks with former teammate Duke Snider as they arrive for the funeral of Dodgers Hall of Famer Harold "Pee Wee" Reese, in Louisville, Ky. Branca, the Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher who gave up the home run dubbed the "Shot Heard ‘Round the World," has died at the age of 90. His son-in-law Bobby Valentine, a former major league manager, says Branca died Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, at a nursing home in Rye, New York. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke, File)

FILE – This is a Sept. 2, 1956, file photo showing Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca. Branca, the Dodgers pitcher who gave up the home run dubbed the "Shot Heard ‘Round the World," has died at the age of 90. His son-in-law Bobby Valentine, a former major league manager, says Branca died Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, at a nursing home in Rye, New York.(AP Photo/File)

FILE – In this June 6, 1991, file photo, former New York Giants baseball player Bobby Thomson, left, poses with former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca holding a photo showing Branca, right, and Thomson fooling around before a World Series baseball game at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 10, 1951. Branca, the Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher who gave up the home run dubbed the "Shot Heard ‘Round the World," has died at the age of 90. His son-in-law Bobby Valentine, a former major league manager, says Branca died Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, at a nursing home in Rye, New York. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler, File)

RYE, N.Y. — Ralph Branca, the Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher who gave up the home run dubbed the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World,” has died at the age of 90.

Son-in-law Bobby Valentine, a former major league manager, says Branca died Wednesday at a nursing home in Rye, New York.

The home run that Branca gave up on Oct. 3, 1951, became one of the most famous in baseball history.

Bobby Thomson hit a three-run homer off Branca with one out in the bottom of the ninth to give the New York Giants a dramatic 5-4 playoff victory and the National League pennant. Thomson’s heroics put the Giants into the World Series.

Branca, a three-time All-Star, spent the first 11 seasons of his big-league career with the Dodgers. He also pitched for the Tigers and Yankees.