"One of the most memorable moments in World Series history happened at Ebbets Field, in the fourth game of the 1941 meetings with the Yankees, when Hugh Casey's third strike to Tommy Henrich, which would have ended the game, eluded Brooklyn catcher Mickey Owen.
If Owen had held the ball, the game was over, of course, and the Series would have been tied at two games each. Brooklyn was ahead, 4-3, two out and nobody on. But by the time the inning was over, the Yanks had picked up four runs, the ball game, and a 3-1 edge in the Series, which they went on to wrap up in five games.
Police had been stationed at all the exit gates in the stands around the dugouts so they'd be ready to dash on the field as soon as the game ended and throw up a protective cordon behind which the players on the diamond could get through the dugouts to the dressing rooms. However, the cops, like most of the fans, thought Henrich had fanned and ran out on the field as soon as Tommy's bat came around. There they were, a whole squad of bluecoats, running toward Mickey, and there was Mickey, weaving through the police like a broken-field runner, desperately pursuing the ball.
Leo Durocher, the Brooklyn manager, bounced off the bench gesturing wildly, like a farmer shooing chickens, and frantically chased the cops back to the stands.
They say everything happens at Ebbets Field and I guess it's true; that's the only time in my life, on or off the ball field, I ever saw a citizen chase cops."
-Tom Meany, Baseball Digest, October 1956
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