MLB

Ralph Branca dies at 90

Ralph Branca spent most of his 12-year career with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Ralph Branca spent most of his 12-year career with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
National Baseball Library
In this July 8, 1948, photo, Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher, center, poses with shortstop Pee Wee Reese, left, and pitcher Ralph Branca, right, at Ebbets Field in New York.
In this July 8, 1948, photo, Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher, center, poses with shortstop Pee Wee Reese, left, and pitcher Ralph Branca, right, at Ebbets Field in New York.
HARRY HARRIS, AP
In this Oct. 3, 1951, photo, Bobby Thomson of the New York Giants hits a home run off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca in a playoff game at the Polo Grounds in New York. It was dubbed "The Shot Heard 'Round the World."
In this Oct. 3, 1951, photo, Bobby Thomson of the New York Giants hits a home run off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca in a playoff game at the Polo Grounds in New York. It was dubbed "The Shot Heard 'Round the World."
AP
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.
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.
Marty Lederhandler, AP
In this July 5, 1953, file photo, Branca pitches against the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds in New York.
In this July 5, 1953, file photo, Branca pitches against the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds in New York.
Harry Harris, AP
Former cross-town rivals John Antonelli, left, of the New York Giants, and Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers, chat at Holman Stadium in Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Fla., in 1995.
Former cross-town rivals John Antonelli, left, of the New York Giants, and Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers, chat at Holman Stadium in Dodgertown, Vero Beach, Fla., in 1995.
Richard Drew, Associated Press