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Thomson became a celebrity for hitting a home run in a playoff game, off of Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca , to win the 1951 National League pennant, what is perhaps the most famous home run in baseball history.
This event was even more dramatic than it may seem to the modern sports observer, as league pennants were not routinely decided by playoff until 1969See also 1968 in sports, other events of 1969, 1970 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'. Auto Racing Stock car racing: LeeRoy Yarborough won the Daytona 500 NASCAR Championship David Pearson Indianapolis 500 Mario Andretti USAC Racing Mario Andret and only occurred in years in which teams finished the regular season in a tie, as had happened in 1951.
Bobby Thomson was a .270 career hitter with 264 home runs and 1026 RBIIn baseball statistics, a run batted in RBI is given to a batter for each run scored as the result of a batter's plate appearance. There are certain exceptions: a player does not receive an RBI if he hits into a double play, if an error is charged on the in 1779 games. He was selected an All-StarThe Major League Baseball All-Star Game is an annual exhibition baseball game between the best players from the National League and the American League. The All-Star Game usually occurs in mid-July and marks the middle of the Major League Baseball season. in 1948, 1949 and 1952.