The 1955 World Series was the championship series to conclude the 1955 Major League Baseball (MLB) season. The Series matched the National League (NL) pennant winner Brooklyn Dodgers against the American League (AL) pennant winner New York Yankees, with the Dodgers winning the Series in seven games to capture their first championship in franchise history. It would be the only Series the Dodgers won while based in Brooklyn, as the team relocated to Los Angeles after the . This was the fifth time in nine years that the Yankees and the Dodgers met in the World Series, with the Yankees having won in , , , and ; the Yankees would also win in the rematch.
This Series also marked the end of a long period of invulnerability for the Yankees in the World Series. It was the Yankees' first loss in a World Series since and only their second since . While the Yankees were 15–2 in Series appearances during that time, they would lose again in , , , and , for a record of 4–5 in World Series over the next decade.
Background
This was the sixth World Series contested between the Yankees and Dodgers; the Yankees had won each of the five prior matchups (1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, and 1953). New York manager Casey Stengel had played for the Dodgers from 1912 through 1917.
Brooklyn Dodgers
The NL champion Dodgers finished the regular season with a record of 98–55, games ahead of the Milwaukee Braves. Offensive team leaders were Duke Snider (.309 batting average, 42 home runs, 136 RBIs, .628 slugging percentage, and 1.046 OPS) and Roy Campanella (.318 batting average, 32 home runs, 107 RBIs, .583 slugging percentage, and .978 OPS). Pitcher Don Newcombe led the team in wins, with a 20–5 record, and innings pitched. Campanella was voted the National League MVP, narrowly edging Snider.
New York Yankees
The AL champion Yankees finished the regular season with a record of 96–58, three games ahead of the Cleveland Indians. Offensive team leaders were Mickey Mantle (.306 batting average, 37 home runs, 99 RBIs, .611 slugging percentage, and 1.042 OPS), Yogi Berra (.272 batting average, 27 home runs, 108 RBIs, .470 slugging percentage, and .819 OPS), and Bill Skowron (.319 batting average). Pitcher Whitey Ford led the team in wins, with an 18–7 record, and innings pitched. Berra was voted the American League MVP, while Mantle finished fifth.
Summary
Matchups
Game 1
In Game 1, Carl Furillo's leadoff home run in the second off Whitey Ford put the Dodgers up 1–0. Jackie Robinson then tripled with one out and scored on Don Zimmer's single, but in the bottom of the inning, after a walk, rookie Elston Howard, in his first World Series at bat, homered to tie the game off Don Newcombe. Duke Snider's leadoff home run next inning put the Dodgers back in front 3–2 (which would eventually help establish a new HR record for a seven-game series at 17), but in the bottom half, the Yankees again tied the score on Irv Noren's RBI groundout with runners on second and third. Joe Collins's leadoff home run next inning put the Yankees ahead 4–3. His two-run home run in the sixth extended their lead to 6–3. In the eighth , after a single and error by third baseman Gil McDougald put runners on second and third with one out, Zimmer's sacrifice fly scored a run, then Robinson stole home to cut the Yankees' lead to 6–5, but Ford pitched eight innings for the win while Bob Grim earned the save with a scoreless ninth to give the Yankees a 1–0 series lead.
Game 2
In Game 2, Pee Wee Reese lead off the top of the fourth with a double and scored on Duke Snider's single off Tommy Byrne, but in the bottom of the inning, after a two-out single and walk, back-to-back RBI singles by Elston Howard and Billy Martin put the Yankees ahead. After a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases, Byrne's two-run single put the Yankees up 4–1 and knocked starter Billy Loes out of the game. The Dodgers got a run in the fifth on Jim Gilliam's RBI single with Jackie Robinson at third, but could not score again off Byrne, who pitched a complete game to give the Yankees a 2–0 series lead heading to Brooklyn.