Meet Ralph Branca Brooklyn Dodgers All-Star Legend

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RALPH BRANCA is best known for throwing the pitch that resulted in Bobby Thomson’s“Shot Heard ’Round the World,” the historic home run that capped an incredible comeback and won the pennant for the New York Giants in 1951. Branca was on the losing end of what many consider to be baseball’s most thrilling moment, but that notoriety belies a profoundly successful life and career.

Ralph Branca is mainly remembered for his pitch to Thompson. Yet, "that moment in time" when a hero became a goat has been overwhelmed by the great dignity with which Ralph comported himself. He became and remains the model Major Leaguer, a man who places the welfare of the game and the well being of his fellow players above personal game. 

• Ralph was an active participant in the integration of Jackie Robinson into Major League Baseball.
• Ralph will speak frankly on the back-story of the events regarding The Shot Heard 'Round The World.
• How he copped the transformation from Hero to Goat in a single pitch.
• Three time All-Star Starting pitcher, 1947, 1948 & 1949.
• The youngest Pitcher to start in a World Series game at the age of 20 years old in 1947 & 1948.
• Friend of Jackie Robinson and why Ralph did not sign the petition that was drawn up by a group of southern Dodgers players that stated they will not take the field with a black man. Ralph stood next to Jackie on April 15, 1947, with death threats against Jackie when he debut on opening day.
• One of eight pitchers to win 21 games at the age of 21 years old in the history of Major League Baseball.
• To the being Labeled as The 'Bum' who threw the pitch!

Talk / Q&A / Signing

A Moment in Time details the remarkable story of a man who could have been destroyed by a supreme professional embarrassment—but wasn’t. Branca came up as a young phenom, playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers during their heyday. He was a staple of the Dodgers’ teams in the late 1940s, dominating the National League. It’s no stretch to say that New York baseball was the center of the sporting universe and that the players were part of the fabric of the neighborhoods, of the city itself.

A Moment in Time offers a rare first-person perspective on the golden era of baseball, opening a window on an amazing world populated by legendary characters such as Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, Leo Durocher, Branch Rickey, and Walter O’Malley. Ralph Branca sits us down and tells us an entertaining, deeply inspiring, classic baseball tale.

Come meet a hero who has earned his moment in time with us this Thursday.