When Bobby Thomson, the man who hit the most famous home run in the history of Major League Baseball, died last week it led me to do some thinking. It led me to think about the circumstances that so improbably brought Thomson and the 1951 New York Giants a National League pennant. It also led to me to think about how those circumstances affected my father, his family, and his neighbors in the Bronx, who were transfixed by what was happening before them.

This was a time when the Big Apple had three big league teams -- the New York Yankees, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. In those early years, the Giants were the most successful of them. Between 1883 and 1937, the Giants captured 13 NL pennants. The Giants won four consecutive pennants between 1921 and 1924. No NL team has matched this achievement.

But the Giants would fall hard. Between 1938 and 1950, the Giants finished in the second division six times including two last place finishes. During this period, the Giants finished no better than third. When the 1951 season began it looked like yet another long season. In April, the Giants rattled off eleven losses in a row and finished the month 3-12, including five losses to the Dodgers.

The Dodgers entered 1951 having won two of the last four NL pennants. Their roster included four future Hall of Famers in the prime of their careers -- Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese and Duke Snider. Throw Gil Hodges and Carl Furillo into the mix and it's a wonder that any opposing pitcher could get through an inning. The dynamic duo of Don Newcombe and Preacher Roe anchored their starting rotation. They also had a gritty bullpen which included Carl Erskine, Clyde King, and Ralph Branca.

The Giants, on the other hand, did not stand so tall upon first sight. Campanella's batting average was more than 100 points higher than that of Giants catcher Wes Westrum (although Westrum drew nearly twice as many walks as Campy). Alvin Dark and Eddie Stanky might have been scrappy but how could they stack up against Jackie and Pee Wee? Then there was The Duke, who was only the premier centerfielder in baseball. And what did the Giants have to offer but a 20-year-old rookie named Willie Mays?