1949 Pennant Races in the American League and National League

In what is remembered as one of baseball’s all-time classic pennant races, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, long-time bitter rivals, battled down to the last day to determine the American League pennant. Yankee star Joe DiMaggio made a dramatic return to the lineup after missing several weeks due to illness for the final showdown – a two game season ending series in Yankee Stadium. The Red Sox led the Yankees by 1 game, therefore, needed to only win one of the final two games to clinch the pennant. The Yankees fell behind 4-0 in the first game, but came back to win 5-4. Then, in a “winner-take-all” finale, the Yankees won 5-3 to win the pennant. While this race has been fondly remembered by baseball fans in the years since, it is often forgotten that the National League race also came down to the final day as well. The Brooklyn Dodgers defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in extra innings on the final day of the season to clinch the NL pennant by 1 game over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Yankees went on to defeat the Dodgers in the Fall Classic, the Yankees’ first of five consecutive World Series Titles.