On October 3, 1951, the Brooklyn Dodgers faced the New York Giants in a sudden-death playoff with the pennant on the line. In the bottom of the ninth, with the Giants trailing, Bobby Thomson hit a home run — “the Shot Heard ‘Round the World” — propelling the Giants to the World Series.
If such a scene happened today, there would have been a mad scramble for the ball followed by litigation and then an auction. But 1951 was a different time, and baseball’s most famous home run ball simply vanished.
This book is the account of author Biegel’s search for that ball. It’s less a baseball book than a mystery, and like all good mysteries, it’s the stuff that comes before the big reveal that gives the book its worth. More than a simple treasure hunt, this is a story of personal redemption and family ties to which anyone can relate.
Biegel’s life hit the skids in 2000, resulting in clinical depression and an anxiety disorder. “Each morning I awoke trembling. Fear and anxiety, mixed with severe depression, made each day a struggle to survive.”
It was his investigation into the fated Thomson ball — inspired by his father, who had a ball that he thought was the famous artifact — that brought him out of the depths of his depression.
Not that it was easy. When Biegel agrees to help his father confirm that he owned the Thomson ball, he was full of self-doubt: “As I mouthed the words, I couldn’t quite believe that I was undertaking this project. I still didn’t feel ready to take care of myself, let alone help anyone else.”
Biegel’s quest starts out as simple detective work, as he goes to museums and interviews Bobby Thomson himself. But he soon realizes his gumshoe tactics won’t get the job done.
That’s when he moves on to what he calls his “CSI approach,” and it’s here where the book truly takes off, as Biegel enlists the help of a retired NYPD forensics detective who analyzes various photos of the famous home run, trying to find a clue as to who may have come away with it.
Beigel uncovers a big clue — at which point the media become interested, and the leads start pouring in. His search takes him from Queens to Cooperstown, from Long Island to a remote little village in New Mexico, and above all else, it takes him on an emotional roller coaster, as he fights both his personal demons and the fading memory of history.
Because this is a mystery the ending can’t be revealed. But it can be said that the book’s finish is satisfying for several reasons, most of which have nothing to do with Bobby Thomson’s home run ball.
Miracle Ball
My Hunt for the Shot Heard ‘Round the World
By Brian Biegel
Crown