Let’s Recall the Classic 1957 World Series!

Today, with the World Series in full swing, I’ll continue my look at memorable World Series from years gone by. With the Milwaukee Brewers owning a 2-0 lead in the 2026 World Series, I thought this would be an appropriate time to turn our baseball spotlight on the 1957 World Series, the last time the city of Milwaukee saw a World Series championship (yes, I know they were the Braves then, not the Brewers).

Fred Haney managed the 1957 Milwaukee Braves. Their opponent in the ’57 series was the defending World Series champion New York Yankees, managed by Casey Stengel.

The Braves won the series four games to three, behind series MVP Lou Burdette’s three complete-game victories (amid ongoing suspicions he was throwing a doctored ball). The hitting star of the series was, no surprise, Hank Aaron, who posted a .393 average with three home runs and seven RBIs. Hank was coming off an MVP 1957 season, hitting .322 with 44 home runs and 132 RBIs.

The Braves (95-59) were a well-balanced team, winning their first pennant since moving to Milwaukee in 1953. In addition to Aaron, their lineup included Eddie Mathews at .292-32-94 for the 1957 season, and Wes Covington, who belted 21 dingers in just 96 games. They were strong defensively with Del Crandall behind the plate, and shortstop Johnny Logan and second baseman Red Schoendienst up the middle. After a mid-season injury to regular center fielder Billy Bruton, Bob Hazle hit an amazing .403 in 41 games. Their pitching staff included the great Warren Spahn with his eighth 20-game win season; plus starters Lew Burdette and Bob Buhl (the three starters combining for 56 wins); and reliever Don McMahon.

The Yankees (98-56) were stacked as usual with many familiar stars:  Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Billy Martin, Gil McDougal, Bill Skowron, Elston Howard, Enos Slaughter, Tony Kubek, Hank Bauer, Jerry Coleman, and Joe Collins; plus pitchers Tom Sturdivent, Whitey Ford, Bobby Shantz, Don Larson, and Bob Turley.

Here’s some interesting facts and highlights from the Series:

• Of the previous ten World Series, the Yankees had been in eight and won seven. This was also the first World Series since 1948 that a team from New York did not win.
• This was the Braves’ third pennant (1914, 1948, 1957), and second World Series championship. They repeated as National League pennant winners in 1958, but lost the series in a rematch to the Yankees.
• New York Times sportswriter Red Smith wrote of series MVP Lew Burdette and his reputation for throwing a “wet one”: “There should be three pitching statistics for Burdette – Wins, Losses, and Relative Humidity.”
• The star of Game Three for the Yankees was Milwaukee-native Tony Kubek, returning to his hometown. The twenty-year-old rookie hit two homers as the Yankees thumped the Braves 12-3.
• Game Four is remembered for Nippy Jones’ controversial hit-batsman call when Jones showed umpire Augie Donatelli a shoe polish smudge on the ball he claimed hit him on the foot and was awarded first base. The play was instrumental in the Braves’ eventual win in 10 innings, with Eddie Mathews hitting a walk-off homer.
• The Yankees won Game Six, a 3-2 squeaker, with all the runs scoring as a result of home runs: Yogi Berra (a two-run shot), Hank Bauer, Frank Torre, and Hank Aaron.
• Don Larsen had an early exit in Game Seven, with the Braves scoring four times in the third. Burdette tossed his second shutout and earned his third complete game victory, giving the Braves their first World Series championship since 1914.

The series featured 10 future Hall of Famers: Hank Aaron, Red Schoendienst, Warren Spahn, Eddie Mathews, Casey Stengel, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Mickey Mantle, Enos Slaughter, plus umpires Jocko Conlon and Nester Chylak. Our “senior” readers will remember the other umpires in the series: Joe Paparella, Bill McKinnley, Augie Donatelli, and Frank Secory. Mel Allen and Al Heifer were the NBC TV announcers; while Bob Neal and Earl Gillespie handled the radio side.

Congrats to the “Brew Crew” from this Cub fan for a great 2026 season, now with a chance to “win it all”!

Gary Livacari 

Photo Credits: All from Google search