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Gil Hodges Sets a New Brooklyn Dodgers Home-Run Record, August 29, 1951!

The steady Gil Hodges passes the eccentric Babe Herman with his 36th homer

Seventy-five years ago today, August 29, 1951, Brooklyn’s Gil Hodges hit two home runs in the Dodgers’ 13-1 rout of the Reds at Ebbets Field. With his second “long one” – a three-run blast in the seventh inning, his 36th homer of the year – the 27-year-old Dodger first baseman topped Brooklyn’s previous single-season home-run record of 35, set by the popular slugger Babe Herman in 1930, more than two decades earlier.

What made this historic moment even more interesting was the contrast between these two Brooklyn stars: the flamboyant, unpredictable Babe Herman and the steady, businesslike Gil Hodges. Herman was a colorful character, prone to some notoriously boneheaded baserunning mistakes. On the positive side of his ledger, he had been one of the most productive players on the Brooklyn teams of the late 1920s and early 1930s. In his record-setting year of 1930 – a year when offense went off the charts across the major leagues – he hit .393 with 130 RBIs to go along with his 35 home runs.

By contrast, no one ever described Gil Hodges as “flashy.” He simply went about his business every day, playing exceptional defense at first base and over time becoming one of the most feared power hitters in the National League. After his playing days ended, he became a highly successful and well-respected major league manager.

Gil had been developing into a formidable slugger for several years. After becoming a regular with the Dodgers in 1949, he hit 23 home runs that season while driving in 115 runs. In 1950, he increased his home-run total to 32.

Then came the record-setting year of 1951, which would turn out to be one of the best seasons of his career. He finished with 40 home runs, becoming the first player in Dodgers history to reach that figure. He also drove in 103 runs and scored 118 runs. His 40 homers ranked second in the National League, behind only Ralph Kiner’s 42.

Gil wasn’t finished putting up big numbers. Three years later, in 1954, he set another Brooklyn record, hitting 42 home runs. Eventually, Duke Snider would surpass that mark with 43 in 1956. But on that afternoon in August 1951, the record belonged to Gil Hodges.

Ironically, Gil Hodges’ 40-home-run season occurred in a year that featured one of the most heartbreaking collapses in Dodger history. Despite holding a 13½-game lead over the Giants in August, the Dodgers eventually found themselves tied with the Giants at the end of the regular season, forcing a three-game playoff between the two New York rivals. The Giants won it, capped by Bobby Thomson’s legendary ninth-inning home run in the deciding game – the famous “Shot Heard ’Round the World.”

By the early 1950s, the Dodgers’ “Boys of Summer” were developing into one of the most talented teams the game had ever seen. Complementing Gil at first base were his future Hall of Fame teammates: Jackie Robinson at second base, Pee Wee Reese at shortstop, Roy Campanella behind the plate, and Duke Snider patrolling center field.

Other career highs and lows lay ahead for Gil and the Dodgers following that memorable day in 1951. There would be World Series disappointments and, eventually, the long-awaited World Series championship of 1955, the Dodgers’ only one while in Brooklyn. There would be his remarkable managerial career with the New York Mets and the unforgettable 1969 World Series victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles.

Finally, his on-field accomplishments culminated in his long-overdue election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.

But before all of that, there was August 29, 1951. With his second home run of the day, Gil Hodges became the new single-season home-run leader of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Gary Livacari

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