Dodger rookie Carl Furillo stole home with to win an exhibition game against the Yankees, 3-2 in the twelfth inning at Ebbets Field. He had failed in an attempt to steal second in the second inning. As The Times sportswriter noted, although his contract still said Montreal at this time, he was a hero to the Brooklyn fans among the 27,499 who braved the frigid weather, The game lasted after two and three-quarter hours and it was getting dark when it was finally over.
The Yankees had gone out in front in the second inning after scoring two runs off a 400-foot homer that Joe DiMaggio walloped into the upper center left stands. The Dodgers tied in the ninth with a two-run homer by Ed Stevens. The bases were loaded with none away in the twelfth when a double-play left only Furillo on third and Pee Wee Reese on second. The exhibition series now stood even at 3-3 with the final meeting between the two teams happening that afternoon. The official season kicked off Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Giants defeated the Indians 9-5 on a frigid day in Cleveland ,
Furillo would be a star player for the Dodgers in Brooklyn and Los Angeles from 1946 to 1960 then all but forgotten. He was from a small town outside Reading, PA. where he played in the minors. He had left school in the eighth grade and his lack of an education made him self-conscious and socially awkward. He sued the Dodgers for dumping him after an injury just before he would have qualified for a full pension. After leaving the Majors he worked installing elevators and as a night watchman.
The baseball season opened Tuesday. In New York, player-manager Mel Ott''s Giants were facing the Phillies at the Polo Grounds. Governor Thomas E. Dewey was throwing out the first ball. Bill Voiselle was scheduled to be on the mound. Voiselle was a star in wartime baseball but lost his luster after the veterans returned home. Mel Ott was the nice guy about whom Leo Durocher famously said "Nice guys finish last." On Tuesday the Dodgers were playing the Braves in Boston and the Yankees faced the Athletics in Philadelphia. President Truman was throwing out the first ball in Washington where the Senators play the Red Sox. On Thursday the Dodgers were home to play the Giants at Ebbets Field and on Friday the Yankees play their first home game against the Senators at Yankee Stadium.
At this point, the Cardinals were the consensus pick to win the National League pennant race on the strength of their returning star roster of Stan Musial,Enos Slaughter, Terry Moore and Harry Walker. The Dodgers were a dark horse contender with Pete Reiser, Pee Wee Reese, Billy Herman and Kirby Higbe back from the service, but were seen as more likely to be battling the Cubs for second place. Johnny Mize, Astoria's own Babe Young and Sid Gordon were returning to the Polo Grounds to join the team's newly acquired $175,000 catcher, Walker Cooper. Pitching was the serious question mark for the Giants. Pitching was the chief weakness for the Yankees as well, still expected to be in the mix in a wide open race with the Tigers and Red Sox for the American League title. For the Yankees, it was all about Joe DiMaggio.
The predictions proved to be on the money. At season's end, St. Louis, Brooklyn and Chicago were one, two and three in the National League, with the Giants in last place. The Yankees finished third behind the Red Sox and Tigers.
Will Harridge, president of the American League, and Ford C. Frick, president of National League, each contributed articles predicting record crowds with the return of baseball's stars. There was more about the season in the Times magazine.
Catcher Mickey Owen, four time All Star formerly of the Dodgers, was the latest Major League player to show up in Mexico City. He signed a five year contract to play with the Mexican Baseball League after a contract dispute with Dodger president Branch Rickey. Baseball fans were up in arms over these defection, Other players in Mexico included Alex Carrasquel, former Giants Roy Zimmerman and Tom Gorman, better known in later years as an umpire. A separate story said that many players initially tempted by high salary offers had found Mexico not to their liking. It was the climate, the altitude of Mexico City, the primitive conditions in some of the towns, the condition of the stadiums and the fields and the Mexican fans, who showed their displeasure by whistling instead of booing.
Owen returned to the states to play for the Cubs in 1949. Fans and sportswriter derided Rickey for booting out older players and attempting to build a farm team system in Brooklyn to match the one he had pioneered in St. Louis, but they changed their tune when the Dodgers became a pennant contender in 1946.
The Sunday Times covered college baseball with Fordham's defeat of Columbia in the eleventh inning and NYU's win over Brooklyn College making the front page.