Editor’s note: Tournament games are played with Strat-o-Matic cards and dice.
Stan Lopata must have been wearing a Superman costume under his Philadelphia uniform.
Lopata’s three home runs led the Phillies to a 6-5 extra-inning victory over the New York Giants in the championship contest of the 1955 Tournament at the Polo Grounds.
In the top of the 10th, Lopata smacked his third long ball off Giants starter Johnny Antonelli to drive in the winning run.
Philadelphia’s Robin Roberts went the distance to get the win despite struggling to get through the final frame.
The Phillies began the game with a bases loaded walk and a run on a double play to take a 2-0 lead in the first.
Lopata his his first homer in the third to make it 3-0.
In the bottom of the third, the Giants closed the gap to 3-2 on a RBI double by Wes Westrum and a run-scoring single by Don Mueller.
Both teams scored in the fifth. Lopata hit his second homer and Mueller drove in another run with a single and it was 4-3.
Westrum tied the game at 4- in the sixth with a sacrifice fly.
Earl Torgeson put the Phillies back on top with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
Billy Gardner led off the bottom of the ninth with a solo homer to tie the affair and send it to extra innings.
Lopata was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament with four homers and nine RBI. He had eight hits to post a .500 batting average. He hit game-winning homers in two games.
1955 IN REAL LIFE: Lopata was an all-star in 1955 as he finished with 22 homers and 58 RBI, while hitting .271 in 99 games.
Lopata’s best season came in 1956 with a second all-star appearance. He had career bests with 32 homers and 95 RBI. He came up with the Phillies in 1948 and stayed in Philadelphia until being traded before the 1959 season. He would retire in 1960 after 13 seasons.
With 116 career homers, Lopata never hit three in a game. However, he did have six games where he hit two long balls.
Harvey Haddix was his favorite pitcher for homers as he hit six off the lefty when he was with the Cardinals.
Interestingly, Lopata did hit four homers off Antonelli. He also had four off Warren Spahn, Don Newcombe, Art Fowler, Brooks Lawrence and Bob Friend.
Championship Game
(4) Philadelphia Phillies 6, (3) New York Giants 5 (10 innings)
Semifinal Results
(3) New York Giants 5, (1) Brooklyn Dodgers 2
(4) Philadelphia Phillies 11, (3) Chicago White Sox 2
Second Round Results
Upper Bracket
(1) Brooklyn Dodgers 6, (5) Cincinnati Reds 4
(3) New York Giants 5, (7) St. Louis Cardinals 0
Lower Bracket
(3) Chicago White Sox 5, (7) Baltimore Orioles 3
(4) Philadelphia Phillies 7, (8) Pittsburgh Pirates 1
First Round Results
Upper Bracket
(1) Brooklyn Dodgers 4, (8) Washington Senators 0
(5) Cincinnati Reds 7, (4) Boston Red Sox 3
(3) New York Giants 2, (6) Kansas City Athletics 1
(7) St. Louis Cardinals 6, (2) Cleveland Indians 1
Lower Bracket
(7) Baltimore Orioles 6, (2) Milwaukee Braves 1
(3) Chicago White Sox 8, (6) Chicago Cubs 4
(4) Philadelphia Phillies 3, (5) Detroit Tigers 1
(8) Pittsburgh Pirates 3, (1) New York Yankees 2