Joshua Prager: Baseball’s Myth Buster

Seven years ago, Joshua Prager had just landed his dream job writing human interest stories for the Wall Street Journal. Six weeks later, the Yankees and Mets both found themselves in the World Series. Feeling the need to find out something about the Subway Series’ of old for the Journal that no one else knew about, Prager single-handedly uncovered the truth behind one of greatest moments in baseball history.

The Giants stole signs in the famous playoff series with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951 and were doing so for almost four months beforehand.

Growing up a baseball buff with a picture of the ’55 Dodgers in his room and a photograph of Lou Gehrig over his bed, Prager realized the magnitude of this fact.

“At the time, baseball was the undisputed king of sports, there was nothing even close,” he said. “New York was the greatest city in the world and was home to the greatest sport in the country, making this the biggest moment in baseball history at the time. It was also the first nationally televised sporting event; it meant something to everyone.”

Taking four months to uncover the truth, Prager eventually had enough information to turn his article into a tell-all book. Released in Oct. 2006, “The Echoing Green: The Untold Story of Ralph Branca, Bobby Thomson and the Shot Heard Round the World,” tells the behind-the-scenes story of how the Giants cheated.

The story of how Prager got hold of the information is an interesting one, as well.

“I wanted to see if there was anything new I could write about an old Subway Series that hadn’t been written about,” Prager said. “So I called a guy named Barry Halper, a famous baseball memorabilia collector, and I asked him if there was anything interesting in the Subway Series of the past that he could tell me that not many people knew about.”

Figuring that he would find something juicy from his source, Prager kept the conversation rolling, but never thought he’d hear what he did.

“After he mentioned about a billion names and things, he mentioned the rumor that the Giants stole signs [in the 1951 playoff game against the Dodgers],” Prager said. “I asked him if it was true and he said ‘no way.’ I asked why not and he told me that Ralph Branca had told him and he thought that Branca, the pitcher who lost the game, had something to gain by telling him this and that it was baseball’s greatest moment. It would have been proven by now.

“To me, that represented a huge challenge and I needed to find out.”

Embarking on a four-month journey that took him all over the country, Prager did extensive research on the Giants and eventually got a list of players and their contact information from the Sporting News archive.

“During that time, I literally spoke to everyone that was on the Giants, even the ones that had the proverbial cup of coffee,” he said. “From Francis ‘Red’ Hardy and Spider Jorgensen to Willie Mays and Bobby Thomson. That’s how I got to know this team and got enough information to write the book.”

However, it wasn’t until he talked to a particular player that he felt he was on his way to cracking the case.

“Finally, I got to the team’s captain and shortstop Alvin Dark,” Prager said. “He got very angry and kept repeating that he knew nothing. After he hung up on me, I was convinced he knew something about it and there was something more there.”

At that point, many journalists would start feeling the pressure of a deadline looming over them. Prager, however, knew he was in his element and kept digging.

“There was a lot of pressure, because I knew that with all of this time, I had to deliver. I was working on this for a while, but I never let it really bother me,” he said. “Everyone has their strengths as a reporter. My great weaknesses are covering a beat, trying to cover something that everyone else is covering and dealing with competition. What I’m better at is writing long human-interest stories.”

Slowly but surely, Prager got what he had set out to get.

First he learned that in mid-July of 1951, Giants third base coach Herman Franks was moved into the manager’s office over center field, which was to the right and above of the Polo Grounds bullpen. Replaced by Giants manager Leo Durocher, Franks was assigned to look out Durocher’s window over centerfield and steal signs from the opposing catcher. Using infielder Hank Schenz’s telescope, Franks would steal the sign and press a button, once for a fastball and twice for an off-speed pitch. That button, which was installed by Polo Grounds electrician Abe Chadwick, was connected to a buzzer that was next to the bullpen phone in center field. Once the buzzer rang, bullpen catcher Sal Yvars would then either cross his legs or throw a ball in the air, signaling the pitch to the hitter, who was looking in that direction anyway.

While this may seem like a long and complicated process, Prager insists that by October 3, 1951, the Giants had been practicing it for almost four months and could pull it off in a few seconds.

“Little by little I got little clues as to what was going on,” he said. “So as the days, weeks and months rolled by, I knew what I was doing. Once I found out it was true, I knew I could take my time.”

Despite finding out the truth, Prager doesn’t know for sure if it contributed to the Giants pennant win, but believes that it played a huge part in the players’ lives.

“While the effect of the cheating is debatable, the effect of keeping the secret of the cheating is undeniable,” he said. “After my book came out, both Thomson and Branca were on several radio and TV shows and Thomson said he felt like he had just got out of prison. For me to play a small role in that is very thrilling.”

Rather than force people to come to conclusions and possibly tarnish this phenomenal moment in baseball history, Prager said it’s best for baseball buffs to look at the facts and then decide how they feel.

“A lot of people wanted me to tell them how to feel about it,” said Prager. “I can’t do that. All I can do is tell you that this moment is slightly different from the way most people see it. All I can tell you is what really happened.”

Now recognized for his part in this great debate, Prager’s relentless efforts at reporting this story have changed the way the world looks at what is arguably the most memorable moment in baseball history.

“For me to contribute a part to this moment and discussion is very rewarding for me,” he said. “It goes to prove that if you work hard and keep peeling back the layers, you can find something special.”