Long Shots

In 1956, Dale Long is hitting long shots at a record pace for the long shot Pirates

The Sports Time Traveler went back in time, virtually, 70 years ago, to experience something I heard about as a kid, but never got to experience because it was long before my time. I was very excited about this trip, because I had no idea what to expect.

What I found was astonishing. Dale Long, a name that is long forgotten in our present time, was the most celebrated player in baseball in the final week of May, 1956.

Now join me on my sports time travel journey to learn about Dale Long’s achievements.

FORBES FIELD, PITTSBURGH - May 30, 1956

30-year-old Pirates’ 1st baseman Dale Long has waited a long, long time for this moment. The moment that he has definitively proved that he is among the best hitters in baseball.

Dale played over 1,200 games in the minors going back to 1944 when he was 18. He had some fantastic seasons in out of the way places like Lynn, MA, where he hit .302 and drove in 119 runs for the Red Sox class B team in 1948. And he hit 27 homers and drove in a 130 runs for the Yankees’ single A team in Binghamton in 1950. But major league teams were loathe to bring up because he was a poor fielding 1st baseman.

He had a few cups of coffee in the show back in 1951, but not enough to demonstrate his potential, although someone should have taken notice when crushed a ball into the upper deck in left field at the Polo Grounds playing for the Pirates in the only game they let him play in the field that year.

It was back to the minors in 1952, for 3 more years, during which he piled up more gaudy stats.

33 homers for AA New Orleans in ‘52

35 homers and 116 RBIs for Hollywood in the very competitive Pacific Coast League in ‘53

55 extra base hits for Hollywood in ‘54.

That earned Long another try with the Pirates in 1955, and this time he stuck. Playing everyday in the majors for the first time at age 29, he proved he belonged for his bat alone. While he led the National League in errors by a 1st baseman with 13, he also led the National League with 13 triples. And his .291 average was the best of any Pirates player with over 300 at bats.

But being the best hitter on the Pirates was not exactly a major league statement. You see, the Pittsburgh Pirates have been the worst team in all of baseball in this decade. From 1950 to 1955, the Pirates were historically bad, losing almost twice as many games as they won, including a dreadful season in 1952 when they lost 112. In the past 4 seasons, they’ve finished dead last every year.

So coming into 1956, no one expected the Pirates to do much. And Dale Long, who put up some nice batting stats, was not on anyone’s watch list for the MVP, especially not after the two spectacular seasons young Willie Mays has had. And a couple of Dodgers, Roy Campanella and Duke Snider, are perennial MVP candidates, finishing 1st and 2nd in 1955.

But here in 1956, something magical is happening in Pittsburgh, and it’s come to head in the past week.

The Pirates are playing above .500 ball! And the key has been Dale Long, who is on fire!

May 24

I arrived here on May 24th to find this article on PAGE 1 of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

That long, long home run, by Dale gave him 5 consecutive games with a long shot, and that puts him one shy of the record of homering in 6 consecutive games.

5 players have done it. The first was Ken Williams in 1922, and most recently, the Say Hey Kid, Willie Mays, did it last year in 1955.

And Dale is not just hitting homers, as the article noted, he leads the major leagues with a .409 batting average!

Jack Hernon of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote this about Dale in the May 24th paper regarding the length of his home run, quoting one of the greatest Pirates ever, Pie Traynor:

And more important than the homer, the Pirates, who have been perennial cellar dwellers are now just 1.5 games out of 1st place!

May 26

After a day off, the May 26th paper had the story of the Pirates game the night before in Philadelphia. Dale Long had hit another homer! This one off Curt Simmons of the Phillies in the 5th inning of another Pirates victory.

Long had tied the major league record of 6 homers in 6 consecutive games. And the Pirates had moved ahead of the World Champion Brooklyn Dodgers in the standings and are just a half game out of 1st place with a record of 17 - 13!

The Pirates have not been this close to 1st place on the morning of May 26 or later since 1948.

By comparison, just 4 years ago, in 1952, the Pirates had started 6 - 30 and were already 20 games out on this date.

May 27

The next day, the Pirates were still in Philadelphia. Dale Long now had an opportunity to set a new major league record if he could hit yet another home run.

In the top of the 1st inning, Long faced the starter Stu Miller. Later in his career Miller would become one of the top closers of the mid-1960s, helping the Orioles win the 1966 World Series.

Long drove a ball deep into right field. The ball hit the wall about one foot shy of the top, and Dale had to settle for a double.

In his 2nd at bat in the 3rd inning, Long hit a ball that Lester J. Biederman of the Pittsburgh Press said traveled 380 feet to right center. But again it was caught.

In the 5th inning, Long sent another ball to the outfield. This one a line drive that was reeled in by the right fielder.

In the 8th inning Long came up again. With the Pirates ahead 4 - 2, Long faced Phillies’ relief pitcher Ben Flowers, a knuckle baller. This would likely be Long’s last chance. With a 2 - 2 count, Long swung and made contact. Here’s how Biederman described it:

It was a new major league record of 7 consecutive games with a home run.

The record was front page news in the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph

The Pirates won the game 6 - 2 and moved into a 3rd place tie, just 1 game out of 1st place.

May 28 - Long Trip Home

After the record setting game, all the Pirates went home to Pittsburgh, except for Dale Long. He had to make a detour to New York, where he appeared on the Ed Sullivan show the day after the game as the Pirates had another off day.

Jack Hernon of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote about the national TV appearance for Dale Long in the May 28th paper.

May 29 - Dale Long vs. The Boys of Summer

In the next game, the Pirates were hosting the Brooklyn Dodgers. And one of the original Boys of Summer was scheduled to be the starter. He was a player who had won 20 games in 1953, and had set a World Series strikeout record of 14 in the ‘53 World Series against the Yankees. He was the ace of the Dodgers’ staff in ‘52 and ‘53. He was Carl Erskine.

There was so much excitement for this game that it had the highest paid attendance for a night game in Pittsburgh in 6 years with over 32,000 fans.

Starting for the Pirates was their ace, 25-year-old Bob Friend, who had led the National League in ERA in 1955, and was off to a 7 - 2 start this year, and another reason for the Pirates’ resurgence.

Before the game, Dodgers’ slugger Duke Snider struck up a conversation with Dale Long. Al Abrams, sports editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote about it:

Just 10 minutes later, in the top of the 1st inning, the Duke came to the plate. And wouldn’t you know it, he matched the feat by Dale Long as the Duke hit a ball over the 436 foot centerfield wall. It was a tremendous shot that at least one sportswriter indicated carried 500 feet. It gave Brooklyn the early lead at 2 - 0.

Long came up against Erskine in the bottom of the 1st and grounded out to Pee Wee Reese.

Long next faced Erskine in the 4th inning with the Dodgers still ahead 2 - 1. The count went to 1 and 2 with Long swinging and missing on the 2 strikes. Now Erskine came in with a low curve ball. Long swung again.

Lester J. Biederman in the Pittsburgh Press described what happened next:

There was pandemonium in Pittsburgh. The home town fans had just seen Dale Long extend his major league record of consecutive games with a home run to 8! This was a record they got to witness first-hand, unlike when Dale broke the record the first time in Philadelphia.

The applause would not stop after the home run. Biederman wrote:

Charles J. Doyle in the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph also described the moment:

And sports columnist Harry Keck, also of the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph had his take on the moment:

Branch Rickey, the chairman of the board for the Pirates, told Doyle:

The rest of the game was anti-climactic, but Bob Friend pitched beautifully. After allowing Snider’s mammoth homer in the 1st inning, he shut out the World Champions the rest of the way, allowing just one more hit (a single), and the Pirates won the game 3 - 2.

The victory put the Pirates 2 full games ahead of the Dodgers, and kept them in 3rd place, just 1 game out of 1st place.

After the game, Dale Long couldn’t have been more humble for a guy who is the toast of Pittsburgh. Biederman wrote that Long, who was beseiged by reporters, said, “I wish you fellows would give some credit to Bob Friend over there.”

Triple Crown?

Could Dale Long win the triple crown?

Newspapers today showed that in both leagues, there are legitimate triple crown threats, with Mickey Mantle in the American League and Dale Long in the National League leading their respective circuits in the three major offensive categories: home runs, RBIs, and batting average:

May 30 - Can a Newk Stop Long?

Yesterday, the Dodgers and Pirates battled again. This time the Dodgers had the ace of the 1955 team starting - Don Newcombe.

In the bottom of the 1st, Newk got Long swinging.

In the top of the 2nd, the Dodgers erupted for 4 runs, 3 of them scoring on a double by Newk. Don is not only an extraordinary pitcher, but he’s a great hitter. In 1955, he batted .359, which was the highest batting average for any National League player with more than 100 at bats.

In the 3rd inning, Dale Long came up again. This time he hit a tremendous blast all the way back to the monument in dead centerfield.

Charles J. Doyle in the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph wrote this about it.

It was a long shot that would have been an upper deck home run in Ebbets Field, and would have left the ballpark in several other National League cities.

By the way, the monument in centerfield is for Barney Dreyfuss, owner of the Pirates during the first third of the century and is credited as being the “father of the World Series,” having played an instrumental role in putting together the first World Series in 1903.

In the bottom of the 6th, Long popped up to 3rd base.

Long came up in the bottom of the 8th, with the Pirates down 10 - 1. This time Long popped up to 2nd base.

And that was it. The Dodgers won the game.

It had taken a Newk, but Dale Long’s incredible home run streak of 8 consecutive games had been stopped.

Here was the streak:

Long had hit home runs off some darn good pitchers during the streak. In addition to Carl Erskine Curt Simmons (193 career wins) and Lindy McDaniel (141 career wins), was the legendary Warren Spahn, the winningest lefty pitcher in baseball history.

The Legacy of Dale Long’s Record

This morning, Chester L. Smith Pittsburgh Press wrote about the stature of Long’s 8 consecutive games with a home run:

It’s hard to overstate how captivating Long’s incredible 8 game stretch has been to not just Pittsburgh fans, but the American public. Doyle noted this:

A Class Act

In the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette today, columnist Al Abrams wrote this touching piece about how some Dodgers’ players went out of their way to celebrate Dale Long’s feat and how humble Dale Long was in his response:

I love reading this particular article by Abrams, as describes the class act that Brooklyn Dodgers were in the 1950s. I’m a little partial to the Brooklyn Dodgers since I just published a book titled, THE 1955 BROOKLYN DODGERS - MY DAD’S TEAM, and so I have a great affinity for Carl Erskine, Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson and all the other Boys of Summer.

The book makes for a great Father’s Day gift.

Here is a link that takes you directly to the listing for the book on Amazon:

Amazon Listing

If you’d like a personalized edition of the book with a custom inscription on the opening page, I have a limited number of books available on Etsy. The personalized edition makes for a sensational Father’s Day gift:

ETSY Personalized Edition

Tied But Never Broken

I’m finally back in the present time now. And I’d like to inform you that as of 2026, Dale Long still holds the record for consecutive games with a home run at 8. His record has been tied twice, however. Don Mattingly in 1987 and Ken Griffey, Jr. in 1993, both equaled Dale Long’s magnificent run.

But no one has ever bettered it.

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