Media | Interviews and other media of Ralph Branca

Brooklyn Dodger Great Ralph Branca Branches Out Beyond The Game

John Vorperian with Ralph Branca and his new book 'A Moment In Time' - Photo by Albert Coqueran
by Johnny V
Boxscore
October 21, 2011
“John, we should never have won the pennant.” -2007 Beyond The Game Interview with
Sal Yvars, 1951 NY Giant.

Brooklyn Dodger Great Ralph Branca recently graced the Beyond The Game television studio to talk
about his newly released book A MOMENT IN TIME: An American Story of Baseball, Heartbreak and Grace.
Diamond Game enthusiasts know Branca was the hurler victimized by the elaborate Leo Durocher inspired
sign-stealing scheme which propelled the New York Giants past the Dodgers and into the 1951 World Series.
But how many Seamheads are aware that by 1954 Branca knew all about the Giants tainted NL flag race?
He vowed to not say anything until some else revealed the rigged Polo Grounds playing field. Branca moved along with his
MLB pitching craft for the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees.

His rich baritone voice gave him opportunity to sing not once but several times on the Ed Sullivan show.
His razor sharp mind captured a record-setting seventeen wins on the television show Concentration.
He successfully transitioned from baseball to business. Once fellow Westchester County resident Sal Yvars
confirmed to Wall Street Journal scribe Josh Prager the telescope and buzzer system in the Giants sandlot,
Branca felt he could weigh in on that topic as well as many others in his baseball career.

Would you believe a young school boy Ralph Branca grew up rooting for the Orange and Black?
Or the Boston Red Sox enticed the Mt. Vernon, NY prospect with Bonus Bucks? Or for that matter
a teen-aged Branca going a mano a mano at the negotiation table with Veteran Sport Biz Guru Branch Rickey?

Branca described baseball “..as a game played outside of time. You play it not until the clock runs out,
but until there is a clear winner. That takes as long as it takes.”

It has taken a long time, A MOMENT IN TIME is here and upon perusal there’s no question
in the game of life Ralph Branca is a winner.