Branca, pitcher who gave up ‘Shot Heard ‘Round World,’ dies

Ralph Branca, the Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher who gave up the famed ''Shot Heard 'Round the World'' that still echoes six decades later as one of the most famous home runs in baseball history, died Wednesday. Branca was a three-time All-Star and spent 12 seasons in the majors, but he will always be known for just one pitch. Brought in from the bullpen in the bottom of the ninth inning during the deciding Game 3 of the National League playoff in 1951, he gave up a three-run homer to Bobby Thomson that gave the rival New York Giants a stunning 5-4 victory.