Stolen Away: Brooklyn Pitcher Recalls ’51 Sign-stealing Scam

The sign-stealing scheme that the Houston Astros used in 2017 has brought back memories for former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Carl Erskine. Now 93 years old, Erskine vividly recalls a spyglass-and-buzzer system the New York Giants rigged up in 1951. The Giants made a remarkable rally to catch the Dodgers that season, then beat their arch rivals in the deciding Game 3 of a playoff for the National League pennant. Erskine was warming up in the bullpen when Bobby Thomson hit the famed “Shot Heard ‘Round the World" to beat Brooklyn. That was baseball's most famous sign-stealing scandal until this week.