Ralph Branca, who gave up ‘Shot Heard ‘Round the World,’ dies
... climb from a 12?-game deficit in the NL. Branca was born in 1926, the 15th of 17 children, and was raised in Mount Vernon, New York, just north of New York City. He arrived in the major leagues as an 18-year-old in 1944. On April 15, 1947, Branca ...