Pafko at the Wall

A Novella

By: Don DeLillo

Narrated by: Billy Crudup, Zachary Levi, Tony Shalhoub

"There's a long drive.
It's gonna be.
I believe.
The Giants win the pennant.
The Giants win the pennant.
The Giants win the pennant.
The Giants win the pennant."
—Russ Hodges, October 3, 1951

On the fiftieth anniversary of "The Shot Heard Round the World," Don DeLillo reassembles in fiction the larger-than-life characters who on October 3, 1951, witnessed Bobby Thomson's pennant-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Jackie Gleason is razzing Toots Shor in Leo Durocher's box seats; J. Edgar Hoover, basking in Sinatra's celebrity, is about to be told that the Russians have tested an atomic bomb; and Russ Hodges, raw-throated and excitable, announces the game—the Giants and the Dodgers at the Polo Grounds in New York. DeLillo's transcendent account of one of the iconic events of the twentieth century is a masterpiece of American sportswriting.

Critic reviews

"One couldn't imagine three more American-sounding voices than Billy Crudup's, Zachary Levi's, and Tony Shalhoub's as they recount one of the most iconic events in American sports history—Bobby Thomson's clutch home run that won the National League pennant for the New York Giants in the bottom of the ninth on October 3, 1951. Our trio captures all the nostalgia, gentle satire, and historic reimaginings of Don DeLillo's beloved work, originally published in 1997 and recorded live at the 92nd Street Y in 2019."

Fantastic!

Far more enjoyable than I would have dared hope. This is just a joyful experience to listen to.

Wonderful moment of baseball lore made real.

This dramatic reading of the Don DeLillo short novel brings a moment of baseball history alive. Well read, it encapsulates the moment in out national imagination. I imagine it works for baseball fan and as well for someone unfamiliar with the game. Exciting & dramatic rendering.