A lot of baseball fans consider Kirk Gibson's home run in Game One of the 1988 World Series to be one of the most dramatic sports moments ever.

But in the same way that polls of the greatest movies ever always seem tilted toward the last 20 years or so, people seem to favor things that happened in their own lifetime. That's natural, but I still think for sheer drama -- and even for significance -- there are several home runs that will always top Gibson's shot.

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The first one I ever heard was in 1960, when Pittsburgh's Bill Mazeroski hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Pirates a 10-9 victory over the Yankees in the seventh and final game of the series.

The second, which I saw on television, was Carlton Fisk's amazing shot in the bottom of the 12th inning in Game Six of the 1975 Series, giving Boston a 7-6 win over Cincinnati and forcing a seventh game.

But to me the one that will always rank first came when I was only a year old,when Bobby Thomson hit the "shot heard round the world" to give the New York Giants a 5-4 comeback victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers and send the Giants into the 1951 World Series against the Yankees.

Most folks didn't see that one on television, but Russ Hodges' call of the home run is maybe the most famous call in baseball history:
<em>
"Bobby Thomson... up there swingin'... He's had two out of three, a single and a double, and Billy Cox is playing him right on the third-base line... One out, last of the ninth... Branca pitches... Bobby Thomson takes a strike called on the inside corner... Bobby hitting at .292... He's had a single and a double and he drove in the Giants' first run with a long fly to center... Brooklyn leads it 4-2...Hartung down the line at third not taking any chances... Lockman with not too big of a lead at second, but he'll be runnin' like the wind if Thomson hits one... Branca throws... [audible sound of bat meeting ball]</em>

<em>"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! Bobby Thomson hits into the lower deck of the left-field stands! The Giants win the pennant and they're goin' crazy, they're goin' crazy! HEEEY-OH!!!'' [ten-second pause for crowd noise]</em>

<em>"I don't believe it! I don't believe it! I do not believe it! Bobby Thomson... hit a line drive... into the lower deck... of the left-field stands... and this blame place is goin' crazy! The Giants! Horace Stoneham has got a winner! The Giants won it... by a score of 5 to 4... and they're pickin' Bobby Thomson up... and carryin' him off the field!"</em>

Why did that home run matter more than Gibson's? It's easy. In 1951, baseball was still the National Pastime and the Giants and Dodgers might have been the best rivalry in sports.

In 1988, baseball was just another sport.

I have a collection of autographed baseballs. Ten of the 12 balls are signed by Hall of Famers, among them Joe Dimaggio, Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle. An 11th is signed by a player who will be there someday, Atlanta's Chipper Jones.

But in some ways the 12th ball is the most interesting of all.

It contains two signatures -- Bobby Thomson and Ralph Branca. The man who hit the ball and the man who pitched it.

What a great moment.