Don Larsen’s perfect game for the New York Yankees in the 1956 World Series is one of the most memorable moments in baseball history. Seventy years later, it remains a signature moment in sports.

In an iconic photo from that October day at Yankee Stadium, Larsen is seen leaping into the arms of Yogi Berra. At risk of being risqué, a year later Don would be in someone else’s arms, someone from Brown County.

A couple weeks ago, a friend texted that Don Larsen’s wife had passed away, and did I know she was from Sleepy Eye?

I did. Corrine was my brother-in-law Tom Seifert’s cousin. I remember learning that when I was young and thinking it was cool that I was almost related to Don Larsen.

Corrine Audrey Bruess was born in Sleepy Eye on Aug. 18, 1931. Her parents Frieda and Elroy Bruess grew up north of town in Home Township about a mile apart. Perhaps they met at country school?

Elroy was the son of Gustave and Augusta. They lived in section 22. Frieda Lange was the daughter of William and Helen Lange, who lived in section 16. Bernard Lange and Donn Bruess later farmed those places.

Frieda and Elroy rented a farm in Stark Township after they were married. Their four children were baptized at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Sleepy Eye. Corrine had two older brothers, Elroy Jr. and Roger, and a younger sister Joleen. In 1942, the family moved to Benson, Minnesota.

Corrine graduated from Benson High School in 1949. She attended nursing school in Minot and worked as a nurse in Benson. After a few years, Corrine decided on a different career.

She moved to Kansas City and trained to be a stewardess with Trans-World Airlines. This was the Golden Age of Flying, and stewardesses were the stars. It was on a TWA flight that Corrine met her future husband.

Don Larsen grew up in Michigan before moving to San Diego at 14. A gifted athlete, Don was offered basketball scholarships when he graduated in 1947.

“I didn’t really have an interest in going to college and studying my life away,” he said.

Don chose baseball. After signing for $850 with the St. Louis Browns, the 17-year-old went to play with the Aberdeen Pheasants. He spent several seasons working his way up the minor leagues. Baseball was put on hold when he was drafted and spent two years in Korea in a non-combat role.

Back at spring training in 1953, Larsen’s skill had caught up with his gangly 6-foot-4-inch body. With his long arms and goofy personality, his teammates called him Gooney Bird.

On April 28, Larsen made his major league debut for the Browns. He stayed with them all year finishing with seven wins and 12 losses. The next year, the Browns moved to Baltimore. Larsen led the major leagues in losses, finishing 3-21. Two of those wins were against the Yankees, making an impression on manager Casey Stengel.

That winter, Larsen was part of a crazy 18-player trade between the Orioles and Yankees. Working around shoulder problems and a propensity for New York’s nightlife, Larsen had a productive season for the Yankees. He started a game in the 1955 World Series, losing to the Brooklyn Dodgers.

It was the 1956 Series that would change Larsen’s life. He pitched briefly in Game Two, again the Dodgers were the opponent. Larsen was a surprise starter in Game Five, surprising enough that he was out at a bar the night before. When he came to the ballpark the next day, Stengel had put a ball in his shoe indicating he would be starting. After a whirlpool, a cold bath, and a rubdown, he took the mound.

There had never been a no-hitter in the World Series, much less a perfect game. Who knows what stars aligned, but Larsen retired 27 straight batters on a very good Dodgers team.

“Damn,” said sports reporter Dick Young. “The imperfect man just pitched a perfect game.” This was at the peak of baseball’s popularity, and Larsen was instantly a national celebrity.

The next summer, Larsen was flying from Kansas City to San Diego to see his mother during the All-Star break. Sometime on that flight the famous pitcher and the stewardess from Minnesota started talking.

Larsen asked Corrine Bruess if she liked baseball, and she said, of course.

Would she like to see a game?

They exchanged phone numbers, and a few weeks later, Corrine was attending a game at Yankee Stadium during a layover. Don also took Corrine to the Ice Capades at Madison Square Garden and bought her a fur coat.

Between her flying and his playing, they had a courtship. And on Dec. 7, they were married at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Benson. The Sleepy Eye Herald Dispatch reported on Lange and Bruess relatives attending the service.

That began a 62-year marriage that lasted till Don passed away in 2020. Larsen had been briefly married before, not successfully. His reputation as a partier grew even larger after the perfect game, as he was the toast of New York City. Corrine was the calming influence Don needed.

Larsen stayed with the Yankees two more years, including pitching in the 1958 Series against the Milwaukee Braves. He was traded to the Kansas City Athletics in December 1959, this time only a nine-player trade that brought Roger Maris to the Yankees. Don would pitch seven more years in the Major Leagues with six different teams, never matching his seasons with the Yankees.

After baseball, Don and Corrine moved to Morgan Hill, California. Don worked in sales and Corrine went back to nursing. They had one son, Scott. In 1993, they retired to Idaho where they built a home on Hayden Lake, near Coeur d’Alene.

The Larsens returned to Minnesota for family events through the years. The last time they were in Sleepy Eye was 2007 for the funeral of Violet Rono, Corrine’s aunt. My nephew and his daughter have a picture taken with Don.

Through a baseball friend, I connected with Tom Keefe. Tom is a retired lawyer in Spokane. Tom’s also a baseball nut and historian who met the Larsens some years ago. They became friends and Tom was able to help Don and Corrine as their health declined.

According to Tom, Don wasn’t the easiest person to live with, but Corrine and he had a beautiful love for each other. Don told Tom, “The perfect game was the best thing that ever happened to me, except for Corrine.”

Before Don passed, Corrine moved to an assisted living facility. Tom drove Don there every day to see her. As they were leaving, Corrine would take Tom’s face in her hands, and give him a kiss, saying, “Thank you for taking care of my Donnie.”

Tom described Corrine as, “gracious, welcoming, kind, educated, refined.” She passed away on Dec. 24. Her’s was a life that began in Sleepy Eye, went famously through New York, and ended in Hayden Lake.

A memorial service will be held there in the spring.

— Randy Krzmarzick farms on the home place west of Sleepy Eye, where he lives with his wife, Pam.