Congratulations to Tom Davis and his 1945 Detroit Tigers

The 1945 Detroit Tigers are officially crowned:  "The Greatest WWII Era Baseball Team" by virtue of sweeping a juggernaut St. Louis Cardinals team that destroyed the Senior Circuit during the regular season.  Detroit got great pitching and timely hitting to upset the Cardinals in 4 straight games.  Congratulations to all who participated in this 12 team league.  It was a lot of fun and easy to administer !

World Series Game 4 - "Maier gets key to city"

October 23, Game 4 at Briggs Stadium
Harry Brecheen (4-2, 2.31) vs Stubby Overmire (4-1, 5.19)

Series clinching double

Now the Cardinals were playing for pride or a miracle.  Their manager, Erik Nelson, expressed the hope that he could avoid embarrassing the senior circuit by avoiding the sweep.  And Brecheen answered, holding the Tigers a lone unearned run over 7 innings.  But, again, the Cardinal offense went AWOL.  Bob Maier led off the fifth with a groundball booted by third baseman Whitey Kurowski.  Cullenbine singled him to third and Greenberg drove him home with another single.  The Cardinals came right back in the top of the 6th.  Stan Musial doubled, for one of his few hits in the Series.  Ray Saunders walked.  Kurowski ripped a shot into right field.  Musial scored easily and Saunders was sent home.  Cullenbine's throw arrived first and the score remained tied.   In the bottom of the 8th, pinchhitter Red Borom singled with two out.  Bob Maier drive him home with a double and scored on Mayo's single.  George Caster closed out the 9th and the Tigers had a World Series sweep.  Tigers 3  Cardinals 1

Tigers sweep series 4-0
--submitted by Tom "Crash" Davis--

World Series Game 3 - "(Hebrew) Hammer-Time"

October 22 Game 3  At Briggs Stadium
Max Lanier (4-1, 2.30) vs. Al Benton (2-4, 3.89)

4 yrs in service couldn't stop him

Walker Cooper slammed a one out 1st inning pitch into the seats for the first Cardinal lead of the series and Cardinal fans took hope that their offense had returned.  No such luck.  That was the only tally Benton would allow in 8 innings of work. Unfortunately for the Tiger faithful Lanier was just as stingy.  Bob Maier led off the first with single and Mayo followed suit.  With one out, Greenberg singled Maier home.  And then everyone sat back and waited for the next offensive action, in the 9th.  With one out in the 9th, Whitey Kurowski took Benton deep and the Cardinals were three outs away from their first Series win.  Greenberg opened the bottom of the 9th with a walk and went to third on York's single.  When Doc Cramer grounded to short, Greenberg scored and sent the game into extra innings.  Both teams got outstanding pitching in the extra frames until the bottom of the 13th.  Al Jurisich took the mound and promptly walked the first two batters he faced.  He might have gotten out of it but for the presence of the Hebrew Hammer, Hank Greenberg.  Greenberg swatted the pitch into the left field upper deck bleachers and 51,345 Tiger fans went hone happy (Actual attendance was 53,273 but there were 1,928 Cardinal fans in attendance.)  Tigers 5  Cardinals 2

Tigers lead series 3-0
--submitted by Tom "Crash" Davis--

World Series Game 2 - "Cardinal bats gone fishing"

October 20, Game 2, at Sportsman Park
Dizzy Trout (8-2, 2.06) vs Mort Cooper (6-2, 2.09)

Shut out the Cardinals

Cardinal manager Erik Nelson had to be wondering what was going on.  The Cardinals barnstormed through the National League, seemingly able to score runs at will.  But yesterday they only managed one run and today Virgil Trucks never faced more than 4 batters in any one inning.  The Tigers struck for 5 runs in the first two innings and never looked back.  Greenberg doubled home two runs in the first and scored on Rudy York's double.  The Tigers added two more in the second one coming after Dizzy Trout smacked a one out triple.  But the story was not Dizzy's bat but his arm.  The Tigers take a 2-0 Series lead back to Detroit.  Tigers 5  Cardinals 0

Tigers lead series 2-0
--submitted by Tom "Crash" Davis--

World Series Game 1 - "Fresh Prince"

It was a perfect match.  The Cardinals vaunted hitting machine against the team with the best 1-2 starting combination in the majors.  The only problem facing the Tigers -- it was a seven game series.

Could they get help from their other erratic starters.

October 19, Game 1 at Sportsman Park
Hal Newhouser (6-3, 2.04) vs. Red Munger (3-0, 2.62)

Allowed just 4 hits & 2 walks

The Tigers opened the scoring in the 4th.  Roy Cullenbine walked and was doubled to third by Hank Greenberg.  One out later, Jimmy Outlaw lifted a sacrifice fly to left and the Tigers led 1-0.  That seemed to be all that would be needed as Prince Hal mowed down the Redbirds.  But, just in case, after Skeeter Webb walked in the 5th, Hal singled to right.  Eddie Mayo continued his fantastic season by doubling home both for a 3-0 lead.  That would be enough.  The Cardinals tallied a run in the bottom of the fifth, but that was it.  Its hard to score much when the opposition pitcher only allows 4 hits and two walks.  Tigers 3  Cardinals 1

Tigers lead series 1-0

--submitted by Tom "Crash" Davis--

ALCS Game 5 - "Prince Hal Clinches Pennant"

October 14  Games 5
Newhouser vs. Russo

Little Eddie Mayo got the Tigers off on the right track when he hit a homer in the first.  Two batters later, Greenberg hit his second homer of the series.  Stainback countered with a one out single.  with two outs, Gordon singled him to third and then Keller drove him home with another single.  But that was it for the Yankees.  Hal Newhouser went into lights out mode and the Yankees never got another runner to third.  Newhouser needed relief help from Caster after the first two Yanks reached in the 9th, but Caster got the next three hitters and the Tigers will move on to the World Series.  Tigers 5  Yankees 1
Tigers win series 4-1
--submitted by Tom "Crash" Davis--

ALCS Game 4 - "Green with envy"

October 13  Game Four     
Benton vs.  Borowy

After starting 8 regular season games, Hank Borowy had been limited to two relief appearance in the first round of the playoffs.  The Yankees scored first on back to back doubles by Nick Etten and Joe Gordon.  The Tigers were quiet until the 7th.  after Cullenbine singled, Hank Greenberg launched a massive drive to left field to give the Tigers 1 run lead.  Cullenbine added a homer in the 9th.  Al Benton needed relief help from George Caster who earned a save.  Tigers 3  Yankees 1

Tigers lead series 3-1

ALCS Game 3 - "Good King Wensloff"

October 12  Game Three

Overmire vs.  Wensloff

The Tigers jumped out with two runs in the first on a Roy Cullenbine two run homer.  Those were all the runs Butch Wensloff would allow.  Now he just had to hope the Yanks' offense would respond.  And they did.  First off. it was Wensloff himself.  In the third, after Lindell was  intentionally walked in front of him to load the bases, Butch lined a two out, two run single to right to tie the game. Charlie Keller contributed a two run homer and Joe Gordon a two run single.  wensloff needed relief help, but his heroics gave the Yankee fans some hope  Yankees 7  Tigers 2

Tigers lead series 2-1

ALCS Game 2 - "Rich rewards"

October 10  Game 2

Chandler vs. Trout

Eleven days ago, Dizzy Trout threw a masterful 1-0 shutout of the Yankees to clinch the pennant.  Today he was good for six innings of shutout work.  But so was Spud Chandler.  In the first six innings, only the Yankees had been able to get a runner as far as third, and then only with two already out.  Wetherly led off the seventh with a single and Matheny hit a 2 run homer to give the Yankees the lead.  But the Tigers came right back.  With one out, Hank Greenberg missed a homer by inches and settled for a double.  York and Cramer walked to load the bases.  Paul Richards doubled home all three.  Webb singled home Richards and the Tigers added one more to take a 5-2 lead.  Trout went the distance and the Tigers take a 2-0 lead in the series   Tigers 5  Yankees 3

Tigers lead series 2-0

ALCS Game 1 - "Roy Rogers"

Briggs Stadium
October 9, Game 1
Bonham vs. Newhouser

With 9 days off, the Tigers were able to set their rotation exactly the way they wanted.  But how would the hitters respond?  Tiny Bonham led off the third with a walk and went to second on Tuck Stainback's single.  Then Newhouser lost his control and walked Charlie Keller and Joe Gordon to force in a run.  The first five innings and two trips through the batting order displayed what the Tigers feared.  Their bats had gone ice cold.  Bonham had allowed only two base runners, both on Yankee errors.  Newhouser, though, led off the 6th with a walk and then went to third on Bob Maier's double.  After Bonham got a pop out, Roy Cullenbine singled home both runners.  Greenberg followed with a single and Rudy York scored Cullenbine with a sacrifice fly to left.  Doc  Cramer singled home another run and before it was over, Skeeter Webb singled home a fifth.  The Yankees went still although they put up a single run in the 9th.  Tigers 5  Yankees 2

Tigers lead series 1-0

--submitted by Tom "Crash" Davis--

Dodgers - Cardinals Meet for National League Title

The baseball season is played for the right to get into the big game, the World Series, and for the Brooklyn Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals the deciding series for that right has arrived.  The path to the National League Championship series was very different for the two contestants.  Brooklyn, who got off to a 9-15 start had to go 12-4 the second half of the season to earn a spot in the League Playoffs.  St. Louis, on the other hand, coasted through the season and finished 32-8 to earn the bye into the National League Championship game.  Brooklyn, who finished in 3rd place, had to get buy Pittsburgh to earn their spot.

So it comes down to Brooklyn and St. Louis for the National League title and although the Cardinals won 6 of the 8 games played between the two teams the Dodgers where coming off a sweep of the Pirates and a second half record of 15-4 and appear to be peaking at the right time.

October 9
Sportsman's Park, St. Louis
Gregg vs Munger


The game started well for Brooklyn as leadoff man, Eddie Stanky, triples to right and scores one out later for an early 1-0 Dodger lead.  Through the first 4 innings the Cards had their opportunities but Gregg pitched out of trouble stranding 5 runners.  St. Louis finally broke through to tie the score in the 5th on a Johnny Hopp leadoff single, an intentional walk to Stan Musial and an RBI single by Ray Sanders.  Meanwhile, Red Munger was in a groove giving up only 4 hits through the first 7 innings.  The Cardinal offense finally got untracked in the 7th inning with a lot of help from a tiring Hal Gregg.  Walker Cooper doubles with one out and "The Man" gets another intentional pass, his 3rd of the game.  Gregg than loses his control and walks Sanders to load the bases and promptly wild pitches the lead run home for a 2-1 Cardinal lead.  Whitey Kurowski than sends a ground ball to SS Eddie Basinski who airmails it into the first base stands which allow 2 more runs to score.  Then with 2 out Marty Marion singles and Emil Verban doubles to bring in the 4th run of the inning and a 5-1 St. Louis lead.  Brooklyn adds one in the 8th and Blix Donnelly comes on to save game one for a 5-2 Cardinal win.

St. Louis leads series 1-0

October 10
Sportsman's Park, St. Louis
Davis vs Cooper

Game 2 begins like the first with Brookly scoring a run in the opening frame on a Dixie Walker solo shot to the right field bleachers for a 1-0 Dodger lead.  Brooklyn extended the lead to 2-0 in the top of the 3rd when Tommy Brown, after singles by Curt Davis and Eddie Stanky, grounded out to score the run.  The Cards narrowed the lead to one in the bottom of the inning when Johnny Hopp singled to score Marty Marion. The score remained 2-1 until the 5th. Emil Verban lead off with a single and pitcher, Mort Cooper, followed with a single of his own. One out later, Mort's brother, Walker, singled to score Verban and tie the score.  That brought Musial to the plate with the Cooper brothers on 1st and 2nd.  Brooklyn's manager had walked "The Man" 3 times in the first game, once with runners on first and third, but this time he elected to pitch to him.  Brooklyn paid the price for that decision as Musial hit the first pitch he saw and deposited 361 feet away into the right center field bleachers for a 3 run homer and a 5-2 Cardinal lead. The Redbirds added one more in the inning to put up a 5 spot and the damage was done.  Brooklyn added 1 in the 6th and after adding 2 more in the 9th, Blix Donnelly came on with one out to notch his second save and a second St. Louis win, 7-5.

St. Louis leads series 2-0

October 12
Ebbets Field, Brooklyn
Lanier vs Lombardi

Trailing the series 2-0, Brooklyn is glad to return to the friendly confines of Ebbets Field and the home town crowd.  The raucous crowd of Dodger fans was quieted early when Walker Cooper singled in the first with one out and came around to score on Stan Musial's triple who, in turn, scored on a Vic Lombardi wild pitch for a 2-0 Cardinal lead after a half inning.  However, that quieted crowed came back to life with a vengeance when "Dem Bums" scored 3 in the bottom of the first on a 3 run blast by Goody Rosen for an early 3-2 lead.  The decibel level doubled in the second inning when Brooklyn tacked on another run for a 4-2 lead and all looked bright in Brooklyn Borough .  In the 3rd Walker Cooper cracked a leadoff HR to narrow the lead to 4-3 and then he drove in another in the 4th to tie game 4-4.  The pitchers settled in after that and after 7 it was still a 4-4 game.  As has been the case all season, St. Louis is the most dangerous in the late innings and this game was no different.  Emil Verban got a leadoff single and Lanier sacrificed him to second.  Cy Buker, who had come on after Verban's single, was the victim of some shoddy defense. Hopp popped up to 3B but Frenchy Bordagar dropped the ball putting men on 1st and 3rd.  Cooper than hit a SF to score the lead run for the Cards.  After Musial was intentionally walked, Ray Sanders got aboard on an error by 1B Augie Galen that loaded the bases.  If the lack of defense behind him wasn't enough to unnerve Buker the passed ball by his catcher was.  St. Louis now leads 6-4 after 8.  To make sure of the win the Cardinals added 3 more in the 9th topped off by a 2 run double by Walker Cooper who had an outstanding game with 5 hits 2 runs and 5 RBI.  Cards win game 3, 9-4.

St. Louis leads series 3-0

October 13
Ebbets Field, Brooklyn
Brecheen vs Herring

Down to their last game and trying to avoid a St. Louis sweep, the Dodgers send Art Herring to the mound to try and tame the St. Louis mighty offense. Once again the Dodger's score in the first inning on a Luis Olmo base hit but once again St. Louis comes back to tie it in the 2nd on another throwing error by the Dodgers.  The Cards take the lead in the 4th inning when Marty Marion drives an 0-2 pitch from Herring into the left field bleachers for a 2-1 Cardinal lead.  Then to the delight of the Brooklyn fans the home team scores 2 runs in the bottom of the 5th. Goody Rosen gets a one out double and scores on a Fats Dantonio single to tie the game.  After the runner goes to 3rd on a wild pitch Art Herring takes matters into his own hands and gets himself an infield hit to plate the run and the Dodgers lead 3-2.  Herring retires 12 batters in a row before Ray Sanders singles in the 8th and he allows a walk but he gets out of the inning.  After the Brooklyn is retired in the 9th the Dodger fans come to their feet for the start of the 9th inning.  Herring begins the 9th by retiring Marion on a ground ball to 2nd and Verban on a fly ball to RF.  Needing one more out, Herring walks PH Augie Bergamo, and the Brooklyn manager brings in Les Webber to get the last out as Art Herring tips his hat to the appreciative crowd as he heads for the dugout.  Webber is able to seal the deal as he gets Hopp to ground out to 2B and the hometown crowd erupts as their is a sliver a light at the end of the tunnel.  Brooklyn wins game 4, 3-2 behind an outstanding pitching performance by Art Herring as he went 8.2 innings allowing 4 hits and one earned run.

St. Louis leads series 3-1

October 14
Ebbets Field
Gregg vs Munger

As the series moves back to St. Louis it is a match up of game one pitchers, Hal Gregg for the Dodgers and Red Munger for the Cardinals. The two had locked into a 7 inning pitching duel in game one and the Brooklyn fans who didn't have a ticket for the game and were listening on their RCA radios at home were hoping for more of the same but with a different outcome.  For those Dodger fans who were late getting to their radios because they were in the kitchen fixing a "Dagwood" for lunch more than likely couldn't believe what they heard when they sat back down. St. Louis was taking no prisoners in this game.  As has been the case for the series, shoddy defense has been a large part of Brooklyn's undoing and to the Cardinal's credit they have taken advantage of those miscues. After getting the first out Walker Cooper gets on base on a throwing error by 1B Ed Stevens.  Brooklyn manager again elects to intentionally walk Musial and Hal Gregg than loses his control. He walks Ray Sanders to load the bases, Whitey Kurowski to plate the first run of the game and then walks Danny Litwhiler to score the second run.  Marty Marion hits a fly to center that Goody Rosen drops to allow the 3rd run to score.  Emil Verban than doubles to to plate 2 more runs.  With 2 out Johnny Hopp gets himself and infield hit to score the 6th run of the inning and just like that the Dodger fans, both in the park and at home, are stunned and quiet and realize if they are going to win this game they have to come from a long way back.  After a half inning they trail 6-0.  Brooklyn gets one back in the 2nd on a Johnny Peacock single.  The teams trade runs in the 4th and the score is 7-2.  That remains the score until the 7th when once again the Redbirds turn on the offense in the late innings. A walk and 3 singles add up to two runs to extend the St. Louis lead to 9-2.  Again, in the 8th, a walk and 3 more singles lead to 3 more runs and a 12-2 St. Louis advantage and by now the Brooklyn fans pretty much know that their season is nearing an end.  They do add a run in the 8th but that was it as St. Louis wins game 5, 12-3 and move on to the World Series against the king of the American League, Detroit Tigers. Emil Verban was the star of the game as he had 3 hits and 3 RBI.

St. Louis wins series 4-1

ALWS GAME 4 - "Bombers Clinch in 4"

Game 4

Sportsman's Park

Sig Jakucki (4-3, 2.44)

vs

Hank Borowy (4-2, 5.10)

In the top of the 1st, Weatherly and Keller singled with one out and Dickey brought one in on a SAC Fly to RF.  Nick Etten, who has been red hot all series then unloaded a long HR to RF to put the Yankees up 3-0 in the 1st.  St Louis put the 1st two batters on in the 2nd but Hank Borowy stranded them.  Both Jakucki and Borowy were putting up "0s" as the game went to the 7th.  Jakucki walked Borowy to open the inning them saw his defense fall apart.  Stirnweiss laid down a terrible SH bunt attempt and 1B McQuinn fired to 2nd to start a DP.  However his throw sailed into LF and both runners were safe. After a SH, Jakucki retired Keller on a flyball to CF with Borowy staying glued to 3B.  Dickey then gave the Yankees yet another clutch 2-out hit on a Double into the gap.  The Yankees threatened again in the 8th but stranded runners at 2nd and 3rd.  In the bottom of the 8th, the Browns started a rally.  Chet Laabs walked and PH Ellis Clary legged out an IF hit.  After a popout, Borowy walked Al Zarilla on 5 pitches and was sent to the showers in favor of Johnny Murphy.  Kreevich greeted Murphy by blasting a long flyball that fell short of the wall but allowed Laabs to trot home.  Vern Stephens then grounded out and the game moved to the 9th.  The Yanks put a runner on in the top of the 9th but didn't score.  In the bottom of the 9th, McQuinn, who made the costly error in the 7th led off with a single off Murphy.  Christman flied out for out number one.  Don Gutteridge popped out for out number two.  Murphy finished off the series clinching win by striking out Chet Laabs.  Yankees 5 Browns 1

Series MVP:  Nick Etten who drove in 8 runs in the 4 game series.

Congrats to Ron on a great season!
--submitted by Bob K--

ALWS GAME 3 - "Zuber-man"

Game 3

Sportsman's Park

Jack Kramer (5-2, 3.28)

vs

Butch Wensloff (1-4, 4.84)

After a pitcher's duel and a blowout, the teams headed west for pivotal game 3.  The Yankees went on top in the 1st.  Stirnweiss led off with a line single and after an out, Keller beat out an IF single.  Dickey followed with a walk to load the bases for game one hero Etten.  Etten ripped a deep drive to CF.  Kreevich made a great catch and throw.  Stirnweiss scored but no other runner moved up a base. Kramer struck out Gordon to end the threat and the Browns bats went right back to work.  Zarilla and Christman hit one singles off Wensloff.  Stephens hit a comebacker with the only play at 1st for out number 2.  McQuinn then plated both runs with a line hit to RF to put St Louis ahead.  Kreevich flied out to end the 1st.  The Yanks started the 2nd with singles from Johnson and Lindell.  Wensloff K'd and Stirnweiss gounded out on a great play by SS Stephens with the runners moving to 2nd and 3rd.  Weatherly followed with a clutch hit to put the Yanks back up by one.  In the 3rd, the Browns answered.  Zarilla walked and moved up on a groundout.  Johnson then robbed Stephens of a hit for out number 2.  McQuinn then evened the game up with a clutch hit of his own to plate Zarilla who just beat the throw home.  The score remained knotted until the 7th.  Charlie Keller singled with one out and a Dickey hit pushed him to third.  Etten then lifted a fly to RF with Keller beating the throw home.  Kramer struck out Gordon for the 3rd time to strand Dickey at 2nd.  Wensloff held the lead through 7 with the help of a DP.  In the top of the 8th, a Billy Johnson Double ended Kramer's night and reliever Tex Shirley put the Yanks down 1-2-3 with Johnson left standing at 2nd.  The Yanks then turned the game over to Bill Zuber.  He retired the first two batters then allowed hits to Kreevich and Gene Moore to put the tieing run at 3rd.  With Yankees closer Johnny Murphy quickly warming up, Zuber recovered to strike out Milt Byrnes on 3 pitches.  The Yankees then added insurance runs in the 9th on two out RBI hits by Etten and Gordon.  Zuber put the Browns down 1-2-3 to give the Yankees a 2-1 series lead.  Yankees 6 Browns 3

ALWS GAME 2 - "Magilla-Zarilla"

Game 2

Yankees Stadium

Spud Chandler (4-5, 3.06)

vs

Bob Muncrief (3-5, 3.28)

After being held to 1 run and 5 hits in the series opener, the Brown annihilated the Yankees' pitchers, scoring 13 runs on 20 hits.  The big bats were Al Zarilla with 4 hits and 2 RBIs; Christman with 3 hits and 2 RBIs; Stephens with a Homerun and 3 RBIs; and Kreevich with a HR and 2 RBIs.  Muncrief went the distance for the 4 hit shutout to even the series as it moves to St Louis.  Browns 10 Yankees 0

ALWS GAME 1 - "Bonham's Up"

The American League Wildcard matchup featured  two teams separated by 1 game in the standings.  The New York Yankees (21-19) started the season 1-7 including a 4 game loss to St. Louis where they were outscored 35-8 before they righted the ship.  In their last series with the Browns they managed a 2-2 spilt.  The St. Louis Browns (20-20) recovered from a late season 1-5 swoon to take 3 of 4 from Cleveland to capture a wildcard slot.

Game 1

Yankees Stadium

Tiny Bonham (3-4, 2.67)

vs

Nels Potter (3-4, 2.42)

Tiny Bonham held the Browns to 1 hit going into the bottom of the 3rd.  With one out Roy Weatherly blasted one off the RF wall for extrabases.  Unfortunately he was caught admiring his hit and tripped over 1st base and was lucky to scramble back to 1st where he got an earful from the 1st base coach.  Potter then K'd Yanks slugger Charlie Keller for out number 2.  Bill Dickey picked him up by slicing a single into RF with Weatherly racing to 3rd.  Nick Etten followed by driving a ball into the RF corner with both Weatherly and Dickey coming in to score the first runs of the game.  Joe Gordon fouled out to strand Etten.  The Browns put two on after 2 out in the 4th but Keller made a good play on a deep fly in foul territory to retire the side.  The Yankees threatened in the 5th putting two on with one out in the 5th but Potter retired Etten and Gordon to keep the score 2-0.  In the 7th, Potter walked Keller with one out.  After Dickey popped out, Etten came to the plate again and delivered again, this time lining a Triple into the RF alley to score Keller.  Potter stranded Etten at 3rd by retiring Gordon but the Yanks were able to add what would be a huge run.  Bonham was crusing going into the top of the 8th but started to tire as he walked Vern Stephens with one out.  George McQuinn followed by legging out a Double with Stephens stopping at 3rd.   During a mound visit, Bonham convinced his manager to stick with him.  The Browns Mark Christman made the Yanks pay by blasting a long drive to RF.  However, this day luck was with Bonham as RF Johnny Lindell was able to track it down with Stephens easily scoring.  Bonham was able to get out of the jam by retiring Milt Byrnes.  The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the 8th.  They sent Bonham out to start the 9th but after he issued a leadoff walk to Chet Laabs, his night was over.  New York turned over the game to tough RH Johnny Murphy who saved 6 of the Yanks 21 wins.  Gene Moore grounded one deep into the hole at SS with Snuffy Stirnweiss making a gold glove play to retire Moore at 1st with Laabs moving to 2nd.  Red Hayworth popped out bringing up PH Mike Kreevich.  Murphy walked him on 4 pitches putting him the tieing runs on base.  Murphy though closed out the game with a flourish, striking out Don Gutteridge on 4 pitches.  Yankees 3 Browns 1

--submitted by Bob K--

NLWC GAME 3 - "It's good to be King"

Ebbets Field
GAME 3
Strincevich (4-2, 2.88) vs Herring (5-1, 2.08)
Dodgers 8, Pirates 5

After starting the season 0-6 dem Bums never quite expected to be 1 game away from playing for the NL Pennant.  After taking the first 2 games on the road Brooklyn now needed a victory before the Flatbush Faithful to eliminate the Bucs.  After jumping out to a 5-0 lead thanks to a solo run in the first and four huge runs in the 3rd dem Bums looked like a sure bet to cruise to victory.  Five runs over the next 3 frames by Pittsburgh tied the game up.  The normally boisterous crowd on Bedford Ave was so quiet you could hear a Knish drop.  The normally reliable Art Herring was handed a 5 run lead and he couldn't hold it.  Instead of pulling him out after giving up 2 in the 4th, 1 in the 5th and 2 in the 6th, the Dodgers decided to give him one more inning.  Herring gutted his way through the 7th by not allowing another run.  In the bottom of the inning Luis Olmo tried to bunt his way on.  Catcher Al Lopez bounced a throw to first that pulled Dahlgren off the bag.  Olmo stole second, but would have wound up there any way when Augie Galan walked with 1 out.  Bill Hart, who started this series purely because he had great range at third, delivered with his bat.  An RBI seeing eyed single just out of reach of Dahlgren at first plated Olmo and made it 6-5.  The Bucs then gave 8th place hitter Mike Sandlock and intentional pass to bring up pitcher Herring.  Instead of Herring, who was not having a banner day on the hill, Mickey Owen was called on to pinch hit.  Owen, who most remember for his passed ball gaffe in the 1941 World Series, has been a keen pinch hit bat off the bench for dem Bums all season.  Owen swung at a 1-0 offering and flied easily to center to end the threat.  Brooklyn's 1 run lead was now being entrusted to their most reliable reliever Clyde King.  The be-speckled reliever had himself an easy time of it in the 8th setting the Bucs down in order 1-2-3.  In the bottom of the inning the Dodgers would score 2 more insurance runs on a 2 run blast from "The People's Cherce", Dixie Walker.  Fans in Flatbush love Fred "Dixie" Walker as if he were one of their own.  He's so popular here he even

has two nick names !  The Dodgers threatened to score more, but reliever Preacher Roe fanned Goody Rosen and Augie Galan to end the inning.  The top of the 9th saw Johnny Barrett strike out on a 2-2 curveball.  Pete Coscarat singled to left then stole second, because the King was not holding him on.  Vince DiMaggio worked out a walk, which brought up the tying run in the form of left fielder Jimmy Russell.  After taking a strike on the corner Russell hit a bullet to Brat Stanky, who flipped the ball to Basinski covering second for the force.  Basinski then rifled one to first to beat Russell by a step for a game ending DP.  Luis Olmo had a perfect day at the plate going 4-4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI.  Eddie Basinski was 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored playing the role as the perfect tablesetter.  The big story was the clutch relief pitching of one Mr. Clyde King, who threw 2 scoreless innings of relief to protect the lead to finish off the sweep of Pittsburgh.  Brooklyn will get 3 days off before heading to St. Louis for their series vs the dominant Cardinals who won the NL Flag by 9 games and took 6 of 8, including an opening series sweep, from dem Bums in the regular season.
Dodgers win series 3-0

NLWC GAME 2 - "Olmo-st Perfect"

Forbes Field
GAME 2
Davis (6-2, 3.19) vs Ostermueller (7-0, 1.25)
Dodgers 4, Pirates 2

Brooklyn scored two quick runs off of the virtually untouchable Fritz Ostermueller to stake Curt Davis to an early lead.  Luis Olmo (2-4, 3 RBI) doubled home Brown with two outs then scored on an Augie Galan single.  Galan got greedy and tried to stretch his knock into a double and was out at second by about 2 strides thanks to an accurate throw by left fielder Russell.  An error by surehanded thirdbaseman Bill Hart and shortstop Brown led to a cheap run for the Bucs in the bottom of the 4th.  Brooklyn answered right back in the top of the 5th on Olmo's second double of the day.  Brat Stanky, who worked out a 1 out walk, scored from second.  Dixie Walker tried to scoot all the way around from first was pegged at the plate to end the two out rally.  Brooklyn added a cheapie in the 8th when Dixie Walker walked, stole second, and advanced to third on a throwing error.  Olmo grounded to short for his 3rd RBI of the day to easily plate Walker and put the Brooks up 4-1.  With Curt Davis tiring and Clyde King up in the pen the Bucs took aim at getting back into the game.  Russell launched a double to the gap in left center to get things started.  Dahlgren flied out to left.  Elliot grounded to short, but defensive replacement Basinski booted the ball to put runners on the corners.  Frankie Zak hit a bullet back to Davis who looked the runner back on 3rd and threw to second for the force for out number 2.  Frankie Colman singled deep into the hole to score Elliott to make it 4-2.  With the winning running at the plate and the tying run on 1st the Bucs went to 38 year old future HOF'er Lloyd "Little Poison" Waner, who hit .357 in the regular season.  Waner, who smaked a pinch hit single in game 1, has been in these pressure situations before in his 18 year career.  Davis' first offering was just off the plate.  Waner zoned the next one and got a fastball right down Broadway.  A 28 year old Waner more than likely would have hit that pitch into the gap for a game tying triple.  A 38 year old Waner just got under it and lofted an easy game ending fly ball to Goody Rosen.

Dodgers lead series 2-0

NLWC GAME 1 - "For Pete's sake..."

Forbes Field

GAME 1

Gregg (5-1, 2.62) vs Butcher (4-3, 3.76)

Dodgers 6, Pirates 4

Brooklyn held a 3-2 lead heading into the 8th, then scored 3 big runs to make it 6-2.  Hurler Hal Gregg had a big RBI single as did banjo hitting shortstop Eddie Basinski to plate 2 of the 3 runs that inning.  The third run scored on a Brat Stanky walk. The Bucs didn't sail off into the sunset easily.  Bob Elliott doubled off the wall in right to score Babe Dahlgren to cut the deficit in half (6-3) in the bottom of the 8th.  In the 9th Gregg was really laboring, but his manager let him know that the game was his.  Davis and ancient pinch hitter Waner led off the home half of the 9th with clean singles.  Johnny "Legs" Barrett struck out for the first out.  Pete Coscarart grounded back to the originator for a force out at second.  Pinch runner Frankie Gustine scored on the play to make it 6-4.  Needing one more out to seal the deal Gregg had to face the #3 hitter Colman.  The tiring Gregg reared back to throw his first pitch to Colman when Coscarart broke for second.  Catcher Mike Sandlock threw a pea to Stanky who swiped the tag on Coscarat to end the game with the tying run at the plate.  Luis Olmo, finally breaking out of his slump, went 2 for 3 with a double and 3 RBI's.

Dodgers lead series 1-0

Final Regular Season Standings

  National           
                     W   L    Pct    GB   E#   L10  Stk
x-44 St. Louis N    32    8  .800     -    -   7-3   W2
y-44 Pittsburgh     23   17  .575   9.0    E   6-4   W4
y-45 Brooklyn       21   19  .525  11.0    E   9-1   L1
  45 New York N     17   23  .425  15.0    E   1-9   L2
  45 Chicago N      16   24  .400  16.0    E   4-6   L4
  44 Cincinnati     11   29  .275  21.0    E   2-8   W1

  American           
                     W   L    Pct    GB   E#   L10  Stk
x-45 Detroit        24   16  .600     -    -   4-6   W2
y-43 New York A     21   19  .525   3.0    E   6-4   L2
y-44 St. Louis A    20   20  .500   4.0    E   4-6   L1
  43 Cleveland      19   21  .475   5.0    E   5-5   W1
  44 Philadelphia   19   21  .475   5.0    E   7-3   L1
  43 Washington     17   23  .425   7.0    E   4-6   W1

x -Clinched 1st place and HFA
y -Clinched Wild Card

Click here to view Final NL Stats
Click here to view Final AL Stats

Brownies take 3 of 4 from Tribe to clinch playoff slot

Simply put this was a win to get in series.  In essence this was actually playoff baseball.  If ESPN was around in the mid 40's this series would have been featured.  Instead fans from Cleveland would keep tabs on the game by listening to WJW.  Fans back home in St. Louis had the pleasure of tuning their radio dial to WEW and listening to John O'Hara and ole' Dizzy Dean.

League Park

GAME 1

Potter vs A.Smith

Browns 10, Indians 4

A 4 run outburst in the top of the 7th by the visiting Brownies broke up a 4-4 stalemate.  An RBI single by Mark Christman with 2 out made it a 5-4 game.  Mack's second error of the day prolonged the inning and allowed George McQuinn to score which made it 6-4.  Mike Kreevich then followed with the knockout blow, a 2 run double, to give the Browns a 4 run lead.  St. Louis added 2 more in the 9th to make this look like a blowout.  Four Brownies had multi-hit games.  Christman had 3 RBI's and 2 runs scored.

GAME 2

Muncrief vs Reynolds

Browns 7, Indians 1

Absolutely no drama in this contest.  The Tribe scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the 1st on a Roy Cullenbine single and never again threatened.  St. Louis responded with 6 runs over the next 3 innings.  Bob Muncrief was on his game giving up just 1 run on 6 hits in 8 innings.  George Caster finished off the game with a scoreless 9th.  Catcher Red Hayworth was the only Brownie not to hit safely.  Every other Brown had 1 hit, including pitcher Muncrief.  Centerfielder Milt Byrnes had the only multi-hit day (2-3).  He also chipped in 3 RBI's.

GAME 3

Kramer vs Harder

Browns 4, Indians 3 (15 inn)

This 15 inning extravaganza was the coffin nail in the Tribe's season.  Down 3-0 after 5 1/2 innings of play, Cleveland rallied back for 3 runs in the bottom of the 6th to tie the game up.  For the next 8 innings both teams posted goose eggs on the scoreboard.  That would all change in the top of the 15th when one mighty swing off of Vern Stephens' bat made it 4-3 Brownies.  The 4th reliever of the day, Al Hollingsworth, came on and got the final 3 outs to save the day and push the Brownies into the post season.

GAME 4

Jakucki vs Bagby

Indians 2, Browns 0

Jim Bagby cruised to a 2 hit shutout as both teams had their buses pack and their gear stowed on this getaway day season finale.  St. Louis' bus is headed to the Bronx, New York for a best of 5 playoff series.  Cleveland's bus is headed in all different directions as the team will now officially scatter to the four corners of the earth.  Some of these boys will be back next year, while others will be heading into service to help us defeat the evils of fascism across the globe.

A's take 3 of 4 from Nats

The season was closing and the A's were tired of being beaten down. Four more games and then some free time.  Washington had pounded the A's just a week before taking three out of four games and winning those games in an almost slaughterhouse type fashion.  All that was left for the A's was to try a gain a little bit of respect.  

Game one was 0-0 after four innings, 1-1 after five innings, in the sixth the A's scored to make it 2-1 and then they put another run on the board in the 7th to lead 3-1.  The Senators put a single tally on the board in the 8th but nothing in the 9th. 3-2 the A's won.  George Kell and Bobby Estelella each went 2 for 4 for the Mack-men.

Game two appeared to be just like the prior series with Washington jumping on Russ Christopher for

two runs in the first and adding another run in the second.  Philadelphia had countered in the bottom of the first with a single run making their deficit 2-1.  In the bottom of the third the Athletics put two more on the scoreboard to even the score at 3's after 3.  The game remained the same until the bottom of the 7th when the A's plated two more runs to take the lead 5-3 and that is how it ended. The A's victorious 5-3.  Christopher would go 8 2/3 innings before giving way to Berry who got the final out and notched his 5th save.

The third game of the series was won in the bottom of the 9th when the A's scored two runs to win 5-4.  Bill McGhee went 3 for 4 and hit a solo shot

The A's going for a sweep were sadly let down by their manager when he failed in the bottom of the 8th to get their stud reliever up.  After they went quietly in the bottom of the 8th, poor Bobo was exhausted and left out on the mound to play the part of a clown.  By the time the sleep apnea'd manager awoke, Washington had scored three to win the final game 5-2.

--submitted by Orion Bell--

Stash comes up short of .400 as Redbirds take 3 of 4 from Jints

Sportsman’s Park

GAME 1

Feldman vs M.Cooper

Cardinals 7, Giants 4

As steady flow of run by the Redbirds did the Jints in today.  New York did make it look respectable with 3 in the top of the 7^th, but that was more due to Mr. Cooper’s benevolence than his lack of skill.  With this loss the Jints found themselves eliminated from post season consideration.  Of interest to all in attendance was the 2-4 day by Stan “the Man” Musial, which moved his average to an even .400 on the year as he tries to accomplish what Ted Williams did a few years back.

GAME 2

Mungo vs Gumbert

Giants 7, Cardinals 6

The invincible Redbirds rallied back from a 6-4 deficit with 2 runs in the bottom of the 9^th to force extra innings thanks to a Ray Sanders 2 run shot with 2 outs.  The Jints, who are playing for pride,  were having trouble cashing in on the 17 hits they compiled on the day.  In the top of the 11^th they got a leadoff homer from Johnny Rucker to go up 7-6.  Reliever Adrian Zabala pitched a perfect bottom of the 11^th to save the game for Rube Fischer, who evened his record at 1-1.

GAME 3

Brewer vs Lanier

Cardinals 9, Giants 5

New York scored 2 in the 7^th and e in the 8^th to comeback from a 5-0 deficit.  Unfortunately for the boys from Coogan’s Bluff their opponent was the might Cardinals of St. Louis.  The Redbirds, like they have all season, answered right back with a huge inning (4 runs) to win going away.  Walker Cooper was 3 for 5 with a run scored and a run knocked in.  Marty Marion also had a 3 hit day, but the real story was Stash going 0-4 as his average dropped to .383 on the season.  Musial’s chance to reach the elusive .400 are now all but gone.

GAME 4

Maglie vs Wilks

Cardinals 6, Giants 5

With nothing at stake in this final contest of the season the Redbirds sat idle for 7 innings and looked content to let Sal “The Barber” Maglie cruise to victory.  Maglie tired before finishing the 7^th and Ace Adams was called in from the pen to protect a 3 run lead.  True to their respective season storylines the Giants pen blew another late inning lead and the Cardinals bats came back from another deficit.  Down by 3 the Redbirds scored 4 in the bottom of the 8^th to hand reliever Blix Donnelly (3-0, 0.93) the victory.  Musial would go 1-3 and finish the year with a hearty .382 as his campaign to reach .400 fell short during the final weekend of the season.  Johnny Hopp (3-5) knocked in 2 from the leadoff spot.  Every Cardinal posted a safety today.  St. Louis, who clinched the NL Flag eons ago finished off the season with an incredible 32-8 record.