1946 World Series

1946 World Series

Team (Wins) Manager Season St. Louis Cardinals (4) Eddie Dyer 98–58, .628, GA: 2 Boston Red Sox (3) Joe Cronin 104–50, .675, GA: 12
Dates:	October 6–15
Radio:	Mutual
Radio announcers:	Jim Britt and Arch McDonald
Umpires:	Lee Ballanfant (NL), Cal Hubbard (AL), Al Barlick (NL), Charlie Berry (AL)
Hall of Famers:	Umpires: Cal Hubbard, Al Barlick Cardinals: Stan Musial, Red Schoendienst, Enos Slaughter Red Sox Joe Cronin‡ (mgr.), Bobby Doerr, Ted Williams

The 1946 World Series was played in October 1946 between the St. Louis Cardinals (representing the National League) and the Boston Red Sox (representing the American League). This was the Red Sox's first appearance in a World Series since their championship of 1918.

In the eighth inning of Game 7, with the score 3–3, the Cardinals' Enos Slaughter opened the inning with a single but two batters failed to advance him. With two outs, Harry Walker walloped a hit over Johnny Pesky's head into left-center field. As Leon Culberson chased it down, Slaughter started his "mad dash". Pesky caught Culberson's throw, turned and—perhaps surprised to see Slaughter headed for the plate—supposedly hesitated just a split second before throwing home. Roy Partee had to take a few steps up the third base line to catch Pesky's toss, but Slaughter was safe without a play at the plate and Walker was credited with an RBI double. The Cardinals won the game and the Series in seven games, giving them their sixth championship.

Boston superstar Ted Williams played the Series injured and was largely ineffective but refused to use his injury as an excuse.

As the first World Series to be played after wartime travel restrictions had been lifted, it returned from the 3-4 format to the 2–3–2 format for home teams, which has been used ever since. It also saw the return of many prominent players from military service.

Summary

NL St. Louis Cardinals (4) vs. AL Boston Red Sox (3)

Matchups

Game 1

The Red Sox won Game 1 when Rudy York hit a home run into the left field bleachers.

Game 2

Game 3

The Red Sox scored three runs in the first inning on Rudy York's blast then won by a score of 4–0.

Game 4

This is the only game in World Series history that three players on the same team (St. Louis) had four or more hits (Enos Slaughter, Whitey Kurowski and Joe Garagiola had four each). Red Sox outfielder Wally Moses got four hits as well and second baseman Bobby Doerr hit a two-run home run and would hit .409 in the Series.

Game 5

Ted Williams hit a RBI single, his only RBI of the whole Series. Leon Culberson homered while Joe Dobson got the victory for Boston.

Game 6

St. Louis staved off elimination at home, chasing Boston starter Harris with a three-run third. Marty Marion added an RBI double in the eighth to back Harry Brecheen's second win of the Series.

Game 7

The Cardinals led 3–1 in the eighth inning when Dom DiMaggio tied the game with a two-run double but was pulled from the game after pulling a hamstring and Leon Culberson took his position in the center field. Enos Slaughter scored from first base on a play called the Mad Dash. As the runner started, Walker lined the ball to left-center field, where Culberson fielded the ball. As he threw a relay to shortstop Johnny Pesky, Slaughter rounded third base, ignored third base coach Mike González's stop sign, and continued for home plate.

What exactly happened when Pesky turned around is still a matter of contention. Some claim that Pesky, assuming that Slaughter would not be running home, checked Walker at first base instead of immediately firing home, while others contend that Pesky was so shocked to see Slaughter on his way to score that he had a mental lapse that accounted for the delay. Whatever the reason, the delay and a weak and rushed throw home allowed Slaughter to score just as Red Sox catcher Roy Partee caught it up the line from home plate.

The run put the Cardinals ahead 4–3 and proved to be the winning run. Harry "The Cat" Brecheen had come out of the bullpen during Boston's rally in the eighth when the Red Sox had two men on base, and he gave up the double by DiMaggio that tied the game. Brecheen allowed two singles to start the ninth inning, but then retired the Red Sox without giving up a run, to record his third victory of the Series.

Composite box

1946 World Series (4–3): St. Louis Cardinals (N.L.) over Boston Red Sox (A.L.)

Highlights

• This was the first World Series appearance for the Red Sox since 1918, and it would be their last appearance until 1967, when they would again lose to the Cardinals in seven games. However, the Red Sox would win the next two World Series matchups with the Cardinals, sweeping them in 2004 to break an 86-year championship drought, and then defeating them in six games in 2013 (Boston's third in ten years).
• The World Series loss snapped the Red Sox's record of winning their first five postseason series, a feat that would not be matched until the Florida Marlins did it 57 years later in the 2003 National League Championship Series.
• Joe Cronin became the fourth manager to take two teams to the World Series (Pat Moran, Bill McKechnie, and Joe McCarthy were the first three) but was the first who did not win with either of them.
• Several sources erroneously reported that Harry Walker hit a single allowing Enos Slaughter to score. It was officially scored a double.
• This was the first World Series in which the final out in Game 7 came with the tying run on third base.^[9]

Notes

References

• Cohen, Richard M.; Neft, David S. (1990). The World Series: Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903–1989. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 208–212. ISBN 0-312-03960-3. 
• Reichler, Joseph (1982). The Baseball Encyclopedia (5th ed.). Macmillan Publishing. p. 2154. ISBN 0-02-579010-2. 

Further reading

• Weintraub, Robert (2013). The Victory Season: The End of World War II and the Birth of Baseball's Golden Age. New York: Little, Brown & Company. ISBN 978-0-316-20591-7. 

External links

• 1946 World Series at WorldSeries.com (MLB.com)
• 1946 World Series at Baseball Almanac
• 1946 World Series at Baseball-Reference.com
• The 1946 Post-Season Games (box scores and play-by-play) at Retrosheet
• History of the World Series - 1946 at The SportingNews. Archived from the original on 2008.
• Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments: Enos Slaughter's Mad Dash

World Series
No World Series was held in 1904 because the NL champions refused to participate; no World Series was held in 1994 due to a players' strike.
1900s	1900 · 1901 · 1902 · 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
1910s	1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920s	1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930s	1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940s	1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950s	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
See also	Pre-World Series champions World Series champions Most Valuable Players Starting pitchers Babe Ruth Award Commissioner's Trophy Appearances Streaks Droughts Broadcasters TV ratings ALCS NLCS ALDS NLDS ALWC NLWC 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake Dauvray Cup Temple Cup Chronicle-Telegraph Cup Game 7 World Series ring
Book:World Series