1943 World Series

1

The Pittsburgh Press (October 4, 1943)

Lanier, Chandler to pitch Series opener

Card lefty will oppose Yankee star; McCarthy lineup named for game
By Glen Perkins, United Press staff writer

Mr. S. gets ready for Series…

Screenshot 2022-10-04 033048
By Mullin

New York –
Max Lanier, St. Louis Cardinals southpaw, who won 15 games and lost seven this season, will oppose Spurgeon “Spud” Chandler, the Yankee righthander who has a 20–4 record, in the opening game of the World Series here tomorrow.

Billy Southworth, Cardinals manager, announced that Lanier would replace his original choice, Morton Cooper, the Cardinals righthander ace who reportedly has a sore arm. He made the announcement when the team stopped at Syracuse, New York, en route here.

Meanwhile, Yankees manager Joe McCarthy, departing from his usual custom of silence until game time, said that he had selected two lineups, one to start against a righthander and one against a lefty, but that Chandler would be his pitching choice no matter what the Cardinals did.

The Yankees starting lineup against Lanier thus will be:
Tuck Stainbeck, cf.
Frank Crosetti, ss.
Billy Johnson, 3b.
Charlie Keller, lf.
Joe Gordon, 2b.
Bill Dickey, c.
Nick Etten, 1b.
John Lindell, rf.
Spud Chandler, p.

Setup similar

The setup, with the exception of a schedule alteration providing for the first three games to be played here as a transportation saving move, will be the same as in peacetime. There will be the usual trimmings, the usual crowd and for those who can’t get into the park, the usual broadcast of the games. And this year, like last, the radio will carry every play to all the outposts of the world on land and sea where Uncle Sam’s men are fighting to preserve democracy.

It will climax a season which saw millions of fans carry out the game’s plea not to let Hitler, who has killed so many things, kill baseball. It also bore out a promise which Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis made last winter – that if permitted by the administration, baseball would carry on, even if it became necessary to place nine old men on the field.

But the manpower situation did not become that trying. Despite the loss of many stars to the services, the same intense competition and excellence of performance will prevail.

Cards out to repeat

The Cardinals will be seeking to demonstrate that their upset of the Yankees in five games last fall was no fluke. The Yankees, American League pennant winners in seven of the last eight years, will be striving for their seventh world championship under the managership of Joe McCarthy.

Both McCarthy and Southworth pronounced their teams ready. The Cardinals were traveling today, having left St. Louis after closing their season with a 5–4 victory over the New York Giants yesterday, while McCarthy ordered his Yankees to appear at the Stadium for a brief sharpening-up drill and instruction on a complete new set of signals.

The only question mark of the Series’ opener seemed to lie with the Cardinals – Southworth’s opening mound selection. Most baseball men figured it would be Max Lanier, a cagey lefthander.

2

Major League teams close campaign

2nd wartime season is survived

Final standings

National League

W L Pct GB
Cardinals 105 49 .682 -
Reds 87 67 .565 18.0
Dodgers 81 72 .529 23.5
Pirates 80 74 .519 25.0
Cubs 74 79 .484 30.5
Braves 68 85 .444 36.5
Phillies 64 90 .416 41.0
Giants 55 98 .359 49.5

American League

W L Pct GB
Yankees 98 56 .636 -
Senators 84 69 .549 13.5
Indians 82 71 .536 15.5
White Sox 82 72 .532 16.0
Tigers 78 76 .506 20.0
Browns 72 80 .474 25.0
Red Sox 68 84 .447 20.0
Athletics 49 105 .318 49.0

New York (UP) –
Finis was written today to the 1943 Major League Baseball season and the final standings, some of which weren’t determined until the last day, were written into the record books to show posterity that America’s national game survived a second war-year.

The National League wound up with the St. Louis Cardinals in first place for the second straight season. The Cincinnati Reds finished second, the Brooklyn Dodgers third, and the Pittsburgh Pirates completed the first division. The Chicago Cubs were fifth, the Boston Braves sixth, the Philadelphia Phillies seventh and the New York Giants eighth.

In the American League, the New York Yankees led the pack with the surprising Washington Senators second. The Cleveland Indians finished third, and the Chicago White Sox fourth. Topping the second division were the Detroit Tigers, the St. Louis Browns were sixth, Boston Red Sox seventh and the Philadelphia Athletics eighth.

Yesterday’s play saw both league champions finish on a winning note in preparation for the World Series, starting here tomorrow.

The Yankees defeated the Browns, 5–2, and the Cardinals edged out the Giants, 5–4.

Other American League results saw Dizzy Trout notch his 20th triumph as Detroit defeated Washington, 4–1. Cleveland, needing the victory for third place, beat the Athletics, 8–4, in 11 innings, and Chicago won a pair from the Boston Red Sox, 4–2, in the opener and 3–1 in the second.

In the senior loop, Cincinnati defeated Brooklyn, 6–1, as the Philadelphia Phillies staved off any hopes Pittsburgh had for third place by taking two, 3–1 and 11–3. Chicago and Boston split, the Cubs taking the opener, 7–0, and the Braves the nightcap, 5–2.

3

Man i hope the Cardinals beat the Yankees :wink:

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4

Couple questions here. 1 is this the third straight year the Yankees made the world series? 2 is this a replay of last year world series?

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To answer both questions, yes indeed. The Yankees lost in 1942 against the Cardinals, so consider this a rematch.

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6

Ok, that’s what i thought

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1943worldseries

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Game 1

Radio broadcast of the game (MBS):

9

The Pittsburgh Press (October 4, 1943)

YANKS DEFEAT CARDS IN OPENER, 4–2
Flash Gordon hits home run in 4th inning

Redbirds score first run in second; Crosetti proves ‘menace’

New York (UP) –
The Yankees captured first blood in the World Series at Yankee Stadium today as they defeated the Cardinals, 3–2.

Spud Chandler, star pitcher of the Bronx Bombers, bested Max Lanier, Redbird lefty, in a pitching duel which was marred by an unusual number of errors for World Series play. However, several of the misplays were excusable.

Apparently out to erase the “goat” tag hung on him last season, Joe “Flash” Gordon, Yankees second baseman, fielded brilliantly and contributed a home run in the fourth inning.

The Cardinals scored the first run of the Series in the second inning when Walker Cooper scratched a single off Billy Johnson’s glove and went to second on Whitey Kurowski’s sacrifice. Ray Sanders fanned and Danny Litwhiler was given a pass. Cooper scored on Marty Marion’s double to right, but Litwhiler was out at the plate trying to score on the hit.

Gordon hits homer

The Yanks went ahead in the fourth. Frankie Crosetti was safe at first when he bowled over Lanier who was covering the bag and caused Max to drop the ball for an error. Crosetti stole second and took third when Johnson beat out a bunt. Crosetti scored when Charlie Keller hit into a double play. Joe Gordon then hit a home run into the lower left field stands to give the New Yorkers a 2–1 lead.

The Yanks took the field first for batting practice. There was a marked difference between their pre-game warmup under a warm October sun than on opening day of 1942 at Sportsman’s Park, St. Louis. Then they went through their batting drill methodically. But today there was a dash and fire – even in the veterans – for as veteran catcher Bill Dickey put it:

We would rather win this Series than any we’ve ever been in.

Cards to score

The Cards deadlocked the count in their half of the fifth. Sanders beat out a hit to Gordon who made a spectacular stop but the throw to first was just “an eyelash” late. Sanders collided with Nick Etten and Etten dropped the ball allowing Sanders to take second. Sanders took third after Johnny Lindell took Litwhiler’s fly in deep right. Marion grounded out, but Lanier singled to center to score Sanders.

The Yankees broke the tie in the sixth with a two-run rally. Kurowski knocked down Crosetti’s line drive, but Frankie was called safe at first on a close play. Johnson singled over second with Crosetti stopping at second. Keller flied to Musial. With Gordon up, Lanier’s pitch was wild and rolled back to the screen allowing Crosetti to score and Johnson to make third. Gordon fanned but Bill Dickey scored Johnson with a single.

Debs Garms batted for Lanier in the eighth and Harry Brecheen, another lefthander, was the new Cards pitcher. He threw out Johnson and Charlie Keller got his first hit of the game, a single to right. Gordon walked and then Brecheen settled down to fan Dickey and force Etten to fly to Litwhiler in left.

10

Game 1

Tuesday, October 5, 1943 1:30 pm (ET) at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 7 2
New York 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 X 4 8 2

St. Louis Cardinals (NL):

AB R H PO A E
Klein, 2b 4 0 1 0 2 1
Walker, cf 4 0 0 2 0 0
Musial, rf 4 0 1 1 0 0
W. Cooper, c 4 1 1 7 1 0
Kurowski, 3b 3 0 0 1 1 0
Sanders, 1b 4 1 2 8 0 0
Litwhiler, lf 3 0 0 3 0 0
Marion, ss 3 0 1 2 3 0
Lanier, p 2 0 1 0 1 1
Garms, ph 1 0 0 0 0 0
Brecheen, p 0 0 0 0 1 0
Totals 32 2 7 24 9 2

New York Yankees (AL):

AB R H PO A E
Stainback, rf 4 0 1 2 1 0
Crosetti, ss 4 2 1 3 3 1
Johnson, 3b 4 1 2 0 3 0
Keller, lf 4 0 1 0 0 0
Gordon, 2b 3 1 1 4 8 0
Dickey, c 4 0 1 4 0 0
Etten, 1b 4 0 0 11 0 1
Lindell, cf 3 0 0 3 0 0
Chandler, p 3 0 1 0 2 0
Totals 33 4 8 27 17 2

WP: Spud Chandler (1–0)
LP: Max Lanier (0–1)

HR:

  • STL: None
  • NYY: Joe Gordon (1)

Attendance: 68,676

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Play-by-play of World Series

Yankee Stadium, New York – (special)
The following is the play-by-play account of the first game of the World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Yankees:

First inning

CARDINALS: Klein, with the count two and one, flied to Lindell. With the count one and one, Walker flied deep to Tuck Stainback. Chandler worked carefully on Musial and then made him fly out to Lindell on a three-and-one pitch. No runs, no hits, none left.

YANKEES: Stainback ran the count to two and one, fouled one back of the net and then lined to Kurowski. Crosetti took a ball and a strike and then grounded out. Marion to Sanders. Johnson was called out on strikes after working the count to two and two. No runs, no hits, none left.

Second inning

CARDINALS: Walker Cooper hit the first pitch for a single off Johnson’s glove, the first hit of the game. Kurowski, after taking a ball and swinging hard for a strike, sacrificed. Chandler to Gordon, who covered first. Sanders fanned on three straight strikes. Litwhiler was given an intentional pass. Martin lined over Etten’s head into right for a double. W. Cooper scored, but Litwhiler was cut down attempting to tally. Stainback to Dickey. One run, two hits, one left.

YANKEES: Keller, after whamming a long foul into the lower right field stands on a two-and-two pitch, was called out on strikes. Gordon tapped toward third and was thrown out by Lanier. With the count two and two, Dickey bounced out. Kurowski to Sanders. No runs, no hits, none left.

Third inning

CARDINALS: Lanier received a fine ovation as he came to bat. He took one strike and then grounded out. Gordon to Etten. With two strikes and one ball on Klein, he also bounced to Gordon. Walker took a strike and then flied to Stainback. No runs, no hits, none left.

YANKEES: Etten took a ball and then grounded out. Marion to Sanders. Lindell had two strikes and a ball on him and then fanned, but had to be thrown out when W. Cooper dropped the ball. W. Cooper to Sanders. Chandler drew a round of applause when he stepped to the plate. Spud lined a single to left for the Yanks’ first safety. With the count two and one, Stainback fanned. No runs, one hit, one left.

Fourth inning

CARDINALS: Musial took a high, wide pitch and then rolled out. Gordon to Etten. Walker Cooper took a low pitch and then bounced sharply to Crosetti who threw him out. Kurowski hit the first pitch to Gordon who threw him out. No runs, no hits, none left.

YANKEES: Crosetti hit a two-and-one pitch to Klein but was safe when Lanier dropped Lou’s throw to first for an error. With one ball on Johnson, Crosetti stole second. Johnson beat out a tap to Sanders for a single. Crosetti going to third. With the count one and one, Keller grounded into a fast double play. Klein to Marion to Sanders, as Crosetti scored to tie the game 1–1. With the count three and one, Gordon, the hero of the 1941 Series and the goat of last year’s, slammed a home run into the lower left field stands, giving the Yanks a 2–1 lead. Dickey took two balls and a strike and then popped to Marion at short. Two runs, two hits, one error, none left.

Fifth inning

CARDINALS: Sanders beat out a slow roller to Gordon for a hit and when Etten threw wild for an error in returning the ball to the mound, the Cards first-sacker took second. Litwhiler fouled off a pitch and then hoisted to Lindell in deep right. Sanders moving to third after the catch. Chandler gave Marion three balls, slipped over two strikes and then made Marty hit to Gordon, who threw him out while holding Sanders on third. Lanier dropped a Texas League single into short center to score Sanders and tie the game at 2–2. Klein hit the first pitch to Johnson who threw to Gordon to force Lanier. One run, two hits, one error, one left.

YANKEES: With the count two and two, Etten bounced to Klein, who fumbled the ball for an error. Nick stopping at first. Lindell attempted to sacrifice, on the first strike, but the ball went foul. He took a second strike and then missed a third, With the count two and one, Chandler missed a third strike. Stainback fouled off a pitch and then flied to Litwhiler in left center. No runs, no hits, one error, one left.

Sixth inning

CARDINALS: Walker struck out, swinging on a two-and-one pitch. Musial, with two balls and a strike on him, grounded to Gordon. With the count two and two, W. Cooper was safe at first when Crosetti fumbled his roller for an error. Kurowski fouled off a pitch and then rolled out. Gordon to Etten. No runs, no hits, one error, one left.

YANKEES: Crosetti got a single when Kurowski got his glove on his liner but could not hold it. Johnson, after an unsuccessful attempt to sacrifice, singled to center. Crosetti stopping at second. Keller, with the count one and two, flied high to Musial in short right. With the count two strikes and a ball on Gordon, Lanier uncorked a wild pitch. Crosetti scoring and Johnson going to third. Gordon fanned. With two strikes and a ball on Dickey, he dropped a Texas League single into right to score Johnson, making the score Yankees 4, Cardinals 2. Etten flied to Litwhiler on a two-and-one pitch. Two runs, three hits, no errors, one left.

Seventh inning

CARDINALS: With the count one and one, Sanders lined a single to right. On a three-and-two pitch, Litwhiler popped to Crosetti in short center. Marion conked a one-and-one pitch into the left field stands, but it was foul by a scant yard. He then bounced into a rapid-fire double play. Gordon to Crosetti to Etten. No runs, one hit, one left.

YANKEES: Lindell took a ball and then hoisted to Walker in left center. Chandler ran the count to two and two and then flied deep to Walker in left center. Harry making a nice running catch. Stainback lined a single to left. Crosetti popped to Sanders on the second pitch. No runs, one hit, one left.

Eighth inning

CARDINALS: Garms batted for Lanier and fanned after running the count to two and two. Klein dropped a single into short right on the first pitch, the ball falling between Gordon, Lindell and Stainback. Walker hit to Johnson whose throw to Gordon forced Klein at second. Musial socked the second pitch to right for a single. Walker stopping at second. W. Cooper forced Musial on the first pitch. Johnson to Gordon. No runs, two hits, two left.

YANKEES: Southpaw Harry Brecheen went to the mound for the Cardinals. Johnson, with two strikes on him, tapped in front of the plate and was tossed out. Brecheen to Sanders. Keller ran the count to two balls and a strike and then singled to left. Gordon walked with the count three and one. With the count two and two, Dickey missed a third strike. Etten hoisted the first pitch to Litwhiler. No runs, one hit, two left.

Ninth inning

CARDINALS: Kurowski, with two strikes on him, roiled out to Crosetti. Sanders ran the count to three and two and then bounced out. Klein to Crosetti. Chandler leaped high to pull down Litwhiler’s high bounder and threw him out. No runs, no hits, none left.

YANKEES: Unplayed.

12

The Village Smithy

By Chester L. Smith, sports editor

New York –
Maybe the critics and the money-changers are right about the World Series, but Joe Blow and his gang around the corner cigar store don’t think so. The great minds had made the Yankees a 6–5 favorite over the Cardinals as the opening game was run off today, but nobody seems to be paying much attention to them. There was rebellion in the street over these figures, and Yankee money was as scarce as No. 18 coupons. So, for that matter, was ready cash to back the Cards. It was one of those situations that is difficult to explain, unless the folks who fancy the American League Bombers are still suffering from the shock they received last October when the young and inhibitionless Redbirds took the Yanks apart and exposed them as being humans who can throw the ball away and strike out like the rest of the race.

No matter which club wins the series or how easy the victory is accomplished, it will always be a mystery why the National Leaguers went on the field at the Stadium this afternoon on the underside of the betting. Just on the face of it, they shaped up as a club that could repeat. They outhit the Yanks over the season and outpitched them, too. They can run and their defense doesn’t suffer by comparison. And don’t let anybody tell you they weren’t up against equally tough opposition all summer. Neither league was up to par, but the competition in the old wheel was as stiff as any Joe McCarthy’s outfit had to sweep aside.

It’s no secret how the Cards finished so far out in front. They won the close ones and they could also stand up and slug it out with anybody who liked it that way. The case of the Bostin Braves is typical. Your agent fell in with Casey Stengel in Chicago over the past weekend, and his tribute to the champions was grudgingly given but nonetheless sincere. Casey said:

We had good luck with nearly everybody but St. Louis. The Cubs – the Pirates – the Giants – Brooklyn – we either finished ahead of them for the season or got no worse than a tie. But the Cards – ouch! They licked us 17 in a row. They beat us when we were up and murdered us when we were down. No matter what we threw at ‘em, it wasn’t quite good enough.

It was the same story last year with the Yankees. They weren’t quite good enough. They were always within arm’s length of getting the upper hand, but the Southworths had that extra oomph to stay a stride ahead. In the opening game of the 1942 Series, Mort Cooper was knocked out and the Yanks went into the last of the ninth with a 7–0 shutout. At that moment, you would have sold the Cards down the river for a smoked herring, but they fell on Charlie Ruffing, batted him to the showers and had four runs over the plate and the bases full when Stan Musial made the final out. The Yanks didn’t know it, but that was their finish. The National Leaguers had discovered they weren’t being hexed by black magic and there was nothing wrong that a few base hits wouldn’t remedy.

The games were all close. Johnny Beazley won the second to tie the Series, 4–3, weathering a three-run New York rally in the eighth; Ernie White threw a shutout in the third with only one run to work on until the ninth; there was a three-run difference in the fourth battle and the tally in the fifth and last was 4–2. It couldn’t be said that the Yankees collapsed; it was simply that their best fell a trifle short.

Granting that Yank pitching has the edge on paper, it is also true that the Cardinals, as a team, are 30 points stronger at the plate, have three .300 hitters to one for New York.

The sharps were saying today that there are a trio of key players who can make or break St. Louis.

One is Stan Musial. His better-than-.350 batting average has been the clincher for more victories than Billy Southworth can count on all his fingers and toes. If he keeps up the pace in the Series, he can be counted on to account for one or two runs per game, perhaps more, but should he drop into a slump, the result could be disastrous.

The second man who isn’t expendable is Walker Cooper, generally rated the top catcher in the game. Cooper was a fireball last year, not only at the plate but in the skillful manner that he handled the young pitchers and kept baserunners hugging the bags. As in Musial’s case, he could make or break the club, depending on how he goes.

Walker’s brother, Morton, is No. 3. After the miserable luck he has had against American League batters, St. Louis strategy has to be built on the basis that he will fail once more – but suppose he doesn’t? One game on the winning side for Cooper, the wise heads say, could turn the whole Series, while two might make it a walk-away.

We’ll be knowing more about it during the next three days, but that price of 6–5 still looks cockeyed.

13

Williams: Yankees may alter plan of defense against Cards

By Joe Williams

New York –
It must be that the OWI hasn’t though of it yet. How else can you explain the department’s failure to capitalize on the presence of Mr. Nick Etten and Mr. Danny Litwhiler in the World Series?

Here are two conspicuous representatives of the underprivileged, fugitives from the famished Phillies, wearing white ties and tails, munching daintily on caviar and exchanging polite chitchat with the royalty of the sport.

Isn’t this what Henry Throttlebottom Wallace has been striving for? Isn’t it a realistic working of the Rooseveltian credo of spread the wealth, equality for all and see what the boys in the backroom will have?

A year ago, both Mr. Etten and Mr. Litwhiler were running errands and doing other odd jobs for the Phillies under the oppressive capitalistic system of baseball. Today, Mr. Etten finds himself at first base for the Yankees, Mr. Litwhiler in left field for the Cardinals.

If the OWI should take the stand that this would happen only under the benevolent guidance of the New Deal, it would take much doing to come up with the convincing rebuttal.

It’s the war!

The answer probably is that anything can happen in a world war. Certainly, it was strange to find the Yankees, of all clubs, dealing with the Phillies. It so happened they needed a first baseman, and the Phillies had one to sell. As a matter of fact, they offered the Yankees Mr. Litwhiler too, but he was rejected.

And this prompts the shuddery thought: What if Mr. Litwhiler should turn out to be the difference in the Series? What if it should be his bat that influences the payoff? It could happen. The fates have a dizzy way of spinning their wheels at times.

Incidentally, what used to be the one spot the Yankees never had to worry about first base, has become in recent years one of their most vexing problems.

Change of plan

Last year, the Yankees outfielders tried to cut down the runner going from first to third. They didn’t have much success. They lost the decision six or seven times, Meanwhile, the fellow who hit the ball galloped to second and thus was a potential scorer himself. It is discouraging enough to lose the far runner, but when you wind up giving the hitter an extra base you are inviting disaster. This technique of defense, as much as any other factor, contributed to the Yankees’ defeat.

Our intuition tells us it will be different this time. Except in obvious circumstances, the Yankee outfielders will try for the guy going to second. They aren’t going to set up any more runs than they can help. Revised conditions in the outfield dictate a more conservative policy anyhow. The Yankees throwing arms aren’t what they used to be, and all reports indicate nothing has happened to the speed of the Cardinals. They are still the swifties.

14

The Pittsburgh Press (October 6, 1943)

Lanier’s pitching, fielding lapses give Yanks opener

Wild pitch, dropped ball, failure to cover first all prove costly to Cards
By Jack Cuddy, United Press staff writer

worldseriesbomber
Fortress over World Series brought the possibility today of protests to Army authorities. Low-flying Army planes, like this one, soared over Yankee Stadium at the opening of the Series yesterday – at one time holding up the game – and aroused the ire of New York’s Mayor La Guardia, who threatened to have the pilots grounded.

New York –
The New York Yankees, before a near-record crowd of 68,676 fans, got the jump on the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1943 World Series at Yankee Stadium yesterday by winning the first game, 4–2, mainly because of an error and a wild pitch by lefty Max Lanier.

Lanier, the Cards’ ace southpaw, who yielded seven hits to the American League champions during the seven innings he pitched, made his costly bobbles in the fourth and sixth frames that led to his club’s defeat – a defeat that ended the Redbirds’ string of four straight victories in last year’s five-game championship series.

Stocky Lanier of the jerky, monkey-motion windup, set the stage for two unearned Yankee runs in the fourth inning when he raced to cover first base and dropped Lou Klein’s throw of Frank Crosetti’s grounder from second. Crosetti, the Yankees shortstop, then stole second, and was safe on catcher Walker Cooper’s rather high throw. Billy Johnson, Yankees third baseman, bunted safely for a single, then Charlie “King Kong” Keller, Yankees slugging left fielder, hit into a double play as Crosetti scored from third with the Yanks’ first unearned run – a tally that tied the count at 1–1, as the Cards had scored once in the second inning.

Gordon clots home run

But the Yankees fourth session was not yet ended, although it would have been except for Lanier’s error. Joe Gordon, New York second baseman who was the goat of last year’s World Series, stepped up to the plate and slammed the ball into the lower left field stands for a home run that put the American League pennant winners ahead, 2–1. Trigger Joe connected with this four-bagger when the count on him was three balls and one strike. It sank into the lower stands, just to the left of the 402-foot sign. The crowd gave Gordon a frenzied ovation.

Catcher Bill Dickey, the oldest player on the Yankees squad and their best current hitter, was the next man up. He flied to shortstop Slats Marion.

Undaunted by this bad break in the fourth inning, the Cardinals – eager, fast-stepping youngsters – evened the count at 2–2 in the next inning, the fifth. But bad luck again descended upon Lanier and his Redbirds in the sixth, when southpaw Max made his costly wild pitch.

Wild pitch loses for Cards

Crosetti and Johnson, of the Yanks, had gained second and first base, respectively, by virtue of their singles, and Keller had flied out, when the wild pitch came – the unfortunate heave that lose the game.

Joe Gordon was at bat. Whether memories of Gordon’s home run in his previous trip to the plate made Lanier nervous, or whether it was merely a slip, is problematical. Lanier threw one of his low balls, but it was too low. A groan went up from St. Louis fans as the ball struck the tip of home plate and bounced into the air over catcher Cooper’s head. Cooper, keeping his mask on, started running to his left, but the ball bounced back of him to the right, and it was some time before he located the ball.

Meanwhile, Crosetti was speeding home from second base and he scored standing up. Johnson advanced from first to third. Gordon, who may or may not have been the innocent cause of the wild pitch, fanned. Then Bill Dickey singled to center, scoring Johnson with the Yanks’ fourth tally of the day, wrapping up their victory.

Chandler achieves first win

Debs Garms was sent in to pinch hit for Lanier at the opening of the eighth inning. Then Harry Brecheen, another southpaw, took over the Cardinals mound. The Yanks got a total of eight hits off both flingers.

Meanwhile, the Cards garnered only seven off Spurgeon “Spud” Chandler, the Yankees righthander, who achieved his first World Series victory in his third attempt. Each club turned in two errors. Chandler, of the corn-tussle hair, pitched an excellent game, keeping his hits well separated and bearing down in the clutches.

The Cards opened their scoring in the second inning when Marion doubled off first baseman Nick Etten’s glove, scoring Walk Cooper, who had singled and been advanced by Whitey Kurowski’s sacrifice and Danny Litwhiler’s walk. Had Etten not tried for Marion’s drive, the ball might have gone foul – it was so close to the line and rising as Etten deflected it.

The other Cardinals marker came in the fifth inning when Lanier’s single drove home Sanders, who got on base through Etten’s error. Etten thought Sanders was out at first base on Gordon’s throw of his grounder from second. But umpire Beans Reardon called him safe just as Etten started to throw the ball up to catcher Bill Dickey. Surprised at the umpire’s decision, Etten twisted back as he threw and the ball went wild, permitting Sanders to gallop down to second. Sanders advanced to third after Litwhiler’s fly to center. Marion was thrown out, then Lanier’s single brought Sanders home for the Cards’ final tally.

The crowd of 68,676 in the huge bunting-festooned stadium approached the record single-game Series crowd of 69,902 which attended the fourth game of last year’s Series – a Sunday contest.

15

Game 2

CARDS BEAT YANKS IN SECOND GAME, 4–3
Mort Cooper stops foe in first victory

Marion and Sanders hit home runs to help Redbird cause

New York (UP) –
Mort Cooper, his heart heavy because his father died early this morning in Independence, Missouri, pitched one of the best games of his Major League career in Yankee Stadium here today as the Cardinals defeated the Yankees, in the second game to even the World Series at 1–1.

The final score was 4–3.

It was Cooper’s first World Series victory and his first triumph against American League competition, he having failed in two attempts against the Yanks in last year’s Series and in the last two All-Star Games.

Ernie Bonham, who like Cooper is a “fork ball” specialist, gave Mort strong argument most of the way but the blows that cost him the game were home run drives by Marty Marion and Ray Sanders. Marion’s was the first hit of the game in the third inning and Sanders hit his four-baser in the fourth with one on to climax a three-run rally.

A shadow was cast over the second game, which was felt by every fan in the big stadium. This was due to the sudden death of Robert Cooper, father of the famed brother battery of the Cardinals, Mort and Walker, who were working today.

Both Bonham and Cooper were in complete control in the first inning, each setting down the batters in order. They followed a similar pattern in the second, too, when each walked a man with two out and then proceeded to get the next batter.

Marty Marion, Cards’ great shortstop, broke the hitless and runless string in the third, when he hit Bonham’s first pitch for a home run into the stands.

Sanders hits homer

In the fourth, Stan Musial dropped a solid single into right and moved to second on Walker Cooper’s sacrifice. Whitey Kurowski scored Stan with a single into center. Sanders then hit a home run over the wall in right, scoring Kurowski ahead of him. Bud Metheny went way back, got his hand on the ball but couldn’t hold it as he fell, after making a great try.

The Yanks’ first hit came in the fourth when Frankie Crosetti attempted to bunt and pushed a single into right field. He moved to third on Bill Johnson’s solid single to center. Charlie Keller flied to center and Crosetti scored after the catch.

Bonham fans three

Bonham gave a great exhibition of pitching in the top of the sixth when he struck out the side.

In the Yankees’ half, Crosetti opened up with a single. Metheny was sent to first when umpire Beans Reardon agreed with his claim that Walker Cooper had tipped his bat. It was scored as an error for Cooper. Johnson hit into a double play with Crosetti going to third. Keller flied out to end the threat.

Bonham was removed for a pinch hitter in the eighth and Johnny Murphy, the Yanks’ great relief pitcher, went to the mound in the ninth. Murphy walked the first batter and allowed one hit, but the Cards were unable to push over a run.

16

Game 2

Wednesday, October 6, 1943 1:30 pm (ET) at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 7 2
New York 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 3 6 0

St. Louis Cardinals (NL):

AB R H PO A E
Klein, 2b 4 0 1 4 4 0
Walker, cf 5 0 1 5 0 1
Musial, rf 4 1 1 2 0 0
W. Cooper, c 3 0 1 5 0 1
Kurowski, 3b 4 1 1 0 1 0
Sanders, 1b 3 1 1 8 0 0
Litwhiler, lf 3 0 0 3 0 0
Marion, ss 3 1 1 0 3 0
M. Cooper, p 3 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 32 4 7 27 8 2

New York Yankees (AL):

AB R H PO A E
Crosetti, ss 4 1 2 2 2 0
Metheny, rf 3 0 0 2 0 0
Johnson, 3b 4 1 2 0 1 0
Keller, lf 4 1 1 3 0 0
Dickey, c 3 0 0 9 2 0
Etten, 1b 4 0 0 4 0 0
Gordon, 2b 4 0 1 4 0 0
Stainback, cf 3 0 0 3 0 0
Bonham, p 2 0 0 0 0 0
Weatherly, ph 1 0 0 0 0 0
Murphy, p 0 0 0 0 1 0
Totals 32 3 6 27 6 0

WP: Mort Cooper (1–0)
LP: Tiny Bonham (0–1)

HR:

  • STL: Marty Marion (1), Ray Sanders (1)
  • NYY: None

Attendance: 68,578

17

Play-by-play of second game

Yankee Stadium, New York – (special)
The following is the play-by-play account of the second game of the World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Yankees:

First inning

CARDINALS: Klein flied to Metheny in short right field. Walker was called out on strikes. Musial flied high to Stainback. No runs, no hits, none left.

YANKEES: Crosetti rolled out. Marion to Sanders. Klein threw out Metheny. Johnson lined to Klein. No runs, no hits, none left.

Second inning

CARDINALS: Walker Cooper popped to Crosetti. Kurowski put up a vehement protest over a second called strike and then went down swinging. Sanders walked. Litwhiler popped to Gordon on the grass in short right field. No runs, no hits, one left.

YANKEES: Keller flied high to Walker. Dickey also flied to Walker. Etten missed a three-and-two pitch. No runs, no runs, none left.

Third inning

CARDINALS: Marion hit the first ball into the lower left field stands for a home run. The drive was fair by only a few feet. M. Cooper was given a great ovation as was his brother Walker when he went to bat. Mort flied to Keller. Klein popped to Gordon behind second base. Walker grounded out. Crosetti to Etten. One run, one hit, none left.

YANKEES: Gordon struck out, going for a low curve. Klein made a leaping catch of Stainback’s liner. Bonham bounced out, Kurowski to Sanders. No runs, no hits, none left.

Fourth inning

CARDINALS: Musial socked Bonham’s first offering over second base for a single. W. Cooper laid down a sacrifice. Dickey to Etten. Kurowski singled to center, scoring Musial. Sanders walloped a home run into the lower right field stands, scoring Kurowski ahead of him, giving the Cards a 4–0 lead. The ball barely cleared Metheny’s outstretched arms. Litwhiler went down swinging. Marion was given a big cheer when he came to bat. He flied to Metheny along the right field foul line. Three runs, three hits, none left.

YANKEES: Crosetti popped a single over first for the Yanks’ first hit. Metheny flied deep to Walker. Johnson banjo single to center sent Crosetti to third. Walker fumbled the ball momentarily but recovered in time to keep the runners from advancing. Keller flied to Walker in short center and Crosetti scored on a daring dash from third. Dickey flied to Litwhiler on the left field foul line. One run, two hits, one left.

Fifth inning

CARDINALS: Mort Cooper fanned. After getting a strike on Klein, Bonham gave him four balls. Walker beat out a slow roller toward first, beating Dickey’s throw by a step. Klein going to second. Musial flied deep to Keller. W. Cooper lined to Gordon. No runs, one hit, two left.

YANKEES: Etten lined to Musial who had to move only a couple of steps. Gordon singled to left center and when Walker fumbled the ball, he went to second, just sliding in ahead of the throw. It was an error for Walker, who made a nice running catch in left center. Bonham grounded out. Marion to Sanders. No runs, one hit, one error, one left.

Sixth inning

CARDINALS: Kurowski took a half-swing on a third strike and was ruled out by Reardon. Sanders fanned on four pitches and Litwhiler did likewise. No runs, no hits, none left.

YANKEES: Crosetti singled past Marion into center. Metheny was awarded first base when Reardon ruled W. Cooper had tipped his bat. Johnson grounded into a fast double play. Marion to Klein to Sanders, as Crosetti took third. Keller flied to Musial along the right field foul line. No runs, one hit, one error, one left.

Seventh inning

CARDINALS: Marion walked on five pitches. Marion stole second as Mort Cooper fanned on a three-and-two pitch. Klein’s hot bounder was taken by Crosetti, who threw him out while holding Marion on second. Walker hit to Johnson and Marion was run down between second and third. Johnson to Gordon. No runs, no hits, one left.

YANKEES: M. Cooper lost Dickey after running the count to three and two. Etten flied to Litwhiler in short left. Gordon lined to Litwhiler. Stainback fanned on three pitches. No runs, no hits, one left.

Eighth inning

CARDINALS: Musial hoisted to Stainback. W. Cooper beat out a high bounder to Johnson for a single. Kurowski struck out for the third time on three pitches. Sanders flied to Keller in short left. No runs, one hit, one left.

YANKEES: Weatherly, a left-handed hitter, batted for Bonham and fouled to Sanders. Crosetti was called out on strikes. Metheny rolled out. Klein to Sanders. No runs no hits, none left.

Ninth inning

CARDINALS: Murphy went to the mound for New York. Litwhiler walked after working the count to three and two. Marion tried to sacrifice but forced Litwhiler at second. Murphy to Crosetti. M. Cooper sacrificed. Dickey to Etten. Klein beat out a high bounder to Johnson for a single. Marion going to third. Walker hoisted to Stainback. No runs, one hit, two left.

YANKEES: Johnson doubled to left center. Keller lined a 425-foot triple past Litwhiler, scoring Johnson and making the score 3–2. Dickey lined to Klein. Etten grounded out. Klein to Sanders. Keller scoring and making the score 4–3. Gordon fouled to W. Cooper. Two runs, two hits, none left.

18

Coopers vow ‘to win this one for Pop’

Independence, Missouri (UP) –
Robert Cooper, 58, father of the famous St. Louis Cardinals brother battery – the man who encouraged his sons in their boyhood years to stick with baseball – died unexpectedly about 4:30 a.m. today at his home here.

Upon being informed of their father’s death, the Coopers left for the Yankee Stadium vowing “to win this one for Pop.”

Cooper’s death was apparently due to a heart ailment, from which he had suffered several years although he had been in better health this last summer than for some time. It was believed excitement over the Series was a contributing cause.

His body, partly dressed, was found on the living room floor by his wife. Members of the family said he had been extremely excited about yesterday’s game and had read and reread last night’s papers before he went to bed about 10 o’clock.

He had been a rural mail carrier nearly 40 years. He and his youngest son, Sam, had planned to go to St. Louis Saturday for the final games of the Series.

The “old man,” as the boys affectionately called him, furnished their incentive to play ball and to play it well.

In their first game with the Atherton, Missouri, grade school team, the father, Robert Cooper, lined up the players on the team in which two other brothers, R. J. and Jimmy, now in the Navy, participated.

Admitting in later years that he lacked baseball “savvy,” the elder Cooper started Walker on the mound and big Morton behind the bat. That was the first and last time they played that way.

In about the third inning, Walker pitched a low curve and Morton, always effervescent, tried to catch it before the batter swung at it. Morton nearly got his brains bashed out and ran out to his father, coaching on third base protesting.

The next inning found Morton on the mound and Walker behind the bat and from then on out they were an unbeatable combination.

Cooper Sr. would comb the area for sandlot teams that the boys might play and would collect $50 or $75 to bet on the outcome, “winner take all.”

One story that Morton liked to tell about his father, concerned the day all of the brothers seemed to be in a hitting slump.

Roaring down from the third base coaching spot, Cooper Sr. yelled at the brothers on the bench:

Every last one of you gets a home run today or you don’t get a bite of supper.

Morton said:

Hell, we had to come through after that. I think we all got at least one and the final score was about 23–0.

19

Williams: Who’s to blame, Cooper or Lanier?

By Joe Williams

New York –
You never can tell about a World Series. You may remember we were talking about catchers the other day. We were saying nobody ever paid any attention to the catchers, they were always talking about the hitters and the pitchers. And we pointed out that every once in a while, a catcher might have a chance to decide a Series this way or that.

Well, it’s a question today whether Walker Cooper, the catcher of the Cardinals, gave the opening game of the World Series to the Yankees or whether the pitcher, Max Lanier, did.

All that is known for sure is that the vital pitch was a bad pitch. It was the pitch that put the Yankees ahead, and they stayed ahead.

Should Cooper, now called the greatest catcher in baseball, have stopped the ball, even admitting it was a bad pitch, or–?

Your guess is as good as ours.

As it turns out, we saw it wrong at a quick glance. We thought the ball hit the face of the rubberized plate and bounced high in the air. Cooper himself says it didn’t. He says it hit his glove, bounced and then everything turned black.

Here’s setting

The situation was this: This score was tied at 2–2 going into a sixth inning. Crosetti opened with a scratch hit through third. The rookie, Johnson, did the same, through short. Keller, pulling for the stands, went out meekly to right. This brought Gordon up.

Gordon had already hit a home run off Lanier and the Cardinals pitcher was pitching carefully to him.

In between his pitches to Gordon, Lanier dropped one of his low ones in the dirt. His curveball had gone too deep.

This had happened before. It had happened in the fifth inning when John Lindell, a wartime replacement for DiMaggio, had swung for the third strike that had come mockingly out of the dirt. Cooper hadn’t been able to hold on to that one either, but the circumstances were such that he was able to get a putout at first, Lindell being Lindell.

But nobody in the huge crowd in the stadium knew this next pitch to Gordon was going to be the tell, and least of all Cooper.

Looking back on it, it is really funny. The Cardinals are supposed to go from first to third on the mere suggestion of a hit. In this case, the pitch in the dirt, Crosetti came all the way from second to home – and he’s an old man – and Johnson, the kid, rushed from first to third, and a minute later scored on a Dickey’s blooper to the outfield.

Who was to blame?

That was the ball game. Who was to blame? The pitcher who threw the ball in the dirt, or the catcher who failed to stop it? To repeat, your guess is as good as ours.

All we know is that an amusing incident developed. Cooper doesn’t yet know where the ball went. He was so bewildered he didn’t even take off his mask. What happened was that the ball hit his glove and bounced high in the air, and went searchingly here and there, an adventurous little thing.

And all the while Art Fletcher, highest-priced third base coach in the history of baseball, was waving Crosetti home with the run that was to win the game for the Yankees.

It reminded you of another time in another World Series when this same Mr. Fletcher was waving Yankees runners home. This was the time when Lombardi of the Cincinnati Reds was knocked out at the plate and the ball wasn’t three feet from his reach and he just lay there and, or so it seemed, thousands and thousands of Yankees trampled over his agonized bosom to score runs.

So many things can happen to catchers in the World Series; and the things that can happen can be both good and bad, we all remember the time Mickey Owen, of the Dodgers, dropped a third strike which gave the Yankees the break they needed in the Series two years ago. And if our memory is long enough, we will recall the time Hank Gowdy stepped into his mask and lost a foul ball that helped Washington beat the Giants.

And certainly, we must all remember the time Mickey Cochrane dived across the plate to smother a wild pitch at a critical moment. There was a runner on third and none out at the time, and it was the ninth inning and the Series was in the balance. The Tigers against the Cubs it was. That diving catch was the Series payoff. The runner on third never scored.

20

The Village Smithy

By Chester L. Smith, sports editor

New York –
Up to this moment, it’s easy to pick the winner of the World Series.

The answer is nobody is going to win it. The Cardinals can’t, unless they snap out of the St. Louis Blues rhythm they have shown so far; the Yankees can’t if the Cardinals don’t hand it to them, and that patient old codger, Mr. Paying Patron, Esq., is going to take an unmerciful licking if he has to put down his good money to look at the sort of baseball he got for his dollar yesterday.

A young lady with two pennants, a souvenir program, the remnants of a hot dog on the lapel of her nifty sports jacket and the stub for a box seat, battled into the subway at the Stadium after the Yanks had taken No. 1 by 4–2 yesterday and delivered a brief but pointed oration to a group of strangers.

She exclaimed:

That was the worst exhibition of the national pastime I have ever seen.

…and while it wasn’t that bad, it was a long way from being good. The Cardinals didn’t seem to want the Yankees to lose and there were times when the Bombers appeared to be cherishing a great love for their enemies from the National League.

As of noon today, the Series is exactly where it was a year ago – the Yanks are one game up. And there is one conclusion that might be drawn from what went on in the Bronx. Joe Gordon is “hot,” and this could very well be the difference in the final analysis. When Joseph, who was distinctly off when these same teams met a year ago, has his motors purring and is on the beam, he’s as great a second baseman as ever lived. Yesterday, as a starter, he produced a 400-foot home run to put the Yanks ahead at one stage of the game and equaled the World Series record for assists – eight – at his position. At least three of his stops were the kind that bring you out of your seat with your hair standing on end.

Smiling Will Terry, the ex-Giant, who is experting over a typewriter for a Memphis paper, described Gordon’s work as one of the finest individual performances the Series has ever witnessed. He should know, for man and boy, he has been in plenty of them himself and looked at a good many more.

But the rest of it was pretty awful. There were four hits out of 15 that weren’t distinctly black market – Gordon’s jackpot smash, a smoking single to left by Mr. Spud Chandler, and drives to right by Ray Sanders and Stan Musial. The one that carried the most authority was Musial’s, in the eighth. The Donora Dandy had been easy for Chandler on his first three trips and must have been mad about it, for his clothesline to Tut Stainback was so hard that Walker, who was on first, was unable to get past second before the ball was returned to the infield – and the Cardinals second-sacker is about as fast as they come.

If the same game had been put on by the Phillies and Braves in late August, the customers would have walked out and gone home to supper after the sixth.

Among those who failed to displace the mental or mechanical agility generally associated with a contest for the championship of the world were Walker Cooper, the Redbirds’ master catcher, of all people, and Brother Nicholas “Tanglefoot” Etten, the Yankees first baseman. In the latter’s case, there may be some excuse, for Nick has never been known as an athlete who had aspirations to steal the title from Hal Chase, Lou Gehrig or Lefty Grimm, but the experts were at a loss to explain what happened to Cooper. They preferred to say he was merely having a bad day and await further developments.

Cooper and Max Lanier teamed with Klein to award the Yanks their first run in the fourth. Frankie Crosetti opened the inning by rolling to Klein, who made a brilliant stop and throw, only to have Lanier drop the ball after he had Crosetti retired. With Billy Johnson at the plate, Crosetti headed for second and Cooper rifled a peg 10 feet over the bag which would have meant an extra base had it not been for good backing up by Harry Walker in center field. Johnson then bunted to Sanders, and, when Klein stood rooted in his tracks instead of covering first, all hands were safe. The run came over when Charlie Keller grounded into a double play. Gordon, who shouldn’t have batted in that inning at all, followed with his home run and the American Leaguers were in the lead.

Etten’s “skull,” which gave the Cardinals the opening to tie the score in the fifth, was a classic. Sanders drove what looked like a certain base hit close to second, but Gordon made a storybook stop and throw that failed to get the runner only because the toss had to be made off balance. Sanders was clearly safe and umpire Beans Reardon ruled it that way. But Etten thought it was a putout and gleefully whipped the ball to Bill Dickey. But Dickey wasn’t looking and, when he did realize what had happened, the best he could do was cuff down the horsehide with his gloved hand and start chasing it. Sanders was anchored on second long before Dickey and the ball had been reunited and might have made third if he had not been so surprised. Lanier’s blooping hit into short center completed the damage.

In the clubhouse, after the game, a much-chastened Yankees first baseman swore he was “goin’ to let the umpires make the decisions after this.”

There was a good deal more shoddy play that won’t show up in the box score, but maybe we should let bygones be bygones. They can hardly be so bad again.

It was Lanier’s wild pitch in the sixth, allowing Crosetti to come in from second and Johnson to scramble from first to third, that eventually brought the downfall of the champions, and here too, it is likely that Gordon was the man behind the gun. He was at bat when lefty Max Lanier caromed a sharp-breaking curve off the plate. It bounced high and crazily into the air and before Walker Cooper could get the scent and track down the ball, the parade was on.

As Gordon told about it later, Lanier was shying away from throwing him a fast ball. Joe said:

I had hit his fast one into the stands and I could see he wasn’t going to give me another chance, so I guess when he had two strikes on me, he decided to come in with his “hook” and put too much stuff on it.

Whatever happened, it was a fitting way for the Cardinals to lose such a crazy-quilt game. What’s more, Chandler deserved to win, and if the Yanks couldn’t do it for him, the National Leaguers showed an excellent appreciation of their sense of values by taking matters in their own hands.