CANDIDLY SPEAKING —
What next, little curl?
By Maxine Garrison
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Prisoners of War Camp
Painting, music and games keep Germans occupied during their spare time
By Jack Foster, Scripps-Howard staff writer
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After bout with OPA –
Pyle longs for simple life of battle zones in Africa
By E. H. Shaffer, Albuquerque Tribune editor
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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
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.
Coal delivery ‘where needed most’ is urged
Hint on way to avoid any rationing given retail dealers
By Robert Taylor, Press Washington correspondent
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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.
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.
Völkischer Beobachter (October 7, 1943)
Amerikanische Sorgen um die Entwicklung in Ostasien –
Japan ist unschlagbar geworden
Von unserer Stockholmer Schriftleitung
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The Pittsburgh Press (October 7, 1943)
YANKEES DEFEAT CARDS, 6–2
Bombers’ late drive brings Borowy win
Pitcher scores first run after doubling in sixth inning
New York (UP) –
Hank Borowy, big Yankee right-hander bested Alpha Brazle, rookie southpaw of the Cardinals at Yankee Stadium today as the Yankees won the third game of the World Series to take a 2–1 lead in the fall classic as the tea, moved on to St. Louis to resume play Sunday.
The final score was 6–2.
The paid attendance, 69,990, was the largest crowd ever to witness a World Series game.
Borowy was in trouble in the first inning when Harry Walker doubled to left and Stan Musial walked, but Walker Cooper hit into a double play.
Tuck Stainback, first up for the Yankees, hit Al Brazle’s first pitch for a single to right. Frankie Crosetti sacrificed. Billy Johnson grounded to Marty Marion who threw to third and got Stainback. Charlie Keller fanned for the third out.
Fielding sensational
Sensational catches by Charlie Keller and Danny Litwhiler in the second inning highlighted the play and, in the third, Harry Walker raced far back into right center to haul down a drive by Johnny Lindell.
The Cards staged a rally in the fourth that was good for two runs. San Musial singled to left and went to third on Whitey Kurowski’s hit to left, which Whitey stretched into a double with a great headfirst slide into second. Ray Sanders was given an intentional pass to fill the bases. Danny Litwhiler singled sharply to left scoring Musial and Kurowski. Litwhiler went to second on the throw-in and Marty Marion was passed to fill the bases again. Brazle’s infield fly accounted for the second out and Lou Klein grounded out to end the inning.
Marion let a grounder go through his legs in the fourth for an error but made amends immediately by starting a fast double play.
Borowy got the Yanks’ third hit in the sixth when the ball bounced into the stands in right for a double. Musial took Stainback’s foul and Borowy went to third. Crosetti’s pop into short left was taken by Litwhiler. Kurowski fumbled Johnson’s trickler and Borowy scored the Yanks’ first run.
Errors help Yanks
Lindell singled to center in the last of the eighth and made second when Walker fumbled the ball. George Stirnweiss made his World Series debut as pinch hitter for Borowy. He hit to Sanders who threw to Kurowski in time to get Lindell, but the Yankee outfielder crashed into Whitey at third and the Cards third-sacker dropped the ball. Stainback fired to short left and Lindell held third, but Stirnweiss took second after the catch.
Crosetti received an intentional pass to fill the bases. Lindell, Stirnweiss and Crosetti scored on Johnson’s triple, a line drive to the fence in left center. Keller walked on four pitches. Brazle was relieved by Howard Krist. Gordon singled to left, scoring Johnson and putting Keller on second. Harry Brecheen was called in to pitch. Dickey’s hit struck Gordon, putting him out, and Keller was forced to stay on second. Etten got his first hit of the Series, a single to right, scoring Keller, but dickey was caught going into third.
Johnny Murphy was the Yankees pitcher in the ninth and Ken O’Dea was sent up to bat for Kurowski who was shaken up in the collision at third base. O’Dea flied out. Sanders flied out to Lindell. Litwhiler fanned to end the game.
Venice railway blasted; 8th Army repulses Nazis
5th Army nearing Capua on route of Hannibal’s march to Rome
By Richard D. McMillan, United Press staff writer
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Nazi atrocity –
Bomb in Naples kills hundreds
Time blast destroys post office building
By Reynolds Packard, United Press staff writer
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