Rail earnings drop in August
Decline for third month from 1942 levels
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Mort Cooper’s ‘win for Pop’ ties Series
Home runs by Marion, Sanders help send Bonham down to defeat
By Jack Cuddy, United Press staff writer
New York –
Two boys from Missouri – Mort and Walker Cooper – with the sadness of their father’s death tugging in their hearts, went out before nearly 70,000 sympathetic fans in Yankee Stadium yesterday and “won a ball game for Pop” and the St. Louis Cardinals over the New York Yankees in the second game of the 1943 World Series.
The score, if it matters was 4–3, evening up the 1943 classic.
What did matter was the way that famous brother battery – Mort, the pitcher, and Walker, the catcher – played their hearts out, and carried on despite the sudden death of their father, Robert, at Independence, Missouri, yesterday morning. The Cooper boys had the 68,578 fans with them all the way.
Won it for ‘Pop’
Big, brown-haired Mort, the Cardinals’ ace right-handed pitcher, said before the game:
We’ll win this one for Pop. He’d want it that way.
And win it they did, with Mort pitching to his catcher brother, as he registered his first World Series mound victory – and also his first pitching victory against the American League – in five tries, three World Series Games and two All-Star Games.
While Mort was limiting the Yanks to six hits, with his fastball flinging, his Cardinals mates garnered seven off Ernie Bonham, big Yankee right-hander, and Fireman Johnny Murphy, who relieved him in the ninth. Two of those hits were home runs.
Marion, Sanders clout homers
Slats Marion, the Cards’ elongated shortstop who had hit but one home run all season, slammed Bonham’s first pitch of the third inning into the lower left field stand, just a couple feet inside the foul pole, for a four-bagger. The next circuit drive came in the fourth inning when first baseman Ray Sanders blasted the ball into the lower right stands, the ball barely clearing Bud Metheny’s reaching hands. Bud fell backwards over the stands rail when he failed to grab the ball.
This homer drove in Whitey Kurowski, the third baseman who had singled earlier. The blow brought that inning’s accomplishments to three tallies because, earlier in the season, Stan Musial had singled and had been advanced to second by Walker Cooper’s sacrifice. Kurowski’s single brought him home.
The fans, who gave the Cooper brothers great ovations every time they came to bat, thought in the last inning that the rallying Yanks might deprive them of victory. The Yanks made a great try. They had registered one run in the fourth inning, but in the ninth they added two more and threatened to walk off with victory.
Gordon ends rally
Third baseman Billy Johnson opened the ninth by doubling to left. Charlie Keller, slugging left fielder, hammered the ball to the center field fence for a triple, scoring Johnson. Bill Dickey lined to second baseman Lou Klein. Nick Etten went out. Klein to Sanders. Keller scoring. Then Joe Gordon, a hero of Tuesday’s Yankee victory, fouled to Walker Cooper for the final cut.
The Yanks, who had gone into yesterday’s game, 9–5, favorites, couldn’t garner a tally until the Cards had a 4–0 lead on them going into the last half of the fourth. Then singles by Frank Crosetti and Billy Johnson and Keller’s long fly to center, let Crosetti come in with one marker.
It was a more spiritedly-contested game than Tuesday’s and the brand of ball was superior, although again the Cards were charged with two errors.
Walker Cooper will remain with the team today to do the catching. Mort left last night for their home in Independence, Missouri.
Other players who have performed in World Series after the death of close relatives were Rogers Hornsby in the Cardinal-Yankee Series of 1926, after his mother died; Alvin Crowder in the Detroit-Cubs classic of 1935 after the death of his father, and Bobo Newsom in the Detroit-Cincinnati engagement of 1940, after his father’s death.
Pittsburgher’s broadcast in U.S. Archives
Herb Morrison is immortalized in files
By Si Steinhauser
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Oil ceilings are attacked
Congressmen seek to ease or abolish them
By Robert Taylor, Press Washington correspondent
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Williams: Southworth was smoke-screening for Cooper never looked better
By Joe Williams
New York –
The big guy came through in the big moment. We are referring to Mort Cooper, the Cardinals pitcher.
And he came through under very trying circumstances.
First off, his manager had lost confidence in him. To make it so much worse, his dad died some hours before he went to the mound. Third: This was the game the National League champs had to win to stay in the Series.
It must be assured the big moon-faced fellow went to the mound with a heavy heart and you want to keep in mind he was pitching to his brother.
You probably will be reading today about the masterminding of his manager, Billy Southworth.
Forget it. There was only one reason Southworth didn’t start Cooper against the Yankees in the first game. He was afraid to.
And he had reason to be afraid: Cooper started twice against the Yankees last fall and was knocked out twice. What’s more, he had started twice in All-Star Games against American League hitting and failed to survive.
Quits on Cooper
It was on the occasion of the last All-Star Game that Southworth said:
He’s still my pitcher. If we get into the World Series, he’ll start for me.
All of a sudden Southworth quit on Cooper. He went into one of those vague Rickey-like St. Louis smokescreens which apparently are designed to kid people, in short, a white lie.
Southworth tried to lead everybody to believe Cooper had a sore arm. On top of that, he was sick, or so it was stated.
In the light of what happened yesterday when the Cardinals, back of Cooper’s superlative pitching, even the Series, this was strictly a gag – any anything Southworth tries to tell anybody today here in New York must be laughed off.
It must be laughed off for several reasons, the most important of which is that Cooper never looked better, and it is not in the book that a pitcher gets over a sore arm and incidental ailments overnight.
The obvious answer is that Southworth quit on Cooper, whose record tells you he is the Cardinals’ best pitcher.
There was only one reason Southworth didn’t start him in the opening game and that was he lacked confidence in him.
Why Lanier started
You read so much about masterminding in baseball, particularly in a World Series.
The Yankees’ extra-base power, for example, is left-handed. In the great wisdom of the dugout, the circumstances must call for a left-handed pitcher. This explains why Southworth started Max Lanier in the first game. It so happened Lanier was beaten. It also explains why Southworth didn’t start Cooper, a right-hander. It will never be explained why Southworth tried to kid people. Perhaps it’s the Rickey training. In any event, we will know him from now on.
Even Cooper was mystified. Our Mr. Joe King asked him about his mystical sore arm. All Cooper could remember was that he had had it rubbed down. He explained:
I don’t know where it’s sore, but they worked on it.
It is so easy to see what happened. Southworth was getting himself off a spot. If Cooper was beaten – well, he never could beat AL hitting anyway. If Cooper won – well, he took the big generous chance. What price masterminding?
Cooper complete master
As things worked out, Cooper took complete charge pf the ball game. He didn’t surprise any of us who knew he was a truly great pitcher. It was just one of those things that the AL hitters always clubbed him around. His day was sure to come.
One pitch made him stand out with gallantry and courage. It came in the fourth inning. The Yankees had Crosetti and Johnson on base. The score was 4–0 against them.
Keller, the Yankees’ siege gunner, was at bat. There was only one out.
Cooper pitched carefully to him. It didn’t look as if he wanted any part of them. The count got to be three balls and nothing.
One of the press box pundits commented:
That Southworth was right. This Cooper doesn’t like it.
The big pitch
But posterity the count was worked to three and two. The next pitch had to be the big pitch. It would have been so easy to waste the next one, to make it an obvious hall.
Cooper didn’t. He came in there with a low sweeping curve that clipped the corner of the plate. Keller didn’t like it, but he had to swing. He got just a piece of the ball. It drifted languidly to center field and a run came in. the run meant something only in mathematics. If the Yankees were to win, a lot of runs had to come over. This had to be a real big inning. It wasn’t, and that was the ball game. What happened later meant not very much.
And thus it was that the greatest pitcher in the National League, the pitcher who had just received news of his dad’s death, the pitcher who had to know his own manager had given up on him, the pitcher who must have given some thought to the jinx which supposedly kept him from winning against AL pitching – thus it was that Mort Cooper scored one of the greatest pitching victories in the history of the World Series.
Sometime today we must remind ourselves to ask Mr. Southworth what he thinks about masterminding.
World Series play-by-play
Yankee Stadium, New York – (special)
The following is the play-by-play account of the Game 1 of the World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees follows:
First inning
CARDINALS: Klein flied to Stainback in short center. Walker doubled down the left field foul line, sliding into second to beat Keller’s fast return. Musial walked on five pitches. Walker Cooper grounded into a fast double play. Crosetti to Gordon to Etten. No runs, one hit, one left.
YANKEES: Stainback singled down the left field foul line. Crosetti laid down a sacrifice bunt to the left of the mound and was tossed out. Brazle to Klein, who covered first, as Stainback took second. Johnson grounded sharply to Marion and his throw to Kurowski got Stainback at third, while Johnson was safe at first. Keller fanned. No runs, one hit, one left.
Second inning
CARDINALS: Kurowski fouled to Dickey. Sanders fanned on three pitches. Litwhiler lined a single off Borowy’s knee. Although it was a hot smash. Borowy did not appear to be injured. Keller leaned over the left field boxes to catch Marion’s long foul.
YANKEES: Litwhiler came in fast and made a spectacular shoestring catch of Gordon’s liner. Dickey rolled out to Klein. Kurowski came in fast for Etten’s bounder and threw him out. No runs, no hits, none left.
Third inning
CARDINALS: Brazle struck out on three pitches. Klein bunted toward first and was tossed out. Borowy to Etten. Walker skied to Lindell. No runs, no hits, none left.
YANKEES: Lindell sent Walker back for his long fly. Borowy, after hitting several fouls, struck out but had to be thrown out. W. Cooper to Sanders. Stainback bounced out. Marion to Sanders. No runs, no hits, none left.
Fourth inning
CARDINALS: Musial lined between short and third for a single. Walker Cooper, after attempting a bunt, popped to Crosetti between the mound and second base. Kurowski lined a double down the left field foul line. Musial holding up at third. Sanders was given an intentional walk, filling the bases. Litwhiler lined a single to left scoring Musial and Kurowski and putting Sanders on third. Litwhiler went on to second on Keller’s throw to the plate. Marion was given an intentional pass, again filling the bases. Brazle fouled to Etten near first base. Klein bounced out, Crosetti to Etten. Two runs, three hits, three left.
YANKEES: Crosetti was safe when Marion let his roller get through him for an error. Johnson grounded into a double play. Marion to Klein to Sanders. Keller hit to the mound and was tossed out by Brazle. No runs, n0 hits, none left.
Fifth inning
CARDINALS: Walker bunted a pop fly which Borowy took. Musial’s hopper was taken by Crosetti. Walker Cooper bounced out. Johnson to Etten. No runs, no hits, none left.
YANKEES: Gordon bounced out Kurowski to Sanders. Dickey lined a single over Klein’s head into right. Etten popped to Marion in short center. Lindell took a third strike, a change of pace slow ball. No runs, one hit, none left.
Sixth inning
CARDINALS: Kurowski broke his bat as he popped to Etten. Gordon made a great stop of Sanders’ grounder and threw him out. Litwhiler went down swinging. No runs, no hits, none left.
YANKEES: Borowy got a ground-rule double when his drive bounced into the lower left field stands. Musial made a running catch of Stainback’s foul to right; Borowy going to third after the catch. Crosetti flied to Litwhiler in short left; Borowy holding third. Kurowski fumbled Johnson’s grounder, Borowy scoring and Johnson being safe at first. Keller grounded to Marion, who stepped on second to force Johnson. One run, one hit, one left.
Seventh inning
CARDINALS: Marion fanned. Brazle grounded out. Crosetti to Etten. Klein bounced out. Crosetti to Etten. No runs, no hits, none left.
YANKEES: Gordon grounded out. Marion to Sanders. Dickey rolled out. Sanders to Brazle, who covered first. Etten struck out. No runs, no hits, none left.
Eighth inning
CARDINALS: Walker popped to Etten in back of first. Musial hoisted to Keller. W. Cooper lined a single to right. W. Cooper died stealing. No runs, one hit, none left.
YANKEES: Lindell singled to center and continued to second when Walker fumbled the ball. Stirnweiss batted for Borowy. Sanders picked up his bunt and threw to Kurowski in an attempt to get Lindell at third, but Kurowski dropped the ball for an error. Stainback flied to Litwhiler in short left. When Litwhiler threw to the plate, Stirnweiss moved to second. Crosetti was given an intentional pass, filling the bases. Johnson tripled past Walker, scoring Lindell, Stirnweiss and Crosetti and giving the Yanks a 3–1 lead. Keller walked on four straight pitches. Krist replaced Brazle on the mound. Gordon singled past Kurowski, scoring Johnson. Keller stopped at second. Brecheen replaced Krist on the mound. Dickey was given a single when his hot smash hit Gordon. Gordon being ruled out, the putout going to Sanders. Keller held second. Etten lined a single to right, scoring Keller with the Yanks’ sixth run, but Dickey was out trying for third. Musial, W. Cooper to Kurowski. Five runs, five hits, two errors, one left.
Ninth inning
CARDINALS: Mummy went to the mound for New York. O’Dea batted for Kurowski and popped to Gordon. Sanders flied deep to Lindell. Litwhiler went down swinging. No runs, no hits, none left.
YANKEES: Unplayed.
Völkischer Beobachter (October 8, 1943)
Wieder ein britischer Empire-Bluff –
England muß die Yankees um Nachsicht anflehen
Morrison: ‚Selbstregierung für Indien unmöglich‘
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The Pittsburgh Press (October 8, 1943)
RAF, YANKS BLAST GERMANY
4 Nazi cities hit in night, day attacks
Fortresses rip Bremen; British raid Stuttgart, Munich, Friedrichshafen
By Walter Cronkite, United Press staff writer
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Capua seized by 5th Army
Allies in Italy advance 10 miles to Volturno River
By Richard D. McMillan, United Press staff writer
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Sweden reports –
Nazis put out peace feelers
Work in Lisbon, Spain as Red talks fail
By Jack Fleischer, United Press staff writer
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Planes blast barges –
Japs abandon key Vila Base
Enemy in full flight from Central Solomons
By Don Caswell, United Press staff writer
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They got cash to carry –
Bioff reports tax advice from expert Mr. Schenck
Swapping of $100,000 checks was part of union plan to keep law and order in movie industry
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I DARE SAY —
Mort and Walker
By Florence Fisher Parry
If you don’t know who Mort and Walker are, ask any one of the seven or eight million boys in our Armed Forces. Ask any of their dads or kid brothers. They’ll tell you.
The people of Great Britain may not know what all the excitement’s about, and we can’t expect the Aussies to share our boys’ excitement down there in the South Pacific; but by the time the World Series is over, there’ll hardly be a native of any country the world over who has had even the briefest contact with any of our boys who won’t know who Mort and Walker are, and why they had, just had, to have the Redbirds win in the second game of the World Series.
Now, anyone who gripes about the money that’s spent, and the time that’s taken out, and the cockeyed delirium that eats us up during the World Series, even in a war is just plain out of tune with everything that’s American. Just get hold of him and give him a good shaking-up, I say. He just doesn’t know what this country’s about, he just isn’t our breed.
Baseball is as much as part of our makeup as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
No cosmic thinking
Now they tell us that the largest part of a soldier’s life is spent in just waiting with a capital W. He waits to be inducted; he waits to be called; he waits at this camp and that. He waits, and how he waits, to be sent overseas; and he waits, how he waits, to be sent into combat! His life is just one long, griping wait up until that galvanized moment when IT happens – IT, the enemy at last, face to face – and death raining down like hail.
Now what do you suppose our kids are doing through all that waiting? Are they thinking of infinity? Are they discussing the economic consequences of war?
They are not.
They are just sitting around chewing and jibing about the World Series and betting their all on the Cards or the Yanks.
And if any statistician wants to compute all this in terms of strict morale, let him go to it. I am satisfied to accept the fact that our national sport offers a more simple therapy to the minds of our sacred and homesick boys in this war than everything else combined except letters.
Just this morning, for example, came a letter, and this is a paragraph of it:
We are spending the morning in the barracks, grouped around our little coal stoves, talking football scores, and I am astounded again, as I always am, by the sheer mnemonic genius of these men who can recall the name of every player on every team, virtually every score, and almost every play from the 1920s on. Beside this accomplishment, such minor feats as memorizing the complete works of Shakespeare, or learning 27 languages, pale into insignificance.
Corn
The sentimental incident of Mort and Walker playing their hearts out for the Cards so that they wouldn’t let their dad down, who had just died a few hours before, brings to mind again that inimitable quality of the American heart, for which we have yet to find an adequate name.
It’s deeper than sentimentality. What shall we call it – heart? Compared with our breed, other people hide their heartbeats better. It isn’t exactly that we wear our hearts on our sleeves – we are just more unabashed about acknowledging them.
For a while, before this war, we had got to think ourselves pretty cynical. We thought it was smart to be amused at all that which we called “corn.” “Corn” had become one of the most popular words of the day. Anything that had a sob in it, or a hunt if sentimentality, was “corny.”
Well, something has happened lately. We are all of us, getting to be more and more “Corny,” and we are not ashamed of it.
Corn is of the very essence of America. It derives from the most hardy native nutriment grown in our soil, and like the corn from which it takes the name, it is proving to be the very staff of life – the corn of parades and bands and grandstand speeches, of the flag and the national anthem we are glad to rise to; that bleacher mood, that gust, that wave of compassion and prayer that went to these two boys, Mort and Walker, in the Yankee Stadium Wednesday!
Yes, that’s corn; that’s American corn at its highest flavor. That’s what makes us incomparable. That’s what keeps us clean as a people.
Pray God we may never lose this attribute. Pray God we may never cease to care who wins the World Series or grow callous to the forlorn bereavement of two boys, two brothers, trying to make good for the sake of their dead pal and father.
UAW fourth term pledge may set pattern for CIO
Qualified endorsement designed to take play from conservative Democrats
By Fred W. Perkins, Pittsburgh Press staff writer
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