by our man in New Jersey, Jack McKillop
Baseball miracles continued into 1944. THE ST. LOUIS BROWNS WON THE AMERICAN LEAGUE PENNANT!!! But the Philadelphia Athletics finished 6th and the Washington Senators were back in the cellar so it was a limited miracle.
1944
The twelfth annual All-Star Game pitting the American League All-Stars against the National League All-Stars is played in the 35,000-seat Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the home of the National League's Pittsburgh Pirates. The starting pitchers are Hank Borowy of the American League New York Yankees and the National League's Bucky Walters of the Cincinnati Reds. The American League scores its one and only run in the top of the 2nd inning; the National League scores 4-runs in the 5th inning, 2-runs in the 7th inning and another in the 8th inning to win the game 7-1. The Chicago Cubs' first baseman Phil Cavaretta sets an All-Star Game record by reaching base 5-times with a triple, single and 3-walks. The Yankees Hank Borowy pitched 3-innings followed by Tex Hughson, the losing pitcher, of the Boston Red Sox (1-2/3 innings), the St. Louis Browns' Bob Muncrief (1-1/3 inning), Hal "Prince Hal" Newhouser of the Detroit Tigers (1-2/3 inning) and the St. Louis Brown's Bobo Newsom (1/3 inning). The Cincinnati Red's Bucky Walters pitched 3 innings followed by the Philadelphia Phillies' Ken Raffensberger, the winning pitcher, (2 innings), the Pirates' Rip Sewell (3 innings) and the Boston Braves' Jim Tobin (1 inning). The American League now leads this series 8-4. There will be no All-Star Game in 1945.
The 1944 World Series is an all St. Louis, Missouri event pitting the American League's St. Louis Browns against the National League's St. Louis Cardinals. All games are played in the 34,000-seat Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. This is the Cardinals eighth appearance in a World Series and the Browns first. The Browns, managed by Luke Sewell, had a 89-65 record for the year and finished 1-game ahead of the second place Detroit Tigers. The top hitter was left fielder Mike Kreevich who batted .301; the top pitcher was Nels Potter who was 19-7 with a 2.83 ERA. The Cardinals, under Billy Southworth, were 105-49 on the season and finished 14-1/2 games ahead of the second place Pittsburgh Pirates. The top hitter was right fielder Stan Musial who batted .347; the top pitcher was Mort Cooper who was 22-7 with a 2.46 ERA.
In the first game, the Cardinals are the home team. The starting pitchers for the game are Denny Galehouse (11-11 with a 2.77 ERA) for the Browns and Mort Cooper for the Cardinals. The game is scoreless until the 4th inning when the Browns' first baseman George McQuinn hits a home run with one on; the Cardinals score one run in the 9th inning but the Browns win 2-1. Denny Galehouse completes the game and is the winning pitcher; Mort Cooper pitched 7 innings giving up only 2-hits, one of them McQuinn's home run, and is releived in the 8th inning by rookie Blix Donnelly. The Browns lead the series 1-0.
The St. Louis Cardinals are the home team in Game 2 of the 1944 World Series between the St. Louis Browns and Cardinals. The Browns lead the series 1-0. The starting pitchers are Nels Potter (10-5 with a 2.78 ERA) for the Browns and Max Lanier (15-7 with a 1.90 ERA) for the Cardinals. The Cardinals score 1-run in the 3rd and 4th innings but the Browns tie it up with 2-runs in the 7th inning forcing the game into extra innings. In the bottom of the 11th inning, pinch hitter Ken O'Dea hits a single with two on and the Cardinals win 3-2. Nels Potter pitched 6 innings for the Browns and was relieved by Bob Muncrief who pitched 4-1/3 innings; Muncrief was the losing pitcher. The Cardinals' Max Lanier pitched 7 innings until relieved by rookie Blix Donnelly in the 8th inning. Donnelly struck out 7 and allowed only 3 balls to be hit out of the infield in his 4 innings of relief work. The series is now tied up 1-1.
The 3rd game of the 1944 World Series between the St. Louis Browns and Cardinals has the Browns as the home team. The series is tied 1-1. The starting pitchers for the game are rookie Ted Wilks (17-4 with a 2.65 ERA) for the Cardinals and Jack Kramer (17-13 with a 2.49 ERA) for the Browns.
The Cardinals jump off with a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning. With 2-outs in the bottom of the 3rd inning, the Browns score 4-runs on 5 straight singles, a walk and a wild pitch; another 2-runs are scored in the 7th inning making the final score 6-2 Browns. Jack Kramer, the winning pitcher, pitched a complete game for the Browns. Rookie Ted Wilks, the losing pitcher, pitched 2-2/3 innings and was followed by rookie Freddy Schmidt (3-1/3 innings), rookie Al Jurisich (2/3 innings) and Bud Byerly (1-1/3 innings). The Browns now lead the series 2-1.
The St. Louis Browns are again the home team in Game 4 of the 1944 World Series between the St. Louis Browns and Cardinals. The Browns lead the series 2-1. The starting pitchers are Harry "The Cat" Brecheen (16-5 with a 2.85 ERA) for the Cardinals and Sig Jakucki (13-9 with a 3.55 ERA) for the Browns. The Cardinals win 5-1 getting 12-hits, including three by right fielder Stan Musial, one of them a home run with 1 on. In the bottom of the 8th inning, the Browns threaten and manage to score their lone run but the threat is cut off by a spectacular double play started by shortstop Marty Marion. Harry Brecheen, the winning pitcher, pitches a complete game. Sig Jakucki, the losing pitcher, pitches 3-innings and is followed by Al "Boots" Hollingsworth (4-innings) and Tex Shirley (2 innings). The series is now tied 2-2.
The 5th game of the 1944 World Series between the St. Louis Browns and Cardinals again has the Browns as the home team. The series is tied 2-2. The same two pitchers who started Game 1, Mort Cooper of the Cardinals and Denny Galehouse of the Browns, start this game. The Cardinals win the game 2-0 on home runs by first baseman Ray Sanders and left fielder Danny Litwhiler. Both pitchers completed the game. Mort Cooper, the winning pitcher, struck out 12 while Denny Galehouse, the losing pitcher, struck out 10. The Cardinals now lead the series 3-2.
The St. Louis Cardinals are the home team in the 6th game of the 1944 World Series between the St. Louis Browns and Cardinals. The Cardinals lead the series 3-2. The same two pitchers who started Game 2, the Browns' Nels Potter and the Cardinals' Max Lanier, start this game. The Browns jump off to a 1-0 lead but the Cardinals score 3-runs in the 4th inning and win 3-1 and take the World Series Championship. Max Lanier, the winning pitcher, goes 5-1/3 innings and is relieved by rookie Ted Wilks. Wilks entered the game with one out and men on 2nd and 3rd bases and retired the next 11-batters in a row to preserve the 3-1 lead. Nels Potter, the losing pitcher, pitched 3-2/3 innings and was followed by Bob Muncrief (2-1/3 innings) and Jack Kramer (2-innings).