The 1931

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

featured the two-time defending champion Philadelphia Athletics and the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. The Cardinals beat the Athletics in seven games, a rematch and reversal of fortunes of the previous World Series. The same two teams faced off during the 1930 World Series and the Athletics were victorious. The only day-to-day player in the Cardinals' lineup who was different in 1931 was the "Wild Horse of the Osage",

Pepper Martin Johnny Leonard Roosevelt "Pepper" Martin (February 29, 1904 – March 5, 1965) was an American professional baseball player and minor league manager. He was known as the "Wild Horse of the Osage" because of his daring, aggressive baserunning ab ...

—a 27-year-old rookie who had spent seven seasons in the minor leagues. He led his team for the Series in runs scored, hits, doubles, runs batted in and stolen bases, and also made a running catch to stifle a ninth-inning rally by the A's in the final game. The

spitball A spitball is an illegal baseball pitch in which the ball has been altered by the application of a foreign substance such as saliva or petroleum jelly. This technique alters the wind resistance and weight on one side of the ball, causing it to m ...

pitch had been banned by

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

in 1920, but those still using it at that time were "grandfathered", or permitted to keep throwing it for the balance of their big-league careers. One of those who "wet his pill" still active in 1931 was

Burleigh Grimes Burleigh Arland Grimes (August 18, 1893 – December 6, 1985) was an American professional baseball player and manager, and the last pitcher officially permitted to throw the spitball. Grimes made the most of this advantage, as well as his unshav ...

, with two Series starts, two wins and seven innings of no-hit pitching in Game 3. "Wild"

Bill Hallahan William Anthony Hallahan (August 4, 1902 – July 8, 1981) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball during the 1920s and 1930s. Nicknamed "Wild Bill" because of his lack of control on the mound—he twice led the National Leag ...

started and won the other two for the Cards, and saved Game 7. The Athletics had captured their third straight

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

pennant, winning 107 games (and 313 from 1929–31). But this would prove to be the final World Series for longtime A's

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...

. As he did after the Boston "Miracle Braves" swept his heavily favored A's in the Series, Mack would break up this great team by selling off his best players, this time out of perceived economic necessity rather than pique and competition from the short-lived

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

. It would be the A's last World Series appearance in Philadelphia and it would be 41 years—and two cities—later before the A's would return to the Fall Classic, after their successive moves to Kansas City in 1955 and Oakland in 1968. This would also be the city of Philadelphia's last appearance in the Series until

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

. It was also the last World Series until the 2017 edition in which both teams who had won at least 100 games in the regular season went the maximum seven games. This was the first World Series to feature a team with numbers on the back of the uniform (Philadelphia).

Summary

Matchups

Game 1

The A's scored four runs in the third, enabling Lefty Grove to win Game 1 despite giving up 12 hits, three by Pepper Martin. The Cardinals struck first in the first inning on three consecutive one-out singles, the last of which to

Jim Bottomley James Leroy Bottomley (April 23, 1900 – December 11, 1959) was an American professional baseball player, scout and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1922 to 1937, most prominently as a member of the St. Loui ...

scoring a run. After a strikeout, Martin's double scored another run. In the top of the third with runners on first and second,

Mule Haas George William "Mule" Haas (October 15, 1903 – June 30, 1974) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a center fielder in Major League Baseball from 1925 through 1938, most notably as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics dy ...

's double scored Philadelphia's first run. Two consecutive walks by

Paul Derringer Samuel Paul Derringer (October 17, 1906 – November 17, 1987) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three National League teams from 1931 to 1945, primarily the Cincinnati Reds. He won 20 games for Cincin ...

loaded the bases and tied the game, then

Jimmie Foxx James Emory Foxx (October 22, 1907 – July 21, 1967), nicknamed "Double X" and "The Beast", was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, ...

's single scored two more runs. In the top of the seventh,

Al Simmons Aloysius Harry Simmons (May 22, 1902 – May 26, 1956), born Alois Szymanski, was an American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Bucketfoot Al", he played for two decades in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and had his best year ...

's two-run home run put Philadelphia up 6–2, the game's final.

Game 2

Pepper Martin's two hits and two stolen bases, scoring both Cardinal runs, supported Hallahan's three-hit shutout. The Cardinals scored the game's first run in the second when

doubled off of

George Earnshaw George Livingston Earnshaw (February 15, 1900 – December 1, 1976) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He played in parts of nine seasons (1928–36) with the Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Brooklyn Dodgers, and St. Louis Cardina ...

, stole third and scored on Jimmy Wilson's sacrifice fly, and the game's second run in the seventh when Martin hit a leadoff single, stole second, moved to third on a groundout and scored on

Charlie Gelbert Charles Magnus Gelbert (January 26, 1906 – January 13, 1967) was a professional baseball player. He played all or part of ten seasons in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals (1929–32 and 1935–36), Cincinnati Reds (1937), Detroi ...

's fielder's choice.

Game 3

Grimes pitched a two-hitter and contributed a two-run single in the fourth. He had a shutout until Al Simmons hit a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth. St. Louis struck first in the second when with runners on first and third via a walk and single, Jimmie Wilson's single and

's lineout scored a run each. They added to their lead in the fourth off of

Lefty Grove Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove (March 6, 1900 – May 22, 1975) was an American professional baseball pitcher. After having success in the minor leagues during the early 1920s, Grove became a star in Major League Baseball with the American League's P ...

's two-run single with runners on second and third, and added another run in the ninth off of Roy Mahaffey on

's double.

Game 4

George Earnshaw pitched a brilliant two-hit shutout, walking one and striking out eight. Simmons RBI double in the first inning after a walk and two groundouts was all Earnshaw needed. Philadelphia added to their lead in the sixth off of Syl Johnson on

's home run and

Jimmy Dykes James Joseph Dykes (November 10, 1896 – June 15, 1976) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a third and second baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Philadelph ...

's single after a

Bing Miller Edmund John "Bing" Miller (August 30, 1894 – May 7, 1966) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1922 to 1936, most prominently as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics ...

double. Martin had both Cardinal hits.

Game 5

Martin was a thorn in the A's side in the series, getting three hits and four RBI to lead St. Louis to a 5-1 victory. Through five games, Martin leads all regulars with a .667 (12-18) average. St. Louis struck first in the first on Pepper Martin's sacrifice fly with runners on second and third. Martin's home run after a double in the sixth made it 3–0 Cardinals. The A's scored their only run in the seventh on

's groundout after two one-out singles. The Cardinals added to their lead in the eighth when George Watkins walked off of

Rube Walberg George Elvin Walberg (July 27, 1896 – October 27, 1978) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics dynasty that ...

, stole second and scored on Martin's single and in the ninth off of

Eddie Rommel Edwin Americus Rommel (September 13, 1897 – August 26, 1970) was an American right-handed pitcher and umpire in Major League Baseball. He spent his entire playing career ( 1920–1932) with the Philadelphia Athletics. He is considered to be ...

's single with two on.

Game 6

The Athletics broke a scoreless tie with four runs in the fifth, Grove winning his second game of the series with a five-hitter, tying the series. After an error and walk off of Paul Derringer, Dib Williams's RBI single scored the game's first run. Two two-out walks loaded the bases and scored another run. Mickey Cochrane's RBI single scored a run, then a walk to

scored another. St. Louis scored their only run in the sixth when

Jake Flowers D'Arcy Raymond "Jake" Flowers (March 16, 1902 – December 27, 1962) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. A reserve infielder, primarily a second baseman and shortstop, he appeared in 583 Major League games over ten ...

doubled and scored on

Frankie Frisch Frank Francis Frisch (September 9, 1898—March 12, 1973), nicknamed "The Fordham Flash" or "The Old Flash", was an American Major League Baseball player and manager of the first half of the twentieth century. Frisch was a switch-hitting seco ...

's single. The A's added to their lead in the seventh off of Jim Lindsey. Max Bishop hit a leadoff single, moved to second on a bunt groundout, and scored on

's single. After a single and hit-by-pitch loaded the bases, a walk to

scored a run and an error scored two more.

Game 7

The Cardinals struck first in the first when with runners on second and third via two single and a bunt groundout, a wild pitch by George Earnshaw to

scored a run and a strike three wild pitch to Ernie Orsatti scored another. A two-run home run by George Watkins in the third gave the Cardinals a 4-0 lead, but the Athletics scored two in the ninth on Doc Cramer's bases loaded two-run single, Hallahan getting the last out, saving the victory for Grimes. Despite going 0–for–6 in Games 6 and 7, Pepper Martin was the leading hitter of the series with a .500 (12–for–24) batting average.

Composite line score

1931 World Series (4–3):

(N.L.) over Philadelphia Athletics (A.L.)

Notes

References

External links

Video of 1931 World Series
{{Major League Baseball on NBC Radio World Series

St. Louis Cardinals postseason Philadelphia Athletics postseason

1931 in sports in Pennsylvania 1930s in Philadelphia 1930s in St. Louis October 1931 sports events Sports competitions in Philadelphia Sports competitions in St. Louis