The 1934

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 Worl ...

was the championship series in

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 (A ...

for the 1934 season. The 31st edition of the World Series, it matched 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 ...

against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. The Cardinals' "

Gashouse Gang The Gashouse Gang was the nickname of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team of the early 1930s. Owing to their success that started in 1926, the Cardinals would win a total of five National League pennants from 1926 to 1934 (nine seasons) while wi ...

" won in seven games for their third championship in eight years. The Cardinals and Tigers split the first two games in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, and Detroit took two of the next three in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. But St. Louis won the next two in Detroit, including an 11–0 embarrassment in Game 7 to win the Series. The stars for the Cardinals were Joe ("Ducky") Medwick, who hit .379, a Series-high five RBI and one of St. Louis' two home runs, and the meteoric ("Me 'n' Paul") Dean brothers, Dizzy and Paul (or "Daffy") Dean, who won two games apiece with 28 strikeouts and a minuscule 1.43

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

. 1934 was the last World Series in which both teams were led by player-managers. The two teams have met twice in the World Series since 1934; in (Tigers won in seven) and (Cardinals won in five). Tiger pitcher

Denny McLain Dennis Dale McLain (born March 29, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for ten seasons in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher, most prominently as a member of the Detroit Tigers. In 1968, McLain beca ...

, winner of Game 6 in 1968 (coasting home on the Tigers' record-tying ten-run second inning rally on the road), had gone 31–6 during the season, upstaging "Diz" with his mere 30–7 that year, who at 57 went onto the Tiger Stadium field in a big cowboy hat to be photographed with McLain moments after the walk-off hit that had given the latter his thirtieth win of the season. As of 2021, they are the last two 30-game winners in the major leagues. The Cardinals, led by the Dean brothers, used only six other pitchers in amassing a team

earned-run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numbe ...

of 2.34 for their 1934 Series victory, Pete Fox played for the losing team, yet became the only player in Series history, , to hit six doubles in a World Series. For his top-of-the-sixth triple in Game 7,

Joe Medwick Joseph Michael Medwick (November 24, 1911 – March 21, 1975), nicknamed "Ducky" and "Muscles", was an American Major League Baseball player. A left fielder with the St. Louis Cardinals during the " Gashouse Gang" era of the 1930s, he also pla ...

slid hard into Tiger third baseman Marv Owen. They tangled briefly, and when Medwick went back to his position in left field for the bottom of the inning enraged Tiger fans, knowing the game was all but lost (the score was 9–0 by then), vented their frustrations on him, pelting him with fruit, vegetables, bottles and cushions among other things. It was a feat for him to make the catch of a fly ball instead of the orange thrown close to it. Commissioner Landis ordered Medwick out of the game, ending the ruckus. Newsreel footage shows Medwick slamming his glove against the dugout bench in disgust. It was the only time a Commissioner has ejected a player from any major league game,
Audio
Dizzy Dean nearly took himself out of the Series on a play in Game 4. In the fourth inning, he pinch-ran and broke up a double play the hard way; i.e., by taking the errant relay throw to first flush on the noggin. The great Dean lay unconscious on the field. (He was later to protest, "Hell, it was only a glancing blow.") He was rushed to a hospital for observation, where he was given a clean bill of health. Legend has it that at least one newspaper the next day featured the headline, "X-ray of Dean's head shows nothing." Be that as it may, ol' Diz recovered rapidly enough to start Game 5 (a 3–1 loss to Tiger curveballer

Tommy Bridges Thomas Jefferson Davis Bridges (December 28, 1906 – April 19, 1968) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career with the Detroit Tigers from 1930 to 1946. During the 1930s, he used an outstanding cu ...

) the very next day. According to Charles Einstein's ''The Fireside Book of Baseball'', in the midst of the Cardinals' Game 7 rout, player-manager Frankie Frisch, the "Fordham Flash", called time and walked out to the mound from second base to warn Diz, "If you don't stop clowning around, I'll take you out of the game." Dizzy said, "No you won't." Frisch thought about this a moment, then retreated to second.

Summary

Matchups

Game 1

The series opener in Detroit pitted the Cardinals' 30-game winner, Dizzy Dean, against the Tigers' "General" Crowder. The subpar Tiger defense behind the General let him down with five errors and three unearned runs. In the top of the second, the Gashouse Gang loaded the bases with a single and two errors; a single by

Jack Rothrock Jack Houston Rothrock (March 14, 1905 – February 2, 1980) was a utility player in Major League Baseball who played with four teams between the 1925 and 1937 seasons. Listed at , 165 lb., Rothrock was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed. ...

then brought home both

Ernie Orsatti Ernest Ralph Orsatti (September 8, 1902 – September 4, 1968) was a professional baseball player who was an outfielder and first base for the St. Louis Cardinals from to . Orsatti appeared in four World Series, two of which the Cardinals won. ...

and Dean to make it 2–0. In the third inning, St. Louis tacked on another run due to more shoddy Detroit fielding. Medwick singled and was forced out at second by Ripper Collins, but a throwing error by Tiger shortstop

Billy Rogell William George Rogell (; November 24, 1904 – August 9, 2003) was an American baseball player who played 14 years in Major League Baseball, primarily as a shortstop for the Detroit Tigers. He made his major league debut on April 14, 1925 and pl ...

allowed Collins to move to second and then score on another error by Detroit's star first baseman,

Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (born Hyman Greenberg; January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", or "The Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major Leagu ...

. In the bottom of the third,

Charlie Gehringer Charles Leonard Gehringer (May 11, 1903 – January 21, 1993), nicknamed "the Mechanical Man", was an American professional baseball second baseman, coach, general manager, and team vice president, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) fo ...

got the Tigers on the board with a single that drove in

Jo-Jo White Joyner Clifford "Jo-Jo" White (June 1, 1909 – October 9, 1986) was an American center fielder in professional baseball. He played nine seasons with the Detroit Tigers (1932–38), Philadelphia Athletics (1943–44), and Cincinnati Reds (1944) ...

, but in the St. Louis fifth Medwick tattooed a home run off Crowder for a 4–1 Cardinal lead. The Gang then exploded for a four-run sixth off

Firpo Marberry Frederick "Firpo" Marberry (November 30, 1898 – June 30, 1976) was an American right-handed starting and relief pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1923 to 1936, most notably with the Washington Senators. The sport's first prominent relieve ...

(who had relieved Crowder) and Elon Hogsett, as

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 ...

and Medwick each cracked RBI singles and

Bill DeLancey William Pinkney DeLancey (November 28, 1911 – November 28, 1946) was an American professional baseball player during the 1930s. As a 22-year-old rookie catcher in , he helped to lead the St. Louis Cardinals' fabled Gashouse Gang team to the w ...

lashed a two-run double to left. Though Detroit put up single runs in the sixth and eighth (via a

Goose Goslin Leon Allen "Goose" Goslin (October 16, 1900 – May 15, 1971) was an American professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns, and Detroit Tigers, from until . Goslin l ...

single that scored Greenberg and a home run by Greenberg), they could get no closer, as Dean struck out

Gee Walker Gerald Holmes "Gee" Walker (March 19, 1908 – March 20, 1981) was a Major League Baseball outfielder. During his fifteen-year career he played with the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Re ...

to give St. Louis an 8–3 win and a 1–0 lead in the series.

Game 2

The second game of the Series was much closer than the first, pitting the Cardinals'

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 ...

against the Tigers'

Schoolboy Rowe Lynwood Thomas "Schoolboy" Rowe (January 11, 1910 – January 8, 1961) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, primarily for the Detroit Tigers (1932–42) and Philadelphia Phillies (1943, 1946–49). He was a three-time A ...

. In the top of the second, St. Louis drew first blood on DeLancey's single and Orsatti's triple. They added another run in the third as a Medwick single brought in Martin, but the Tigers came back and edged them 3–2 in 12 innings.

Game 3

The Tigers left 13 men on base as Pepper Martin's double, triple and two runs scored enabled the Cardinals to win, 4-1.

Game 4

The Tigers evened the series, winning 10-4, with five runs in the eighth. Hank Greenberg had four hits and three RBI and

had four RBI. This game was the first time that the song, "

Take Me Out to the Ball Game "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a 1908 Tin Pan Alley song by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer which has become the unofficial anthem of North American baseball, although neither of its authors had attended a game prior to writing the song ...

", was played during the World Series, after being played at a high school game earlier that year in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

Game 5

won after just one day of rest. Charlie Gehringer's home run in the sixth was the game-winning hit.

Game 6

Paul Dean won his second game of the series and helped his own cause with a game-winning single in the seventh inning.

Game 7

The Cardinals easily won Game 7, 11–0, behind Dizzy Dean. Ducky Medwick was taken out of the game for own safety after sliding hard into third baseman Marv Owen and being pelted by the crowd with bottles and fruit when he took the field in the sixth inning.

Composite line score

1934 World Series (4–3):

(N.L.) over

(A.L.)

Brothers

Other brothers who appeared in the same World Series, either as teammates or opponents, before the Deans were: * –

Doc Johnston Wheeler Roger "Doc" Johnston (September 9, 1887 – February 17, 1961) was an American professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1909 through 1922. During eleven seasons in the major leagues, Johnston play ...

and

Jimmy Johnston James Harle Johnston (December 10, 1889 – February 14, 1967) was a Major League Baseball player from 1911 to 1926. He played mostly with the Brooklyn Robins of the National League. His brother Doc Johnston was also a major league player. Care ...

() * –

Bob Meusel Robert William Meusel (July 19, 1896 – November 28, 1977) was an American baseball left and right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eleven seasons from 1920 through 1930, all but the last for the New York Yankees. He was best ...

and

Irish Meusel Emil Frederick "Irish" Meusel (June 9, 1893 – March 1, 1963) was an American baseball left fielder. He played in the major leagues between 1914 and 1927 for the Washington Senators, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Giants, and Brooklyn Robins. ...

(, and ) * – Paul Waner and

Lloyd Waner Lloyd James Waner (March 16, 1906 – July 22, 1982), nicknamed "Little Poison", was a Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. His small stature at and 132 lb (68 kg)

()

Notes

References

External links

Detroit Tigers History
{{Major League Baseball on NBC Radio World Series

St. Louis Cardinals postseason Detroit Tigers postseason

1934 in Detroit 1930s in St. Louis October 1934 sports events Sports competitions in Detroit Sports competitions in St. Louis