The 1944

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

season was a season in American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

. It involved the Browns finishing first in the

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 ...

with a record of 89 wins and 65 losses. In the

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 ...

, they lost to the team they shared a stadium with, the

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

, four games to two.

Offseason

* February 17, 1944:

Frankie Hayes Franklin Witman "Blimp" Hayes (October 13, 1914 – June 22, 1955) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher between and , most prominently as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics where ...

was traded by the Browns to the Philadelphia Athletics for Sam Zoldak and Barney Lutz (minors). * Prior to 1944 season: Owen Friend was signed as an amateur free agent by the Browns.

Regular season

The Browns were one of the unlikeliest pennant-winners in history; in nine out of the previous 10 seasons, they had finished in the second division. However, 1944 marked the peak of wartime conditions in Major League Baseball. The shortage of available players dragged the talent level of both major leagues down, which benefitted the St. Louis AL team. The 1944 Browns were relatively untouched by the

military draft Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

. Nine players on the roster were 34 years old or older. Their all-4F infield included 23-year-old shortstop

Vern Stephens Vernon Decatur Stephens (October 23, 1920 – November 3, 1968) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from through . An eight-time All-Star, Stephens was notable for being the American L ...

, who led the league in RBI (109) and was second in home runs (20). St. Louis started the season with nine straight wins and continued to hang tough in a four-team race with

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 ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, and New York. It came down to the final week, when the Browns defeated the Yankees five times, winning the pennant by a game over Detroit. It was the only championship the franchise won in St. Louis; nine years later, after the

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

season, the Browns were sold and became the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

Season chronology

* May 26, 1944: In a game against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

Nels Potter Nelson Thomas Potter (August 23, 1911 – September 30, 1990) was an American professional baseball player and right-handed pitcher who appeared in 349 games in Major League Baseball over a dozen seasons between 1936 and 1949, most notably as a ...

retired the first 23 batters and was on his way to pitching a perfect game when Jim Tabor got a hit in the 8th inning.''As Good As It Got, The 1944 St. Louis Browns'', p. 49, David Alan Heller, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, South Carolina, 2003, * June 15, 1944:

Frank Demaree Joseph Franklin Demaree (June 10, 1910 – August 30, 1958) was an American baseball outfielder. He played all or part of twelve seasons in the majors for the Chicago Cubs (1932–33, 1935–38), New York Giants (1939–41), Boston Braves (1941– ...

was released by the Browns. * July 20, 1944:

took to the hill against Yankees' pitcher

Hank Borowy Henry Ludwig Borowy (May 12, 1916 – August 23, 2004) was an American professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1942 through 1951 for the New York Yankees (1942–45), Chicago Cubs (1945–48), Phila ...

. The Yankees third base coach Art Fletcher noticed that Potter was moistening his fingers. After Browns manager

Luke Sewell James Luther "Luke" Sewell (January 5, 1901 – May 14, 1987) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Cleveland Indians (1921–1932, 1939), Washington Senators ( ...

consulted with Potter, Potter proceeded to make a deliberate motion with his fingers to his mouth. Umpire Cal Hubbard ejected Potter from the game. On July 22, American League President

Will Harridge William Harridge (October 16, 1883 – April 9, 1971) was an American executive in professional baseball whose most significant role was as president of the American League (AL) from 1931 to 1959. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by th ...

suspended Potter for 10 days for throwing an illegal pitch. Potter was the first pitcher to be suspended by Major League Baseball for that reason.As Good As It Got, The 1944 St. Louis Browns, p. 65 * Every team in the league hosted a game where net proceeds went toward the National War Relief and Service Inc. On July 26, the second game versus the Philadelphia Athletics was that game. Everyone had to pay their way into the stadium including team management, umpires and players.As Good As It Got, The 1944 St. Louis Browns, p. 70 The crowd of 24,631 was the greatest for a Browns home game since the team's first night game in 1940. Oscar Zahner, chairman of the benefit game committee, announced that $25,000 was raised. * On August 3, the Browns played the minor league Kansas City Blues. The Browns lost the game by a score of 9–8.As Good As It Got, The 1944 St. Louis Browns, p. 78 The attendance was 5,965, which was Kansas City's best attendance all season. Despite losing, the Browns got 14 hits and Gene Moore went 4–5 with three runs batted in. * August 8 marked the Browns 70th consecutive day in first place. This broke the club's previous record of 69 days in first place, which had been set in 1922. *The Browns beat the New York Yankees on August 12. It marked the first four-game series victory over the Yankees since 1940.As Good As It Got, The 1944 St. Louis Browns, p. 79 * Browns pitcher

and Washington player George Case got into an altercation on August 22. The result was a bench clearing brawl and Potter, Case, and Washington player Ed Butka were ejected.As Good As It Got, The 1944 St. Louis Browns, p. 83 *On September 4, the Browns found themselves out of first place. The Browns slipped to a half game behind the New York Yankees with 22 games left.As Good As It Got, The 1944 St. Louis Browns, p. 89 *On October 1, the last day of the season, St. Louis clinched the pennant with a come-from-behind 5–2 victory over New York on two home runs by

Chet Laabs Chester Peter Laabs (April 30, 1912 – January 26, 1983) was an American baseball right-handed outfielder. He played professional baseball from 1935 to 1950, including 11 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers (1937–1939), St. ...

and one by

. *The final series between the Browns and the Senators had its share of tension. In the first game of the series, Senators pitcher Roger Wolff hit Vern Stephens with a pitch. Browns manager Luke Sewell waved a bat in the direction of the pitcher. *September 21 was the final game between the Browns and the Senators. Browns catcher Tom Turner engaged in a fist fight with Senators player Roberto Ortiz. The two players lined up in a boxing formation in the middle of the field. Ortiz broke his hand and this was bad for the Browns as the Senators were finishing the season against the Detroit Tigers. At the time of the Browns-Senators game, the Tigers were in first place. The conflicts strained the friendship of Washington manager Ossie Bluege and Luke Sewell. The two were teammates in Washington from 1933 to 1934. *After the Browns farm team, the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

was eliminated from the American Association, the Browns called three players to bolster their team for their stretch run. The callups were Earl Jones (10–6 for the Mudhens), infielder Len Schulte (.296 batting average, 96 RBI's), and outfielder Babe Martin, the American Association Most Valuable Player. *With six games left in the season, the Browns and Tigers had identical 84–64 records. The last six games of the season for the Browns were against the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.

Opening Day lineup

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

1944 World Series

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 ...

(4) vs. AL St. Louis Browns (2)

Awards and honors

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

George McQuinn George Hartley McQuinn (May 29, 1910 – December 24, 1978) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a first baseman in Major League Baseball from to , most notably as a member of the only St. Louis Browns team to win an ...

, starter *

Bob Muncrief Robert Cleveland Muncrief (January 28, 1916 – February 6, 1996) was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in 288 games in Major League Baseball over 12 seasons between and with the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians, Pittsb ...

, reserve

League leaders

Frank Mancuso Frank Octavius Mancuso (May 23, 1918 – August 4, 2007) was an American professional baseball player and, served as a Houston City Council member for 30 years after his sports career had ended. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball ...

, Most errors in a season by a catcher (17)

Team leaders

* Home runs –

(20) * RBI –

(109) * Batting average – Mike Kreevich (.301) * Hits –

(164) * Stolen bases – Don Gutteridge (20) * Wins –

(19) * Earned run average – George Caster (2.44) * Strikeouts – Jack Kramer (124)

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: NewarkJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball''. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997

References

External links

1944 St. Louis Browns team page at Baseball Reference1944 St. Louis Browns season at baseball-almanac.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:1944 St. Louis Browns Season St. Louis Browns seasons Saint Louis Browns season American League champion seasons St Louis Browns