The 1946 World Series was played in October 1946 between the St. Louis Cardinals (representing the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

) and 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 eight ...

(representing 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 b ...

). This was the Red Sox's first appearance in a World Series since their championship of . In the eighth inning of Game 7, with the score 3–3, the Cardinals'

Enos Slaughter Enos Bradsher Slaughter (April 27, 1916 – August 12, 2002), nicknamed "Country", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) right fielder. He played for 19 seasons on four major league teams from 1938 to 1942 and 1946 to 1959. He is noted prima ...

opened the inning with a single but two batters failed to advance him. With two outs,

Harry Walker Harry William Walker (October 22, 1918 – August 8, 1999) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. Known by the nickname "Harry the Hat", he played as a center fielder in Major League Baseball between 1940 and 1955, ...

walloped a hit over Johnny Pesky's head into left-center field. As Leon Culberson chased it down, Slaughter started his " mad dash". Pesky caught Culberson's throw, turned and—perhaps surprised to see Slaughter headed for the plate—supposedly hesitated just a split second before throwing home.

Roy Partee Roy Robert Partee (September 7, 1917 – December 27, 2000) was a Major League Baseball catcher. Listed at , , Partee was nicknamed the "Little Round Man." He is likely best remembered as the man behind the plate for Enos Slaughter's "mad dash" i ...

had to take a few steps up the third base line to catch Pesky's toss, but Slaughter was safe without a play at the plate and Walker was credited with an RBI

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

. The Cardinals won the game and the Series in seven games, giving them their sixth championship. Boston superstar

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 193 ...

played in the Series injured and was largely ineffective but refused to use his injury as an excuse. He hit only .200 in 25 at-bats with just one RBI in his only World Series appearance in his career. As the first World Series to be played after wartime travel restrictions had been lifted, it returned from the 3-4 format to the 2–3–2 format for home teams, which has been used since. It also saw the return of many prominent players from military service.

Summary

Matchups

Game 1

The Red Sox struck first in Game 1 when Pinky Higgins followed a hit-by-pitch and walk in the second with an RBI single off

Howie Pollet Howard Joseph Pollet (June 26, 1921 – August 8, 1974) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball during the 1940s and 1950s. A three-time All-Star in 1943, 1946 and 1949, he twice led the National League in earned run aver ...

. The Cardinals tied the game in the sixth when Red Schoendienst singled, moved to second on a ground out, and scored on

Stan Musial Stanley Frank Musial (; born Stanislaw Franciszek Musial; November 21, 1920 – January 19, 2013), nicknamed "Stan the Man", was an American baseball outfielder and first baseman. Widely considered to be one of the greatest and most consis ...

's double off

Tex Hughson Cecil Carlton Hughson, (February 9, 1916 – August 6, 1993) was a Major League Baseball starting pitcher who played his entire career in the American League with the Boston Red Sox (1941–44, 1946–49). He batted and threw right-handed. A nat ...

. They took the lead in the eighth when Whitey Kurowski singled with two outs and scored on Joe Garagiola's double. Pollet was a strike away from closing the game when Tom McBride tied the game with an RBI single with two on. Rudy York hit a home run into the left field bleachers in the tenth to put the Red Sox up 3–2. Earl Johnson pitched two shutout innings to close to give Boston a 1–0 series lead.

Game 2

The Cardinals struck first in Game 2 when

Del Rice Delbert Rice Jr. (October 27, 1922 – January 26, 1983) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played for 17 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1961, most notably for the St. Louis Cardinals ...

hit a leadoff double in the third off

Mickey Harris Maurice Charles "Mickey" Harris (January 30, 1917 – April 15, 1971) was an American professional baseball player. He was a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, and Cleveland Indi ...

and scored on

Harry Brecheen Harry David Brecheen (, , October 14, 1914 – January 17, 2004), nicknamed "The Cat", was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the St. Louis Cardinals. In the late 1940s he was among the t ...

's single. They added to their lead in the fifth with two unearned runs on Terry Moore's RBI single with two on followed by

's groundout. Brecheen pitched a complete game shutout as the Cardinals tied the series heading to Boston.

Game 3

In Game 3, Rudy York's three-run home run in the first off Murry Dickson gave the Red Sox an early 3–0 lead. They added another run in the eighth off Ted Wilks when Red Schoendienst misplayed Hal Wagner's ground ball with two on. Dave Ferriss pitched a complete game shutout to give the Red Sox a 2–1 series lead.

Game 4

This is the only game in World Series history that three players on the same team (St. Louis) had four or more hits (

, Whitey Kurowski and Joe Garagiola had four each). Red Sox outfielder

Wally Moses Wallace Moses (October 8, 1910 – October 10, 1990) was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics (1935–41; 1949–51), Chicago White Sox (1942–46) and Boston Red Sox (1 ...

got four hits as well and second baseman Bobby Doerr hit a two-run home run and would hit .409 in the Series.

's lead-off home run in the second off

put the Cardinals up 1–0. Whitey Kurowski doubled and scored on

's single. Walker moved to third on an error before scoring on Marty Marion's groundout. Next inning,

's two-run double extended the Cardinals' lead to 5–0. Jim Bagby relieved Hughson and allowed a two-out RBI single to Garagiola. The Red Sox got on the board in the fourth when

singled off

Red Munger George David "Red" Munger (October 4, 1918 – July 23, 1996) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who spent a decade in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals (1943–44; 1946–52) and Pittsburgh P ...

and scored on Rudy York's double, but the Cardinals got that run back in the fifth on back-to-back doubles by

and Kurowski. Garagiolas's RBI double in the seventh off

Bill Zuber William Henry Zuber (March 26, 1913 – November 2, 1982) was a professional baseball pitcher. He had an 11-year Major League Baseball career between 1936 and 1947. He pitched his entire career in the American League with the Cleveland Indians, W ...

made it 8–1 Cardinals. Bobby Doerr hit a two-run home run in the eighth, but the Cardinals put the game out of reach in the ninth. Three straight singles to lead off made it 9–3 Cardinals. Mike Ryba relieved Mace Brown and allowed a two-run double to Marty Marion, then an error on Red Schoendienst's ground ball scored the last run of the game. Munger pitched a complete game to tie the series for St. Louis.

Game 5

hit a RBI single, his only RBI of the whole Series, in the first off

. After the Cardinals tied the game in the second on

's RBI double after an error off

Joe Dobson __NOTOC__ Joseph Gordon Dobson (January 20, 1917 – June 23, 1994) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians (1939–40), Boston Red Sox (1941–43; 1946 ...

, Don Gutteridge's RBI single off

Al Brazle Alpha Eugene Brazle (October 19, 1913 – October 24, 1973) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. The left-hander was signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 1936, and later traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Mike Ryba ...

in the bottom of the inning put the Red Sox back up 2–1. Leon Culberson's home run in the sixth made it 3–1 Red Sox. Next inning, after a double, strikeout and intentional walk, Pinky Higgins's RBI double made it 4–1 Red Sox. After another intentional walk loaded the bases, shortstop Marty Marion's errant throw to second on

's ground ball allowed two more runs to score. Dobson allowed a two-run single in the ninth to

before retiring Marion to end the game and put the Red Sox one win away from the championship.

Game 6

St. Louis staved off elimination at home, chasing Boston starter Mickey Harris with a three-run third. With two on and one out, Terry Moore's sacrifice fly scored the game's first run. After a single, back-to-back RBI singles by Whitey Kurowski and

made it 3–0 Cardinals. The Red Sox scored their only run of the game in the seventh when Rudy York hit a leadoff triple and scored on Bobby Doerr's sacrifice fly. Marty Marion added an RBI double in the eighth off Earl Johnson to back

's second win of the Series.

Game 7

The Red Sox struck first in Game 7 on

Dom DiMaggio Dominic Paul DiMaggio (February 12, 1917 – May 8, 2009), nicknamed "The Little Professor", was an American Major League Baseball center fielder. He played his entire 11-year baseball career for the Boston Red Sox (1940–1953). DiMaggio w ...

's sacrifice fly after two leadoff singles off Murry Dickson. The Cardinals tied the game in the second when Whitey Kurowski hit a leadoff double, moved to third on a groundout and scored on

's sacrifice fly off Dave Ferriss. In the fifth, Walker hit a leadoff single and scored on a double by Dickson, who scored on Red Schoendienst's single. The Cardinals led 3–1 in the eighth inning when

tied the game with a two-run double but had to be removed from the game after severely pulling a hamstring and Leon Culberson took his position in the center field. In the bottom of the frame,

scored from first base on a play called the '' Mad Dash''. From the dugout, Dom DiMaggio tried vainly to get the reserve Culberson to shade Walker properly. As the runner started, Walker lined the ball to left-center field. Culberson was out of position and slow to field the ball. As he threw a relay to

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

Johnny Pesky, Slaughter rounded

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, ignored third base coach Mike González's stop sign, and continued for

home plate A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

. What exactly happened when Pesky turned around is still a matter of contention. Some claim that Pesky, assuming that Slaughter would not be running home, checked Walker at

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

instead of immediately firing home. Some contend that Pesky was shocked to see Slaughter on his way to score and "held the ball," a mental lapse. But Pesky's reaction after taking the throw is immaterial. The run was lost by a chain of unfortunate events: Dom DiMaggio pulling up injured; the Red Sox lacking a better defensive replacement than Leon Culberson; Culberson being out of position on Walker's hit; Culberson's slow pickup of the ball, complicated by a rough outfield surface, and Culberson's weak throw; and Slaughter's speed and aggressive base-running. Slaughter scored just as Red Sox

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...

caught Pesky's relay up the line from home plate. The run put the Cardinals ahead 4–3 and proved to be the winning run. Harry "The Cat" Brecheen had come out of the bullpen during Boston's rally in the eighth when the Red Sox had two men on base, and he gave up the double by DiMaggio that tied the game. Brecheen allowed two singles to start the ninth inning, but then retired the Red Sox without giving up a run, to record his third victory of the Series.

Composite box

1946 World Series (4–3): St. Louis Cardinals (N.L.) over

(A.L.)

Highlights

*This was the first World Series appearance for the Red Sox since , and it would be their last appearance until , when they would again lose to the Cardinals in seven games. However, the Red Sox would win the next two World Series matchups with the Cardinals, sweeping them in to break an 86-year championship drought, and then defeating them in six games in (Boston's third in ten years). *The World Series loss snapped the Red Sox's record of winning their first five postseason series, a feat that would not be matched until the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

did it 57 years later in the 2003 National League Championship Series. *

Joe Cronin Joseph Edward Cronin (October 12, 1906 – September 7, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, manager and executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop, most notably as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Cronin sp ...

became the fourth manager to take two teams to the World Series ( Pat Moran,

Bill McKechnie William Boyd McKechnie (August 7, 1886 – October 29, 1965) was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman during the dead-ball era. McKechnie was the first manager to win ...

, and

Joe McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarth ...

were the first three) but was the first who did not win with either of them. * Several sources erroneously reported that

hit a single allowing

to score. It was officially scored a double. *This was the first World Series in which the final out in Game 7 came with the tying run on third base.

Notes

References

External links

Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments: Enos Slaughter's Mad Dash
{{Major League Baseball on Mutual World Series

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 ...

St. Louis Cardinals postseason Boston Red Sox postseason

World Series, 1946 World Series, 1946

Sports competitions in Boston Sports competitions in St. Louis Fenway Park