The Mad Dash, or Slaughter's Mad Dash, refers to an event in the eighth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

of the seventh game of the

1946 World Series The 1946 World Series was played in October 1946 between the St. Louis Cardinals (representing the National League) and the Boston Red Sox (representing the American League). This was the Red Sox's first appearance in a World Series since their ...

between the St. Louis Cardinals 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 eig ...

Background

Personnel involved

Context

The 1946 Boston Red Sox ran away with 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 ...

crown by twelve games over 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 ...

with a 104–50 record, and were heavy favorites in the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. They led the series three games to two as it headed back to

Sportsman's Park Sportsman's Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in St. Louis, Missouri. All but one of these were located on the same piece of land, at the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street, on th ...

in St. Louis for Game 6. The Cardinals won that game on sensational defense and a brilliant pitching performance by Harry Brecheen to bring the series to a deciding seventh game. Game 7 was played in

on October 15, 1946. After Red Sox center fielder Dom DiMaggio drove in two runs in the top of the eighth, the score was tied 3–3. DiMaggio pulled a hamstring during the play and was forced to leave the game; he was replaced by a

pinch runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been subs ...

, Leon Culberson, who also replaced DiMaggio in center field in the bottom of the inning. Cardinal right fielder

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 ...

led off with a single off of pitcher Bob Klinger. After a failed

bunt Bunt may refer to: * Bunt (community), an elite social group from Karnataka, India * Bunt (baseball), a batting technique in baseball * Bunt (sail), a part of a ship's sail * Bunt Island, island in Antarctica * The Bunt, nickname of the Buntingfo ...

attempt by Whitey Kurowski and a flyout to left field by Del Rice, Slaughter found himself still on first base with two outs. Left fielder

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, ...

stepped to the plate and, after the count reached two balls and one strike, Cardinals manager Eddie Dyer called for a

hit-and-run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there may be an ...

The play

With Slaughter running, Walker lined the ball to left-center field, where Culberson fielded the ball. As he threw a relay to shortstop

Johnny Pesky John Michael Pesky (born John Michael Paveskovich; February 27, 1919 – August 13, 2012), nicknamed "The Needle" and "Mr. Red Sox", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He was a shortstop and third baseman during a t ...

, Slaughter rounded third base, ignored third base coach Mike González's stop sign, and continued for home. 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 instead of immediately firing home, while others contend that Pesky was so shocked to see Slaughter on his way to score that he had a mental lapse that accounted for the delay. Whatever the reason, the delay, along with a weak and rushed throw home, allowed Slaughter to score just as Red Sox catcher Roy Partee caught it up the line from home plate.

Official scoring

Walker's hit was scored as a double, but could have been scored a single with him advancing to second on Pesky's throw home.

Aftermath

The run put the Cardinals ahead 4–3 and proved to be the winning run of the decisive seventh game. In Boston, "Pesky held the ball" became a catchphrase, although a soft throw from Culberson (playing in place of the strong-armed DiMaggio) may have been more to blame. In St. Louis, a statue depicting Slaughter sliding across home plate at the end of the play stands outside the current ballpark. This play was named #10 on the

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

list of Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments in 1999.

References

External links

YouTube: Enos Slaughter's Mad Dash.MOV
{{Major League Baseball on Mutual 1946 Major League Baseball season Boston Red Sox postseason St. Louis Cardinals postseason World Series games October 1946 sports events in the United States 1946 in sports in Missouri Historic baseball plays