1943 World Series

New York Yankees (4) vs St. Louis Cardinals (1)

In a classic-rematch of the previous year's contest, the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees once again found themselves competing for the World Championship title. The underdog Redbirds had dethroned the mighty Bombers in 1942 and the devastating loss was the first since 1926 for the Yankees, who had won in all eight of their appearances in the Fall Classic.

Both teams had maintained their dominance throughout the 1943 season, despite losing several key players to military service. The Cardinals were without Howie Pollet (who left in August) and the Yankees lost Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto and Red Ruffing to tours of duty. On the home front, the Card's Stan Musial had a tremendous season, winning the National League batting title with an incredible .357 average. He was also backed up by the finest pitching in the National League as Pollet, Max Lanier and Mort Cooper ranked 1-2-3 in the league in ERA at 1.75, 1.90 and 2.30, respectively. The Yanks still boasted Charlie Keller and Joe Gordon who provided power at the plate with thirty-one and seventeen home runs, respectively. First baseman Nick Etten, (acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies) proved a significant addition as well and drove in a team-high one-hundred seven runs and Spud Chandler led the pitching staff with twenty wins. Even without "Joe D" and the gang, Joe McCarthy's team still won the American League pennant with a 13½-game difference over second-place Washington.

In a repeat of the previous opener, the Cardinals fell behind, thanks to the pitching of Spud Chandler, who threw a seven-hit, 4-2 winner that featured a key 2-2 tie breaker in the sixth on singles by Frankie Crosetti and rookie third baseman Billy Johnson, a wild pitch by Lanier and another single by Bill Dickey.

The big story in Game 2 was the bittersweet play of the Cardinal's Cooper brothers, who were mourning the death of their father who had passed away the day before. Mort pitched a one-run ballgame for eight innings and Walker singled in three at-bats and laid down a sacrifice bunt. Both brothers were backed up by Marty Marion, who belted a third-inning homer with the bases empty, and Ray Sanders, who powered a two-run shot in the fourth. Despite the Nationals best efforts, the Yankees rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth and wound up the 4-3 winners.

Al Brazle, a twenty-nine-year-old rookie who won eight-of-ten decisions in the regular season and boasted a 1.53 ERA, kept the Cards' hopes alive for a repeat of '42 (in which St. Louis won four straight to take the title) by pitching masterfully through seven innings of Game 3. Unfortunately, the lefthander was unable to maintain his momentum in the eighth as the Yankees scored five times. Joe DiMaggio's replacement in centerfield, converted pitcher Johnny Lindell, started the rally with a double on the error of Harry Walker who misplayed the ball. Pinch-hitter George Stirnweiss bunted, and first baseman Sanders threw to third baseman Whitey Kurowski in an effort to cut down Lindell. The throw was in time, but Lindell crashed into Kurowski and knocked the ball loose. After a fly-ball moved Stirnweiss to second, Crosetti was walked intentionally to load the bases. Johnson, a .280 hitter in his first season with the Yankees, proceeded to foil the strategy by clearing the bases with a triple. Gordon and Etten added run-scoring singles later in the inning, pushing the score to 6-2. Johnny Murphy finished the job by working a 1-2-3 ninth in relief of winning pitcher Hank Borowy.

Nothing changed in Game 4 as Marius Russo put on a one-man show. A 5-10 pitcher for the Yankees in '43, Russo held St. Louis to seven hits, doubled and scored the winning run in the eighth as New York won 2-1. As the Series headed to Game 5, the Yankees were thinking revenge and were one win away from having it. The Cardinals on the other hand, were only thinking about survival and selected Mort Cooper to go against Chandler the next day. The Redbirds put up a great offensive effort, knocking the Yankee pitcher for ten hits, but were unable to score on any of them. The Bombers only needed one, a two-run homer from Bill Dickey in the sixth that sealed their fate with a 2-0 triumph.

The American's had their revenge and manager Joe McCarthy had his seventh (and final) World Series Championship.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"Certainly (Spud) Chandler is a good pitcher, but there are good pitchers in the National League, too. We expect to see good pitching in the World Series. The Yankees wouldn't have won the pennant without good pitching, but the same is true of our club. We have good pitching too." - St. Louis Manager Billy Southworth

1943 World Series

1943 World Series Program, St. Louis Cardinals Version

1943 WorldSeriesOfficialProgram
St. Louis Cardinals Version

1943 World Series Program

1943 WorldSeriesOfficialProgram
New York Yankees Version

1942 | New York Yankees (4) vs St. Louis Cardinals (1) | 1944

Game 1 Date / Box Score 10-05-1943
Location Yankee Stadium
Attendance 68,676
Game 2 Date / Box Score 10-06-1943
Location Yankee Stadium
Attendance 68,578
Game 3 Date / Box Score 10-07-1943
Location Yankee Stadium
Attendance 69,990
Game 4 Date / Box Score 10-10-1943
Location Sportsman's Park
Attendance 36,196
Game 5 Date / Box Score 10-11-1943
Location Sportsman's Park
Attendance 33,872
1943 World Series Fast Facts

1943 World Series
Game 1

Line Score / Box Score

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 7 2
New York 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 x 4 8 2
Max Lanier (L)
Harry Brecheen (8th)
Spud Chandler (W)
-
None Joe Gordon (4th)

1943 World Series
Game 2

Line Score / Box Score

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 7 2
New York 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 3 6 0
Mort Cooper (W)
-
Tiny Bonham (L)
Johnny Murphy (9th)
Marty Marion (3rd)
Ray Sanders (4th)
None
-

1943 World Series
Game 3

Line Score / Box Score

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Louis 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 4
New York 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 x 6 8 0
Al Brazle (L)
Howie Krist (8th)
Harry Brecheen (8th)
Hank Borowy (W)
Johnny Murphy (S, 9th)
-
None None

1943 World Series
Game 4

Line Score / Box Score

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 6 2
St. Louis 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 7 1
Marius Russo (W)
-
Max Lanier
Harry Brecheen (L, 8th)
None None

1943 World Series
Game 5

Line Score / Box Score

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
New York 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 7 1
St. Louis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 1
Spud Chandler (W)
-
-
Mort Cooper (L)
Max Lanier (8th)
Murry Dickson (9th)
Bill Dickey (6th) None

1943 World Series

New York Yankees

Composite Hitting Statistics

Tiny Bonham
Hank Borowy
Spud Chandler
Frankie Crosetti
Bill Dickey
Nick Etten
Joe Gordon
Billy Johnson
Charlie Keller
Johnny Lindell
Bud Metheny
Johnny Murphy
Marius Russo
Tuck Stainback
Snuffy Stirnweiss
Roy Weatherly
p
p
p
ss
c
1b
2b
3b
of
of
of
p
p
of
ph
ph
1
1
2
5
5
5
5
5
5
4
2
2
1
5
1
1
2
2
6
18
18
19
17
20
18
9
8
0
3
17
1
1
0
1
1
5
5
2
4
6
4
1
1
0
2
3
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
4
1
0
2
3
3
1
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
4
2
2
3
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
.000
.500
.167
.278
.278
.105
.235
.300
.222
.111
.125
.000
.667
.176
.000
.000
0
0
0
2
2
1
3
0
2
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
2
3
2
2
3
3
5
4
2
0
1
2
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Totals 159 35 5 2 2 17 14 .220 12 30 2

1943 World Series

St. Louis Cardinals

Composite Hitting Statistics

Al Brazle
Harry Brecheen
Mort Cooper
Walker Cooper
Frank Demaree
Murry Dickson
Debs Garms
Johnny Hopp
Lou Klein
Howie Krist
Whitey Kurowski
Max Lanier
Danny Litwhiler
Marty Marion
Stan Musial
Sam Narron
Ken O'Dea
Ray Sanders
Harry Walker
Ernie White
p
p
p
c
ph
p
of-1
of
2b
p
3b
p
of-4
ss
of
ph
c-1
1b
of
pr
1
3
2
5
1
1
2
1
5
1
5
3
5
5
5
1
2
5
5
1
3
0
5
17
1
0
5
4
22
0
18
4
15
14
18
1
3
17
18
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
0
3
0
4
1
4
5
5
0
2
5
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
1
2
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
2
2
0
0
0
2
0
0
.000
.000
.000
.294
.000
.000
.000
.000
.136
.000
.222
.250
.267
.357
.278
.000
.667
.294
.167
.000
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
2
3
2
0
0
3
0
0
1
0
3
1
0
0
2
1
2
0
3
0
4
1
2
0
0
4
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
Totals 165 37 5 0 2 98 8 .224 11 26 1

1943 World Series

New York Yankees

Composite Pitching Statistics

Tiny Bonham
Hank Borowy
Spud Chandler
Johnny Murphy
Marius Russo
0
1
2
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
2
2
1
1
1
2
0
1
0
0
2
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
8.0
8.0
18.0
2.0
9.0
4.50
2.25
0.50
0.00
0.00
6
6
17
1
7
9
4
10
1
2
4
2
1
0
0
3
3
3
1
1
Totals 4 1 7 5 3 1 1 45.0 1.40 37 26 7 11

1943 World Series

St. Louis Cardinals

Composite Pitching Statistics

Al Brazle
Harry Brecheen
Mort Cooper
Murry Dickson
Howie Krist
Max Lanier
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
3
2
1
1
3
1
0
2
0
0
2
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
7.1
3.2
16.0
0.2
0.0
15.1
3.68
2.45
2.81
0.00
-.--
1.76
5
5
11
0
1
13
4
3
10
0
0
13
3
1
5
0
0
3
2
3
3
1
0
3
Totals 1 4 11 5 2 0 0 43.0 2.51 35 30 12 12
baseball almanac flat baseball

baseball almanac fast facts

The only St. Louis Cardinals victory took place during Game 2, an event that went without celebration due to the death of Mort & Walker Cooper's father (Robert) on the same date.

Did you know that Murry Dickson, who helped close the door on the Cardinals in Game 5 by allowing no hits while on the mound, was on a ten (10) day pass from the United States Army?

Visit Baseball Fever and discuss if things would have been different had the Cardinals not lost the following players, who were on the roster during the 1942 World Series championship, to the armed services: Johnny Beazley, Jimmy Brown, Creepy Crespi, Terry Moore and Enos Slaughter.