1946 World Series
From SoSH
Series Information
The 1946 World Series was played in October between the St. Louis Cardinals (representing the National League) and the Boston Red Sox (representing the American League). In the eighth inning of Game 7, with the score 3-3, the Cardinals' Enos Slaughter opened the inning with a single but two batters failed to advance him. With two outs, Harry Walker walloped a hit over Johnny Pesky's head into left-center field. As Leon Culberson chased it down, Slaughter started his dash. Pesky caught Culberson's throw, turned and - perhaps surprised to see Slaughter headed for the plate - hesitated just a split second before throwing home. Roy Partee 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. The Cardinals won the game and the Series in seven games, giving them their sixth championship. Boston superstar Ted Williams played the Series injured and was largely ineffective but refused to use his injury as an excuse.
- Managers: Joe Cronin (Boston) & Eddie Dyer (St. Louis)
- Venues: Fenway Park (Boston) & Sportsman's Park (St. Louis)
Summary
NL St. Louis Cardinals (4) vs. AL Boston Red Sox (3)
| Game | Score | Date | Location | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Sox – 3, Cardinals – 2 (10) | October 6 | Sportsman's Park | 36,218 |
| 2 | Red Sox – 0, Cardinals – 3 | October 7 | Sportsman's Park | 35,815 |
| 3 | Cardinals – 0, Red Sox – 4 | October 9 | Fenway Park | 34,500 |
| 4 | Cardinals – 12, Red Sox – 3 | October 10 | Fenway Park | 35,645 |
| 5 | Cardinals – 3, Red Sox – 6 | October 11 | Fenway Park | 35,982 |
| 6 | Red Sox – 1, Cardinals – 4 | October 13 | Sportsman's Park | 35,768 |
| 7 | Red Sox – 3, Cardinals – 4 | October 15 | Sportsman's Park | 36,143 |
Box Scores
Game 1: October 6, 1946 at Sportsman's Park
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 2 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| W: Earl Johnson (1-0) L: Harry Pollet (0-1) Sv: None | |||||||||||||
| HR: BOS – Rudy York (1) StL – NNone | |||||||||||||
Game 2: October 7, 1946 at Sportsman's Park
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| W: Harry Brecheen (1-0) L: Mickey Harris (0-1) Sv: None | ||||||||||||
| HR: BOS – None StL – None | ||||||||||||
Game 3: October 9, 1946 at Fenway Park
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Boston Red Sox | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| W: Dave Ferriss (1-0) L: Murry Dickson (0-1) Sv: None | ||||||||||||
| HR: BOS – Rudy York (2) StL – None | ||||||||||||
Game 4: October 10, 1946 at Fenway Park
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 20 | 1 |
| Boston Red Sox | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 4 |
| W: Red Munger (1-0) L: Tex Hughson (0-1) Sv: Name (1) | ||||||||||||
| HR: BOS – Bobby Doerr (1) StL – Enos Slaughter (1) | ||||||||||||
Game 5: October 11, 1946 at Fenway Park
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| Boston Red Sox | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | X | 6 | 11 | 3 |
| W: Joe Dobson (1-0) L: Al Brazle (0-1) Sv: None | ||||||||||||
| HR: BOS – Leon Culberson (1) StL – None | ||||||||||||
Game 6: October 13, 1946 at Sportsman's Park
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| W: Harry Brecheen (2-0) L: Mickey Harris (0-2) Sv: None | ||||||||||||
| HR: BOS – None StL – None | ||||||||||||
Game 7: October 15, 1946 at Sportsman's Park
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| W: Harry Brecheen (3-0) L: Bob Klinger (0-1) Sv: None | ||||||||||||
| HR: BOS – None StL – None | ||||||||||||
Trivia
- This was the first World Series appearance for the Red Sox since 1918 and it would be the last appearance until "the Impossible Dream" 21 years later.
- Joe Cronin became the fourth manager to take two teams to the World Series, but was the first who did not win with either of them (Pat Moran, Bill McKechnie, and Joe McCarthy were the other three).
- Several sources erroneously reported that Harry Walker hit a single allowing Enos Slaughter to score. It was officially scored a doubled and at the end of the game Walker commented, "I hit a low pitch that was sinking. This was the biggest thrill of my life. What a game. What a finish."
- Mel Allen broadcast the 1946 World Series and his play-by-play of the Mad Dash went as follows, "Enos Slaughter is on first base with two away. Harry Walker at bat. Bob Klinger on the mound. He takes the stretch. Here's the pitch. There goes Slaughter. The ball is swung on, there's a line drive going into left-center field. It's in there for a base hit. Culberson fumbles the ball momentarily and Slaughter charges around second, heads for third. Pesky goes into short left field to take the relay from Culberson. And HERE COMES ENOS SLAUGHTER ROUNDING THIRD. HE'S GOING TO TRY FOR HOME. HERE COMES THE THROW AND IT'S NOT IN TIME. Slaughter scores!"
- Enos Slaughter once poetically described his "Mad Dash" with, "When the ball went into left-center, I hit second base and I said to myself, 'I can score.' I didn't know whether the ball had been cut off or not. I didn't know nothin'. It was a gutsy play. But, you know, two men out and the winning run, you can't let the grass grow under your feet."
External Links
- 1946 World Series - Baseball-Reference.com
- 1946 World Series - WorldSeries.com
- 1946 World Series - Baseball-Almanac.com
- 1946 World Series box scores and play-by-play - Retrosheet.org
- Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments: Enos Slaughter's Mad Dash
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