Recalling the Only All St. Louis World Series

There have been 14 World Series that have featured the New York Yankees versus the National League New York and/or Brooklyn clubs, popularly named Subway Series due to the fact that all clubs involved were from the same city. Once, there was an all St. Louis World Series involving the Cardinals and the Browns.

The St. Louis Browns were an American League franchise from 1902-1953. Starting in the mid 1920’s, the Cardinals enjoyed a great deal of success, winning nine National League pennants and six World Series from 1926 through 1946. The Browns, on the other hand, not so much. The club had some Hall of Fame talent in the late 1910’s and 20s’, but not enough of it. The Browns’ finished in 2nd place in 1902, and then 20 years later they finished 2nd again, with a record of 93-61, just one game behind the Yankees. The Browns did not finish any closer than 15 games behind for the next 22 years. The bottom was reached in 1939 when the 43-111 Browns finished a staggering 64 1/2 games behind the Yankees.

From the 1942 through ’45 seasons, baseball lost many of its players to military service in World War II. Rosters consisted largely of players who were older or who had not yet, but would eventually, serve in the military. In short, the overall talent level was down from the pre war era. In 1944, the Browns were coming off a more or less typical Browns season, 72-80, sixth place, 25 games behind the Yankees again. But in ’44, with talent depleted by the war effort, the Browns finally won the American League Pennant. It came down to the wire, however; the Browns beat the Yankees in their final game of the season to finish 89-65 and the Detroit Tigers lost to the Washington Senators, dropping the Tigers to 88-66, one game behind the Browns.

The Browns would play the Cardinals in the World Series. The Cardinals were on a three year hot streak; the 1944 National League Pennant was their third straight. They had been remarkably consistent, with records of 106-48 in 1942, and 105-49 in both 1943 and ’44. The Cardinals beat the Yankees in the ’42 series and lost to them in ’43. Despite the war, the Cardinals had a lot of talent, but many players, including future Hall of Famer Stan Musial, would miss all or most of the 1945 season for military service. The Cardinals still managed a 2nd place finish in ’45, but the pennant streak was over.

This would not be a subway series, in part because there are no subways in St. Louis, but also because the Browns and Cardinals both played in the same stadium, Sportsman’s Park. In Game 1, the Cardinals started righthander Mort Cooper, who was 22-7 with a 2.46 ERA during the ’44 regular season, against Browns’ righthander Denny Galehouse (9-10, 3.12). Cooper, whose battery mate was his brother Walker Cooper, gave up a two out, two run homer to George McQuinn, and held the Browns to just two hits. But Galehouse scattered seven hits and allowed one run on a bottom of the ninth sacrifice fly, and the Browns won 2-1 to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Game 2 was also a pitcher’s duel, with each team getting just seven hits in what turned out to be an 11 inning game. With the score tied 2-2 in the bottom of the 11th, Cardinals pinch hitter Ken O’Dea hit a one out single off reliever Bob Muncrief to drive in Ray Sanders with the winning run in the 3-2 Cardinals victory. The winning pitcher for the Cardinals was reliever Blix Donnely who allowed just two hits and a walk in four innings. Series even at 1-1.

In Game 3, the Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on an unearned run. In the bottom of the third, the Cardinals retired the first two hitters, but the Browns then scored four runs on five consecutive singles, an intentional walk, and a wild pitch to take a 4-1 lead. In the top of the seventh, the Cardinals’ Marty Marion singled off reliever Al Jurisich, driving home Whitey Kurowski, who had reached on an error, to bring the Cardinals to within two at 4-2. In the bottom of the seventh, Don Gutteridge led off with a double. After Mike Kreevich popped out to the shortstop, Gutteridge advanced to third on a groundout to first by Gene Moore. Vern Stephens walked, but catcher Walker Cooper couldn’t handle ball four, resulting in a run scoring past ball. George McQuinn doubled to right, driving in Stephens to make it 6-2, which was the final score.

The Browns now had an improbable 2-1 lead in the best of seven series. That apparently was a wakeup call for the highly favored Cardinals. In Game 4, Stan Musial put the Cardinals on top in the first inning with a two run home run off starter Sig Jakucki. The 34 year old Jakucki had had a fine regular season, with a 13-9 record and a 3.55 ERA. The unusual thing about Jakucki was that before the 1944 season, he had last pitched in the majors in 1936. The Cardinals scored two more in the third and added a run in the sixth. Cardinals starter Harry Brecheen allowed nine hits and four walks, but only one run in the 5-1 complete game victory, tying the series at 2-2.

Game 5 again matched Game 1 starters Mort Cooper and Denny Galehouse. Both again pitched well, with complete games, but Galehouse gave up a pair of solo home runs while Cooper threw a shutout for a 2-0 Cardinals win. The Cardinals took a 3-2 lead in the series.

In Game 6, the Browns could manage just three hits against Max Lanier and Ted Wilks, while the Cardinals had 10 en route to a 3-1 win, and took the World Series four games to two.

The Browns fell to third place in 1945, with a record of 81-70. For the next eight years, the Browns won no more than 66 games and lost 100 or more three times. In 1954, after a 54-100 season in 1953, the Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles greeted their new fans with another 54-100 season in 1954. In 1966, the former Browns turned Orioles returned to the World Series for the first time in 22 years, this time beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0, to win the Browns/ Orioles franchise its first World Series title.

Here’s a rather quaint, by today’s standards, highlight reel from that 1944 World Series: