The1940 World Series matched theCincinnati Reds against theDetroit Tigers, with the Reds winning a closely contested seven-game series. The victory secured the Reds the second championship in their franchise history and came 21 years after their victory over thescandal-taintedChicago White Sox in1919. This would be the Reds' last World Series championship for35 years despite appearances in1961,1970, and1972. Meanwhile,Bill Klem worked the last of his record 18 World Series as an umpire.^[1]

Other story lines marked this series. Henry Quillen Buffkin Newsom, the father of Detroit's star pitcherBobo Newsom, died in aCincinnati hotel room the day after watching him win Game 1. Newsom came back to hurl a shutout in Game 5 in his memory. Called on to start a third time after a single day of rest by Tiger managerDel Baker, he pitched well in Game 7 until the seventh inning, when the Reds scored two runs to take the lead and eventually the game and the Series.

The Reds' star pitchersPaul Derringer andBucky Walters won two games apiece, with Derringer winning the decisive seventh game. Walters hurled two complete games, allowing only eight hits and three runs combined. He also hit a home run in Game 6 in the midst of his 4–0 shutout, which sent the Series to a Game 7.

It was redemption of sorts for the Reds, who returned to the World Series after being swept by the Yankees squad in 1939. The Reds' win in Game 2 against Detroit snapped a 10-game losing streak for theNational League in the Series going back to Game 5 in 1937.

The victory culminated a somewhat turbulent season for the Reds, who played large stretches of the season without injured All-Star catcherErnie Lombardi. And on August 3, Lombardi's backup,Willard Hershberger, committed suicide in Boston a day after a defensive lapse cost the Reds a game against the Bees. Hershberger was hitting .309 at the time of his death. The Reds dedicated the rest of the season to "Hershie." One of the stars in the World Series was 40-year-oldJimmie Wilson. Wilson had been one of theReds' coaches before Hershberger's suicide forced him back onto the playing field as Lombardi's backup. With Lombardi hurting, Wilson did the bulk of the catching against Detroit and hit .353 for the Series and recorded the team's onlystolen base.

Reds' managerBill McKechnie became the first manager to win a World Series with two different teams, at the helm of thePittsburgh Pirates in 1925, after trailing three games to one againstWalter Johnson and theWashington Senators.

This was the last time the Tigers lost in the World Series until2006.

NLCincinnati Reds (4) vs. ALDetroit Tigers (3)

Bobo Newsom won Game 1 aided by a five-run second inning by Detroit. Two singles and an error loaded the bases beforePinky Higgins drove in two runs with a single. A walk reloaded the bases beforeDick Bartell's two-run single.Bruce Campbell's RBI single knocked starterPaul Derringer out of the game. The Reds got on the board in the fourth whenIval Goodman hit a leadoff double and scored onJimmy Ripple's single, but Campbell's two-run home run in the fifth offWhitey Moore extended the Tigers' lead to 7–1. The Reds got another run in the eighth whenBilly Werber doubled and scored on Goodman's single, but nothing else as Detroit took a 1–0 series lead.

The Tigers' win in Game 1 was the first World Series game won by a non-New York City team since 1935. In every World Series between 1935 and 1940, either both teams were from New York City or a New York City team won in a sweep (1938 and 1939).

Detroit struck first in Game 2Bucky Walters allowed two leadoff walks in the first, then an RBI single toCharlie Gehringer and ground-ball RBI double-play toHank Greenberg, but the Reds tied it in the second on four singles offSchoolboy Rowe, two of which byEddie Joost andBilly Myers scoring a run each. Next inning,Jimmy Ripple's two-run home run put the Reds up 4–2. Back-to-back doubles by Walters andBilly Werber made it 5–2 Reds in the fourth. The Tigers got a run in the sixth onHank Greenberg's RBI double after a walk and forceout in the sixth, but nothing else besidesPinky Higgins's leadoff double in the fifth as the Reds tied the series with a 5–3 win heading to Detroit.

The Reds struck first in Game 3 whenBilly Werber doubled to lead off the first offTommy Bridges and scored onIval Goodman's single, but the Tigers tied it in the fourth onHank Greenberg's double-play after back-to-back leadoff singles offJim Turner. Detroit went up 5–1 in the seventh on two-run home runs byRudy York andPinky Higgins. The Reds got a run in the eighth onMike McCormick's RBI single with two on, but in the bottom half, Greenberg hit a leadoff triple offJoe Beggs beforeBruce Campbell's RBI single and Higgins's RBI double made it 7–2 Tigers. In the ninth after a leadoff single and error, RBI singles byEddie Joost and Werber made it 7–4 Tigers, but Bridges struck out McCormick to end the game as Detroit took a 2–1 series lead.

In Game 4, after a leadoff walk offDizzy Trout,Ival Goodman's RBI double andPinky Higgins's error onJimmy Ripple's ground ball made it 2–0 Reds in the first. They made it 3–0 in the third onJimmy Ripple's RBI double after two leadoff singles. The Tigers got on the board in the bottom half whenPaul Derringer walkedBarney McCosky, who moved to second on a groundout and scored onHank Greenberg's RBI double, but the Reds got back that run in the fourth onIval Goodman's sacrifice fly offClay Smith after a leadoff walk and double. The Tigers got another run in the sixthBruce Campbell singled with two outs and scored on Higgins's triple, but the Reds again got the run back in the eighth whenBilly Werber singled with two outs offArchie McKain, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored onMike McCormick's RBI single. Derringer pitched a complete game to give the Reds a 5–2 win, tying the series 2–2.

Bobo Newsom allowed only three singles and two walks in the shutout, the day after his father died. Detroit got on the board onHank Greenberg's three-run home run after two leadoff singles in the third. Next inning,Billy Sullivan drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored onDick Bartell's double. Two walks by starterJunior Thompson and relieverWhitey Moore loaded the bases beforeHank Greenberg's sacrifice fly and after another walk,Bruce Campbell's two-run single made it 7–0 Tigers. They got another run in the eighth onJohnny Hutchings's wild pitch with two on and were just one win way from the championship heading back to Cincinnati.

Bucky Walters drew the Reds even with a five-hit shutout. He helped his own cause with an RBI fielder's choice in the sixth with the bases loaded offJohnny Gorsica and a solo home run in the eighth offFred Hutchinson.Schoolboy Rowe was knocked out after just1⁄3 of an inning, allowing four hits, including RBI singles toIval Goodman andJimmy Ripple. The Reds' 4–0 win forced a final Game 7.

Game 7 was over in 1 hour, 47 minutes.^[9] Detroit and pitcherBobo Newsom clung to a 1-0 lead, courtesy ofCharlie Gehringer's third inning RBI single offPaul Derringer, until the seventh.Frank McCormick hit a leadoff double.Jimmy Ripple came up and then hit a double to score McCormick and tie the game. Jimmie Wilson came up and delivered a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance Ripple to third base.Ernie Lombardi, placed in the game to pinch-hit forEddie Joost, was then intentionally walked to bring upBilly Myers. He hit a sacrifice fly on a ball to deep center that scored Ripple to deliver the go-ahead run. WhileCharlie Gehringer had a leadoff single in the 8th inning, the Tigers would not record a single hit afterwards, withEarl Averill grounding out to clinch the game and Series for the Reds.

1940 World Series(4–3):Cincinnati Reds (NL) overDetroit Tigers (AL)

Bucky Walters, converted to pitching only after a torn cartilage (not repairable in those days) had slowed him down as a runner, was the fourthNational League pitcher to hit a home run during a World Series game. The others were:

This was the last title won by the Reds until1975, where they defeated theBoston Red Sox in seven games after being seven outs away from elimination in Game 7. In between 1940 and 1975, the Reds lost in their next three appearances in the Fall Classic, in1961,1970, and1972.

This was the last time the Tigers lost in the World Series until2006. They would win the championship in their next three World Series appearances in1945,1968, and1984.

• Cohen, Richard M.; Neft, David S. (1990).The World Series: Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903–1989. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 179–183.ISBN 0-312-03960-3.
• Reichler, Joseph (1982).The Baseball Encyclopedia (5th ed.). Macmillan Publishing. p. 2148.ISBN 0-02-579010-2.

• 1940 World Series atWorldSeries.com viaMLB.com
• 1940 World Series atBaseball Almanac
• 1940 World Series atBaseball-Reference.com
• The 1940 Post-Season Games (box scores and play-by-play) atRetrosheet
• History of the World Series - 1940 atThe Sporting News. Archived fromthe original in May 2006.
• Cincinnati Reds History
• Detroit Tigers History

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