| 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers | |
|---|---|
| National League champion | |
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| League | National League |
| Ballpark | Ebbets Field |
| City | Brooklyn, New York |
| Owners | James &Dearie Mulvey,Brooklyn Trust Company |
| President | Larry MacPhail |
| Managers | Leo Durocher |
| Radio | WOR Red Barber,Al Helfer |
The1941 Brooklyn Dodgers, led by managerLeo Durocher, won their first pennant in 21 years, edging theSt. Louis Cardinals by 2.5 games. They went on to lose to theNew York Yankees in theWorld Series.
InThe New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, this team was referenced as one of "The Greatest Teams That Never Was", due to the quality of its starting lineup.Dolph Camilli was the slugging star with 34 home runs and 120 RBI. He was voted theNational League'sMost Valuable Player.Pete Reiser, a 22-year-old rookie, led the league in batting average, slugging percentage, and runs scored. Other regulars includedHall of FamersBilly Herman,Joe Medwick,Pee Wee Reese, andDixie Walker. Not surprisingly, the Dodgers scored the most runs of any NL team (800).
The pitching staff featured a pair of 22-game winners,Kirby Higbe andWhitlow Wyatt, having their best pro seasons.
On July 1, the Dodgers played thePhillies in Brooklyn; the game was televised by WNBT in New York (nowWNBC), making the contest the first program aired by a commercial TV station in the United States. Although the Dodgers would later win the pennant and the Phillies would finish dead last in the NL, Philadelphia won the game 6–4, in 10 innings.[1]
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 100 | 54 | .649 | — | 52–25 | 48–29 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 97 | 56 | .634 | 2½ | 53–24 | 44–32 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 88 | 66 | .571 | 12 | 45–34 | 43–32 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 81 | 73 | .526 | 19 | 45–32 | 36–41 |
| New York Giants | 74 | 79 | .484 | 25½ | 38–39 | 36–40 |
| Chicago Cubs | 70 | 84 | .455 | 30 | 38–39 | 32–45 |
| Boston Braves | 62 | 92 | .403 | 38 | 32–44 | 30–48 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 43 | 111 | .279 | 57 | 23–52 | 20–59 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BSN | BRO | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Boston | — | 4–18–2 | 11–11 | 9–13 | 6–16 | 14–8 | 10–12 | 8–14 | |||||
| Brooklyn | 18–4–2 | — | 13–9 | 14–8 | 14–8 | 18–4 | 12–10 | 11–11–1 | |||||
| Chicago | 11–11 | 9–13 | — | 8–14 | 9–13 | 14–8–1 | 9–13 | 10–12 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 13–9 | 8–14 | 14–8 | — | 15–7 | 16–6 | 12–10 | 10–12 | |||||
| New York | 16–6 | 8–14 | 13–9 | 7–15 | — | 16–6 | 8–14–2 | 6–15–1 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 8–14 | 4–18 | 8–14–1 | 6–16 | 6–16 | — | 6–16 | 5–17 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 12–10 | 10–12 | 13–9 | 10–12 | 14–8–2 | 16–6 | — | 6–16 | |||||
| St. Louis | 14–8 | 11–11–1 | 12–10 | 12–10 | 15–6–1 | 17–5 | 16–6 | — | |||||
| 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager Coaches | ||||||
| = Indicates team leader |
| = Indicates league leader |
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
| Pos | Player | GP | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Mickey Owen | 128 | 386 | 32 | 89 | .231 | 1 | 44 | 1 |
| 1B | Dolph Camilli | 149 | 529 | 92 | 151 | .285 | 34 | 120 | 3 |
| 2B | Billy Herman | 133 | 536 | 77 | 156 | .291 | 3 | 41 | 1 |
| 3B | Cookie Lavagetto | 132 | 441 | 75 | 122 | .277 | 1 | 78 | 7 |
| SS | Pee Wee Reese | 152 | 595 | 76 | 136 | .229 | 2 | 46 | 10 |
| OF | Dixie Walker | 148 | 531 | 88 | 165 | .311 | 9 | 71 | 4 |
| OF | Pete Reiser | 137 | 536 | 117 | 184 | .343 | 14 | 76 | 4 |
| OF | Joe Medwick | 133 | 538 | 100 | 171 | .318 | 18 | 88 | 2 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | GP | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Wasdell | 94 | 265 | 39 | 79 | .298 | 4 | 48 | 2 |
| Lew Riggs | 77 | 197 | 27 | 60 | .305 | 5 | 36 | 1 |
| Herman Franks | 57 | 139 | 10 | 28 | .201 | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| Pete Coscarart | 43 | 62 | 13 | 8 | .129 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Joe Vosmik | 25 | 56 | 0 | 11 | .196 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Alex Kampouris | 16 | 51 | 8 | 16 | .314 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
| Leo Durocher | 18 | 42 | 2 | 12 | .286 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Paul Waner | 11 | 35 | 5 | 6 | .171 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Babe Phelps | 16 | 30 | 3 | 7 | .233 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Augie Galan | 17 | 27 | 3 | 7 | .259 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Tommy Tatum | 8 | 12 | 1 | 2 | .167 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Tony Giuliani | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George Pfister | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; CG = Complete games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | GS | CG | IP | W | L | ERA | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirby Higbe | 48 | 39 | 19 | 298.0 | 22 | 9 | 3.14 | 132 | 121 |
| Whit Wyatt | 38 | 35 | 23 | 288.1 | 22 | 10 | 2.34 | 82 | 176 |
| Freddie Fitzsimmons | 13 | 12 | 3 | 82.2 | 6 | 1 | 2.07 | 26 | 19 |
| Ed Albosta | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13.0 | 0 | 2 | 6.23 | 8 | 5 |
Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; CG = Complete games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | GS | CG | IP | W | L | ERA | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugh Casey | 45 | 18 | 4 | 162.0 | 14 | 11 | 3.89 | 57 | 61 |
| Curt Davis | 28 | 16 | 10 | 154.1 | 13 | 7 | 2.97 | 27 | 50 |
| Luke Hamlin | 30 | 20 | 5 | 136.0 | 8 | 8 | 4.24 | 41 | 58 |
| Johnny Allen | 11 | 4 | 2 | 57.1 | 3 | 0 | 2.51 | 12 | 21 |
| Newt Kimball | 15 | 5 | 1 | 52.0 | 3 | 1 | 3.63 | 29 | 17 |
| Tom Drake | 10 | 2 | 0 | 24.2 | 1 | 1 | 4.38 | 12 | 21 |
| Larry French | 6 | 1 | 0 | 15.2 | 0 | 0 | 3.45 | 4 | 8 |
| Lee Grissom | 4 | 1 | 0 | 11.1 | 0 | 0 | 2.38 | 8 | 5 |
Note: Hugh Casey was team leader insaves with 7.
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mace Brown | 24 | 42.2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3.16 | 26 | 22 |
| Kemp Wicker | 16 | 32.0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3.66 | 14 | 8 |
| Vito Tamulis | 12 | 22.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.68 | 10 | 8 |
| Bill Swift | 9 | 22.0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3.27 | 7 | 9 |
| Bob Chipman | 1 | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 3 |
| Van Mungo | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 2 | 0 |
The1941World Series matched theNew York Yankees against the Dodgers, with the Yankees winning in five games to capture their fifth title in six years, and their ninth overall.
The name "Subway Series" arose for a World Series played between two New York City teams. The series was punctuated by the Dodgers'Mickey Owen'sdropped third strike of a sharply breakingcurveball (a suspectedspitball) pitched byHugh Casey toTommy Henrich in the 9th inning of Game 4. The play led to a Yankees rally and brought them one win away from another championship.
The Yankees were back after a one-year hiatus, having won thirteen (13) of their last fourteen (14) Series games and twenty-eight (28) of their last thirty-one (31) games in the World Series.
This was the first Subway Series between the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees, who had already faced the crosstownNew York Giants five times, and the Series was now 1–0 in favor of the Bronx Bombers. These two teams would meet a total of seven (7) times from 1941 to 1956 – the Dodgers' only victory coming in1955.
October 1, 1941, atYankee Stadium in New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| New York (A) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | x | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| W:Red Ruffing (1–0) L:Curt Davis (0–1) | ||||||||||||
| HR:NYY –Joe Gordon (1) | ||||||||||||
October 2, 1941, atYankee Stadium in New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| New York (A) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 1 |
| W:Whit Wyatt (1–0) L:Spud Chandler (0–1) | ||||||||||||
October 4, 1941, atEbbets Field inBrooklyn, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York (A) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| W:Marius Russo (1–0) L:Hugh Casey (0–1) | ||||||||||||
October 5, 1941, atEbbets Field inBrooklyn, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York (A) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 0 |
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| W:Johnny Murphy (1–0) L:Hugh Casey (0–2) | ||||||||||||
| HR: :BRO –Pete Reiser (1) | ||||||||||||
October 6, 1941, atEbbets Field inBrooklyn, New York
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York (A) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| Brooklyn (N) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| W:Tiny Bonham (1–0) L:Whit Wyatt (1–1) | ||||||||||||
| HR: :NYY –Tommy Henrich (1) | ||||||||||||
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Montreal, Durham, Santa Barbara, Elizebethton, Newport
