The1945 World Series was the championship series inMajor League Baseball for the1945 season. The 42nd edition of theWorld Series, it matched theAmerican League championDetroit Tigers against theNational League championChicago Cubs. The Tigers won the Series in seven games, giving them their second championship and first since1935.

In the decisive Game 7,Paul Richardsdrove in four runs to lead the Tigers to a 9–3 victory to clinch the Series.

The World Series again used the 3–4 wartime setup for home field sites, instead of the normal 2–3–2. Although the major hostilities of World War II had ended, some of the rules were still in effect and many of the best MLB players were still in military service.Warren Brown, author of a history of the Cubs in 1946, commented on this by titling one chapter "World's Worst Series". He also cited a famous quote of his, referencing himself anonymously and in the third person. When asked who he liked in the Series, he answered, "I don't think either one of them can win it."

In a similar vein,Frank Graham jokingly called this Series "the fat men versus the tall men at the office picnic."

One player decidedly not fitting that description was the Tigers' sluggerHank Greenberg, who had been discharged from military service early. He hit the only two Tigers homers in the Series, and scored seven runs overall and also drove in seven. The series matched the league MVPs, withPhil Cavarretta (a .355 hitter that year) of the National League andHal Newhouser of the American League for the second straight season for Detroit. Newhouser led the Tigers to two victories, including a complete game performance in Game 7.

TheCurse of the Billy Goat originated in this Series before the start of Game 4.^[1] Having last won the Series in1908, the Cubs owned the dubious record of both the longest league pennant drought and the longest World Series drought in history, not winning (or appearing in) another World Series until2016.

The Series was a rematch of the1935 World Series. In that year's Game 6,Stan Hack led off the top of the ninth inning with a triple, but was stranded. The Cubs lost the game and the Series. Hack was still with the Cubs in 1945. According to Warren Brown's account, Hack was seen surveying the field before the first Series game. When asked what he was doing, Hack responded, "I just wanted to see if I wasstill standing there on third base."

To date, the Chicago Cubs have had no personnel from this team elected to theNational Baseball Hall of Fame.

ALDetroit Tigers (4) vs. NLChicago Cubs (3)

The visiting Cubs began with a bang, scoring four times in the first. With two outs and runners on first and third, a passed ball by future Hall of FamerHal Newhouser scored the game's first run. After an intentional walk, a two-runBill Nicholson double andMickey Livingston's RBI single made it 4–0 Cubs. In the third, after a leadoff double,Phil Cavarretta's single andAndy Pafko's double scored a run each. One out later, Livingston's second RBI single of the game knocked Newhouser out of the game. Cavarretta's two-out home run in the seventh offJim Tobin made it 8–0. Pafko then singled, stole second, moved to third on a passed ball, and scored the game's last run on Nicholson's single.Hank Borowy pitched a complete-game shutout despite allowing 12 base runners as the Cubs took a 1–0 series lead. This was the first and only home run hit by the Cubs in the Series and Cavaretta's home run was the last postseason home run hit by a Cub untilBob Dernier did so in Game 1 of the1984 National League Championship Series.

The Cubs struck first whenPhil Cavarretta doubled with one out in the fourth and scored onBill Nicholson's single. After 13 innings without a run, Detroit finally got going in a big way in the fifth.Hank Wyse got two outs, before allowing a single and walk.Doc Cramer's RBI single tied the game beforeHank Greenberg's three-run home run put the Tigers up 4–1.Virgil Trucks allowed no other runs in a complete game as the Tigers tied the series at a game apiece.

Claude Passeau pitched a complete game one-hitter. The Tigers' only hit of the game came with two outs in the second inning off the bat ofRudy York. Other Series pitchers in the "low-hit Complete Game Club" are:

The Cubs scored two runs in the fourth offStubby Overmire on RBI singles byBill Nicholson andRoy Hughes after a leadoff double and one-out walk. They added another run in the seventh offAl Benton whenMickey Livingston hit a leadoff double, moved to third on a groundout and scored onClaude Passeau's sacrifice fly. They now led the series 2–1.

The Series shifted toWrigley Field and the so-calledCurse of the Billy Goat began.Dizzy Trout went the distance for Detroit with a five-hitter. A four-run fourth against Cub starterRay Prim gave Trout all the runs he needed. After a one-out walk and single,Hank Greenberg's RBI single andRoy Cullenbine's RBI double knocked starterRay Prim out of the game.Paul Derringer intentionally walkedRudy York beforeJimmy Outlaw's groundout andPaul Richards's single scored a run each. The Cubs scored their only run of the game in the sixth when Don Johnson hit a leadoff triple and scored onPeanuts Lowrey's groundout. The series was now tied 2–2.

Back in form,Hal Newhouser went the distance for Detroit, striking out nine. The Tigers struck first in the top of the third onDoc Cramer's sacrifice fly with runners on first and third, but the Cubs tied the game in the bottom half whenHank Borowy doubled with two outs and scored onStan Hack's single. In the sixth, Cramer hit a leadoff single and scored onHank Greenberg's double. After a single,Rudy York's RBI single knocked starterHank Borowy out of the game.Hy Vandenberg in relief intentionally walkedPaul Richards with one out to load the bases before a walk to Newhouser andSkeeter Webb's groundout scored a run each. Next inning,Jimmy Outlaw's sacrifice fly with runners on first and third offPaul Derringer made it 6–1 Tigers. In the bottom of the inning, with runners on first and third with two outs,Bill Nicholson's fielder's choice andMickey Livingston's ground-rule double scored a run each. In the ninth, after a hit-by-pitch and double,Roy Cullenbine's two-run double offPaul Erickson made it 8–3 Tigers. In the bottom half,Phil Cavarretta hit a leadoff double and scored on Nicholson's one out single before Newhouser retired the next two batters to end the game and put the Tigers one win away from the championship. The Cubs' World Series record at Wrigley Field now stood at 1–10.

In Game 6, the Tigers struck first on a bases-loaded walk toPaul Richards byClaude Passeau in the second. In the fifth with the bases loaded offVirgil Trucks,Stan Hack's two-run single put the Cubs up 2–1. After another walk loaded the bases,Phil Cavarretta's two-run single knocked Trucks out of the game. Back-to-back leadoff doubles next inning byMickey Livingston andRoy Hughes offTommy Bridges made it 5–1 Cubs. In the top of the seventh with two on and two outs, RBI singles byRoy Cullenbine off Passeau andRudy York offHank Wyse cut the Cubs' lead to 5–3, but they got those runs back in the bottom half on a bases loaded walk to Livingston by Bridges followed byRoy Hughes's RBI single offAl Benton. In the top of the eighth, after a leadoff walk and double, an error onJoe Hoover's ground ball scored a run, thenEddie Mayo's RBI single scored another with Hoover going to third and Mayo being tagged out at second.Ray Prim relieved Wyse and allowed a sacrifice fly toDoc Cramer beforeHank Greenberg's home run tied the game. In the 12th, after a one-out single byFrank Secory offDizzy Trout, pinch-runnerBill Schuster came all the way around onStan Hack's walk-off double to left, forcing a Game 7.

Besides being the last World Series game the Cubs won until Game 2 in2016, this would also be the second—and last—World Series game that the Cubs would win before their hometown fans at Wrigley Field, until Game 5 in2016. The only other Wrigley victory was Game 5 in 1935.

The Cubs went with the overworked Borowy, who lasted just three batters, each of whom singled, the last of which scored a run.Paul Derringer replaced him, intentionally walkedRoy Cullenbine with one out to load the bases, then one out later, walkedJimmy Outlaw beforePaul Richards cleared the bases with a three-run double. The Cubs got a run in the bottom of the first onPhil Cavarretta's RBI single with two on offHal Newhouser, but in the second, Derringer allowed a two-out single, then three consecutive walks to force in another run. The Cubs got another run in the fourth when Cavaretta singled and scored onAndy Pafko's triple. In the seventh, Cullenbine drew a leadoff walk offPaul Erickson and scored onPaul Richards's two-out double. Next inning,Skeeter Webb drew a leadoff walk offClaude Passeau and scored onEddie Mayo's double. After moving to third on a groundout, he scored onHank Greenberg's sacrifice fly. The Cubs scored just one more run in the bottom of the inning onBill Richardson's RBI double with two on as Newhouser pitched a complete game to give the Tigers the championship. This was the first Game 7 won by the Tigers in franchise history.

The Tigers would not make another World Series appearance until winning it in1968, while the Cubs would not make the postseason again until1984 and not appear in another World Series until winning it in2016.

1945 World Series(4–3):Detroit Tigers (A.L.) overChicago Cubs (N.L.)

This was the last time the Tigers won the World Series until1968, where they overcame a 3–1 series deficit to defeat theSt. Louis Cardinals in seven games after being nine outs away from elimination in Game 5.

After the series loss, the Cubs entered a decades long slump. In their next five attempts to win a league pennant (1969,1984,1989,2003,2015), the Cubs lost each time. They would not return to the Fall Classic until2016, where they overcame a 3–1 series deficit against theCleveland Indians and won in seven games after being taken to extra innings in Game 7, ending a 108-year championship drought.

• 1945 Negro World Series

• 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. 201–206.ISBN 0-312-03960-3.
• Reichler, Joseph (1982).The Baseball Encyclopedia (5th ed.). Macmillan Publishing. p. 2153.ISBN 0-02-579010-2.

• 1945 World Series atWorldSeries.com viaMLB.com
• 1945 World Series atBaseball Almanac
• 1945 World Series atBaseball-Reference.com
• The 1945 Post-Season Games (box scores and play-by-play) atRetrosheet
• History of the World Series - 1945 atThe Sporting News. Archived fromthe original in May 2006.
• Detroit Tigers History

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