The1946 World Series was played in October 1946 between theSt. Louis Cardinals (representing theNational League) and theBoston Red Sox (representing theAmerican League). This was the Red Sox's first appearance in a World Series since their championship of1918.

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 overJohnny Pesky's head into left-center field. AsLeon Culberson chased it down, Slaughter started his "mad dash". Pesky caught Culberson's throw, turned and—perhaps surprised to see Slaughter headed for the plate—supposedly 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 anRBIdouble. The Cardinals won the game and the Series in seven games, giving them their sixth championship.

Boston superstarTed Williams played in the Series injured and was largely ineffective but refused to use his injury as an excuse. He hit only .200 in 25 at-bats with just one RBI in his only World Series appearance.

As the first World Series to be played afterwartime travel restrictions had been lifted, it returned from the 3-4 format to the 2–3–2 format for home teams, which has been used since. It also saw the return of many prominent players from military service.

This was the first of eleven meetings between teams fromBoston andSt. Louis for amajor professional sports championship. This would happen again in the World Series three more times (1967,2004,2013), along with four NBA Finals (1957,1958,1960,1961),Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002, and two Stanley Cup Finals (1970,2019).^[1]

NLSt. Louis Cardinals (4) vs. ALBoston Red Sox (3)

The Red Sox struck first in Game 1 whenPinky Higgins followed a hit-by-pitch and walk in the second with an RBI single offHowie Pollet. The Cardinals tied the game in the sixth whenRed Schoendienst singled, moved to second on a ground out, and scored onStan Musial's double offTex Hughson. They took the lead in the eighth whenWhitey Kurowski singled with two outs and scored onJoe Garagiola's double. Pollet was a strike away from closing the game whenTom McBride tied the game with an RBI single with two on.Rudy York hit a home run into the left field bleachers in the tenth to put the Red Sox up 3–2. Earl Johnson pitched two shutout innings to close to give Boston a 1–0 series lead.

The Cardinals struck first in Game 2 whenDel Rice hit a leadoff double in the third offMickey Harris and scored onHarry Brecheen's single. They added to their lead in the fifth with two unearned runs onTerry Moore's RBI single with two on followed byStan Musial's groundout. Brecheen pitched a complete-game shutout as the Cardinals tied the series heading to Boston.

In Game 3,Rudy York's three-run home run in the first offMurry Dickson gave the Red Sox an early 3–0 lead. They added another run in the eighth offTed Wilks whenRed Schoendienst misplayedHal Wagner's ground ball with two on.Dave Ferriss pitched a complete-game shutout to give the Red Sox a 2–1 series lead.

This is the only game in World Series history that three players on the same team (St. Louis) had four or more hits (Enos Slaughter,Whitey Kurowski andJoe Garagiola had four each). Red Sox outfielderWally Moses got four hits as well and second baseman Bobby Doerr hit a two-run home run and would hit .409 in the Series.

Enos Slaughter's lead-off home run in the second offTex Hughson put the Cardinals up 1–0.Whitey Kurowski doubled and scored onHarry Walker's single. Walker moved to third on an error before scoring onMarty Marion's groundout. Next inning,Stan Musial's two-run double extended the Cardinals' lead to 5–0.Jim Bagby relieved Hughson and allowed a two-out RBI single to Garagiola. The Red Sox got on the board in the fourth whenTed Williams singled offRed Munger and scored onRudy York's double, but the Cardinals got that run back in the fifth on back-to-back doubles byEnos Slaughter and Kurowski. Garagiolas's RBI double in the seventh offBill Zuber made it 8–1 Cardinals.Bobby Doerr hit a two-run home run in the eighth, but the Cardinals put the game out of reach in the ninth. Three straight singles to lead off made it 9–3 Cardinals.Mike Ryba relievedMace Brown and allowed a two-run double toMarty Marion, then an error onRed Schoendienst's ground ball scored the last run of the game. Munger pitched a complete game to tie the series for St. Louis.

Ted Williams hit a RBI single, his only RBI of the whole Series, in the first offHowie Pollet. After the Cardinals tied the game in the second onHarry Walker's RBI double after an error offJoe Dobson,Don Gutteridge's RBI single offAl Brazle in the bottom of the inning put the Red Sox back up 2–1. Leon Culberson's home run in the sixth made it 3–1 Red Sox. Next inning, after a double, strikeout and intentional walk,Pinky Higgins's RBI double made it 4–1 Red Sox. After another intentional walk loaded the bases, shortstopMarty Marion's errant throw to second onRoy Partee's ground ball allowed two more runs to score. Dobson allowed a two-run single in the ninth toHarry Walker before retiring Marion to end the game and put the Red Sox one win away from the championship.

St. Louis staved off elimination at home, chasing Boston starter Mickey Harris with a three-run third. With two on and one out,Terry Moore's sacrifice fly scored the game's first run. After a single, back-to-back RBI singles byWhitey Kurowski andEnos Slaughter made it 3–0 Cardinals. The Red Sox scored their only run of the game in the seventh whenRudy York hit a leadoff triple and scored onBobby Doerr's sacrifice fly.Marty Marion added an RBI double in the eighth offEarl Johnson to backHarry Brecheen's second win of the Series.

The Red Sox struck first in Game 7 onDom DiMaggio's sacrifice fly after two leadoff singles offMurry Dickson. The Cardinals tied the game in the second whenWhitey Kurowski hit a leadoff double, moved to third on a groundout and scored onHarry Walker's sacrifice fly offDave Ferriss. In the fifth, Walker hit a leadoff single and scored on a double by Dickson, who scored onRed Schoendienst's single. The Cardinals led 3–1 in the eighth inning whenDom DiMaggio tied the game with a two-run double but had to be removed from the game after severely pulling a hamstring andLeon Culberson took his position in the center field.

In the bottom of the frame,Enos Slaughter scored from first base on a play called theMad Dash. From the dugout, Dom DiMaggio tried in vain to get the reserve Culberson to shade Walker properly. As the runner started, Walker lined the ball to left-center field. Culberson was out of position and slow to field the ball. As he threw a relay toshortstopJohnny Pesky, Slaughter roundedthird base, ignored third base coachMike González's stop sign, and continued forhome plate.

What exactly happened when Pesky turned around is still a matter of contention. Some claim that Pesky, assuming that Slaughter would not be running home, checked Walker atfirst base instead of immediately firing home. Some contend that Pesky was shocked to see Slaughter on his way to score and "held the ball," a mental lapse. But Pesky's reaction after taking the throw is immaterial. The run was lost by a chain of unfortunate events: Dom DiMaggio pulling up injured; the Red Sox lacking a better defensive replacement than Leon Culberson; Culberson being out of position on Walker's hit; Culberson's slow pickup of the ball, complicated by a rough outfield surface, and Culberson's weak throw; and Slaughter's speed and aggressive base-running. Slaughter scored just as Red SoxcatcherRoy Partee caught Pesky's relay up the line from home plate.

The run put the Cardinals ahead 4–3 and proved to be the winning run.Harry "The Cat" Brecheen had come out of the bullpen during Boston's rally in the eighth when the Red Sox had two men on base, and he gave up the double by DiMaggio that tied the game. Brecheen allowed two singles to start the ninth inning, but then retired the Red Sox without giving up a run, to record his third victory of the Series.

1946 World Series(4–3):St. Louis Cardinals (N.L.) overBoston Red Sox (A.L.)

Note: GP=Games Played; AB=At Bats; R=Runs; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home Runs; RBI=Runs Batted In; BB=Walks; AVG=Batting Average; OBP=On Base Percentage; SLG=Slugging Percentage

Note: G=Games Played; GS=Games Started; IP=Innings Pitched; H=Hits; BB=Walks; R=Runs; ER=Earned Runs; SO=Strikeouts; W=Wins; L=Losses; SV=Saves; ERA=Earned Run Average

Note: GP=Games Played; AB=At Bats; R=Runs; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home Runs; RBI=Runs Batted In; BB=Walks; AVG=Batting Average; OBP=On Base Percentage; SLG=Slugging Percentage

Note: G=Games Played; GS=Games Started; IP=Innings Pitched; H=Hits; BB=Walks; R=Runs; ER=Earned Runs; SO=Strikeouts; W=Wins; L=Losses; SV=Saves; ERA=Earned Run Average

• This was the first World Series appearance for the Red Sox since1918, and it would be their last appearance until1967, when they would again lose to the Cardinals in seven games. However, the Red Sox would win the next two World Series matchups with the Cardinals, sweeping them in2004 to break an 86-year championship drought, and then defeating them in six games in2013 (Boston's third in ten years).
• The World Series loss snapped the Red Sox's record of winning their first five postseason series, a feat that would not be matched until theFlorida Marlins did it 57 years later in the2003 National League Championship Series.
• Joe Cronin became the fourth manager to take two teams to the World Series (Pat Moran,Bill McKechnie, andJoe McCarthy were the first three) but was the first who did not win with either of them.
• This was the final World Series in which only four umpires were used.
• Several sources erroneously reported thatHarry Walker hit a single allowingEnos Slaughter to score. It was officially scored a double.^[65]
• This was the first World Series in which the final out in Game 7 came with the tying run on third base.^[66]

• 1946 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. 208–212.ISBN 0-312-03960-3.
• Reichler, Joseph (1982).The Baseball Encyclopedia (5th ed.). Macmillan Publishing. p. 2154.ISBN 0-02-579010-2.

• Weintraub, Robert (2013).The Victory Season: The End of World War II and the Birth of Baseball's Golden Age. New York: Little, Brown & Company.ISBN 978-0-316-20591-7.

• 1946 World Series atWorldSeries.com viaMLB.com
• 1946 World Series atBaseball Almanac
• 1946 World Series atBaseball-Reference.com
• The 1946 Post-Season Games (box scores and play-by-play) atRetrosheet
• History of the World Series - 1946 atThe Sporting News. Archived fromthe original in May 2006.
• Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments: Enos Slaughter's Mad DashArchived March 10, 2005, at theWayback Machine

• World Series
• 1946 Major League Baseball season
• St. Louis Cardinals postseason
• Boston Red Sox postseason
• 1946 in sports in Massachusetts
• 1946 in sports in Missouri
• 1940s in Boston
• 1940s in St. Louis
• October 1946 sports events in the United States
• Baseball competitions in Boston
• Baseball competitions in St. Louis

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from November 2013
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Webarchive template wayback links