The1942World Series was the championship series inMajor League Baseball for the1942 season. The 39th edition of the World Series, it featured the defending championNew York Yankees against theSt. Louis Cardinals, with the Cardinals winning in five games for their first championship since1934 and their fourth overall.

The 1942 Cardinals set a franchise record for victories with 106. Every Cardinals player, except forHarry Gumbert, was a product of the team's farm system, which had been created byBranch Rickey.

The Yankees won Game 1 despite a Cardinals rally, but the Cardinals swept the rest of the games. The loss was the Yankees' first since the1926 World Series, also at the hands of the Cardinals. The Yankees had won eight World Series in the interim (a record for most consecutive series won between losses) and had won 32 out of 36 World Series games in that period, including five sweeps (1927 vs. the Pirates, 1928 vs. the Cardinals, 1932 and 1938 vs. the Cubs and 1939 vs. the Reds).

NLSt. Louis Cardinals (4) vs. ALNew York Yankees (1)

In Game 1,Red Ruffing had a no-hitter untilTerry Moore singled for St. Louis with two out in the eighth inning. The Yankees scored the game's first run in the fourth onBuddy Hassett's two-out double with two on offMort Cooper. Next inning with runners on second and third,Joe DiMaggio's fielder's choice made it 2–0 Yankees. In the eighth with two on, Hassett's single scored a run, then an error onRed Ruffing's fly ball scored two more.Red Rolfe singled to lead off the ninth offMax Lanier and scored on an error onRoy Cullenbine's bunt attempt.Charlie Keller walked and an error on a pickoff attempt allowed Cullenbine to score. In the bottom of the ninth, with two on and two outs,Marty Marion put the Cardinals on the board with a two-run triple, then scored onKen O'Dea's single. AfterJimmy Brown walked,Spud Chandler relieved Ruffing and allowed an RBI single toTerry Moore. Another single loaded the bases, bringingStan Musial to the plate as the potential winning run, only to have Musial ground out to end the game as the Yankees took a 1–0 series lead with a 7–4 win.

In Game 2,Walker Cooper's two-run double in the first, the Cardinals' first hit of the game, put them up 2–0 offTiny Bonham. In the seventh, inningsJohnny Hopp singled and scored onWhitey Kurowski's triple to make it 3–0 Cardinals.Johnny Beazley pitched seven shutout innings, but in the eighth allowed a two-out single toRoy Cullenbine, who stole second and scored onJoe DiMaggio's single. A two-run home run byCharlie Keller then tied the score, but the Cardinals regained the lead in the bottom half whenEnos Slaughter doubled with two outs and scored onStan Musial's single. Slaughter threw outTuck Stainback going from first to third on a single with no outs in the ninth. Beazley then retired the next two hitters to end the game as the Cardinals tied the series with a 4–3 win heading to New York.

Ernie White pitched a six-hit shutout against New York, walking none. The last time the Yankees were shutout in a World Series game was byJesse Haines in 1926. The Cardinals scored the game's first run in the third offSpud Chandler onJimmy Brown's groundout with runners on second and third, then added an insurance run in the ninth offMarv Breuer onEnos Slaughter's RBI single with two on, the run unearned due to catcherBill Dickey's error onTerry Moore's bunt attempt, to take a 2–1 series lead.

In Game 4, the Yankees struck first in the bottom of the first whenRed Rolfe doubled offMort Cooper and scored onRoy Cullenbine's single. In the top of the fourth, the Cardinals loaded the bases with no outs on two singles and walk beforeWhitey Kurowski's two-run single put them up 2–1. A walk loaded the bases before Cooper's two-run single made it 4–1 Cardinals.Atley Donald relieved starterHank Borowy and allowed a one-out RBI single toTerry Moore and two-out RBI double toStan Musial. In the bottom of the sixth, after a leadoff single and walk, Cullunbine's RBI single made it 6–2 Cardinals and one out later,Charlie Keller's three-run home run cut their lead to one.Harry Gumbert relieved Cooper andJoe Gordon reached first third baseman Kurowski's throwing error, then scored onJerry Priddy's double to tie the game, but the Cardinals took the lead for good in the seventh. After two leadoff walks, an RBI single byWalker Cooper put them up 7–6, andMarty Marion hit asacrifice fly offTiny Bonham later that inning. The Cardinals added another run in the ninthJohnny Hopp hit a leadoff single, moved to third on two groundouts and scored on a single byMax Lanier, who pitched three shutout innings to close the game and earn the win, leaving the Cardinals one win away from the championship.

In Game 5,Phil Rizzuto's leadoff home run in the bottom of the first offJohnny Beazley put the Yankees up 1–0, but the Cardinals tied the score in the fourth onEnos Slaughter's leadoff home run offRed Ruffing. The Yankees retook the lead in the bottom half whenRed Rolfe hit a leadoff single, moved to third on an error and groundout and scored onJoe DiMaggio's single, but the Cardinals again tied the game in the sixth on two leadoff singles and a sacrifice fly byWalker Cooper. In the top of the ninth,Whitey Kurowski's two-run home run put the Cardinals up 4–2. Though the Yankees put two on in the bottom of the ninth on a single and error with no outs, Beazley picked offJoe Gordon at second and retired the next two batters to end the game and give the Cardinals the championship.

1942 World Series(4–1):St. Louis Cardinals (N.L.) overNew York Yankees (A.L.)

• ThisWorld Series was used as a background for the plot endings inPhilip Roth's 2004 novelThe Plot Against America.

• 1942 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. 188–191.ISBN 0-312-03960-3.
• Reichler, Joseph (1982).The Baseball Encyclopedia (5th ed.). Macmillan Publishing. p. 2150.ISBN 0-02-579010-2.

• 1942 World Series atWorldSeries.com viaMLB.com
• 1942 World Series atBaseball Almanac
• 1942 World Series atBaseball-Reference.com
• The 1942 Post-Season Games (box scores and play-by-play) atRetrosheet
• History of the World Series - 1942 atThe Sporting News. Archived fromthe original in May 2006.

• World Series
• 1942 Major League Baseball season
• St. Louis Cardinals postseason
• New York Yankees postseason
• 1942 in sports in Missouri
• 1942 in sports in New York City
• 1940s in St. Louis
• September 1942 sports events in the United States
• October 1942 sports events in the United States
• Baseball competitions in New York City
• Baseball competitions in St. Louis
• 1940s in the Bronx

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