1944 St. Louis Cardinals

1944 St. Louis Cardinals / Franchise: St. Louis Cardinals / BR Team Page

Record: 105-49-3, Finished 1st in National League (1944 NL)

Clinched Pennant: September 21, 1944, At Boston Braves

World Series Champs

Managed by Billy Southworth

Coaches: Mike Gonzalez and Buzzy Wares

Ballpark: Sportsman's Park IV

History, Comments, Contributions

On their way to defeating their Sportsman's Park co-tenants, the St. Louis Browns in the World Series, the 1944 St. Louis Cardinals had one of the greatest winning stretches of the 20th century. From June 10th to August 25th, they were 60-13 (.822) with 3 ties, to run away with the pennant even though they cooled down in September. The streak started with an 18-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds. They were already in first place with a lead of 3 1/2 games when it began; it was 18 1/2 when it ended two and half months later with another shutout of the Reds, 3-0. That lead would be cut by four games by the end of the season, not enough to make anyone nervous, but making the World Series against the unheralded Browns less of a foregone conclusion. During their winning streak, the Cardinals set a number of 20th century records for most wins over schedule stretches of various lengths.

Awards and Honors

• All-Stars: Walker Cooper, Whitey Kurowski, Max Lanier, Marty Marion, Red Munger and Stan Musial
• NL MVP: Marty Marion

World Series

Game	Score	Date
1	Browns 2, Cardinals 1	October 4
2	Cardinals 3, Browns 2 (11 innings)	October 5
3	Browns 6, Cardinals 2	October 6
4	Cardinals 5, Browns 1	October 7
5	Cardinals 2, Browns 0	October 8
6	Cardinals 3, Browns 1	October 9

Further Reading

• Mel R. Freese: The St. Louis Cardinals in the 1940s, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2007.
• John Heidenry and Brett Topel: The Boys Who Were Left Behind: The 1944 World Series Between the Hapless St. Louis Browns and the Legendary St. Louis Cardinals, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 2006.
• Mike Whiteman: "October 1, 1944: Finally, the Browns! St. Louis captures first American League pennant" SABR

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Cardinals over Browns (4-2)

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