1944 St. Louis Browns | |
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1944 American League Champions | |
Major League affiliations | |
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Location | |
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Results | |
Record | 89–65 (.578) |
League place | 1st |
Other information | |
Owner(s) | Donald Lee Barnes |
General manager(s) | Bill DeWitt |
Manager(s) | Luke Sewell |
Local radio | WEW/WTMV (Dizzy Dean, Johnny O'Hara) |
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The 1944 St. Louis Browns season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Browns finishing first in the American League with a record of 89 wins and 65 losses. In the World Series, they lost to the team they shared a stadium with, the Cardinals, four games to two.
The Browns were one of the unlikeliest pennant-winners in history; in nine out of the previous 10 seasons, they had finished in the second division. However, 1944 marked the peak of wartime conditions in Major League Baseball. The shortage of available players dragged the talent level of both major leagues down, which benefitted the St. Louis AL team.
The 1944 Browns were relatively untouched by the military draft. Nine players on the roster were 34 years old or older. Their all-4F infield included 23-year-old shortstop Vern Stephens, who led the league in RBI (109) and was second in home runs (20).
St. Louis started the season with nine straight wins and continued to hang tough in a four-team race with Detroit, Boston, and New York. It came down to the final week, when the Browns defeated the Yankees five times, winning the pennant by 1 game over Detroit. It would be the only championship the franchise would ever win in St. Louis.
Hal Epps | CF |
Don Gutteridge | 2B |
George McQuinn | 1B |
Vern Stephens | SS |
Gene Moore | RF |
Milt Byrnes | LF |
Mark Christman | 3B |
Frank Mancuso | C |
Jack Kramer | P |
American League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Louis Browns | 89 | 65 | 0.578 | — | 54–23 | 35–42 |
Detroit Tigers | 88 | 66 | 0.571 | 1 | 43–34 | 45–32 |
New York Yankees | 83 | 71 | 0.539 | 6 | 47–31 | 36–40 |
Boston Red Sox | 77 | 77 | 0.500 | 12 | 47–30 | 30–47 |
Cleveland Indians | 72 | 82 | 0.468 | 17 | 39–38 | 33–44 |
Philadelphia Athletics | 72 | 82 | 0.468 | 17 | 39–37 | 33–45 |
Chicago White Sox | 71 | 83 | 0.461 | 18 | 41–36 | 30–47 |
Washington Senators | 64 | 90 | 0.416 | 25 | 40–37 | 24–53 |
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | BOR | CHW | CLE | DET | NYY | PHA | SLB | WSH | |||||
Boston | — | 17–5 | 8–14 | 10–12–2 | 11–11 | 11–11 | 10–12 | 10–12 | |||||
Chicago | 5–17 | — | 14–8 | 9–13 | 10–12 | 9–13 | 8–14 | 16–6 | |||||
Cleveland | 14–8 | 8–14 | — | 10–12 | 8–14 | 12–10–1 | 10–12 | 10–12 | |||||
Detroit | 12–10–2 | 13–9 | 12–10 | — | 14–8 | 11–11 | 9–13 | 17–5 | |||||
New York | 11–11 | 12–10 | 14–8 | 8–14 | — | 13–9 | 10–12 | 15–7 | |||||
Philadelphia | 11–11 | 13–9 | 10–12–1 | 11–11 | 9–13 | — | 9–13 | 9–13 | |||||
St. Louis | 12–10 | 14–8 | 12–10 | 13–9 | 12–10 | 13–9 | — | 13–9 | |||||
Washington | 12–10 | 6–16 | 12–10 | 5–17 | 7–15 | 13–9 | 9–13 | — |
1944 St. Louis Browns | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders |
Outfielders
Other batters |
Manager
Coaches
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Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Red Hayworth | 89 | 239 | 60 | .223 | 1 | 25 |
1B | George McQuinn | 146 | 516 | 129 | .250 | 11 | 72 |
2B | Don Gutteridge | 148 | 603 | 148 | .245 | 3 | 36 |
3B | Mark Christman | 148 | 547 | 148 | .271 | 6 | 83 |
SS | Vern Stephens | 145 | 559 | 164 | .293 | 20 | 106 |
OF | Milt Byrnes | 128 | 407 | 120 | .295 | 4 | 45 |
OF | Mike Kreevich | 105 | 402 | 121 | .301 | 5 | 44 |
OF | Gene Moore | 110 | 390 | 93 | .238 | 6 | 58 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Al Zarilla | 100 | 288 | 86 | .299 | 6 | 45 |
Frank Mancuso | 88 | 244 | 50 | .205 | 1 | 24 |
Floyd Baker | 44 | 97 | 17 | .175 | 0 | 5 |
Chet Laabs | 66 | 201 | 47 | .234 | 5 | 33 |
Mike Chartak | 35 | 72 | 17 | .236 | 1 | 7 |
Hal Epps | 22 | 62 | 11 | .177 | 0 | 3 |
Frank Demaree | 16 | 51 | 13 | .255 | 0 | 6 |
Ellis Clary | 25 | 49 | 13 | .265 | 0 | 4 |
Tom Turner | 15 | 25 | 8 | .320 | 0 | 4 |
Tom Hafey | 8 | 14 | 5 | .357 | 0 | 2 |
Joe Schultz | 3 | 8 | 2 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
Babe Martin | 2 | 4 | 3 | .750 | 0 | 0 |
Len Schulte | 1 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Denny Galehouse | 24 | 153.0 | 9 | 10 | 3.12 | 80 |
Sig Jakucki | 35 | 198.0 | 13 | 9 | 3.55 | 67 |
Jack Kramer | 33 | 257.0 | 17 | 13 | 2.49 | 124 |
Bob Muncrief | 33 | 219.1 | 13 | 8 | 3.08 | 88 |
Nels Potter | 32 | 232.0 | 19 | 7 | 2.83 | 91 |
Steve Sundra | 3 | 19.0 | 2 | 0 | 1.42 | 1 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Al Hollingsworth | 26 | 92.2 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 4.47 | 22 |
Tex Shirley | 23 | 80.1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4.15 | 35 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
George Caster | 42 | 81.0 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 2.44 | 46 |
Sam Zoldak | 18 | 38.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.72 | 15 |
Lefty West | 11 | 24.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.29 | 11 |
Willis Hudlin | 1 | 2.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.50 | 1 |
Main article: 1944 World Series |
NL St. Louis Cardinals (4) vs. AL St. Louis Browns (2)
Game | Score | Date |
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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 |
See also: Minor League Baseball |
Level | Team | League | Manager |
---|---|---|---|
AA | Toledo Mud Hens | American Association | Ollie Marquardt |
D | Newark Moundsmen | Ohio State League | Clay Bryant |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Newark[13]