St. Louis Cardinals - The World War II Era (1940-1949)

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1940

Decade

1940

105

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106

Titles:

Top Cardinals Players of the Forties

1942 - World Champs (Beat Yankees)

1943 - NL Champs (Lost to Yankees)

Pitchers:

1944 - World Champs (Beat Browns)

Harry Brecheen (32.68) - 68

1946 - World Champs (Beat Red Sox)

Mort Cooper (25.28) - 63

Howie Pollet (24.13) - 51

Ballpark:

Max Lanier (21.06) - 45

Sportsman's Park

Red Munger (13.37) - 33

Murry Dickson (13.08) - 30

Team Name:

Al Brazle (13.41) - 30

Cardinals

Lon Warneke (7.84) - 24

Ted Wilks (13.83) - 20

Owners:

Howie Krist (4.07) - 19

Sam Breadon

Gunboat Gumbert (6.18) - 17

Robert M Hannegan (1947-1949)

Red Barrett (5.51) - 15

Fred M Saigh (1949)

Johnny Beazley (4.56) - 15

Ernie White (6.46) - 15

General Managers:

Ken Burkhart (6.91) - 13

Branch Rickey (1940-1942)

William Walsingham (1943-1949)

Catchers:

Walker Cooper (9.25) - 36

Managers:

Ken O'Dea (4.56) - 15

Ray Blades (1940)

Joe Garagiola (2.73) - 10

Mike Gonzalez (1940)

Billy Southworth (1940 - 1945)

First Basemen:

Eddie Dyer (1946 - 1949)

Ray Sanders (9.36) - 23

Johnny Mize (12.8) - 20

Hall of Famers:

Billy Southworth

Second Basemen:

Branch Rickey

Red Schoendienst (7.94) - 37

Johnny Mize

Jimmy Brown (4.66) - 14

Red Schoendienst

Enos Slaughter

ShortStop:

Stan Musial

Marty Marion (30.7) - 92

Lou Klein (6.77) - 14

Rookie of the Year:

None

Third Base:

Whitey Kurowski (23.98) - 53

MVP

Mort Cooper (1942)

Outfield:

Stan Musial (1943)

Stan Musial (57.56) - 110

Marty Marion (1944)

Enos Slaughter (32.77) - 74

Stan Musial (1946)

Johnny Hopp (10.82) - 46

Stan Musial (1948)

Terry Moore (11.45) - 43

Harry Walker (2.68) - 16

No Hitters:

Ron Northey (4.84) - 13

Lon Warneke (1941)

Notable Events:

1943 - Harry Brecheen, a late bloomer, comes up to the Cards

1940 - Marty Marion, who for some reason is not a Hall of Famer,

at the age of twenty eight. He would be an effective big league

is a twenty three year old rookie

pitcher for the next ten years.

1940 - Lights are installed in Sportsman's Park

1944 - The Cards win their third consecutvie pennant and second

World title in those three years. They once again dominate the

1940 - Coming into the decade, the Cards are poised for a good run.

competition as they have won 106, 105 and 105 games in the

The club has five outstanding position players, all twenty eight years

three seasons. It was a combination of exceptional talent on the

old and under, in outfielders Ducky Medwick, Enos Slaughter and

Cardinals that would have compteted in any era and the watered

Terry Moore, first baseman Johnny Mize and shorstop Marty Marion.

down competition due to the war that created the dominance.

Three of them will end up in the Hall of Fame. On the mound, they've

Knowing Rickey, you know that he signed players that weren't going

got twenty seven year old Mort Cooper, who was a bit of a late bloomer,

to be called into military service right away. His 1944 club still had

not coming up to the club until he was twenty five

players who would have been stars in any era such as Musial, Marion,

Walker Cooper, Mort Cooper, Kurowski, Hopp, Lanier, Wilks and

1941 - Branch Rickey trades outfielder Ducky Medwick to the Dodgers

Brecheen and, obviously, were not in the military.

for $125K. Medwick's numbers had been declining since his

sensational 1937 season and Rickey was always on the prowl for a

1944 - The 1944 World Series is a cross town St. Louis rivalry

good deal. He also had twenty four year old Johnny Hopp waiting in the

between the Cardinals and the Browns.

wings. Hopp would ably fill the hole created by the Medwick trade.

It's the Brownies only World Series appearance ever.

1941 - Twenty year old lefty Howie Pollet is a rookie.

1945 - The Cards win 95 games, but it's only good enough for

second place to the Cubs. St. Louis lost Musial to the military in 1945.

1941 - Twenty three year old third baseman Whitey Kurowski is a rookie

1945 - Red Schoendienst comes up as a twenty two year old rookie.

1941 - Twenty year old outfielder Stan the Man Musial is a rookie. He will

go on to be one of the great players of all time with the Cards.

1946 - The war ends and wholesale upgrades occur for all teams

including the Cardinals who get back Musial, Slaughter, Walker,

1941 - Altho' they only finish second, St. Louis gains thirteen games in

Pollett and Dickson

the standings. The improvement is mainly due to a solid pitching staff.

There's an abundance of young talent everywhere on this club.

1947 - Sam Breadon sells the club to Robert M Hannigan and

Fred Saigh. Breadon's health was failing, but he was also

1942 - The Cards win the first of their four pennants during the

facing a player revolt as his miserliness almost caused a mass

decade after a seven year drought. Three of the seasons result in

exodus to the Mexican League prior to the 1946 season. Not

World Series titles. The Cardinals demolish the competition

to mention, without Branch Rickey around, Breadon didn't have

winning 106 games

a clue as to how to run the club successfully.and, at this point,

he most likely knew it.

1943 - Branch Rickey's contract is not renewed. After over twenty years

the Rickey - Sam Breadon relationship had become strained.

1947 - Branch Rickey, now General Manager of the Dodgers,

Rickey then signed on with Brooklyn and proceeded to build the core ot

beats out the Cardinals for the pennant

the great Dodgers post war era dynasty - a double whammy to Breadon.

Meahwhile, without Rickey, the Cards would sink into mediocrity.

1949 - The Dodgers beat the Cardinals again for the pennant.