Cincinnati Reds - The World War II Era (1940-1949)
 
   
 

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    Yr   P W L     Yr   P W L   Yr   P W L              
    1940   1 100 53     1943   2 87 67   1947   5 73 81           1940  
    1941   3 88 66     1944   3 89 65   1948   7 64 89           Decade  
    1942   4 76 76     1945   7 61 93   1949   7 62 92           Click  
                  1946   6 67 87                       on Logo  
                                                       
                                                             
   
  Titles: Top Reds Players of the Fourties  
  1940 - World Champs  
    Pitchers:  
  Ballpark: Bucky Walters (28.59) -   92  
   Crosley Field John Van der Meer (23.63) -   66  
    Elmer Riddle (8.76) -   32  
  Team Name: Paul Derringer (9.36) -   32  
  Redlegs Ewell Blackwell (15.92) -   25  
    Ed Heusser (8.41) -   24  
  Owners:  Ken Raffensberger (9.62) -   24  
  Powel Crosley  Joe Beggs (10.34) -   23  
    Harry Gumbert (6.31) -   18  
  General Managers: Ray Starr (7.44) -   17  
  Warren Giles  Clyde Shoun (4.98) -   15  
    Herm Wehmeier (0.59) -   13  
  Managers: Howie Fox (1.53) -   13  
  Bill Mckechnie (1940-1946) Junior Thompson (1.14) -   13  
  Johnny Neun (1947-1948) Jim Turner (3.29) -   11  
  Bucky Walters (1948-1949) Jim Konstanty (0.79) -   2  
  Luke Sewell (1949)    
    Catchers:  
  Hall of Famers: Ray Mueller (10.14) -   30  
  None Ray Lammano (3.74) -   23  
    Ernie Lombardi (5.37)-   15  
  MVP    
  Frank McCormick (1940) First Basemen:  
  Frank McCormick (21.9) -   59  
  No Hitters: Bert Haas (4.12) -   21  
  Clyde Shoun (1944) Ted Kluszewski (2.22) -   10  
  Ewell Blackwell (1947)    
  Second Basemen:  
  Rookie of the Year Lonnie Frey (21.57) -   41  
  None Bobby Adams (4.67) -   9  
       
  Notable Events: ShortStop:  
  Eddie Miller (11.23) -   34  
  1940 - The Reds are in good shape coming into the new decade. They just won Eddie Joost (6.53) -   13  
  the pennant in 1939 and their roster is loaded, altho' most of their players are now    
  in their prime and they will need to replenish in order to stay on top in a couple of Third Base:  
  years. They also have a good owner who has money and a competent GM.  Grady Hatton (10.79) -   24  
  The top players moving forward on the 1940 team: Bill Werber (5.85) -   20  
  □  C - Ernie Lomobardi, 32, dealt to the Braves in '42 Steve Mesner (2.27) -   12  
  □  1B - Frank McCormick, 29, played well for the Reds thru '45    
  □  OF - Mike McCormick, 23, '41 was his last good year with the Reds Outfield:  
  □  SS - Eddie Joost, 24, dealt to the Braves in '43 Eric Tipton (8.58) -   28  
  □  OF - Vince DiMaggio, 27, dealt to the Pirates in '40 Gee Walker (0.52) -   21  
  □  RHP - Bucky Walters, 31, pitches well thru '46 Dain Clay (1.86) -   21  
  □  RHP - Paul Derringer, 33, retires in '46, pitches well right to the end Harry Craft (0.36) -   14  
  □  RHP - Junior Thompson, 23, hurts his arm and is finished in '41 John Wyrostek (3.17) -   13  
  □  RHP - Jim Turner, 36, dealt to the Yankees in '42 Danny Litwhiler (4.35) -   11  
  □  RHP - Elmer Riddle, 25. wins 19 in '41 and 21 in '43 Frank Baumholtz (1.64) -   11  
  □  LHP - Johnny Vander Meer, 25, averages 14 wins in 6 seaaons from '42-'48 Mike McCormick (3.04) -   10  
  □  RHP - Red Barrett, 25, sold to the Braves in '42, wins 21 for the Cards in '45 Hank Sauer (4.26) -   7  
       
  1940 - Cincinnati beats the Tigers to win the World Series.  Notable Events:  
     
  1940 - Backup catcher Willard Herschberger commits suicide in August. 1942 - Powel Crosley loses interest in the Reds. With the World War going on   
  Starting catcher Ernie Lombardi is injured  and only bats three times in the   and  with having reached the pinnacle of baseball success, winning the World  
  World Series. Forty year old coach Jimmy Wilson is activated and proceeds  Series in 1940, Powel Crosley moves on mentally from the Reds.  
  to hit .353 in the Series as the Reds backstop.  He becomes totally involved in helping with the war effort - the Reds  
      suffer as a consequence. Ewell Blackwell was the only significant player   
  1940 - Frank McCormick is the Reds third straight MVP following  Lombardi developed by the Reds during the decade. Blackwell came up as a 19 year  
  in '38 and Bucky Walters in '39  old in '42 and came back from the war in '46.  
       
  1941 - Cincinnati finishes a respectable third dropping 12 games down from their 1944 - Fifteen year old Joe Nuxhall pitches for the Reds. Nuxhall remains  
  1940 title winning performance. There's no glaring individual reasons for the   with Cincinnati up thru 2004 as a player and then as an announcer.   
  decline. The Reds scored a lot less runs in 1941 and gave up a lot more. He's still the youngest player to appear in a big league game to this date.   
       
    1947 - Ewell Blackwell is dominant winning 22 games and tossing a no-hitter  
    for an otherwise moribund team. Blackwell came within two outs of repeating  
    John Van der Meer's two consecutive no-hitters for the Reds almost to the day  
    nine years earlier  
       
    1949 - Hank Sauer is dealt to the Cubs in an exchange of four thirty-something  
    outfielders. Who knew that he would average over thirty homers a year for the  
    next six years including an MVP season for the Cubs at a ripe old age?