1946 Major League Baseball postseason
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | October 1-15, 1946[1] |
| Teams | 3 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | St. Louis Cardinals (6th title) |
| Runners-up | Boston Red Sox |
The 1946 Major League Baseball season resulted in a tie for the National League pennant between the Brooklyn Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals. Both finished the regular season with identical 96-58 records.
The tie thus required a three-game playoff to be held between the two teams, the first such occurrence in MLB. This series was played from October 1-3, 1946 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis and Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. The Cardinals defeated the Dodgers and advanced to the 1946 World Series, where they defeated the American League champion Boston Red Sox in six games.
Bracket
| National League playoff | World Series | ||||||||
| AL | Boston Red Sox | 3 | |||||||
| NL | STL Cardinals | 2 | NL | STL Cardinals | 4 | ||||
| NL | Brooklyn | 0 | |||||||
National League tiebreaker playoff
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Brooklyn Dodgers
St. Louis won the series, 2–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 1 | St. Louis Cardinals – 4, Brooklyn Dodgers – 2 | Sportsman's Park | 2:48 | 26,012[2] |
| 2 | October 2 | St. Louis Cardinals – 8, Brooklyn Dodgers – 4 | Ebbets Field | 2:44 | 31,437[3] |
The Cardinals swept the Dodgers to advance to the World Series (in the process denying a rematch of the 1916 World Series between the Dodgers and Red Sox).
Howie Pollet pitched a complete game as the Cardinals took Game 1 headed to Brooklyn. Murry Dickson pitched eight strong innings as the Cardinals completed the sweep.
This was the last time the Dodgers and Cardinals played for the NL pennant until the NLCS in 1985, which the Cardinals won in six games before falling in the World Series.
1946 World Series
Boston Red Sox (AL) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (NL)
St. Louis won the series, 4–3.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 6 | Boston Red Sox – 3, St. Louis Cardinals – 2 (10) | Sportsman's Park | 2:39 | 36,218[4] |
| 2 | October 7 | Boston Red Sox – 0, St. Louis Cardinals – 3 | Sportsman's Park | 1:56 | 35,815[5] |
| 3 | October 9 | St. Louis Cardinals – 0, Boston Red Sox – 4 | Fenway Park | 1:54 | 34,500[6] |
| 4 | October 10 | St. Louis Cardinals – 12, Boston Red Sox – 3 | Fenway Park | 2:31 | 35,645[7] |
| 5 | October 11 | St. Louis Cardinals – 3, Boston Red Sox – 6 | Fenway Park | 2:23 | 35,982[8] |
| 6 | October 13 | Boston Red Sox – 1, St. Louis Cardinals – 4 | Sportsman's Park | 1:56 | 35,768[9] |
| 7 | October 15 | Boston Red Sox – 3, St. Louis Cardinals – 4 | Sportsman's Park | 2:17 | 36,143[10] |
This was the first World Series matchup between the Cardinals and Red Sox. The Cardinals defeated the Red Sox in seven games to win their third championship in the last five seasons and sixth overall, capping off a dynasty.
Rudy York hit a solo homer in the top of the tenth that put the Red Sox in the lead for good as they stole Game 1 on the road. Harry Brecheen pitched a four-hit complete game shutout as the Cardinals evened the series headed to Boston. In the first World Series game at Fenway Park in 28 years, Dave Ferriss pitched a six-hit complete game shutout as the Red Sox regained the series lead. In Game 4, Red Munger pitched another complete game for the Cardinals as they blew out the Red Sox to even the series at two. In Game 5, Joe Dobson pitched a four-hit complete game as the Red Sox took a 3–2 series lead headed back to St. Louis. In Game 6, back-to-back RBI singles from Whitey Kurowski and Enos Slaughter gave the Cardinals insurance runs to add to their lead as they forced a seventh game. Game 7 was notable for Slaughter’s “Mad Dash” - in the bottom of the eighth with the game tied at three, Slaughter scored from first base after a line drive to left-center from Harry Walker, and after a series of miscues from the Red Sox, Slaughter manages to score, putting the Cardinals in the lead for good. Brecheen later earned his third victory of the series by pitching the last two innings in relief, as he shut down the Red Sox offense to clinch the title for the Cardinals.
This was the first of four consecutive losses in the World Series for the Red Sox. The Cardinals would defeat the Red Sox seven games again in 1967, in 1975 the Red Sox fell in seven games to the Cincinnati Reds after being nine outs away from the championship in Game 7, and in 1986 they fell to the New York Mets, also in seven games, after being a strike away from the championship twice in Game 6. The Red Sox would eventually end the Curse of the Bambino in 2004 by sweeping the Cardinals.
The Cardinals capped off a dynasty of three championships in five seasons from 1942 to 1946, winning the World Series during even numbered seasons. This feat would later be accomplished by the San Francisco Giants, who also accomplished a dynasty of three championships in five seasons during even numbered seasons, winning in 2010, 2012 and 2014. After the dynasty, the Cardinals entered a slump during the 1950s. They would eventually return to the World Series in 1964, and defeated the New York Yankees in seven games for their seventh championship.
This was the first of eleven meetings between teams from Boston and St. Louis for a major professional sports championship. This would happen again in the World Series three more times (1967, 2004, 2013), along with four NBA Finals (1957, 1958, 1960, 1961), Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002, and two Stanley Cup Finals (1970, 2019).[11]
References
- ^ "1946 Major Leagues Schedule". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ^ "1946 Playoff for NL Pennant Game 1 – Brooklyn Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ^ "1946 Playoff for NL Pennant Game 2 – St. Louis Cardinals vs. Brooklyn Dodgers". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ^ "1946 World Series Game 1 – Boston Red Sox vs. St. Louis Cardinals". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ^ "1946 World Series Game 2 – Boston Red Sox vs. St. Louis Cardinals". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ^ "1946 World Series Game 3 – St. Louis Cardinals vs. Boston Red Sox". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ^ "1946 World Series Game 4 – St. Louis Cardinals vs. Boston Red Sox". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ^ "1946 World Series Game 5 – St. Louis Cardinals vs. Boston Red Sox". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ^ "1946 World Series Game 6 – Boston Red Sox vs. St. Louis Cardinals". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ^ "1946 World Series Game 7 – Boston Red Sox vs. St. Louis Cardinals". Retrosheet. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ^ Flores Jr., Johnny (May 21, 2019). "Boston & St. Louis meet for 11th time, only two to meet in NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL finals". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved March 9, 2026.