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Look Back: Browns and Cardinals World Series
Date: 10/7/2011 Album ID: 1337719
Photos by Post-Dispatch staff photographers
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by Tim O'Neil --- The final game of the 1944 World Series was played on a chilly Oct. 9 between the National League's St. Louis Cardinals and the American League's St. Louis Browns at Sportsman's Park. Only 31,630 fans -- almost 3,000 fewer than a full house -- saw the game. The Cardinals won that final game, 3-1, and the series, 4-2.
Young fans in line for bleacher tickets on Oct. 3, 1944, one day before Game One of the World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Browns. Their plan was to stay overnight on the sidewalk and buy tickets before game time. The Browns had won their only American League pennant that year by beating the New York Yankees on the last game of the regular season. The Cardinals had cruised to their eighth National League title. All six series games were played in Sportsman's Park, at North Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street in north St. Louis. At the time, the Browns owned the stadium. The Cardinals were tenants. The Browns won Game One, but the Cardinals took the series in six. The only all-St. Louis World Series, it eventually became known as the Streetcar Series. But none of the sportswriters called it that at the time. (Post-Dispatch)
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Two fans try to get some sleep in the ticket line outside Sportsman's Park during the wee hours before Game One of the World Series on Oct. 4, 1944. (Post-Dispatch)
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An informal pep ensemble gets ready to entertain fans waiting outside Sportsman's Park on the night before Game One. Police officers soon made them move to a nearby vacant lot, where they played on. They are, from left, Charles Chaplin of 812 Goodfellow Boulevard, Wright Powell of 2926 Prairie Avenue, Herman J. Weitzbuch of 1519a Burd Avenue, Hillard Gold of 1310 Goodfellow, Jimmy Powell of 2926 Prairie and Bill Schneider of 5025 Wells Avenue. (Post-Dispatch)
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Fans line up along North Grand Boulevard on the morning of Game One. It rained in the morning, but 33,242 fans saw the Browns win 2-1. (Post-Dispatch)
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A streetside view of the line on North Grand before game time Oct. 4, 1944. (Post-Dispatch)
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Army privates Harold Bryan (left) and Sy Gopman, both of New York city, have tickets for Game One. They were in St. Louis on leave from Camp Breckinridge near Morganfield, Ky, and rooted for the Browns. (Post-Dispatch)
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Fans in the left-field bleachers of Sportsman's Park 2 1/2 hours before the first pitch in Game One. (Post-Dispatch)
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Game One action, as seen from the left-field upper deck of Sportsman's Park. Pitching for the Browns is Dennis Galehouse. Batting is Danny Litwhiler. Galehouse was the winning pitcher in the 2-1 Browns victory. (Post-Dispatch)
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The litter-filled bleachers shortly after the Browns' Game One victory on Oct. 4, 1944. (Post-Dispatch)
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Fans play cards in the bleachers before Game Three on Oct. 6, 1944. Hats made of newspaper were popular among bleacher fans. The Cardinals had won Game Two the day before 3-2, but the Browns regained the series lead with a 6-2 win in Game Three before 34,737 fans. (Post-Dispatch)
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Candidates visit the Browns dugout in Sportsman's Park before Game Three. Seated are, from left, Browns first baseman George McQuinn; U.S. Sen. Harry S Truman of Missouri, the Democratic vice-presidential candidate; Browns second baseman Don Gutteridge; and state Sen. Phil M. Donnelly, D-Lebanon, the Democratic candidate for Missouri governor. Truman and Donnelly won their elections one month later. Truman, who ran with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, would become president six months later, following Roosevelt's death on April 12, 1945. (Post-Dispatch)
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Fans leaving Game Three head for streetcars and buses on North Grand Boulevard. The 1944 series often is called the Streetcar Series, but none of the city's three daily newspapers called it that while it was underway. (Post-Dispatch)
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Young fans of both teams cheer during Game Four on Oct. 7, 1944. It was a Saturday, so no hooky was necessary. The Cardinals won 5-1, evening the series at two victories each. The photo caption published that day doesn't identify the them as members of the Knot Hole Gang, an old promotion that allowed youngsters into Browns and Cardinals games, but they certainly qualified. (Post-Dispatch)
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Cardinals fans show their joy during Game Five on Oct. 8, 1944, after Ray Sanders hit a solo home run in the sixth inning. Browns fans sit quietly. The Cardinals won 2-0 before 36,588 fans to take a one-game lead in the series. (Post-Dispatch)
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Children from local Catholic, Protestant and Jewish orphanages meet two of the pros before Game Six on Oct. 9, 1944. In uniform are (left) Cardinals pitcher Mort Cooper and Browns manager Luke Sewell. Chaperones are (from left) David Berger and the Rev. H.L. Byrne. The Cardinals won that day 3-1, taking the World Series in six games. Cooper had pitched a complete game in the Cardinals' Game Five victory. (Post-Dispatch)
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Arthur Pecher watches Game Six from a homemade perch atop his home at 3641 Dodier Street. It gave him a view over the left-field bleachers. Pecher built his sky view with two 18-foot ladders, ropes and boards. (Post-Dispatch)
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Rival buttons confirm the expressions on their faces as the Cardinals win Game Six 3-1 to win the World Series on Oct. 9, 1944. A cold front that had moved into St. Louis the night before kept down attendance. Only 31,360 fans attended the clincher. It was 52 degrees when the game began. (Post-Dispatch)
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Cardinals catcher Walker Cooper congratulates Ted Wilks, who pitched the final 3 2/3 innings in the championship victory in Game Six. (Post-Dispatch)
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Cardinals manager Billy Southworth (center) hugs his winning Game Six pitching staff -- starter Max Lanier (left), who had already taken his shower, and closer Ted Wilks. (Post-Dispatch)
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Fans leaving Sportsman's Park after the Cardinals took the series championship with a 3-1 victory in Game Six on Oct. 9, 1944. (Post-Dispatch)
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