1926 St. Louis Cardinals: Steady Going

1926 St. Louis Cardinals: Steady Going

1926 St. Louis Cardinals: Steady Going

The St. Louis Cardinals went 89-65 in 1926, winning the National League pennant by 2 games over the Cincinnati Reds and 4 ½ games over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cardinals remained steady all throughout the regular season as they went 47-30 at home and 42-35 on the road.

Third baseman Les Bell batted .325 with 17 home runs and 100 RBI’s off 189 hits, 33 doubles, 14 triples and 9 stolen bases. Second baseman Rogers Hornsby batted .317 with 11 home runs and 93 RBI’s off 167 hits, 34 doubles and 5 stolen bases. Outfielder Billy Southworth batted .317 with 11 home runs, 124 hits, 22 doubles, 6 triples and 13 stolen bases in 99 games. Outfielder Taylor Douthit batted .308 with 163 hits, 20 doubles and 23 stolen bases.

Outfielder Ray Blades batted .305 with 127 hits, 17 doubles, 12 triples and 6 stolen bases. First baseman Jim Bottomley batted .299 with 19 home runs and 120 RBI’s off 180 hits, 40 doubles and 14 triples. Catcher Bob O’Farrell batted .293 with 144 hits, 30 doubles and 9 triples. Shortstop Tommy Thevenow had 144 hits, 15 doubles and 8 stolen bases. Reserve outfielder Chick Hafey batted .271 with 19 doubles in 78 games.

The pitching staff for St. Louis was as reliable as they came. Starting pitcher Flint Rhem went 20-7 with a 3.21 ERA, 20 complete games and 1 shutout. Bill Sherdel went 16-12 with a 3.49 ERA, 17 complete games and 3 shutouts. Jesse Haines went 13-4 with a 3.25 ERA, 14 complete games and 3 shutouts. Vic Keen went 10-9 with 12 complete games and 1 shutout. Pete Alexander went 9-7 with a 2.91 ERA, 11 complete games and 2 shutouts. Reserve starter and relief pitcher Art Reinhart went 10-5 with 9 complete games. Reserve starter and reliever Herman “Hi” Bell went 6-6 with a 3.18 ERA and 3 complete games.

The 1926 World Series pitted the St. Louis Cardinals against the American League Champion New York Yankees, a team that was on the verge of becoming one of the most popular teams in baseball history. In Game 1 on October 2 at Yankee Stadium I, the Cardinals lost to the Yankees 2-1. Jim Bottomley had an RBI single in the top of the 1st inning, but in the bottom of the 1st Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig, nicknamed the “Iron Horse”, had an RBI ground-out to tie the game. Gehrig then had an RBI single in the bottom of the 6th.

The Cardinals responded with a 6-2 victory in Game 2 on October 3. Pete Alexander pitched a complete game, giving up 4 hits, 1 walk and 2 runs, but recorded 10 strikeouts. In the bottom of the 2nd inning second baseman Tony Lazzeri had an RBI single, and then later on he would be caught trying to steal home. Thankfully for New York, an error was committed in the chase for Lazzeri, which allowed him to score. In the top of the 3rd Bottomley had a 2-run single for St. Louis, and in the top of the 7th Billy Southworth clubbed a 3-run home run. In the top of the 9th Tommy Thevenow had an inside the park home run off a fly ball hit to right field.

Going to Sportsman’s Park I in St. Louis for Game 3 on October 5, the Cardinals blanked the Yankees 4-0. Jesse Haines pitched a complete game, giving up 5 hits and 3 walks, but recorded 3 strikeouts. Thevenow had an RBI ground-out in the bottom of the 4th inning, and Haines helped himself out soon after by pounding a 2-run home run. Bottomley had an RBI ground-out in the bottom of the 5th to add to the St. Louis lead.

The team nicknamed “Murderer’s Row” would come back to beat the Cardinals 10-5 in Game 4 on October 6. Outfielder Babe Ruth had a performance for the ages as he hit 3 towering home runs, solo home runs in the top of the 1st and 3rd innings, and a 2-run home run in the top of the 6th. Rogers Hornsby had an RBI single in the bottom of the 1st. Yankees second baseman Joe Dugan had an RBI double in the top of the 4th, and Thevenow had an RBI double in the bottom of the 4th. Pinch hitting infielder George “Specs” Toporcer followed with a sacrifice fly, and Douthit followed with an RBI double. In the top of the 5th Yankees shortstop Mark Koenig had an RBI double, and then Gehrig brought Koenig home by drawing a bases loaded walk. Lazzeri had a sacrifice fly and Dugan had an RBI ground-out. In the top of the 7th Yankees center fielder Earl Combs had an RBI double, and Les Bell’s RBI single in the bottom of the 9th was much too late.

The Yankees would win Game 5 on October 7 by the score of 3-2. This game would go back and forth as Bell had an RBI single in the bottom of the 4th inning to start, and then Koenig had an RBI single in the top of the 6th. Bob O’Farrell then had an RBI single in the bottom of the 7th, but the Yankees would get the last laugh as pinch hitting outfielder Ben Paschal had an RBI single in the top of the 9th, and a sacrifice fly by Lazzeri in the top of the 10th won it for New York.

Going back to the Bronx for Game 6 on October 9, the Cardinals crushed the Yankees 10-2. Bottomley had an RBI double in the top of the 1st inning, and Bell followed with an RBI single. Gehrig had an RBI ground-out in the bottom of the 4th, but this game had a St. Louis feel throughout as center fielder Wattie Holm had an RBI single in the top of the 5th. In the top of the 7th Southworth had an RBI double, Hornsby had a 2-run single, and Bell clubbed a 2-run home run. In the bottom of the 7th Combs had an RBI single, but Hornsby’s RBI ground-out in the top of the 9th quieted the Yankees for good.

The deciding Game 7 was a low-scoring affair on October 10, and it would be the St. Louis Cardinals who emerged with the 3-2 victory in the game and the 4 games to 3 Fall Classic win. Babe Ruth hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 3rd inning, but with Bob O’Farrell’s sacrifice fly and Tommy Thevenow’s 2-run single in the top of the 4th, the Yankees could only score one more run, which came from an RBI double hit by catcher Hank Severeid.

The 1926 World Series championship would be the first the Cardinals would win as the Cardinals since their first 2 professional baseball championship wins were in 1885 and 1886 as the original St. Louis Browns.