The surprising Cleveland Indians won their second pennant in 1948 after beating the Boston Red Sox in an 8-3 playoff for the American League championship. The win prevented what would have been another classic rematch between the Sox and their hometown rivals, the Boston Braves, who had captured the National League flag by 6½ games.
While the Braves had a good-hitting ballclub, much of the National Leaguers' hopes rested on the arms of Johnny Sain and Warren Spahn. In fact, a formula penned in the papers as "Spahn and Sain and two days of rain" seemed to capture not only the depth of the team's starting pitching, but also the essence of the Braves' strength. Cleveland's big winners in '48 were rookie lefthander Gene Bearden, Bob Feller and Bob Lemon and many felt that this Series would be decided on the mound.
Bob Feller, who had won twenty-five or more games three times in the majors (and twenty-four on another occasion), was a nineteen-game winner in '48 and drew the start for Game 1. Sain, a twenty-four-game winner himself in '48, was the obvious choice for the Braves and both went at it for an eight-inning, scoreless duel. Then in the bottom of the inning, Boston catcher Bill Salkeld drew a leadoff walk and gave way to pinch-runner Phil Masi, who was sacrificed to second by Mike McCormick. Eddie Stanky then was issued an intentional walk, and Sibby Sisti came in to run for the Boston second baseman. Feller attempted to pick-off the leading runner, but Umpire Bill Stewart made a safe call on the sliding Masi. Player/Manager Lou Boudreau argued strenuously that he had made the tag before the baserunner got back to the bag, but the call stood. Tommy Holmes came in and singled home the contested base runner for the 1-0 lead. Sain held on for the opening victory despite giving up four hits to Feller's two.
In Game 2, Lemon pitched shutout ball over the final eight innings as Cleveland tied the Series with a 4-1 triumph. Boudreau and Larry Doby, who had become the American League's first black player in July of 1947, each singled, doubled and drove in a run for the Indians.
Bearden continued to add to his outstanding stats with a five-hit shutout against the Braves in Game 3. The twenty-eight-year old pitcher performed well on both sides of the plate as he singled, then doubled and scored the first run (on a throwing error) in the 2-0 contest. His teammate, Steve Gromek followed suite the following day with a 2-1 triumph that put Boston on the brink of elimination (despite homers from both Doby and Marv Rickert). An end-of-the-season replacement for outfielder Jeff Heath, who had batted .319 for Boston with twenty home runs before breaking his ankle, Rickert wound up starting five World Series games for the Braves after appearing in only three regular-season outings for Billy Southworth's club.
In what would be a crucial last-stand, Boston showed what had got them to the Series in Game 5 with a clutch, 11-5 victory in front of a record Major League crowd of 86,288 at Cleveland Stadium. Spahn, who tossed one-hit, scoreless ball in 5 2/3 innings of relief, was the winning pitcher. Among the five pitchers used by the losing hometeam was forty-two-year-old Satchel Paige, the Negro leagues legend who had been signed to his first big-league contract by Indians President Bill Veeck in July. The appearance by Paige, who compiled a 6-1 regular-season record for the Tribe, made him the first black pitcher to take the mound in a World Series.
Bob Lemon, a twenty-game winner, was selected to finish the job for the Indians and responded to the challenge with 1 2/3 innings of relief help from the steady Bearden. The result was a 4-3, Game 6 clincher that showcased the diversity of the onetime infielder who had broken into the majors as a third baseman and played center field for Cleveland in Feller's no-hitter against the New York Yankees in 1946. After switching to the mound in 1948, he had won twenty games for the American League champions (a plateau he would reach six more times in the majors) and two World Series outings.
Pitching was (as predicted) the deciding factor as Cleveland prevailed despite slumps from Joe Gordon and Ken Keltner. Gordon (who hit thirty-two home runs and totaled one-hundred twenty four runs batted in while batting .280 in the regular season) had one homer, two RBIs and a .182 hitting mark in the Fall Classic. Keltner (coming off a .297 season in which he slugged thirty-one home runs and knocked in one-hundred nineteen runs) collected two miserable singles in twenty-one Series at-bats (.095) and did not drive in a single run. Player/Manager Lou Boudreau did more than his share and contributed a .273 average for a team that hit .199 against the Braves.
"For the first time in American League history, two teams finished the season tied, but the Indians advanced to the (1948) World Series with a one-game playoff victory over the Red Sox, thus preventing an all-Boston Fall Classic." - MLB.com (1948 World Series, Source)
1948 World Series
1948 World Series Official Program ← 1947 | Cleveland Indians (4) vs Boston Braves (2) | 1949 → |
||
1948 World Series Fast Facts | ||
Game 1 | Date / Box Score | 10-06-1948 |
Location | Braves Field | |
1st Pitch | James F. Byrnes (U.S. Secretary of State, 1945-1947) | |
Attendance | 40,135 | |
Game 2 | Date / Box Score | 10-07-1948 |
Location | Braves Field | |
Attendance | 39,633 | |
Game 3 | Date / Box Score | 10-08-1948 |
Location | Cleveland Stadium | |
Attendance | 70,306 | |
Game 4 | Date / Box Score | 10-09-1948 |
Location | Cleveland Stadium | |
Attendance | 81,897 | |
Game 5 | Date / Box Score | 10-10-1948 |
Location | Cleveland Stadium | |
Attendance | 86,288 | |
National Anthem | Girard VFW Post 419 Band (Girard, Ohio) | |
Game 6 | Date / Box Score | 10-11-1948 |
Location | Braves Field | |
Attendance | 40,103 | |
1948 World Series Fast Facts |
1948 World Series
|
||||||||||||
1948 World Series Game 1 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
Cleveland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Boston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | x | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Cleveland Pitcher(s) | Boston Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Bob Feller (L) | Johnny Sain (W) | |||||||||||
Cleveland Home Runs | Boston Home Runs | |||||||||||
None | None |
1948 World Series
|
||||||||||||
1948 World Series Game 2 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
Cleveland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
Boston | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 |
Cleveland Pitcher(s) | Boston Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Bob Lemon (W) - - |
Warren Spahn (L) Red Barrett (5th) Nels Potter (8th) |
|||||||||||
Cleveland Home Runs | Boston Home Runs | |||||||||||
None | None |
1948 World Series
|
||||||||||||
1948 World Series Game 3 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
Boston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
Cleveland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | x | 2 | 5 | 0 |
Boston Pitcher(s) | Cleveland Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Vern Bickford (L) Bill Voiselle (4th) Red Barrett (8th) |
Gene Bearden (W) - - |
|||||||||||
Boston Home Runs | Cleveland Home Runs | |||||||||||
None | None |
1948 World Series
|
||||||||||||
1948 World Series Game 4 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
Boston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
Cleveland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | x | 2 | 5 | 0 |
Boston Pitcher(s) | Cleveland Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Johnny Sain (L) | Steve Gromek (W) | |||||||||||
Boston Home Runs | Cleveland Home Runs | |||||||||||
Marv Rickert (7th) | Larry Doby (3rd) |
1948 World Series
|
||||||||||||
1948 World Series Game 5 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
Boston | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 12 | 0 |
Cleveland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 2 |
Boston Pitcher(s) | Cleveland Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Nels Potter Warren Spahn (W, 4th) - - - |
Bob Feller (L) Ed Klieman (7th) Russ Christopher (7th) Satchel Paige (7th) Bob Muncrief (8th) |
|||||||||||
Boston Home Runs | Cleveland Home Runs | |||||||||||
Bob Elliott (1st) Bob Elliott (3rd) Bill Salkeld (6th) |
Dale Mitchell (1st) Jim Hegan (4th) - |
1948 World Series
|
||||||||||||
1948 World Series Game 6 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
Cleveland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 0 |
Boston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
Cleveland Pitcher(s) | Boston Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Bob Lemon (W) Gene Bearden (S, 8th) |
Bill Voiselle (L) Warren Spahn (8th) |
|||||||||||
Cleveland Home Runs | Boston Home Runs | |||||||||||
Joe Gordon (6th) | None |
1948 World SeriesCleveland Indians 1948 World Series Composite Hitting Statistics |
||||||||||||||
25-Man Roster | Pos | G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | Avg | BB | SO | SB | |
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. |
Gene Bearden Johnny Berardino Ray Boone Lou Boudreau Russ Christopher Allie Clark Larry Doby Bob Feller Joe Gordon Steve Gromek Jim Hegan Wally Judnich Ken Keltner Bob Kennedy Ed Klieman Bob Lemon Dale Mitchell Bob Muncrief Satchel Paige Hal Peck Eddie Robinson Al Rosen Joe Tipton Thurman Tucker Sam Zoldak |
p DNP ph ss p of of p 2b p c of 3b of p p of p p of 1b ph ph of DNP |
2 - 1 6 1 1 6 2 6 1 6 4 6 3 1 2 6 1 1 1 6 1 1 1 - |
4 - 1 22 0 3 22 4 22 3 19 13 21 2 0 7 23 0 0 0 20 1 1 3 - |
2 - 0 6 0 0 7 0 4 0 4 1 2 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 6 0 0 1 - |
1 - 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - |
0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - |
0 - 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - |
1 - 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 0 2 1 3 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - |
0 - 0 3 0 0 2 0 2 0 5 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - |
.500 - .000 .273 .000 .000 .318 .000 .182 .000 .211 .077 .095 .500 .000 .000 .174 .000 .000 .000 .300 .000 .000 .333 - |
0 - 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 - |
1 - 1 1 0 1 4 2 2 1 4 4 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - |
0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - |
Totals | 191 | 38 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 16 | .199 | 12 | 26 | 2 | |||
1948 World SeriesBoston Braves 1948 World Series Composite Hitting Statistics |
||||||||||||||
25-Man Roster | Pos | G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | Avg | BB | SO | SB | |
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. |
Red Barrett Vern Bickford Clint Conatser Alvin Dark Bob Elliott Bobby Hogue Tommy Holmes Al Lyons Phil Masi Frank McCormick Mike McCormick Nels Potter Marv Rickert Connie Ryan Johnny Sain Bill Salkeld Ray Sanders Clyde Shoun Sibby Sisti Warren Spahn Eddie Stanky Bobby Sturgeon Earl Torgeson Bill Voiselle Ernie White |
p p of ss 3b DNP of DNP c 1b-1 of p of ph p c ph DNP 2b p 2b DNP 1b p DNP |
2 1 2 6 6 - 6 - 5 3 6 2 5 2 2 5 1 - 2 3 6 - 5 2 - |
0 0 4 24 21 - 26 - 8 5 23 2 19 1 5 9 1 - 1 4 14 - 18 2 - |
0 0 0 4 7 - 5 - 1 1 6 1 4 0 1 2 0 - 0 0 4 - 7 0 - |
0 0 0 1 0 - 0 - 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 1 - 3 0 - |
0 0 0 0 0 - 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 - 0 0 - |
0 0 0 0 2 - 0 - 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 - 0 0 0 - 0 0 - |
1 0 0 2 4 - 3 - 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 2 0 - 0 0 0 - 2 0 - |
0 0 1 0 5 - 1 - 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 1 0 - 0 1 1 - 1 0 - |
.000 .000 .000 .167 .333 - .192 - .125 .200 .261 .500 .211 .000 .200 .222 .000 - .000 .000 .286 - .389 .000 - |
0 0 0 0 2 - 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 - 0 0 7 - 2 0 - |
0 0 0 2 2 - 0 - 0 2 4 1 4 1 0 1 0 - 0 1 0 - 1 0 - |
0 0 0 0 0 - 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 - 1 0 - |
Totals | 187 | 43 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 16 | .230 | 16 | 19 | 1 |
1948 World SeriesCleveland Indians 1948 World Series Composite Pitching Statistics |
|||||||||||||
Pitching Staff | W | L | G | GS | CG | S | Sh | IP | ERA | H | SO | ER | BB |
Gene Bearden Russ Christopher Bob Feller Steve Gromek Ed Klieman Bob Lemon Bob Muncrief Satchel Paige |
1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 |
0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 |
2 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 |
1 0 2 1 0 2 0 0 |
1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 |
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
10.2 0.0 14.1 9.0 0.0 16.1 2.0 0.2 |
0.00 5.02 1.00 1.65 0.00 0.00 |
6 2 10 7 1 16 1 0 |
4 0 7 2 0 6 0 0 |
0 1 8 1 3 3 0 0 |
1 0 5 1 2 7 0 0 |
Totals | 4 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 53.0 | 2.72 | 43 | 19 | 16 | 16 |
1948 World SeriesBoston Braves 1948 World Series Composite Pitching Statistics |
|||||||||||||
Pitching Staff | W | L | G | GS | CG | S | Sh | IP | ERA | H | SO | ER | BB |
Red Barrett Vern Bickford Nels Potter Johnny Sain Warren Spahn Bill Voiselle |
0 0 0 1 1 0 |
0 1 0 1 1 1 |
2 1 2 2 3 2 |
0 1 1 2 1 1 |
0 0 0 2 0 0 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 0 0 1 0 0 |
3.2 3.1 5.1 17.0 12.0 10.2 |
0.00 2.70 8.44 1.06 3.00 2.53 |
1 4 6 9 10 8 |
1 1 1 9 12 2 |
0 1 5 2 4 3 |
0 5 2 0 3 2 |
Totals | 2 | 4 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 52.0 | 2.60 | 38 | 26 | 15 | 12 |
On October 9, 1948, a new World Series single game attendance record was set during Game 4 when 81,897 fans packed Cleveland Stadium. One day later that record was broken during Game 5 courtesy of 86,288 fans.
Do you believe the Game 5 attendance record might have had something to do with the appearance of Negro League legend Satchel Paige? It was the first time in World Series history a black pitcher had taken the mound. Share your thoughts on Baseball Fever.
The record setting fan base in Game 5 might not have known, but when Bob Elliott went deep twice he became only the second National League player to hit more than one home run during a Series game. The first with a pair of homers was Benny Kauff of the New York Giants during the 1917 World Series and as a side note, there had already been ten instances where an American League player hit two long balls.