1948 World Series

Cleveland Indians (4) vs Boston Braves (2)

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.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"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 Program

1948 World Series Official Program

1947 | Cleveland Indians (4) vs Boston Braves (2) | 1949

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
Game 1

Line Score / Box Score

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
Bob Feller (L) Johnny Sain (W)
None None

1948 World Series
Game 2

Line Score / Box Score

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
Bob Lemon (W)
-
-
Warren Spahn (L)
Red Barrett (5th)
Nels Potter (8th)
None None

1948 World Series
Game 3

Line Score / Box Score

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
Vern Bickford (L)
Bill Voiselle (4th)
Red Barrett (8th)
Gene Bearden (W)
-
-
None None

1948 World Series
Game 4

Line Score / Box Score

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
Johnny Sain (L) Steve Gromek (W)
Marv Rickert (7th) Larry Doby (3rd)

1948 World Series
Game 5

Line Score / Box Score

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
Nels Potter
Warren Spahn (W, 4th)
-
-
-
Bob Feller (L)
Ed Klieman (7th)
Russ Christopher (7th)
Satchel Paige (7th)
Bob Muncrief (8th)
Bob Elliott (1st)
Bob Elliott (3rd)
Bill Salkeld (6th)
Dale Mitchell (1st)
Jim Hegan (4th)
-

1948 World Series
Game 6

Line Score / Box Score

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
Bob Lemon (W)
Gene Bearden (S, 8th)
Bill Voiselle (L)
Warren Spahn (8th)
Joe Gordon (6th) None

1948 World Series

Cleveland Indians

Cleveland Indians 1948 World Series Composite Hitting Statistics

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 Series

Boston Braves

Boston Braves 1948 World Series Composite Hitting Statistics

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 Series

Cleveland Indians

Cleveland Indians 1948 World Series Composite Pitching Statistics

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
Infinite Earned Run Average
5.02
1.00
Infinite Earned Run Average
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 Series

Boston Braves

Boston Braves 1948 World Series Composite Pitching Statistics

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
baseball almanac flat baseball

baseball almanac fast facts

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.