YEAR IN REVIEW : 1939 American League

Off the field...

"The Daughters of the American Revolution", a colonial patriotic society in the United States open to women having one or more ancestors who aided the cause of the Revolution refused to allow Marian Anderson to perform at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. Anderson was the first African American to be named a permanent member of the Metropolitan Opera Company, as well as the first black woman to perform at the White House. In protest of their protest, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned her DAR membership and sponsored Anderson's concert at the Lincoln Memorial.

On August 12th, Louis B. Mayer and his staff at MGM released what is considered to be one of the greatest movies ever made, the classic musical version of "The Wizard of Oz". Although the lavish production of L. Frank Baum's children's book originally lost a million dollars on its initial release, its musical score, technical artistry, star-making performance from Judy Garland, and unexpected TV success turned it into a perennial classic.

In the American League...

On May 2nd, New York Yankee Lou Gehrig, also known as "The Iron Horse" voluntarily benched himself "for the good of the team" ending his consecutive-game streak at 2,130. After being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (later renamed Lou Gehrig's Disease) the ailing first baseman continued to struggle while batting .143 with a single run batted in. Soon after, the thirty-six year-old star retired, but remained with the team as the captain. Later that season (on the Fourth of July) a tearful Gehrig spoke to 61,808 fans at Yankee Stadium stating, "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." After his moving speech, his uniform #4 was retired.

The New York Yankees hit a whopping eight homeruns in the first game of a June 28th doubleheader with the Philadelphia Athletics, and then followed up with five more in the second. Both totals set a Major League record for most homeruns in a game as well as their total of fifty-three total bases in a doubleheader. To no surprise, the Bronx Bombers swept the series winning the opener 23-2 and taking the night-game 10-0.

In the National League...

St. Louis Cardinals standout Johnny Mize equaled a National League record on July 3rd after hitting four extra-base hits including a double, triple, and two home runs during a 5-3 win over the Chicago Cubs.

In New York, nine players from the Giants and Dodgers combined for nine home runs in a 10-6 Brooklyn win at the Polo Grounds. The home run derby fell one round-tripper short of the record for two teams in one game set in 1923.

On September 21st, the National League announced that for the first time in the twentieth century games would be moved from one city to another in order to top one million paid attendance. As a result, a double header between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies was swapped from the "City of Brotherly Love" to "The Big Apple".

Around the league...

On June 12th, the greatest line-up in the history of baseball assembled in Cooperstown, New York for the official dedication of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Walter Johnson, Grover Alexander, Nap Lajoie, George Sisler, Eddie Collins, Tris Speaker, Cy Young, and Connie Mack all accepted their plaques and a special six-inning game was also held at the adjacent Doubleday Field featuring the talents of many future members.

The first telecast of a Major League Baseball game took place at Ebbets Field on August 26th as the Cincinnati Reds took on the home team Brooklyn Dodgers in a double header. Announcer Red Barber broadcasted the play-by-play on Channel W2XBS as the two teams split with the visitors taking the first game 5-2 and the "Bums" taking the second game 6-1.

An "off-season" experiment known as "The National Professional Indoor Baseball League" debuted in November to poor reviews. Headed by president Tris Speaker, the league boasted ten clubs, one in each Major League city except Washington. Unfortunately, the novel concept of playing baseball indoors during the winter months failed miserably at the ticket gates and the league was disbanded within a month.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"Hell Lou (Gehrig), it took them 15 years to get you out of the ball game (on his retirement). Sometimes they get me out in 15 minutes." - Lefty Gomez

1939 American League Player Review

Hitting Statistics League Leaderboard

Base on Balls Harlond Clift St. Louis 111 Top 25
Batting Average Joe DiMaggio New York .381 Top 25
Doubles Red Rolfe New York 46 Top 25
Hits Red Rolfe New York 213 Top 25
Home Runs Jimmie Foxx Boston 35 Top 25
On Base Percentage Jimmie Foxx Boston .464 Top 25
RBI Ted Williams Boston 145 Top 25
Runs Red Rolfe New York 139 Top 25
Slugging Average Jimmie Foxx Boston .694 Top 25
Stolen Bases George Case Washington 51 Top 25
Total Bases Ted Williams Boston 344 Top 25
Triples Buddy Lewis Washington 16 Top 25

1939 American League Pitcher Review

Pitching Statistics League Leaderboard

Complete Games Bobo Newsom St. Louis 24 Top 25
Detroit
ERA Lefty Grove Boston 2.54 Top 25
Games Clint Brown Chicago 61 Top 25
Saves Johnny Murphy New York 19 Top 25
Shutouts Red Ruffing New York 5 Top 25
Strikeouts Bob Feller Cleveland 246 Top 25
Winning Percentage Lefty Grove Boston .789 Top 25
Wins Bob Feller Cleveland 24 Top 25

1939 American League

Team Standings

New York Yankees 106 45 .702 0
Boston Red Sox 89 62 .589 17
Cleveland Indians 87 67 .565 20½
Chicago White Sox 85 69 .552 22½
Detroit Tigers 81 73 .526 26½
Washington Senators 65 87 .428 41½
Philadelphia Athletics 55 97 .362 51½
St. Louis Browns 43 111 .279 64½

1939 American League Team Review

Hitting Statistics League Leaderboard

Base on Balls New York 701
Batting Average Boston .291
Doubles Cleveland 291
Hits Boston 1,543
Home Runs New York 166
On Base Percentage New York .374
Runs New York 967
Slugging Average New York .451
Stolen Bases Chicago 113
Triples Cleveland 79
Washington

1939 American League Team Review

Pitching Statistics League Leaderboard

Complete Games New York 87
ERA New York 3.31
Fewest Hits Allowed New York 1,208
Fewest Home Runs Allowed Cleveland 75
Washington
Fewest Walks Allowed Chicago 454
Saves New York 26
Shutouts New York 15
Strikeouts Detroit 633
Seasonal Events: All-Star Game | World Series
Navigation: Year in Review Menu | Previous Season | Next Season
Miscellaneous: N.L. Leaderboard
Retirements | Rookies List
baseball almanac flat baseball

baseball almanac fast facts

On April 21, 1939, Ted Williams hit his first Major League home run and finished the game 4-for-5 in a 12-8 loss to the Philadelphia Athletics at Fenway Park. On May 4, 1939, Williams went deep twice for the first time in his Major League career AND on August 19, 1939, Williams hit his first grand slam.

On August 14, 1939, the lights were turned on in Comiskey Park for the first time as roughly 31,000 fans watched as the White Sox three-hit the Browns and won 5-2.

On September 8, 1939, Bob Feller of Cleveland defeated the St. Louis Browns 12-1 and became the youngest 20-game winner in American League history to date.