History of the World Series – 1926
History of the World Series – 1926
Hornsby’s directive was no mistake. The battle-tested Alexander was the man Hornsby wanted to take over for Jesse Haines, who had shut out the Yankees in Game 3 and pitched reasonably well in Game 7 until a finger blister and a mounting New York threat brought about his removal.
Lazzeri, 22, had just completed an outstanding rookie season. He batted .275 for the Yankees with 18 home runs and 114 RBIs. Alexander was in the twilight of his career and had been obtained by the Cardinals on waivers from the Chicago Cubs in June. He won nine of 16 decisions for St. Louis.
With the Yankees’ Earle Combs leading off third base, Bob Meusel stationed at second and Lou Gehrig on first, Alexander delivered his first pitch to Lazzeri. Ball one. The second pitch was a called strike. Lazzeri took a tremendous cut at Alexander’s third offering and lined the ball just foul down the third-base line. Amid a crescendo of noise, Alexander readied himself once more and let fly. Lazzeri swung and missed. Ol’ Pete had gotten the Cardinals out of a monumental jam.
After St. Louis threatened but failed to score in the eighth, Alexander retired the Yankees in order in their half of the inning. The Cardinals again were unable to add to their lead in the ninth, so it was up to 0l’ Pete to protect the one-run margin one more time.
Combs started the Yankees’ ninth by grounding out to third baseman Lester Bell, and Mark Koenig also was thrown out, Bell to first baseman Jim Bottomley. Only one batter stood between Alexander and the championship but, oh, what a batter. George Herman (Babe) Ruth. The Bambino worked the count to 3 and 2, then drew his 11th walk of the Series. Up next was cleanup hitter Meusel, representing the winning run. Meusel, though, was denied his at-bat when Ruth, who had stolen second base in Game 6 (some observers thought foolishly) tried to steal again. Catcher Bob O’Farrell’s throw to Hornsby nailed the Yankees’ slugger and ended the fall classic.
The Cardinals’ decisive 3-2 victory had been fashioned not only by Alexander’s clutch relief, but also by the continued standout play of shortstop Tommy Thevenow. A .256 hitter during the season, Thevenow broke a 1-1 tie in Game 7 with a two-run single in the fourth inning. Overall, Thevenow was 10-for-24 against the Yankees, making him the Series’ top hitter with a .417 mark.
New York got standout production from Combs and Gehrig, appearing in their first Series, and Ruth. Combs led the Yankees with a .357 average; Gehrig hit .348 and drove in the winning run in Game 1. Ruth bashed four homers in the Series, three in the Yanks’ 10-5 victory in Game 4 at Sportsman’s Park.
St. Louis’ Haines and Alexander and New York’s Herb Pennock were the top pitchers in the 1926 Series. Besides getting the victory in the finale, Haines allowed five hits in a 4-0 Game 3 victory. Alexander retired the last 21 Yankees he faced in Game 2 and, backed by Billy Southworth’s three-run homer, won, 6-2. He then coasted, 10-2, in Game 6 as Bell homered and drove in four runs. Pennock was a 2-1 winner in the Series opener, yielding just three hits, and came back for a 3-2, 10-inning victory in Game 5, a contest the Yankees tied in the ninth on Ben Paschal’s pinch single and won in the 10th on Lazzeri’s sacrifice fly.
The Cardinals were able to win the Series despite subpar performances from players instrumental in getting them to their first fall classic. Hornsby, a .317 hitter that season (after batting above .400 in three of the four previous years), hit only .250 against the Yankees. And pitchers Flint Rhem and Bill Sherdel, St. Louis’ biggest winners with 20 and 16 victories, respectively, failed to win in the Series.
But there was Thevenow, whose hitting spree included an inside-the-park home run in Game 2 (Thevenow hit only two other homers in his 15-season career in the majors and, curiously, both came during the ’26 regular season). Plus, the Cards had Bottomley and Southworth, both of whom hit at .345 against New York, and O’Farrell, a .304 hitter in the Series.
Best of all, St. Louis had that wily veteran trudging in from the bullpen in the seventh inning of Game 7.
This article was originally published on TSN
Game Recaps from Retrosheet
1926 World Series Stories
The 1926 Post-Season Games
World Series: St. Louis Cardinals (4) defeated New York Yankees (3)
World Series Game 1 Played on Saturday, October 2, 1926 (D) at Yankee Stadium I
STL N 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 3 1 NY A 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 x - 2 6 0
BOX+PBP WP: Pennock (1-0) LP: Sherdel (0-1)
World Series Game 2 Played on Sunday, October 3, 1926 (D) at Yankee Stadium I
STL N 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 1 - 6 12 1 NY A 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 2 4 0
BOX+PBP WP: Alexander (1-0) LP: Shocker (0-1) HR: Southworth (1), Thevenow (1)
World Series Game 3 Played on Tuesday, October 5, 1926 (D) at Sportsman’s Park III
NY A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 5 1 STL N 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 x - 4 8 0
BOX+PBP WP: Haines (1-0) LP: Ruether (0-1) HR: Haines (1)
World Series Game 4 Played on Wednesday, October 6, 1926 (D) at Sportsman’s Park III
NY A 1 0 1 1 4 2 1 0 0 - 10 14 1 STL N 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 - 5 14 0
BOX+PBP WP: Hoyt (1-0) LP: Reinhart (0-1) HR: Ruth 3 (3)
World Series Game 5 Played on Thursday, October 7, 1926 (D) at Sportsman’s Park III
NY A 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 - 3 9 1 STL N 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 - 2 7 1
BOX+PBP WP: Pennock (2-0) LP: Sherdel (0-2)
World Series Game 6 Played on Saturday, October 9, 1926 (D) at Yankee Stadium I
STL N 3 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 1 - 10 13 2 NY A 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 - 2 8 1
BOX+PBP WP: Alexander (2-0) LP: Shawkey (0-1) HR: L. Bell (1)
World Series Game 7 Played on Sunday, October 10, 1926 (D) at Yankee Stadium I
STL N 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 - 3 8 0 NY A 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 - 2 8 3
BOX+PBP WP: Haines (2-0) LP: Hoyt (1-1) SV: Alexander (1) HR: Ruth (4)