The Cincinnati Reds ran away with the National League using great defense and the top-notch pitching of Bucky Walters (22-10, 2.48 ERA) and Paul Derringer (20-12, 3.06 ERA). The Junior Circuit was tight all the way with Cleveland, Detroit, and New York fighting it out to the last weekend. Detroit nosed ahead to take the pennant by a single game over the Indians and two games over the disappointing Yankees. The Tigers outscored Cincinnati 22-6 in their three wins, but Detroit lost in seven games as the Reds won their first championship since the 1919 Black Sox series. Reds 1B Frank McCormick led the league in hits for the third straight year, hitting .309 with 19 homers and 127 RBI to earn the NL MVP award. Detroit slugger Hank Greenberg (.340, 41 HR, 150 RBI) captured the AL MVP award in his final full season before being one of the first Major League players to be drafted for military duty. Cleveland’s 21-year-old flamethrower Bob Feller threw a no-hitter on Opening Day and finished the season with a league-leading 27 wins, 2.61 ERA, and 261 strikeouts in 320 innings. Cardinals 1B Johnny Mize (.314, 43 HR, 137 RBI) led the Senior Circuit in homers and runs batted in and finished as the MVP runner-up for the second straight season. Yankee CF Joe DiMaggio (.352, 31 HR, 133 RBI) edged Chicago’s Luke Appling for his second consecutive AL batting title.

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1940

Pee Wee Reese
Elmer Valo
Marty Marion
Walker Cooper
Dom DiMaggio
Pete Reiser
Harry Brecheen
Harry Walker
Stan Spence

World Series – Cincinnati Reds NL over Detriot Tigers AL 4 games to 3

MVP Awards –

NL Frank McCormack

AL Hank Greenberg

All-Star Game – July 9th – N.L. 4 over A.L. 0, played at Sportsman’s Park III (NL)
AL Starter Red Ruffing  NL Starter Paul Derringer MVP

Coming soon . . . 

National League All-Stars

American League All-Stars

All-Star Managers

All-Star Game Ball Park

The stories that shapped the year:

Sort bySearch Days, Events, Players Title (A - Z)Date (Newest)

January 1, 1940

Kenesaw Mountain Landis voids Tigers trades and releases 87 players

January 3, 1940

Ron Brand is born in Los Angeles, CA.

January 4, 1940

In a trade of pitchers, the Cincinnati Reds send Lee Grissom to the New York Yankees for Joe Beggs, who had to clear waivers from all seven American League teams. This is due to the new rule voted last month barring the AL pennant winner from any trades within the league. Beggs will go 12-3 for the Reds, while Grissom will be sold to the Brooklyn Dodgers on May 15th.

January 14, 1940

91 players in the Detroit farm system are set free by commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis

February 8, 1940

St. Louis Browns purchase pitcher Elden Auker

February 12, 1940

Brooklyn Dodgers purchase outfielder Joe Vosmik from the Boston Red Sox

February 15, 1940

The Detroit Tigers’ roster lists Hank Greenberg as an OF. The willingness of the team’s leading power hitter to switch, at a contract boost, from 1B allows manager Del Baker to find a position for Rudy York. Also on the list are Dick Bartell, picked up from the Chicago Cubs for Billy Rogell and Pinky Higgins, who had been shopped around. The four, along with Barney McCosky and Charlie Gehringer, produce the stuff that will move the Tigers from fifth to first, although its .588 mark will be as low as that of any pennant-winner yet.

February 23, 1940

The A’s waive Lynn Nelson to Detroit. Nelson was the A’s top winner in 1939 with 10 victories, but he’ll go 1-1 with Detroit before bowing out.

February 23, 1940

1940 Cincinnati Reds

February 25, 1940

Ron Santo is born in Seattle, WA.

February 29, 1940

First National Bank of Chicago tries to force Grace Comiskey to sell the White Sox

March 1, 1940

A federal judge rules in favor of Grace Comiskey, whos ownership of the Chicago White Sox was challanged

March 3, 1940

Boston Bees sell outfielder Debs Garms to the Pittsburgh Pirates

March 6, 1940

Willie Stargell is born in Earlsboro, Oklahoma

March 17, 1940

1940 – An inter-league exhibition All-Star Game is played in Florida for the benefit of Finland, which has been attacked by the Soviet Union. Over $20,000 is raised, but the Finlanders give up their battle within a few days of the benefit.

March 19, 1940

In an exhibition game that might be a spring training record of sorts, the Triple-A Kansas City Blues pound the Washington Senators, 22 – 5. The Blues collect 23 hits for 46 total bases. Frenchy Bordagaray starts the scoring with a home run in the 1st inning; Jack Saltzgaver hits three triples in three at-bats with five RBI. Another familiar name, Johnny Lindell, yields three hits in three innings on the mound for the Blues.

March 21, 1940

Joe DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, and Bill Dickey. Spring training in Florida – 1940.

March 26, 1940

 Slugger Chuck Klein, who was released by the Pittsburgh Pirates, signs for his third stint with the Philadelphia Phillies.

March 28, 1940

During a 10 – 1 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, Chicago White Sox second baseman Jackie Hayes catches a piece of cinder in his eye. The eye will become infected and though he finishes the season, he loses the sight in the eye. In 1943, Hayes will lose the sight in both eyes.

April 16, 1940

Bob Feller hurls first and only opening day no hitter

April 16, 1940

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s errant ceremonial first pitch smashes a Washington Post camera

April 23, 1940

Flooding of the Ohio River causes cancellation of game between the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals at Crosley Field

April 30, 1940

Picked up off the scrap heap by the Brooklyn Dodgers just months after being given his unconditional release by the Double-A Milwaukee Brewers, starting pitcher Tex Carleton throws a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field. Aside from making Brooklyn GM Larry MacPhail look like a genius, the 3 – 0 masterpiece maintains both Carleton’s and the Dodgers’ perfect start to 1940: Carleton at 2-and-0 and the Dodgers at a record-tying 9-and-0.

May 4, 1940

Wrigley Field – LA

May 7, 1940

Dodgers first in Flight

May 8, 1940

In a 23 – 2 rout of Brooklyn, the Reds’ Harry Craft hits for the cycle (a home run, a triple, a double and two singles) as Cincinnati pounds out 27 hits.

May 8, 1940

The Waner brothers, Lloyd Waner and Paul Waner, lose their places in the Pittsburgh outfield when new manager Frankie Frisch acquires Vince DiMaggio for Johnny Rizzo, who hit 23 home runs as a rookie in 1938. Vince takes over center field, flanked by Maurice Van Robays and Bob Elliott, each playing their first full season. Yesterday, the Bucs sold OF Fern Bell to Toronto.

May 9, 1940

The press reports the impending sale of the New York Yankees by the Ruppert estate to political bigwigs Jim Farley and Jesse Jones. The Sporting News declares the sale will be for $4 million. The imminent sale will resurface on the front page several times during the next year, but it will never happen.

May 9, 1940

After the previous day’s rainout at Wrigley Field, the Brooklyn Dodgers score three in the 10th to beat Larry French, 4 – 1. Newt Kimball is the winner.

May 14, 1940

Jimmie Foxx hits the longest home run in the history of Comiskey Park

May 15, 1940

1B Art Mahan and 2B Ham Schulte establish themselves as regulars at their positions with the Phillies. Fewer than a dozen players have been 120-or-more-game regulars in their only season in the major leagues, and the Phillies, again locked in last place, have two of them in one season. Neither Phillie will hit .250, but Schulte will top second basemen in fielding.

May 15, 1940

In the Pirates’ 5 – 2 loss to the Giants, only three Bucs bat in the 2nd, but all reach base. Maurice Van Robays singles and is picked off; Vince DiMaggio walks and is forced at 2B by Frankie Gustine, who is caught stealing.

May 20, 1940

Tiger slugger Pinky Higgins hits three consecutive home runs at Briggs Stadium. The third baseman’s offensive output contributes to Detroit’s 10-7 victory over Boston.

May 21, 1940

The Phils sign pitcher Cy Blanton when he is made a free agent by the Pirates on orders from Commissioner Landis.

May 21, 1940

5/21/1940: Frankie Hayes of the Athletics hit a grand slam off Browns pitcher Bob Harris in the top of the fifth inning. The game was rained out after 4-1/2 innings with Philadelphia leading 6-0.

May 21, 1940

Jimmie Foxx hits grand slams on consecutive days joins elite group

May 23, 1940

In front of just 793 paid customers in St. Louis‚ the Browns trip the Senators‚ 8 – 7‚ in 12 innings. Jimmy Bloodworth’s 2-run homer gives the Nats the lead in the top of the 12th‚ but the George McQuinn’s second homer of the day‚ a single‚ and a triple by Rip Radcliff‚ who scores on a sac fly, gives St. Louis the win over Sid Hudson.

May 24, 1940

The Cleveland Indians beat the St. Louis Browns, 3 – 2, in the first night game played at Sportsman’s Park before 24,827. Bob Feller beats Elden Auker and adds a home run as well.

May 24, 1940

The Browns host the first major league game played in St. Louis under the lights. A Friday evening crowd of 24,827, the largest attendance figure in 18 years, watches Bob Feller and the Indians beat the home team at Sportsman’s Park, 3-2.

May 24, 1940

In the first night game played at the Polo Grounds, the hometown Giants beat Boston, 8-1

May 30, 1940

Chuck Klein makes it home safely on a squeeze play

May 30, 1940

Carl Hubbell Faces the minimum 27 batters beating the Dodgers

June 4, 1940

The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Bees, 7 – 2, in the first night game at Forbes Field.

June 4, 1940

The Cardinals play their first night game at home, losing to Brooklyn, 10-1, despite Joe Medwick’s 5-for-5 performance that included three doubles. The honor of hosting the first evening tilt in St. Louis, that took place on May 24, was given to the Browns, after the two teams finally agreed to split the $150,000 cost of installing lights at Sportsman’s Park, the ballpark they share.

June 4, 1940

Braves sign Spahn

June 6, 1940

Warren Spahn, who will become the winningest left-hander in baseball history with 363 victories, signs a contract with the Boston Bees (Braves). Due to a clash with manager Casey Stengel and his enlistment in the U.S. Army, the 19 year-old southpaw will have to wait six years before he gets his first major league win.

June 8, 1940

1940 – Harry Craft of the Cincinnati Reds hits for the cycle, connecting for a home run, a triple, a double and two singles in seven at-bats, to lead a 27-hit attack as the Reds pound the host Brooklyn Dodgers, 23 – 2.

June 11, 1940

Paul Dean debuts with the Giants and beats the Cubs‚ 3 – 1‚ on 4 hits

June 11, 1940

In Boston‚ the Red Sox chase Bob Feller‚ 9 – 2‚ on homers by Ted Williams and Joe Cronin

June 13, 1940

Bill Nicholson of the Chicago Cubs becomes the first major league player to hit a home run at Doubleday Field

June 16, 1940

Cleveland Indians players petitions owner Alva Bradley to fire Oscar Vitt as the team’s manager

June 18, 1940

Joe Medwick is beaned by St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Bowman

June 20, 1940

The Yankees lose to the White Sox, 1 – 0, in 11 innings, their 6th straight loss, then protest a “catch” by Sox LF Moose Solters, contending he dropped the ball in the 2nd inning when he was reaching for his cap. Umpire John Quinn apparently missed the error and the protest is upheld. The game will be replayed September 18, but, for several years, all of today’s records, including Monte Pearson’s loss and Johnny Rigney’s win, will count. It is the first time since 1919 that the Yankees have been shut out in extra innings by one pitcher: they lost on May 19, 1935 in extra innings to two pitchers, Lefty Stewart and Lloyd Brown.

June 20, 1940

Boston loses a pair – and the four-game series -to the Browns, 2 – 1 and 11 – 4, and drops out of first place. The Indians take over first with a 12 – 1 drubbing of the Senators. The new issue of The Sporting News headline reads “‘I’ll be Nice if I Can,’ says Ossie Vitt of Tribe Truce.”

June 21, 1940

Washington rookie Sid Hudson takes a no-hitter into the 9th inning, but the Browns’ Rip Radcliff hits a pop fly double down the right-field line with no outs. A passed ball puts him on third base, but Hudson retires three for a 1 – 0 win. He’ll beat the A’s on a one-hit shutout in August.

June 23, 1940

Bobo Newsom wins his 9th in a row, stopping the Yankees on four hits. The Tigers move to a game and a half in back of the first-place Indians.

June 23, 1940

In Cleveland, 56,659 watch the Indians split with Boston. Cleveland wins the opener, 4 – 1, for their 8th win in a row, then Boston wins the nitecap, 2 – 0, on two Jim Tabor home runs. In the first game, Ted Williams and Doc Cramer collide chasing a fly ball. Williams is knocked unconscious and the ball goes for an inside-the-park home run.

June 23, 1940

With 52,657 in attendance at the Polo Grounds, the Giants’ Billy Jurges is hit on the head by a pitch thrown by Bucky Walters of the Reds. He leaves the field on a stretcher. A shaken Walters then allows two runs and is lifted. The Giants have a 4 – 2 lead with two out in the 9th, but the Reds score five runs on six hits to win, 7 – 4. Cincy takes the second game, 2 – 0. Jurges will stay in the hospital six days and the Giants will go 39-61 and tailspin from second place to sixth after his injury.

June 25, 1940

The Cubs score five times in the 13th to beat the Dodgers, 8 – 3. Claude Passeau pitches four innings of relief for the win. It’s the Dodgers’ 7th loss in nine games.

June 26, 1940

1940 – Sam Chapman is 5 for 5, including a grand slam, to lead the Browns to a win over the A’s.

June 27, 1940

Bobo Newsom (10-1) wins his 10th in a row as the 2nd place Tigers whip St. Louis, 2 – 1. Detroit manages just three hits, but two are homers by Hank Greenberg and Charlie Gehringer.

June 27, 1940

To honor the lyricist of Take Me Out to the Ballgame, Jack Norworth Day is celebrated at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Neither Norworth nor his partner Albert Von Tilzer, who wrote the music, had ever seen a game when they created the song in 1908.

June 28, 1940

Johnny Vander Meer, plagued with control problems, is optioned by the Reds to Indianapolis. Vandy was ineffective in the Reds’ pennant drive last year and was knocked out in his only two starts this year.

June 29, 1940

Bob Feller fans 11 White Sox in gaining his 12th win of the year, 7 – 3

July 3, 1940

The Red Sox complete a 12-11 comeback over the A’s, scoring six times in the bottom of the ninth in the Fenway Park afternoon tilt. Boston, having trailed by seven runs after seven innings, ties the game in the final frame thanks to Ted Williams’ three-run homer, and wins with Jimmie Foxx’s walk-off round-tripper.

July 4, 1940

Ab Wright of Minneapolis (American Association) follows one home run in a morning game of a holiday doubleheader with four home runs and a triple – 19 total bases – against St. Paul.

July 5, 1940

The Brooklyn Dodgers beat Boston, 6 – 2, in 20 innings lasting 5 hours and 19 minutes. The two teams’ epic marathon ties record-setters of 1920 and 1939.

July 9, 1940

At the 1940 All-Star Game in Sportsman’s Park, five National League hurlers combine to throw the first shutout in All-Star history. Paul Derringer, Bucky Walters, Whit Wyatt, Larry French and Carl Hubbell three-hit the junior circuit, 4 – 0, with the help of Max West’s three-run homer.

July 13, 1940

In a twin bill against St. Louis, Joe DiMaggio hits three homers and drives in nine runs. The Yankee outfielder’s offensive outburst contributes to the Bronx Bombers’ sweep of the Browns in New York, 10-4 and 12-6.

July 14, 1940

Freddie Fitzsimmons of the Brooklyn Dodgers wins his 200th career game

July 19, 1940

1940 – Buddy Rosar of the Yanks hits for the cycle; Joe Cronin will do it August 2nd, and Joe Gordon on September 8th.

July 26, 1940

New York P Spud Chandler beats the White Sox with his bat, knocking in six runs with a single and two home runs, one a grand slam off Pete Appleton. The six RBI ties the American League record held by Appleton, George Uhle and Wes Ferrell.

July 28, 1940

King Kong Keller clouts three home runs for the New York Yankees in a 10 – 9 win over Chicago in the first game of a doubleheader split.

July 30, 1940

Veteran Lou Finney hits so well for the Red Sox early in the season that manager Joe Cronin must make a place for him in the lineup.

August 2, 1940

In Detroit, the Red Sox pound 14 hits in beating the Tigers, 12 – 9. Shortstop Joe Cronin is 4 for 5 and hits for the cycle, the 5th in Sox history. Cronin cycled in 1929, not the first player to cycle twice, but the first to do it a decade apart. His 8th-inning homer, off Archie McKain, follows a Doc Cramer triple and ices it for the Sox. Boston also gets homers from Dom DiMaggio and catcher Jimmie Foxx, his 23rd. Ted Williams, pinch-hitting in the 4th, draws a walk. Jack Wilson beats Tom Seats, with both pitching in relief.

August 3, 1940

Willard Hershberger is found dead in his room after taking his own life at the Copley Plaza Hotel

August 4, 1940

In Boston, the two teams dedicate the game in memory of Willard Hershberger, then Frank McCormick drives in six runs to lead the Reds to a 12 – 9 win over the Bees after Bucky Walters loses the opener, his third straight defeat.

August 4, 1940

Jimmie Foxx, who started as a catcher in 1925, is behind the plate for the Red Sox to catch a 7 – 3 win for long-time teammate Lefty Grove. Foxx cracks his 24th home run to start the Sox on an 8-game skein in which they will hit 20 homers.

August 5, 1940

In a rain-shortened 4-0 victory over the Tigers, Silent John Whitehead of the St. Louis Browns pitches a six-inning no-hitter. The victory will be the quiet Texan’s only victory this season.

August 6, 1940

Rookie Sid Hudson one-hits the A’s on his way to a 17-win season for the hapless Senators. It’s his second one-hit shutout this year. Hudson pitched for the Sanford Lookouts (Class D Florida State League) last year and was 24-4.

August 7, 1940

Dodgers beat the Giants, 8 – 4, on Mel Ott Night at the Polo Grounds.

August 8, 1940

 Tiny Bonham makes his major league debut for the Yankees and loses‚ 4 – 1‚ to Fritz Ostermueller. Bonham‚ brought up to replace the sore-armed Lefty Gomez‚ will still end the season at 9-3‚ complete 10 games‚ and toss three shutouts. His ERA will be 1.90 but Bob Feller will lead the American League at 2.61, although some will consider Bonham the title holder.

August 8, 1940

The Dodgers get an awning

August 9, 1940

Steve Sundra posts his first win of the year for the Yankees. The Yankees, at 51-51, seem certain to be out of the running for their 5th straight championship. However, they will go 37-15 the rest of the way and actually make the top for a few hours on September 11th. The Yanks will ultimately finish 3rd, losing three straight to the Browns September 15-16th.

August 11, 1940

Pitcher Stan Musial of the Daytona Beach Islanders hurtd his left shoulder while making a shoestring catch in the outfield, ending his pitching career

August 12, 1940

Ernest Lawrence Thayer, author of “Casey at the Bat” dies in Santa Barbara, CA at age 77.

August 12, 1940

Cleveland and Detroit‚ deadlocked for 1st place square off on pitching duel between the two aces‚ Bob Feller and Hal Newhouser

August 13, 1940

1940 – The Indians move two games in front by besting the Tigers again, 6 – 5. Cleveland will win their next two games to go up by 3.

August 14, 1940

1940 – Cleveland’s Al Smith pitches a one-hitter in beating the White Sox for his 13th victory. A 3rd-inning single is the only safety.

August 15, 1940

Chicago ace Claude Passeau tosses a five-hitter and doesn’t allow a runner past first base after the 1st inning as he beats the Reds, 1 – 0. Paul Derringer takes the loss.

August 15, 1940

Dodger SS Pee Wee Reese fractures his heel bone sliding into second base and is out for the rest of the season.

August 16, 1940

Jimmie Foxx hits two round trippers moves him ahead of Lou Gehrig on the all-time list with a total of 495.

August 17, 1940

Jimmie Foxx homers in his 5th straight game as the Red Sox outslug the Senators, 12 – 9. Foxx’s feat sets a club record.

August 17, 1940

Stan Hack’s 4th hit of the game, a 2-out single in the 13th, gives the Cubs a 6 – 5 win over the Pirates. Claude Passeau, the last of five Cub pitchers, is the winner. Veteran Danny MacFayden takes the loss for the Bucs.

August 18, 1940

Henry McHenry, Poppa Ruiz and Ray Brown of the East team up on the second shutout of the East-West Game history, blanking the West, 11-0, in the 1940 East-West Game. Buck Leonard reaches base five times for the winners.

August 18, 1940

Jimmy Powers, sport editor of the Sunday New York Daily News, causes a flap when he suggests the Yankees’ poor play this season can be attributed to “a mass polio epidemic” contracted from Lou Gehrig. The former Yankee first baseman and his roommate, Bill Dickey, file suit and the newspaper retracts the story on September 26 and apologizes.

August 19, 1940

1940 – Hot-hitting Jimmie Foxx belts his 33rd home run, against Cleveland.

August 20, 1940

In the second of two games, Wally Moses steals home in the 10th inning to give the A’s the victory over the White Sox.

August 20, 1940

The Reds score three runs in the 9th – 2 coming home on a single by Frank McCormick – to defeat the Giants, 3 – 2.

August 21, 1940

1940 – Rookie pitcher Charlie Frye belts a 2-run pinch homer to give the Phils a win over the Cubs.

August 22, 1940

1940 – Les Mueller, pitching for Beaumont (Texas League) pitches a no-hitter over Dallas.

August 23, 1940

1940 – The Reds purchase Jimmy Ripple from the Dodgers.

August 24, 1940

The Dodgers split a pair in Pittsburgh, losing the opener, 4 – 3 before winning, 8 – 1. In the nitecap, Joe Gallagher hits a double and homer in the same inning.

August 24, 1940

Ted Williams pitches in doubleheader

August 25, 1940

Lefty Tom George, who started in pro ball in 1907, returns to the mound for York (Interstate League) at age 54, and wins, 3 – 2. He had been inactive for five years.

August 25, 1940

In the second game of a twinbill, the Red Sox explode for 11 runs in the 6th inning. Jimmie Foxx hits his 3rd grand slam of the year in the inning, connecting off the Browns’ Emil Bildilli. The game is called after seven innings, with the Sox ahea,d 17 – 3.

August 26, 1940

Bucky Walters pitches the first-place Reds to a 3 – 2 win over the lowly Phillies. Bucky wins his 18th, driving in two runs with a homer and single. Ancient – 40 in December – Syl Johnson then holds the Reds to three hits to win the nitecap, 6 – 1.

August 26, 1940

Bob Feller rescues Mel Harder in the 7th and the Indians top the Senators, 4 – 3. Hal Trosky’s two-run homer off Dutch Leonard is the big blow for the Tribe. Cleveland leads the idle Tigers by three games.

August 28, 1940

The Cubs recall Dizzy Dean from Dallas and release Billy Rogell.

August 28, 1940

Homestead Grays (Negro League) P Ray Brown earns his 27th consecutive victory over a 2-year span when he shuts out the Baltimore Elite Giants 5 – 0 on a 3-hitter. The win raises his record to 12-0 for the season.

September 6, 1940

1940 – Detroit’s Bobo Newsom wins his 18th and hands Cleveland its 5th straight loss‚ topping the Tribe, 10 – 5. The Indians now lead the American League by a game.

September 8, 1940

Johnny Mize becomes the first player to hit three homers in one game four times in his career

September 10, 1940

1940 – Former major league infielder Sam Crane, serving time for the 1930 murder of his former sweetheart and her boyfriend, starts parole proceedings.

September 11, 1940

1940 – In a doubleheader, the Yankees’ first-game win at Cleveland puts them in first place, the only time they reach that spot. A second-game loss drops them out of first.

September 14, 1940

1940 – The United States, Hawaii, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico meet in the 3rd annual World Amateur Baseball Championship tourney, the first championship series to feature more than 3 participants. Cuba, the host country, is the victor for the 2nd consecutive year. The initial tourney had been held in England in 1938 and was also won by the host country, Great Britain.

September 16, 1940

A rhubarb at Ebbets Field results in a suspension and fine for Leo Durocher for “inciting a riot.” Perhaps better known from the game is the photo showing an obese Brooklyn fan astride George Magerkurth, pummeling the veteran umpire.

September 16, 1940

Called up from the Eastern League in August, Phillies rookie Danny Litwhiler singles in both games of 7 – 1 and 3 – 2 losses to St. Louis, extending his hitting streak to 21 straight games. He will be stopped tomorrow by Whitey Moore at Cincinnati. He will hit .345 in 36 games.

September 16, 1940

Johnny Lucadello  hits homers from each side of the plate Only Wally Schang, in 1916, had accomplished the same in the American League

September 18, 1940

The A’s are mired deep in the cellar, but Connie Mack hits all the right buttons today. He sends four pinch hitters to the plate in the 9th inning versus Detroit, and all four deliver hits.

September 18, 1940

The Reds clinch the National League flag, outdistancing the Dodgers and the late-rushing Cardinals. Bill McKechnie’s Cincinnati team makes only 117 errors during the season, 18 less than any previous team. The .981 fielding mark is the best up to this time. The defense, plus the pitching of Bucky Walters, Paul Derringer, and reliever Joe Beggs, brings the second straight NL flag to the Reds, despite multiple injuries to Ernie Lombardi. The big catcher went down again on September 15th, and the club turns to 39-year-old coach Jimmy Wilson for some of the backstopping. Wilson will end up as a World Series hero.

September 21, 1940

1940 – With the Tigers, Indians, and Yankees neck-and-neck, the Tigers boost their lead to 2 games, as Schoolboy Rowe shuts out Cleveland, 5 – 0. Rowe, seemingly washed up after anchoring the staff through Tiger championships in the mid-1930s, will finish at 16-3.

September 21, 1940

Negro Leagues great Oscar Charleston seen here in 1940 at Perry Stadium when he was player/manager for his hometown Indianapolis Crawfords

September 24, 1940

Boston Red Sox slugger Jimmie Foxx hits his 500th home run

September 25, 1940

Bobo Newsom wins a clutch doubleheader for the Tigers, pitching 2 innings of relief in the opener against the White Sox, and going the distance in the nightcap for his 21st win.

September 25, 1940

Walker Cooper, recently called up from Columbus (American Association), and Mort Cooper, pitching in relief, make up a brother battery in the Cards’ 4 – 3 win over the Reds.

September 27, 1940

Besides Bobo Newsom (21-5), Schoolboy Rowe (16-3), and Tommy Bridges (12-9), the Tigers’ pitching staff combines for a losing record. Needing one victory to gain the title, manager Del Baker decides to withhold Newsom and Rowe and picks Floyd Giebell, an obscure rookie just called in from Buffalo. Giebell shuts out the Indians, 2 – 0, to beat Bob Feller, who gives up just 3 hits. Not eligible for the World Series, Giebell will never win another game in the major leagues. During the game, unruly Cleveland fans shower the field with fruit and vegetables. At one point, a basket of green tomatoes is dropped onto Tigers C Birdie Tebbetts’ head while he sits in the bullpen.

October 2, 1940

The Sullivans become the first father and son to have played in a World Series when Billy Jr. is the Tigers backstop in Game 1 of the Fall Classic at Crosley Field. The Detroit catcher’s dad, Bill Sr., appeared in the postseason in 1906, playing the same position for the White Sox when he went 0-for-21 in the Hitless Wonders’ six-game triumph over the Cubs.

October 3, 1940

10/3/1940 1940 – In the World Series, Jimmy Ripple’s two-run home run in the 3rd inning of Game 2 provides the winning margin as the Cincinnati Reds end the National League’s ten-game Series losing streak with a 5 – 3 win over the Tigers.

October 8, 1940

With the Reds’ 2-1 victory over the Tigers in Game 7 of the Fall Classic, Bill McKechnie becomes the first manager to win a World Series with two different teams. The ‘Deacon’ also piloted the Pirates to a World Championship, beating Washington in seven games in the 1925 Fall Classic.

October 8, 1940

October 8 1940 Detroit Tigers at Cincinatti Reds World Series Radio Broadcast

October 26, 1940

Detroit Tigers outfielder Hank Greenberg is named the American League MVP for second time

November 5, 1940

Hall of Famer Walter Johnson loses a bid to become a member of the U.S. House of Representatives

November 5, 1940

President Franklin D. Roosevelt is re-elected for a third term defeating Wendell Willkie

November 11, 1940

Brooklyn Dodgers acquires pitcher Kirby Higbe from the Philadelphia Phillies for catcher Mickey Livingston, pitchers Bill Crouch and Vito Tamulis, and $100,000

November 12, 1940

Cleveland Indians owner Alva Bradley finally fires manager Oscar Vitt and replaces him with Roger Peckinpaugh

November 17, 1940

Jimmie Wilson is named as the new Chicago Cubs manager

December 3, 1940

The St. Louis Browns purchase pitchers Denny Galehouse and Fritz Ostermueller from the Boston Red Sox

December 4, 1940

The Cubs swap SS Bobby Mattick and OF Jim Gleeson to the Reds for SS Billy Myers. Myers will split his time between Chicago and the minors next year and quit in 1942 rather than take a pay cut.

December 4, 1940

Larry MacPhail continues his dealing and gets his catcher. The Dodgers trade for Mickey Owen, giving Gus Mancuso and $85,000 to the Cardinals.

December 9, 1940

1940 – The Reds trade 3B Lew Riggs to Brooklyn for 2B Pep Young.

December 10, 1940

Umpire Bill Klem retires and is appointed National League chief of staff.

December 10, 1940

The sacrifice fly rule, reinstituted last year, is eliminated for the 1941 season. Though he would hit .400 without the rule change, Ted Williams will have six flies that score runners from third base in 1941.

December 10, 1940

The Giants purchase Morrie Arnovich from the Reds and send SS Wayne Ambler to the Reds for P Milt Shoffner.

December 10, 1940

In Chicago, a curious rule that was designed to “break up the Yankees” is continued by the American League, a rule which prohibits the team winning the championship from trading with any other club. The rule was voted in at the December, 1939 meetings by the seven other AL owners after the New York Yankees won four straight World Series. The major and minor leagues agree that players taken into the military will not count against roster limits.

December 11, 1940

1940 – The Major Leagues extend commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis to another four-year term. They also vote to limit night games to seven per team.

December 12, 1940

1940 – Washington sends Gee Walker to the Red Sox for Doc Cramer. Walker is then packed off to Cleveland with P Jim Bagby and C Gene Desautels for C Frank Pytlak, 3B Odell Hale and P Joe Dobson. Boston also buys OF Pete Fox from Detroit.

December 13, 1940

1940 – Veteran umpire George Moriarty is removed from the active staff and transferred to the American League promotional department.

December 15, 1940

Hall of Fame outfielder “Sliding Billy” Hamilton dies at the age of 74

December 16, 1940

The White Sox ship P Jack Knott to the A’s for IF Dario Lodigiani.

December 20, 1940

Connie Mack announces he has acquired the controlling interest in the A’s

December 21, 1940

1940 – Chicago writers name Cleveland Indians shortstop Lou Boudreau as the outstanding rookie in the major leagues. Boudreau will be honored at the annual January banquet. The Rookie of the Year Award won’t be created until 1947, however.

December 24, 1940

1940 – The Cleveland Indians trade veteran outfielder Ben Chapman to the Washington Senators for pitcher Joe Krakauskas. Cleveland also sells pitcher Johnny Allen to the Browns.

December 25, 1940

South Side Park, the first home of the Chicago White Sox, burns down.

December 30, 1940

1940 – The New York Yankees swap pitcher Monte Pearson to the Cincinnati Reds for a player and cash.

December 31, 1940

The New York Yankees send Bump Hadley to the New York Giants for the waiver price and trade infielder Bill Knickerbocker to the Chicago White Sox for catcher Ken Silvestri. The military will claim Silvestri for the next four years.

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October 17, 2019

The St. Louis Cardinals play their first night game at Sportsman’s Park, against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

February 6, 2022

Nine Major League Baseball Players who debuted in 1940