On This Date in Sports October 5, 1941: Passed Ball
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
The Brooklyn Dodgers see a chance to even the World Series in Game 4 against the New York Yankees slip through their fingers. With two outs in the ninth, and Brooklyn leading 4-3, Tommy Heinrich swings and misses at strike three, but Catcher Mickey Owen is unable to corral the ball, allowing Heinrich to reach base. The Yankees would go on to score four runs and won the game 7-4 and won the series in five games.
It had been 21 years since Brooklyn last won a pennant. A loyal fan base who came to call their teams Dem Bums for their lack of success. The Dodgers had a magical season under Leo Durocher in 1941, winning 100 games as they finished two and a half games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees were in the World Series for the 12th time in 20 years, posting a record of 101-53 for Manager Joe McCarthy.
Red Ruffing made the start of the Yankees in Game 1 in the Bronx, while Curt Davis started for Brooklyn. Joe Gordon started the Yankees offense with a home run in the second; in the fourth, they added another run on an RBI double by Bill Dickey. Brooklyn finally dented the scoreboard on a triple by Mickey Owen. Gordon and the Yankees answered in the sixth to make it 3-1. Lew Riggs would knock in a run in the seventh, but the Yankees would hold on, winning 3-2.
In Game 2, the Yankees had Spud Chandler on the mound against Whit Wyatt. The Yankees got runs in the second and third, but the Dodgers answered with hits from Owen and Pee Wee Reese in the fifth to tie the game. Dolph Camilli would drive in a run in the sixth to give Brooklyn its first lead of the series. Brooklyn would win the game 3-2, getting a valuable split in the Bronx.
Game 3 at Ebbets Field would be just as tight as neither team scored over the first seven innings. The Yankees broke through in the eighth on RBI hits from Charlie Keller and Joe DiMaggio. Pee Wee Reese got a run back, but it was all Brooklyn would manage as the Yankees won 2-1behind the pitching of Marius Russo.
Atley Donald got the start for the Yankees in Game 4, while Kirby Higbe started for the Dodgers. Once again, the Yankees drew first blood, as Keller drove in a run in the first, Johnny Sturm add two more runs in the fourth making the score 3-0. Jimmy Wasdell got thee Dodgers back in the game with a two-run double in the fourth. In the fifth, the Dodgers took a 4-3 lead on a two-run shot by Pete Reiser. Hugh Casey played a significant role in the Dodgers turnaround in Game 4 as the had the Yankees off-balance for four innings. Looking to close out the game, Casey quickly retired the first two batters in the ninth before Tommy Heinrich came to the plate. Again, Casey dominated getting Heinrich to swing and miss. However, the ball went to the backstop after bouncing out of Mickey Owen’s glove. Joe DiMaggio followed with a single, as Charlie Keller drove in two runs to give the Yankees the lead. Following a walk to Bill Dickey, Joe Gordon added more with his down double as Johnny Murphy earned the win, with the Yankees taking command of the series with a 7-4 win.
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Tiny Bonham made the start for the Yankees and was opposed by Whit Wyatt in Game 5. The Yankees scored the game’s first run on a Wild Pitch, while Joe Gordon drove second run in the second inning. The Dodgers cut the deficit on an RBI by Pete Reiser in the third. In the fifth Tommy Heinrich homered to burry the Dodgers. The Yankees would win the game 3-1, taking the World Series in five games.
This first of 11 times, the Yankees and Dodgers met in the World Series, more than any other Fall Classic rivalry.