1940 World Series

1940 {{{country}}} Series
1940 {{{country}}} Series
Dates	October 2–8
Umpires	Bill Klem (NL), Red Ormsby (AL), Lee Ballanfant (NL), Steve Basil (AL)
Hall of Famers	Umpire: Bill Klem ; Reds: Bill McKechnie (mgr.), Ernie Lombardi; Tigers: Earl Averill, Charlie Gehringer, Hank Greenberg, Hal Newhouser
Broadcast
Radio	Mutual
Radio announcers	Red Barber and Bob Elson

The 1940 World Series matched the Cincinnati Reds against the Detroit Tigers, the Reds winning a closely contested seven-game series for their second championship 21 years after their scandal-tainted victory in 1919. This would be the Reds' last World Series championship for 35 years despite appearances in 1961, 1970, and 1972. Meanwhile, Bill Klem worked the last of his record 18 World Series as an umpire.^[1]

Other story lines marked this series. Henry Quillen Buffkin Newsom, the father of Detroit's star pitcher Bobo Newsom, died in a Cincinnati hotel room the day after watching him win Game 1. Newsom came back to hurl a shutout in Game 5 in his memory. Called on to start a third time after a single day of rest by Tiger manager Del Baker, he pitched well in Game 7 until the seventh inning, when the Reds scored two runs to take the lead and eventually the game and the Series.

The Reds' star pitchers Paul Derringer and Bucky Walters won two games apiece, with Derringer winning the decisive seventh game. Walters hurled two complete games, allowing only eight hits and three runs combined. He also hit a home run in Game 6 in the midst of his 4–0 shutout, which sent the Series to a Game 7.

It was redemption of sorts for the Reds, who returned to the World Series after being swept by the Yankees squad in 1939. The Reds' win in Game 2 against Detroit snapped a 10-game losing streak for the National League in the Series going back to Game 6 in 1937.

The victory culminated a somewhat turbulent season for the Reds, who played large stretches of the season without injured All-Star catcher Ernie Lombardi. And on August 3, Lombardi's backup, Willard Hershberger, committed suicide in Boston a day after a defensive lapse cost the Reds a game against the Bees. Hershberger was hitting .309 at the time of his death. The Reds dedicated the rest of the season to "Hershie." Ironically, one of the stars in the World Series was 40-year-old Jimmy Wilson. Wilson had been one of the Reds' coaches before Hershberger's suicide forced him back onto the playing field as Lombardi's backup. With Lombardi hurting, Wilson did the bulk of the catching against Detroit and hit .353 for the Series and recorded the team's only stolen base.

Reds' manager Bill McKechnie became the first manager to win a World Series with two different teams, at the helm of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1925, after trailing three games to one against Walter Johnson and the Washington Senators.

Summary

NL Cincinnati Reds (4) vs. AL Detroit Tigers (3)

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	October 2	Detroit Tigers – 7, Cincinnati Reds – 2	Crosley Field	2:09	31,793^[2]
2	October 3	Detroit Tigers – 3, Cincinnati Reds – 5	Crosley Field	1:54	30,640^[3]
3	October 4	Cincinnati Reds – 4, Detroit Tigers – 7	Briggs Stadium	2:08	52,877^[4]
4	October 5	Cincinnati Reds – 5, Detroit Tigers – 2	Briggs Stadium	2:06	54,093^[5]
5	October 6	Cincinnati Reds – 0, Detroit Tigers – 8	Briggs Stadium	2:26	55,189^[6]
6	October 7	Detroit Tigers – 0, Cincinnati Reds – 4	Crosley Field	2:01	30,481^[7]
7	October 8	Detroit Tigers – 1, Cincinnati Reds – 2	Crosley Field	1:47	26,854^[8]

Matchups

Game 1

Wednesday, October 2, 1940 1:30 pm (ET) at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Detroit	0	5	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	7	10	1
Cincinnati	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	8	3
WP: Bobo Newsom (1–0) LP: Paul Derringer (0–1) Home runs: DET: Bruce Campbell (1) CIN: None

Game 2

Thursday, October 3, 1940 1:30 pm (ET) at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Detroit	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	3	1
Cincinnati	0	2	2	1	0	0	0	0	X	5	9	0
WP: Bucky Walters (1–0) LP: Schoolboy Rowe (0–1) Home runs: DET: None CIN: Jimmy Ripple (1)

Game 3

Friday, October 4, 1940 1:30 pm (ET) at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Michigan
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cincinnati	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	4	10	1
Detroit	0	0	0	1	0	0	4	2	X	7	13	1
WP: Tommy Bridges (1–0) LP: Jim Turner (0–1) Home runs: CIN: None DET: Rudy York (1), Pinky Higgins (1)

Game 4

Saturday, October 5, 1940 1:30 pm (ET) at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Michigan
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cincinnati	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	5	11	1
Detroit	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	5	1
WP: Paul Derringer (1–1) LP: Dizzy Trout (0–1)

Game 5

Sunday, October 6, 1940 1:30 pm (ET) at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Michigan
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cincinnati	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Detroit	0	0	3	4	0	0	0	1	X	8	13	0
WP: Bobo Newsom (2–0) LP: Junior Thompson (0–1) Home runs: CIN: None DET: Hank Greenberg (1)

Game 6

Monday, October 7, 1940 1:30 pm (ET) at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Detroit	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Cincinnati	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	X	4	10	2
WP: Bucky Walters (2–0) LP: Schoolboy Rowe (0–2) Home runs: DET: None CIN: Bucky Walters (1)

Game 7

Tuesday, October 8, 1940 1:30 pm (ET) at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Detroit	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	7	0
Cincinnati	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	X	2	7	1
WP: Paul Derringer (2–1) LP: Bobo Newsom (2–1)

Game 7 was over in a snappy 1 hour, 47 minutes. Detroit and pitcher Bobo Newsom clung to a 1-0 lead until the seventh. Leadoff doubles by Frank McCormick and Jimmy Ripple tied the score, followed by a sacrifice bunt and Billy Myers' sacrifice fly for the game-winning (and Series-winning) run.

Composite line score

1940 World Series (4–3): Cincinnati Reds (NL) over Detroit Tigers (AL)


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cincinnati Reds	5	2	3	3	0	1	2	4	2	22	58	8
Detroit Tigers	2	5	5	5	2	2	4	3	0	28	56	4
Total attendance: 281,927 Average attendance: 40,275 Winning player's share: $5,804 Losing player's share: $3,532^[9]

Home runs by pitchers

Bucky Walters, converted to pitching only after a torn cartilage (not repairable in those days) had slowed him down as a runner, was the fourth National League pitcher to hit a home run during a World Series game. The others were:

Name/Team	Date	Game/Inning
Rosy Ryan (NYG)	October 6, 1924	Game 3, fourth
Jack Bentley (NYG)	October 8, 1924	Game 5, fifth
Jesse Haines (STL)	October 5, 1926	Game 3, fourth

Notes

^ Nemec, David; Flatow, Scott. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures (2008 ed.). New York: Signet Book, Penguin Group. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0.
^ "1940 World Series Game 1 – Detroit Tigers vs. Cincinnati Reds". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
^ "1940 World Series Game 2 – Detroit Tigers vs. Cincinnati Reds". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
^ "1940 World Series Game 3 – Cincinnati Reds vs. Detroit Tigers". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
^ "1940 World Series Game 4 – Cincinnati Reds vs. Detroit Tigers". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
^ "1940 World Series Game 5 – Cincinnati Reds vs. Detroit Tigers". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
^ "1940 World Series Game 6 – Detroit Tigers vs. Cincinnati Reds". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
^ "1940 World Series Game 7 – Detroit Tigers vs. Cincinnati Reds". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
^ "World Series Gate Receipts and Player Shares". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved June 14, 2009.

References

Cohen, Richard M.; Neft, David S. (1990). The World Series: Complete Play-By-Play of Every Game, 1903–1989. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 179–183. ISBN 0-312-03960-3.
Reichler, Joseph (1982). The Baseball Encyclopedia (5th ed.). Macmillan Publishing. p. 2148. ISBN 0-02-579010-2.

External links

1940 World Series at WorldSeries.com via MLB.com
1940 World Series at Baseball Almanac
1940 World Series at Baseball-Reference.com
The 1940 Post-Season Games (box scores and play-by-play) at Retrosheet
History of the World Series - 1940 at The Sporting News. Archived from the original in May 2006.
Cincinnati Reds History
Detroit Tigers History

[1] Nemec, David; Flatow, Scott. Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures (2008 ed.). New York: Signet Book, Penguin Group. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0.

[Game1-2] "1940 World Series Game 1 – Detroit Tigers vs. Cincinnati Reds". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.

[Game2-3] "1940 World Series Game 2 – Detroit Tigers vs. Cincinnati Reds". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.

[Game3-4] "1940 World Series Game 3 – Cincinnati Reds vs. Detroit Tigers". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.

[Game4-5] "1940 World Series Game 4 – Cincinnati Reds vs. Detroit Tigers". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.

[Game5-6] "1940 World Series Game 5 – Cincinnati Reds vs. Detroit Tigers". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.

[Game6-7] "1940 World Series Game 6 – Detroit Tigers vs. Cincinnati Reds". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.

[Game7-8] "1940 World Series Game 7 – Detroit Tigers vs. Cincinnati Reds". Retrosheet. Retrieved September 13, 2009.

[wsshares-9] "World Series Gate Receipts and Player Shares". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved June 14, 2009.

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v t e Cincinnati Reds 1940 World Series champions
3 Jimmie Wilson 4 Ernie Lombardi 6 Bill Baker 10 Frank McCormick (NL MVP) 11 Lonny Frey 12 Billy Myers 15 Lew Riggs 17 Eddie Joost 18 Billy Werber 19 Lefty Guise 20 Mike McCormick 21 Morrie Arnovich 22 Jimmy Ripple 23 Harry Craft 24 Ival Goodman 30 Paul Derringer 31 Bucky Walters 33 Johnny Vander Meer 34 Jim Turner 35 Whitey Moore 37 Milt Shoffner 39 Junior Thompson 40 Johnny Hutchings 41 Elmer Riddle 43 Joe Beggs
Manager 1 Bill McKechnie Coaches 2 Hank Gowdy 3 Jimmie Wilson
Regular season

v t e Major League Baseball on Mutual
Related programs	Major League Baseball Game of the Day
Related articles	Major League Baseball on the radio
Commentators	All-Star Game World Series Game of the Week
Key figures	Mel Allen Red Barber Buddy Blattner Jack Brickhouse Jim Britt Dizzy Dean Jimmy Dudley Don Dunphy Bob Elson Gene Elston Earl Gillespie Art Gleeson Gabriel Heatter Al Helfer Fred Hoey Waite Hoyt Gene Kirby France Laux Arch McDonald Bob Neal Van Patrick Bill Slater Bob Wolff
Lore	"Slaughter's Mad Dash" (1946) "Shot Heard 'Round the World" (1951) "The Catch" (1954) Don Larsen's perfect game (1956)
All-Star Game	1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956
World Series	1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956