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The Cleveland Indians didn't have far to travel to begin the 1948 World Series. The Tribe had fashioned an 8-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in the first-ever AL pennant playoff, and awaiting Cleveland just a short trip south of Fenway were the Boston Braves, champions of the National League.
The Series shaped up as a battle of stellar pitching staffs - the Indians featured a trio of top-notch starters in Bob Feller, Bob Lemon and Gene Bearden, while the Braves boasted the famous pair of Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain.
The respective lineups were not without punch either - the Braves' Billy Southworth could pencil in five .300 hitters into his everyday lineup; Cleveland's player-manager Lou Boudreau led his squad with a .355 mark and had two big sluggers in Ken Keltner and Joe Gordon with a pair of outstanding outfielders in Larry Doby and Dale Mitchell.
The Series got underway at Braves Field on Wednesday, October 6, with a pitching matchup for the ages as fireballer Bob Feller (19-15, 3.56 ERA) squared off against the crafty Johnny Sain (24-15, 2.60). True to its billing, the game was a pitcher's duel. Both hurlers went the distance, with Feller allowing just two hits while Sain surrendered only four. The difference-maker came in the eighth inning as Feller picker Phil Masi off second base, but umpire Bill Stewart called him safe (photos would later reveal that Masi should have been called out). Tommy Holmes later singled Masi home with the game's only run to give Boston the victory.
The next afternoon the teams once again took the field before a capacity crowd of over 39,000. Another outstanding pitching matchup was on the bill as Warren Spahn (15-12, 3.71 ERA) took on Cleveland's Bob Lemon (20-14, 2.82). Boston took advantage of a fielding error in the first by Joe Gordon to take the early 1-0 lead, but Cleveland came back to score two in the fourth and another in the fifth to chase Spahn and take a 3-1 lead. This proved more than enough for Lemon, who went the distance, scattering eight hits in a 4-1 victory to even the Series, 1-1.
The scene shifted to massive Cleveland Stadium where a Series-record 70,306 fans watched Gene Bearden (20-7, 2.43 ERA) take on Vern Bickford (11-5, 3.27). Cleveland scored an unearned run in the third on a throwing error by Alvin Dark and added another in the fourth. That proved to be all the scoring in the game as Bearden was simply masterful in a five-hit shutout to put the Tribe ahead in the Series, 2-1.
For the fourth game, Cleveland skipper Boudreau elected to start Steve Gromek, who had made only nine starts all season, while the Braves sent Johnny Sain out on just two days' rest. The Indians jumped on Sain in the first inning as Mitchell led off with a single and was then doubled home by Boudreau. Cleveland added a run in the third as Larry Doby belted a home-run off Sain to make it 2-0. The Braves could not solve Gromek, breaking through only in the seventh inning when Marv Rickert blasted a circuit clout for Boston's only run of the contest. Gromek finished up a complete game, 2-1 victory to put the Indians in firm control of the Series, which now stood at three games to one.
With the Tribe on the verge of their first championship in 28 years, a record-crowd of 86,288 crammed into Cleveland Stadium for game five. Game One's hard-luck loser, Bob Feller, looked to close out the Series for Cleveland, while the Braves handed the ball (and their season) to journeyman Nels Potter, who had pitched for three teams during the regular season. The first four games of the Series were close, well-pitched battles, but Game 5 turned into a slugfest. The Braves burst out with three first-inning runs against Feller, holding a 4-1 lead in the fourth when Potter imploded and Cleveland plated four runs (three on a homer by Jim Hegan) to send the pitcher to the showers. The Braves knotted the game in the sixth on a Bill Salkeld blast, and then sent Feller packing with a six-run seventh to blow the game open. The Braves won the game by a score of 11-5, ensuring a return to Boston for game six.
With the season once again on the line, the Braves went to Bill Voiselle (13-13, 3.63 ERA), while the Indians' gave the ball to Bob Lemon. A pair of third-inning doubles gave the Tribe the early lead, but Boston responded with a rally in the fourth to tie things up. Cleveland surged ahead in the sixth as Joe Gordon led off with a homer and Eddie Robinson added an RBI single. Cleveland added an insurance run in the eighth to make it 4-1. The Braves showed heart in the bottom of the eighth, rallying for two runs by stringing together two doubles, a walk and a single before Gene Bearden, in relief of Lemon, fielded a grounder off the bat of Mike McCormick to end the rally. Boston put the lead-off man on in the ninth, but Bearden got a double play and a fly ball out to end the Series and give the Indians their first title since 1920.
Copyright 1948 by the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball
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Audio |
Mel Allen & Jim Britt, play-by-play
"Gillette's Cavalcade of Sports"
WOR - New York.
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| Series Game x Game |
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R |
H |
E |
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| Game 1 - October 6, 1948 |
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Indians |
0 |
4 |
0 |
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| Braves |
1 |
2 |
2 |
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| Game 2 - October 7, 1948 |
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Indians |
4 |
8 |
1 |
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| Braves |
1 |
8 |
3 |
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| Game 3 - October 8, 1948 |
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Braves |
0 |
5 |
1 |
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| Indians |
2 |
5 |
0 |
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| Game 4 - October 9, 1948 |
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Braves |
1 |
7 |
0 |
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| Indians |
2 |
5 |
0 |
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| Game 5 - October 10, 1948 |
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Braves |
11 |
12 |
0 |
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| Indians |
5 |
6 |
2 |
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| Game 6 - October 11, 1948 |
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Indians |
4 |
10 |
0 |
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| Braves |
3 |
9 |
0 |
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Indians win Series, 4-2
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