Cardinals manager Ray Blades lost the confidence of his pitching staff. Then he lost the confidence of the team owner. Naturally, he lost his job.
On June 7, 1940, the Cardinals fired Blades and replaced him with Billy Southworth. Cardinals owner Sam Breadon made both decisions without consulting his top baseball executive, Branch Rickey.
Blades had been Rickey’s choice to be manager. By firing Rickey’s personal favorite and keeping the executive out of the decision-making process, Breadon made it clear who was boss. In doing so, he damaged the relationship with Rickey. Two years later, in October 1942, Rickey resigned and became general manager of the Dodgers.
Star pupil
The connection between Rickey and Blades took root in 1920 when Rickey, then Cardinals manager, discovered the outfielder at a tryout camp. Rickey said Blades “ran like a deer,” according to Rickey’s biographer, Murray Polner.
Blades made his big-league debut in 1922. He played 10 seasons with the Cardinals and hit .301 with a .395 on-base percentage. Rickey was his manager from 1922-25.
After Rickey moved fulltime into the front office, he continued to mentor Blades, grooming him for leadership opportunities. Blades was a player-coach with St. Louis from 1930-32. Rickey then made Blades a manager, giving him prominent assignments within the farm system Rickey had built.
Blades managed the Cardinals’ Columbus (Ohio) club from 1933-35 and their Rochester (N.Y.) affiliate from 1936-38.
Manager moves
During the 1938 season, Rickey clashed with Cardinals manager Frankie Frisch. Rickey wanted Frisch out. Frisch was a favorite of Breadon. About this time, the Cubs began wooing Rickey for their top front-office job.
Faced with the prospect of losing Rickey to the Cubs, Breadon reluctantly allowed Frisch to be fired in September 1938. Rickey selected Blades to replace Frisch.
Blades led the 1939 Cardinals to a 92-61 record and second-place finish. His pitching staff had the fewest complete games (45) in the major leagues. At the time, most starting pitchers wanted and expected to pitch complete games. Blades had a different approach, believing a team should utilize whichever pitcher could be most effective.
Because of the Cardinals’ good record in 1939, Blades’ steady use of relievers was tolerated. When the Cardinals started poorly in 1940, though, Blades’ handling of the pitching staff became an issue.
Trouble in St. Louis
The 1940 Cardinals lost six of their first eight games and 16 of their first 24. Their slugger, Joe Medwick, was miffed at Blades. Pouting, Medwick went into a slump.
Published reports indicated Blades would be fired. Breadon issued a denial, telling The Sporting News, “I’m not thinking of any change now. Sure, we’re disappointed, but the failure of the Cardinals cannot be blamed on the manager.”
On June 4, the Cardinals played their first home night game. What was supposed to be a celebratory occasion turned into an embarrassment. The Dodgers scored five runs in the first inning. Fans booed and threw bottles onto the field. The Dodgers rolled to a 10-1 victory. Breadon decided then a change was necessary.
The plot thickens
On June 5, Breadon contacted Oliver French, president of the Rochester farm team, and arranged to meet in New York City. The Rochester club was playing a series in Newark, N.J. French called his manager, Southworth, and asked him to come to the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan. When Southworth arrived, Breadon was there, according to Southworth biographer John C. Skipper.
Breadon informed Southworth he would replace Blades.
With the Cardinals’ record at 14-24, Breadon announced the firing of Blades and hiring of Southworth on June 7 at St. Louis. The Sporting News described the moves as “impulsive.”
“Branch Rickey was not even informed by Breadon on either of these moves … While Breadon was away doing his plotting, Rickey was telling sports writers that no change was contemplated,” wrote Dick Farrington of The Sporting News.
Though Rickey respected Southworth and had helped him revive his managerial career in the Cardinals’ system, “Rickey had been holding out for more time on Blades.”
Breadon said firing Blades was necessary because “the team was in a rut,” adding, “I like Ray and I’m sorry it had to happen. It hurt me a whole lot to do it … I have no criticism to make on his strategical moves.”
The Sporting News, however, reported that “the entire (pitching) staff was demoralized” by Blades’ handling of the starters.
Southworth led the Cardinals to two World Series championships (1942 and ’44) and three consecutive National League pennants (1942-44) before resigning after the 1945 season.
Blades became a coach with the 1942 Reds. After Rickey joined the Dodgers, he hired Blades. From 1944-46, Blades managed the Dodgers’ St. Paul (Minn.) affiliate. He was a Dodgers coach in 1947 and ’48.
In 1951, Blades returned to St. Louis as a coach on the staff of Cardinals manager Marty Marion. Blades also was a Cubs coach from 1953-56.
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