In 1951, the Dodgers dominated the Cardinals in a way few have. It wasn’t just future Hall of Famers Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese and Duke Snider who did the damage. Players such as Wayne Terwilliger joined in, too.
A second baseman who played nine years in the majors, Terwilliger built a second career as a coach and manager.
Though he was valued more for his fielding than his hitting, Terwilliger helped the Dodgers extend a streak of success against the Cardinals during his short stay with them in 1951.
War and baseball
A Michigan native, Terwilliger joined the Marines in 1943 and saw combat in Saipan and Iwo Jima. After the war, he enrolled at Western Michigan University and played varsity baseball and basketball. He signed with the Cubs in 1948 after impressing them in a tryout.
Called up to the Cubs from the minors in August 1949, Terwilliger, 24, caught the attention of manager Frankie Frisch, the former standout second baseman for the Giants and Cardinals. Terwilliger was the Opening Day second baseman for Frisch with the Cubs in 1950 and 1951.
On June 15, 1951, Terwilliger was part of a blockbuster trade between the Cubs and Dodgers. The Cubs sent Terwilliger, outfielder Andy Pafko, pitcher Johnny Schmitz and catcher Rube Walker to the Dodgers for catcher Bruce Edwards, pitcher Joe Hatten, outfielder Gene Hermanski and infielder Eddie Miksis.
The key player for the Dodgers was Pafko, a power hitter with a strong arm. With Pafko in left, Duke Snider in center and Carl Furillo in right, the Dodgers had what the Cardinals’ Stan Musial called “the best-throwing outfield I ever saw.”
Terwilliger was acquired to be a backup to Jackie Robinson at second. It was a role that gave him little chance to play.
Late drama
The Cardinals and Dodgers split the first four games they played against one another in 1951. After that, the Dodgers went on a roll, winning seven in a row versus the Cardinals entering their game on July 21, 1951, a Saturday afternoon, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.
The Dodgers led, 2-0, until Cardinals left fielder Hal Rice hit a two-run home run in the eighth against starter Don Newcombe, tying the score.
Facing Cardinals reliever Tom Poholsky, Jackie Robinson led off the bottom of the ninth by looping a single to shallow left-center for his fourth consecutive hit.
The Cardinals’ infielders moved in, anticipating a sacrifice attempt from the next batter, Gil Hodges. On the first pitch, Hodges feigned a bunt, drawing the infielders closer. On the next pitch, he swung away and lashed a single to left.
As Robinson neared second, he saw Hal Rice in left didn’t charge the ball. Robinson turned up the speed and raced to third. Rice’s hurried throw was off the mark. Robinson got in safely and Hodges continued to second.
Roy Campanella was walked intentionally, loading the bases.
Good move
With a left-handed batter, Don Thompson, due up next, Cardinals manager Marty Marion relieved Poholsky with a left-hander, Harry Brecheen. Dodgers manager Chuck Dressen countered with Terwilliger, who batted from the right side. It was his first plate appearance in a week.
The Cardinals infielders came way in and “seemed to be expecting” the suicide squeeze bunt from Terwilliger, the New York Daily News observed.
Brecheen threw two outside pitches, hoping to foil a squeeze play, but Terwilliger offered at neither. On the third pitch, Terwilliger swung and hit a single through the drawn-in infield, scoring Robinson with the winning run and increasing the Dodgers’ win streak versus the Cardinals to eight. Boxscore
“The Cardinals continued to be the softest touch seen in these parts since Diamond Jim Brady left Broadway,” Bob Broeg wrote in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Dazzling Dodgers
The Dodgers’ 1951 win streak against the Cardinals reached 14 before it ended on Aug. 23. For the season, the Dodgers won 18 of 22 games versus the Cardinals.
Spitball specialist Preacher Roe, a former Cardinal, was 7-0 for the Dodgers against the Cardinals in 1951. Carl Erskine was 4-0.
Most of the Dodgers’ regulars hit Cardinals pitching hard and often. The standouts, in alphabetical order, included:
_ Roy Campanella: .328, six home runs, 19 RBI in 19 games.
_ Carl Furillo: .326, 28 hits in 22 games.
_ Gil Hodges: .301, four home runs, 16 RBI in 22 games.
_ Andy Pafko: .516 on-base percentage, eight hits and eight walks in nine games.
_ Pee Wee Reese: .297, 27 hits in 22 games.
_ Jackie Robinson: .433 on-base percentage, 29 hits and 10 walks in 22 games.
_ Duke Snider: 23 hits, 12 walks, 16 runs scored and 13 RBI in 22 games.
The Giants, who edged the Dodgers for the National League pennant on Bobby Thomson’s home run in the ninth inning of the decisive playoff game, were 11-11 versus the Cardinals in 1951.
Long career
Terwilliger, a .172 hitter versus the Cardinals for his career, had a .538 on-base percentage (three hits, four walks) against them as a Dodger in 1951.
He spent the 1952 season in the minors and returned to the big leagues as the second baseman for the Senators in 1953 and 1954. Terwilliger’s final seasons in the majors were as a reserve for the Giants (1955-56) and Athletics (1959-60).
Terwilliger spent 18 years as a coach in the majors with the Senators (1969-71), Rangers (1972 and 1981-85) and Twins (1986-94). He coached for the Twins against the Cardinals in the 1987 World Series.
Terwilliger also was a manager for 17 years in the minors, mostly in the farm systems of the Senators and Rangers. In 2005, he was 80 when he managed an unaffiliated minor-league team, the Fort Worth Cats, to a Central League title.
In March 1993, when he was a Twins coach, Terwilliger, 67, told Knight-Ridder Newspapers his six rules for a long life:
_ Associate with young people.
_ Get up early.
_ Move with some bounce in your step.
_ A diet with plenty of distilled water, vegetables and chicken.
_ Find time each day to be by yourself.
_ Ignore the aches, pains and varicose veins.
RetroSimba 
Enjoyed reading this post and doing a little research. Wayne Terwilliger was one of 5 surviving MLB players to play from the 1940’s to the 1960’s. The 4 surviving former players are Bobby Shantz, Curt Simmons, Johnny Groth and Del Crandell. During his rookie season, over 3 games from August 18 to August 20, he reached base on 9 consecutive at bat’s. From what I read, only 4 other rookies have accomplished such a streak. He also played for 4 franchises, which in a sense, no longer exist.
Thanks, Phillip. I like the info you provided and I appreciate you taking the time to find it.
Anytime I hear Rube Walker I immediately think about that guy with the messed up face in the movie, “Mask.” Apparently, that was a baseball card he was hell-bent on acquiring.
Thanks, Gary. Rube Walker was an interesting character. It always intrigued me that his roommate with the Dodgers was Pee Wee Reese. Baseball brought together a guy named Rube from North Carolina and a guy named Pee Wee from Kentucky and made them roommates in Brooklyn.