RetroSimba

On a typical sweltering July afternoon in St. Louis, baseball fans soothed themselves with refreshing thoughts of a possible October World Series between the Browns and the Cardinals.

On July 22, 1922, St. Louis teams simultaneously were atop the standings of the American League and National League for the first time.

The Browns (53-37) had a .589 winning percentage in the American League and the Cardinals (57-35) had a .620 winning percentage in the National League. Their closest pursuers were New York clubs _ Yankees (.559) in the American; Giants (.612) in the National.

Though the title hopes evaporated and New York teams prevailed, St. Louis experienced a baseball euphoria in 1922. As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noted, “With two teams in first place, we feel safe in saying there are more baseball followers in St. Louis than there are Democrats in Georgia.”

Tale of two teams

The 1922 Browns and Cardinals were dissimilar teams.

The Browns were managed by Lee Fohl, a former catcher with a fourth-grade education. The Cardinals’ manager was Branch Rickey, a former catcher with a law degree from the University of Michigan.

The Browns had good pitching (a league-leading 3.38 ERA) and the Cardinals didn’t (a 4.44 ERA that was the second-highest in the league).

Browns fielders ranked in the top half of their league in fewest errors committed (199); the Cardinals made the most errors in their league (240).

Their commonality was hitting. The Browns led their league in runs (868), hits (1,684), triples (94), RBI (785), batting average (.310) and slugging (.453). The Cardinals were league leaders in doubles (280), RBI (787) and slugging (.444).

Each had a .400 hitter _ Browns, George Sisler; Cardinals, Rogers Hornsby.

As Peter Golenbock noted in his book “The Spirit of St. Louis,” “Arguments arose in bars all over St. Louis as to who was the better hitter: Sisler or Hornsby.”

(Hornsby and Sisler respected one another. In his book “My War With Baseball,” Hornsby selected Sisler on his all-time team and said, “He is the greatest fielding first baseman I ever saw … He could hit hard to all fields and was an exceptionally good base runner.” In 1928, Sisler was the Boston Braves first baseman when Hornsby was their player-manager. According to the Post-Dispatch, Hornsby said he was one of Sisler’s “strongest admirers.”)

Sisler in 1922 led the American League in runs (134), hits (246), triples (18), stolen bases (51), batting average (.420) and produced a 41-game hitting streak.

Hornsby achieved the Triple Crown in 1922, leading the National League in batting (.401), home runs (42) and RBI (152). He also was the league leader in runs (141), hits (250), doubles (46), on-base percentage (.459), slugging (.722) and had a 33-game hitting streak. His dominance was reflected by his 450 total bases _ 136 more than the runner-up, Irish Meusel of the Giants at 314. Only Babe Ruth (457 with the 1921 Yankees) has had more total bases in a season than Hornsby.

Besides Sisler, the 1922 Browns featured Ken Williams, who swung a 48-ounce bat and led the league in total bases (367), home runs (39) and RBI (155). Williams had more homers than strikeouts (31) that season. He also swiped 37 bases. Two other 1922 Browns hitters of note: Marty McManus (.312, 34 doubles, 109 RBI) and Baby Doll Jacobson (.317, 16 triples, 102 RBI).

Joining Hornsby in the Cardinals’ attack were Milt Stock (.305, 33 doubles), Specs Toporcer (.324) and a couple of rookie .300 hitters called up in August, Jim Bottomley and Ray Blades.

Turning taunts to cheers

On June 26, 1922, the Browns (40-28) held first place in the American League, while the Cardinals (34-29) were in second behind the Giants (39-23) in the National. Then the Cardinals won 23 of their next 29, averaging six runs per game. The last win in that stretch was the one that moved them into first place in the National while the Browns remained atop the American.

The Cardinals did it with a stirring rally against the Braves.

In the third inning, the scoreboard at Sportsman’s Park showed the final from Cincinnati: Reds, 3, Giants 2. That meant the Cardinals could climb past the Giants and into first if they won.

The Braves, though, had other ideas. They scored three runs in the fourth, stretching their lead to 5-1. Many among the crowd of 15,000 reacted by “heaving taunts” at the Cardinals, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported.

The mood in the stands remained grim when the Cardinals batted in the eighth, trailing 8-3. Facing Frank Miller, a reliever working his sixth inning, Milt Stock led off with a single and Harry McCurdy walked, but Spec Toporcer’s deep liner to right-center was snared by Walton Cruise, a former Cardinal, for the first out.

Joe Schultz, batting for pitcher Jeff Pfeffer, was next. Schultz was a marvel for the 1922 Cardinals. He hit .384 at home and .363 overall with runners in scoring position. As he had all season, Schultz delivered, booming the ball over the head of left fielder Al Nixon for a two-run double, cutting the Boston lead to 8-5.

The next batter, Max Flack, popped up to second baseman Hod Ford for the second out. Then the Cardinals got a big break. Jack Smith bounced a grounder to Ford for what should have been the inning-ending out, but Ford made a wild throw and Smith was safe at first on the error, with Schultz scooting to third.

The mistake extended the inning and allowed Rogers Hornsby to bat. Hornsby lashed a double, driving in Schultz and making the score 8-6. Smith moved to third. Up next was Heinie Mueller, a St. Louisan who had driven in a mere five runs all season. After getting ahead in the count 2-and-0, Mueller looked for a cripple pitch and got it. He singled to center, sending Smith and Hornsby home and tying the score at 8-8. “Upon this, pandemonium broke loose” in the stands, the Globe-Democrat reported.

Braves manager Fred Mitchell lifted Frank Miller, who faced 26 batters in his relief stint, and brought in a rookie, Tim McNamara. Les Mann ran for Mueller. Del Gainer, the first batter to face McNamara, tapped a ball toward third for an infield hit. Then Milt Stock stroked his second single of the inning through the right side, scoring Mann and giving St. Louis a 9-8 lead.

“Bedlam and pandemonium and all its kindred companions broke out in earnest,” the Post-Dispatch reported.

According to the Globe-Democrat, “frenzied fans smashed straw hats, hurled scorecards onto the field and all but tore the stands into pieces.”

Bill Sherdel, who pitched 10 innings in a win two days earlier, was brought in to work the ninth for St. Louis. He held the Braves scoreless, saving the win that put the Cardinals into first place. Boxscore

That afternoon, in Philadelphia, the Browns stomped the Athletics, 10-1, and boosted their lead over the Yankees to 2.5 games. Boxscore

“For the first time in 21 years, since the American League was organized in 1901, the two St. Louis teams simultaneously occupy first place in the major leagues,” the Globe-Democrat noted.

New York, New York

Soon after, the Giants and Yankees were helped by trades made with the Boston clubs. On July 23, the Red Sox dealt third baseman Joe Dugan to the Yankees for four players and $50,000. Dugan hit .286 for the 1922 Yankees and .385 with runners in scoring position. On July 30, the Braves sent pitcher Hugh McQuillan to the Giants for three players and $100,000. McQuillan earned six wins, including one against the Cardinals, for the 1922 Giants.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals went into a tailspin, losing five in a row, including four to the Giants, after the comeback win against the Braves. The Cardinals were 8-14 in August, including 4-11 at home. Their record after July 22 was 28-34.

The Giants (93-61) were National League champions. The Reds (86-68) placed second and the Cardinals (85-69) and Pirates (85-69) shared third.

The Yankees (94-60) prevailed in the American League, one win better than St. Louis (93-61). The Browns lost 14 of 22 against the Yankees during the season.

The World Series was all Giants, who swept to the title.