Cardinals Clubhouse Article

Cardinals Post-Season Play - 1926

The St. Louis Cardinals won the city's first pennant in either league since the World Series began in 1903. Every other NL team had appeared in the Fall Classic before the Redbirds made it.

2B Rogers Hornsby replaced Branch Rickey as manager, with Rickey becoming what today would be called General Manager. Hornsby challenged the team the first day of spring training. If there's anybody in this room who doesn't think we're going to win the pennant, go upstairs now and get your money and go on home, because we don't want you around here.
The added duty as skipper affected the Rajah's hitting, as his average dropped from .403 in '25 when he won the MVP award to a still-respectable. 317. He hit consistently but with little power (11 homers after a league-leading 39 in '25).
Two other Redbirds equalled or bettered their skipper's performance. RF Billy Southworth, obtained in a trade with the Giants on June 14 - perhaps the worst of John McGraw's long and distinguished career - also hit .317 while 3B Les Bell topped the team at .325.
Flaky Flint Rehm won 20 games against seven defeats to lead the hurlers. Bill Sherdel (16-12), veteran Jesse "Pop" Haines (13-4), and Vic Keen (10-9) also reached double figures in victories.
39-year-old Grover Cleveland "Old Pete" Alexander added nine triumphs following his purchase from the Cubs June 22.
The tight race went down to the second-to-last day. The Cards took first place on August 31 by half a game over the Reds. Despite playing their last 24 games on the road, the Birds maintained a lead the rest of the way except for one day when they slipped half a game behind. But Cincy lost seven of eight down the stretch to finish second by two games.

Cardinals Pitchers

L-R: Flint Rehm, Bill Sherdell, Jesse Haines, Grover Cleveland Alexander

After a two-year absence, the Yankees returned to the World Series for the fourth time in six seasons.

Miller Huggins' club finished three games ahead of the Indians.
Led by Babe Ruth, who had the greatest offensive season to that point, New York led the American League in runs with 5.5 per game and in run differential at 0.9 per game.
Ruth clouted 47 homers, 28 more than second-place Al Simmons. The Bambino hit .372, second in the league, and drove in 153 runs, tops in the AL.
Young Lou Gehrig, in his second year as the everyday 1B, hit .313, led the league in triples with 20, and drove in 109 runs.

Yankee Pitchers

L-R: Herb Pennock, Urban Shocker, Dutch Ruether, Waite Hoyt

When the Cardinals played in New York late in the season, Hornsby and several of his players attended games at Yankee Stadium to scout their World Series opponent.

Rogers' mother died in Texas five days before the Series was to begin. The telegram from the family informing him of the news told him to stay where he was.

The Yankees were installed as slight favorites by most oddsmakers.

Game One: Yankee Stadium
Attendance: 61,658 Time of Game: 1:48
Yankees 2 Cardinals 1
WP: Herb Pennock; LP: Bill Sherdel

Each team scored a run in the first, St. Louis on CF Taylor Douthit's double and 1B Jim Bottomley's single and the Yanks on Gehrig's groundout after Sherdel walked the bases loaded.
New York took the lead in the 6th when Ruth singled, was bunted to 2nd, and scored on Gehrig's single.

Game Two: Yankee Stadium
Attendance: 63,600 (Largest crowd in WS history to that point) Time of Game: 1:57
Cardinals 6 Yankees 2
WP: Pete Alexander; LP: Urban Shocker

Alexander gave up two runs in the 2nd on three singles and a wild throw. He allowed only one hit the rest of the way, retiring the last 21 Yankees in a row.
The Cardinals tied the game in the 3rd on Bottomley's single that scored Douthit and RF Billy Southworth who had both singled.
The deadlock continued until the 7th when Southworth socked a three-run HR into the RF stands, scoring C Bob O'Farrell and SS Tommy Thevenow ahead of him.
Thevenow added an insurance run in the top of the 9th with an inside-the-park homer off Sad Sam Jones.

The Cards finally returned to St. Louis for the first time since September 1.

When the train pulled into Union Station, a mob of people were there to stage the pennant celebration the team had missed while on the road.
A police escort led the Cardinals through the crowd to a motorcade through massive crowds in downtown St. Louis.

Game Three: Sportsman's Park
Attendance: 37,708 Time of Game: 1:41
Cardinals 4 Yankees 0
WP: Jesse Haines; LP: Dutch Ruether

Haines shut out the Bronx Bombers on five hits.
The Cards erupted for three runs in the 4th. 3B Les Bell singled and was bunted to second. O'Farrell walked. Thevenow grounded into a forceout but a wild throw on the attempted double play allow Tommy to score. Then Haines helped his own cause with a two-run homer to deep RF.
Bottomley knocked in Southworth with a groundout in the 5th.

Yankee Hitters
Yankees 2B Tony Lazzeri

L-R: Herb Pennock, Urban Shocker, Dutch Ruether, Waite Hoyt

Game Four: Sportsman's Park
Attendance: 38,825 (a record St. Louis crowd) Time of Game: 2:38
Yankees 10 Cardinals 5
WP: Waite Hoyt; LP: Art Reinhart

Ruth set a record that has been tied four times (once by the Babe himself) but never surpassed - three HRs in a World Series game.
Solo clout in the 1st off Flint Rehm
Solo blast in the 3rd off Rehm
Two-run shot in the 7th off Hi Bell
Rehm recalled that Hornsby came to the mound in the first inning and told him not to throw Ruth anything fast. So Babe hit one of Flint's slow curves onto the RF pavilion roof. In the 3rd, Rogers visited the mound again and gave the same advice: nothing fast; Babe was just lucky on the previous at-bat. Rhem again followed his manager's instructions only to watch the ball clear the pavilion roof and break a Chevrolet dealers show window across Grand Avenue.
The Cards plated three in the bottom of the 4th to take a 4-3 lead. The key hits were doubles by Thevenow and Douthit.
But the Yanks regained the lead for good with four in the 5th.

Game Five: Sportsman's Park
Attendance: 39,552 (another record crowd) Time of Game: 2:28
Yankees 3 Cardinals 2
WP: Herb Pennock; LP: Bill Sherdel

St. Louis lost a heartbreaker when the Yanks tied the game with a run in the 9th and got another in the 10th to take a three-to-two games lead heading back to the Big Apple.
The Redbirds got their runs on a double by Bottomley and a single by Bell in the 4th and a double by Bell and a single by O'Farrell in the 7th.
In the fateful 9th, Gehrig led off with a bloop double into LF. Lou went to third on 2B Tony Lazzeri's bunt single. PH Ben Paschal then singled home Gehrig.
SS Mark Koenig started the NY 10th with a single and went to second on a wild pitch. After Ruth walked, cleanup hitter Bob Meusel sacrified the runners to 2nd and 3rd. Hornsby ordered an intentional walk to Gehrig, but the strategy backfired when Sherdel hit 3B Mike Gazella with a pitch to force in the go-ahead run.

Game Six: Yankee Stadium
Attendance: 48,615 Time of Game: 2:05
Cardinals 10 Yankees 2
WP: Pete Alexander; LP: Bob Shawkey

Their backs to the wall, the Cards scored three in the first and never looked back. Bottomley doubled home CF Wattie Holm, then scored himself along with Southworth on Bell's single.
Leading 4-1 in the top of the 7th, the Redbirds salted the game away with a five-spot in the 7th. Southworth's double, Hornsby's single, and Bell's two-run homer drove home the runs.
Old Pete scattered eight hits for his second complete-game victory of the Series. He threw only 29 balls in his 104 pitches.
After the game, Alex told Hornsby that, if needed in Game 7, "I can throw four or five of the damndest balls they ever saw. Maybe a couple of innings. But I won't warm up."