After the hitting explosion of 1930, the owners decided to take some of the rabbit out of the baseball.
Picked to defend their 1930 National League championship, the Cardinals made few changes for 1931.
- Righthand pitcher Paul Derringer was recalled. He would win 18 and lose only eight in '31.
- Branch Rickey decided to keep outstanding prospect Dizzy Dean in the minors for another year.
The
Cards started strong and never let up.
- After moving in and out of first place the first weeks of the season, the Redbirds took over the top spot on Memorial Day and never gave it up.
- Gabby Street's club led the league in both runs scored (5.3 per game) and runs allowed (4.0 per game).
- They won the pennant by 13 games over the New York Giants.
L-R: Chick Hafey, George Watkins, Pepper Martin, Walter Roettger
The eight-man lineup had no weak links.
- The lowest batting average among the regulars was C Jimmie Wilson's .274.
- The top hitters were OF Chick Hafey (.349) and 1B Jim Bottomley (.348).
- Hafey also led the club in RBI with 95 and HRs with 16.
The pitching staff boasted six hurlers with double-digit wins.
- Wild Bill Hallahan led the club in victories with 19.
- In addition to Derringer's 18 wins, Burleigh Grimes won 17 while Jesse Haines won 12, and Flint Rehm and Syl Johnson added 11 each.
The Philadelphia Athletics won their third straight American League flag.
- Like the Cards, they took control early and never looked back.
- An incredible 17-game winning streak put them up five games on May 25.
- They were never headed again, finishing 13.5 games on top of the Yankees.
Like the Cardinals, the A's led their league in runs scored (5.6 per game) and runs allowed (4.1).
- Lefty Grove had as good a season as any pitcher in history, winning 31 and losing four.
- George Earnshaw went 21-7 while Rube Walberg also had 20 wins with 12 losses.
- OF Al Simmons led the hitters with a .390 average and 128 RBIs.
- 1B Jimmie Foxx topped the club with 30 homers, eight more than Simmons.
Game One: Sportsman's Park
Attendance: 38,529
Time of Game: 1:55
Athletics 6
Cardinals 2
WP:
Lefty Grove; LP:
Paul Derringer
- The Cards started fast with two in the first off Grove. Bottomley singled in the first run and Pepper Martin's two-out double knocked home the other.
- But they couldn't score any more despite accumulating 12 hits.
- The Athletics struck for four runs in the third off Derringer, all scoring with two outs.
- That was more than enough for Grove although Philly added two more in the 7th on Al Simmons's two-run clout.
L-R: Al Simmons swats two-run homer in Game One.
Game Two: Sportsman's Park
Attendance: 35,947
Time of Game: 1:49
Cardinals 2
Athletics 0
WP:
Bill Hallahan; LP:
George Earnshaw
- Earnshaw pitched well, allowing only six hits on two runs.
- But Hallahan pitched even better, shutting down the heavy-hitting A's on three hits.
- Wilson drove in the first run with a flyball, and Charlie Gelbert plated the insurance tally on a fielder's choice.
Game Three: Shibe Park
Attendance: 32,295 Time of Game: 2:10
Cardinals 5
Athletics 2
WP:
Burleigh Grimes; LP:
Lefty Grove
- A day for travel to Philadelphia and a rainout allowed Grove to pitch again with three days rest.
- The Redbirds got 12 hits off him again, but this time scored five runs.
- Wilson's single and Charlie Gelbert's lineout plated two in the 2nd.
- Burleigh Grimes aided his own cause by singling in two runs in the fourth.
- Bottomley added a fifth run on a double in the 9th.
- Al Simmons clouted a home run in the bottom of the 9th to round out the scoring.
Game Four: Shibe Park
Attendance: 32,295
Time of Game: 1:58
Athletics 3 Cardinals 0
WP: George Earnshaw; LP: Syl Johnson
- The A's evened the series behind Earnshaw's two-hitter.
- Syl Johnson pitched well, allowing only three runs.
L-R:
A's congratulate Jimmy Foxx on his Game 4 homer
Fans gather in downtown St. Louis to listen to Game 4 on the radio.
Game Five: Shibe Park
Attendance: 32,295
Time of Game: 1:56
Cardinals 5
Athletics 1
WP:
Bill Hallahan; LP:
Waite Hoyt
- The Cards took the pivotal fifth game behind Hallahan, who scattered nine hits.
- 3B Pepper Martin drove in four of the visitors' five runs with a two-run homer and a two-run single.
Game 5: Jimmie Wilson tags out Al Simmons in the 2nd inning.
Game Six: Sportsman's Park
Attendance: 39,401
Time of Game: 1:57
Athletics 8
Cardinals 1
WP:
Lefty Grove; LP:
Paul Derringer
- The A's stayed alive by knocking out Derringer with a four-run 5th, then adding another four spot off Jim Lindsey in the 7th.
- That allowed Grove to coast, finishing with a five-hitter.
Game Seven: Sportsman's Park
Attendance: 20,805
Time of Game: 1:57
Cardinals 4 Athletics 2
WP: Burleigh Grimes; LP: George Earnshaw
- The Cards jumped ahead in the bottom of the first on two singles, a sacrifice, a wild pitch, a walk, and a double steal.
- George Watkins clouted a two-run homer in the 3rd that would end up being the difference in the game.
- The A's mounted a last-ditch rally in the 9th on two walks and a single. When another single added a second tally, Street summoned Hallahan, who got the last out on a flyout.
Read the complete story of Game 7 ...
Pepper Martin had a sensational series for the Cardinals.
- He hit .500 (12 for 24) off the American League's best staff, scored five runs, and drove in five.
- He also stole five bases on future Hall of Fame C Mickey Cochrane.
- Not known for his fielding, Pepper played errorless ball at third base.
