Boston Sports Then and Now

Detroit's Briggs Stadium was the venue for the 1941 All-Star game, as the threat of war loomed over the United States.

July of 1941 was a troubling time for America in general, as the country watched a war in Europe and rising tensions in Asia and anxiously wondered how long it would be before the United States could stay out of battle. If you read “Baseball In ‘41”, historian Robert Creamer, who lived through this time,  it really does indicate that baseball was a great diversion for a lot of people. It was against this backdrop that the game’s best players gathered in Detroit for the All-Star game.

Ted Williams was one of four Boston players to get a place for what would be the ninth All-Star game in baseball’s history. He was joined by second baseman Bobby Doerr in the starting lineup, while first baseman Jimmie Foxx and centerfielder Dom Dimaggio were chosen as reserves.

The starting pitchers were Whit Wyatt for the NL and Bob Feller for the AL. The names make it look like a big advantage for the American League, given Feller’s Hall of Fame career, but at this snapshot in history the Dodgers’ Wyatt was more than a match for the Indians’ ace. Wyatt was on his way to a 22-win season and Brooklyn was on its way back to the World Series. He had his battery mate, catcher Mickey Owen with him in the starting lineup. Owen would get an unfortunate place in baseball lore by October when a passed ball cost his team a World Series game against the Yankees, but his presence in Detroit this July 8 showed he was an excellent all-around catcher.

Wyatt and Feller controlled the action early. Williams drew a walk to leadoff the second, but was quickly wiped out on a double play ball. Wyatt left after two innings, while Feller worked three and it wasn’t until the fourth inning that anything began to happen. And it was Williams who got the sparks flying. He faced Cincinnati’s Paul Derringer, just two years removed from a 25-win season, a consistent 20-game winner through the late 1930s and a big part of the Reds’ staff that won the Series the previous year. Williams ripped a double to bring home the game’s first run. The fifth inning saw threats by each team, but no one scored.

The AL’s fifth-inning threat was squelched when Bobby Doerr struck against the next Cincy pitcher, Bucky Walters. The Reds’ hurler had been in Boston during 1933-34, but as a third baseman. It wasn’t until he was sold into the National League that the Phillies, followed by the Reds, developed him into a sinker-ball pitcher. He turned out to be pretty good, leading the NL in wins, ERA and innings pitched the previous year. Today, after working his way out of the jam in the fifth, he opened the sixth with a double, was bunted over to third and scored on a sac fly to tie the game 1-1.

Williams got a chance to make some noise in the bottom of the sixth when Joe Dimaggio walked in front of him—the Yankee and Red Sox stars hit 3-4 in the batting order respectively. Ted flied out this time, though a walk and a single by future Hall of Famer Lou Boudreau would bring Joe D in to score and put the American League back in front.

Pittsburgh shortstop Arky Vaughan came to the plate in the seventh inning. In the annals of baseball lore, Vaughan is one of the best shortstops to ever play the game. He was mentored by fellow Pirate legend Honus Wagner, who heads up most consensus lists as THE best ever. Vaughan hit over .300 for ten straight years and hit for power to go with it. He showed that off today with a two-run homer that gave the National League its first lead of the day. The NL might have padded its lead, but after Chicago outfielder Billy Herman doubled and made it to third with one out, he wasn’t picked up. Vaughan took care of providing what looked to be some insurance though. One inning later, he homered a second time, also a two-run blast, and as the game moved to the bottom of the eighth it was 5-2.

Dom Dimaggio was overshadowed by both his brother in New York and Williams in Boston, but he was an All-Star in his own right.

DiMaggio doubled to lead off the eighth and came around to score on a single by brother Dom, but in between a Williams strike out prevented it from being a big inning. As the game reached the bottom of the ninth it was still a two-run game.

Later in the summer of ’41, Ken Keltner would earn his own place in baseball history. The Cleveland third baseman would make two outstanding defensive plays off of Joe DiMaggio to end the Yankee Clipper’s 56-game hitting streak. This afternoon in Detroit, with one out in the ninth, Keltner singled to bring the tying run to the plate. Another single and a walk loaded the bases with Joe D and Ted up next.

Cincinnati manager Bill McKechnie stuck with pitcher Claude Passeau of the Cubs, who four years later would throw a one-hitter in a World Series game. Now he had his back to the wall. He induced Dimaggio to hit a ground ball to short. The NL got the force at second with a run coming through the backdoor. With the score 5-4 and two outs, it was now up to Williams.

There was an open base for Passeau to work with, although that would have meant putting the winning run on base. Dom Dimaggio was on deck and while anyone playing in a game like this deserves respect, I think it goes without saying that Dom offered better hope for a pitcher than the Splendid Splinter. Furthermore, as primarily a contact hitter, even with the bases loaded, Dom was much more likely to tie the game with a single than to win it with an extra base hit if he got the chance. That was the argument for the intentional walk, while not letting anyone win the game with a double was the case for facing Williams.

Ted Williams' ended the 1941 All-Star game with a walkoff three-run homer.

I generally sympathize with pitching to the batter at the plate rather then an intentional pass, although an at-bat with Ted Williams doesn’t fall under the normal generalities. This one didn’t either. The historical record doesn’t tell us if Passeau tried to pitch around Williams cautiously. I doubt it, because the Splinter was legendary for his refusal to swing at a pitch even an inch out of the strike zone. This one must have been in the zone, because Williams deposited it beyond the outfield wall and the American League won it 7-5.

There would be other great All-Star moments at Detroit’s old Briggs Stadium. In a future game, Reggie Jackson would blast a towering home run into the lights. But only once has an All-Star game ended the way it did in 1941 and it was Ted Williams—on his way to the last .400 season ever produced—who did it.