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BOBBY DOERR &
DOM DIMAGGIO |
THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 2 ...
A POWERFUL RED SOX TEAM FAILS
IN THE WORLD SERIES ....
Bobby Doerr leads the Sox
in a doubleheader sweep
August 25, 1946 ... Two homers by Bobby Doerr carried Dave Ferriss to his 23rd triumph and the 11th straight win in a thrilling 2 to 1 victory over the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park. The
Sox then went on to combine some lively hitting with some questionable Indians' defense for a 13 to 6 romp in the nightcap. The 12th twin bill sweep of the season moved the Red Sox back to a full 14 games ahead of the New York Yankees who were losing to Hal Newhouser and the Detroit Tigers.
While Ferriss was enjoying a complete reversal of form from the shellacking he took in St. Louis, Bobby Doerr provided the whole Red Sox offense against Red Embree. Bobby's first round tripper led off the last of the lucky seventh inning and dissolved what had been a scoreless pitching duel.
Cleveland catcher Tom Jordan, first batter in the eighth-inning, just as suddenly tied it up when he lofted his first homer as a member of the Indians, into the screen in left.
There were two out in the ninth-inning when Doerr came up again. Embree had retired the eight batters that had followed Bobby's home run in the seventh. He quickly slipped two strikes past the Red Sox captain. Bobby clipped the next pitch to the right of the horns atop the left-field wall
and it landed on the top of the wall and shot forward into the screen to end the game with a walkoff home run. The timely thumps were Bobby's 17th and 18th of the season.
The Red Sox got just two other hits in the game. Rudy York open the fourth by doubling to left and Dom DiMaggio followed by beating out a bunt. Ferriss ended that threat by slapping into a double play.
The Indians got five hits off Dave, who walked only one. Yet the Indians didn't get a runner past first until Jordan's home run. That was when Mike Higgins lost a Felix Mackiewicz high pop-up in the sun for an error.
In the second game the visitors quickly grabbed a momentary 2-0 lead by chasing Joe Dobson in the second inning. Earl Johnson, who had made his longest stint of the year, 7 2/3 innings, took over.
The Red Sox took the lead in the bottom of the second inning by scoring three runs, in which the only safe hit was a bunt by DiMaggio. Doerr and York walked before Dominic pushed one toward pitcher Allie Reynolds, who showed no inclination to field it. When he finally chased it down, he
fired into the Red Sox dugout and Bobby automatically scored. Mike Higgins made an infield out and Roy Partee's long fly ball accounted for York and DiMaggio, to make the score 3 to 2.
The Indians regained the lead in the fourth inning with two more runs. It was all over after 11 Red Sox batters went to the plate and rolled up six runs in the home half of the fourth inning. And at that, there were only three hits involved. A walk to York was followed by singles from
DiMaggio and Higgins. Joe Berry replaced Reynolds and Partee reached on an error to load the bases.
Earl Johnson walked to bring in DiMaggio and Lee Culberson celebrating his return to action, singled across another run. Culberson had four hits, including a pair of doubles. That was all for Berry as Lefty Gassaway took over. Johnny Pesky reached first and two more runs scored when he hit a
sharp ground ball that bounced off Les Fleming's glove at first base. Williams walked to load them again and Rudy York's long fly ball produce the sixth run of the inning.
Between games, the field resembled a three ring circus. In addition to the annual presentation to the Red Sox by the people of Gardner Ma., Johnny Price and Max Patkin of the Indians, staged their comedy act for the first time here. Patkin was on the first base coaching line to provide some
of the comedic action during the second game. Governor Tobin and Mayor Oscar Anderholm of Gardner acted as masters of ceremony for the exercises between the games. Every member of the Red Sox received an easy chair while tricycles were brought out for the young sons and doll carriages for
the daughters of the Red Sox players. The big highlight was when Ted Williams climbed into the worlds largest chair, which usually stands beside the Gardner town hall, symbolic of Gardner being the Chair City. |
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