THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 2 ...
A POWERFUL RED SOX TEAM FAILS
IN THE WORLD SERIES ...
 1946 WORLD SERIES, GAME #5
Joe Dobson bails out the Red Sox

October 11, 1946 ... Practically nobody at all suspected that the Red Sox No. 4 pitcher would ever start a World Series game. But Joe Dobson stepped onto the mound and pitched the Red Sox into St. Louis with a one-game advantage.

The Red Sox reserves took charge at this critical moment of the World Series. Capt. Bobby Doerr was bedridden with a migraine headache and Don Gutteridge chipped in with two hits. Leon Culberson making his first start, smashed a home run into the netting in left field. Roy Partee did the catching, but it was Dobson who found the ball under his glove in the locker room. It was Dobson who walked out into the bright sunlight of Fenway Park and pitched the Red Sox to a 6 to 3 victory. He gave up four hits, including a double by Stan Musial. He sent eight Cardinals back to the dugout as strikeout victims. He earned a clean shutout, but once again his teammates staggered in the field, and their mistakes accounted for the Cardinals three runs.

Johnny Pesky knocked out three hits, but was equally inept in the field. It was his boot of Joe Garagiola's hot ground ball with two away, that set up St. Louis' first run in the second inning. He set up squarely in front of the ball and it squirted through him, racing between Williams and DiMaggio for a two base error. Harry Walker, who was on base, came racing home to tie the game at 1--1.

Dobson made his way through the Cardinals for eight innings, each time marching off the mound to spasms of applause. Only six Cardinals reached base, and two of them got there by reaching on an error, and one was hit by a pitched ball.

He had a 6 to 1 lead, as he charged into the ninth-inning, and he started it by passing Musial. It was Joe's one and only walk of the game. With one out Whitey Kurowski smacked an easy ground ball to the right of Johnny Pesky, that had double-play written all over it, or at least a force out at second for sure. But Johnny came up with his second error of the game and fourth of the series, and there was Musial on second and Kurowski on first. Garagiola rolled out to York at first, advancing the runners. Up came Harry Walker, who had already collected two hits. He smashed a single into right field that scored both the runners. Dobson had now given up three runs in the game and all of them were unearned.

The Cardinals started Howie Pollet, who did not escape the first inning. The Red Sox had him down before he could get anybody out. The old Cardinal himself, Don Gutteridge, greeted Pollet's first pitch with a hot smash that went through Musial at first base. Pesky got the first of his three hits with another single to right. Dom DiMaggio forced Gutteridge at third base on an easy ground ball down to Kurowski. Up to the plate now came Ted Williams, who smashed a screaming line drive into right, sending Pesky dashing home from second, and sending Pollet to the shower.

Alva Brazle came in and pitched from there until the eighth-inning. He sat on a keg of dynamite every moment of his journey. In the first five innings the Red Sox had 11 men on base, but could only salvage two runs. Roy Partee's solid single to center and Dobson's sacrifice, followed by Gutteridge's second single, netted the Red Sox another run in the second inning, making the score 2 to 1.

Brazle was in trouble and got out of narrow places every inning until the sixth. And then Leon Culberson took the issue into his own hands. He was the first Red Sox batter at the plate and took the first curveball for a strike. He looked at the next one and fell in love with it. Off it sailed high and far into the netting about 25 feet from the left-field foul pole, upping the score to 3 to 1.

The Red Sox removed all lingering doubt with a three run uprising in the next inning, paced by Dom D., who opened the inning with a double to left followed by the Kid. Williams was all business, having grounded out in the third inning and having swung at and completely missed all three pitches in the fifth with two men on. He looked grim and determined, but Brazle send him back to the bench on an inside curveball that struck him out again.

The Cardinals then elected to pass Rudy York, putting two men on. And that left it up to Mike Higgins, a very tough customer to pitch to with men on base. After taking a called strike, he smacked a double to left-center, sending DiMaggio home with the first run of the inning. The Cardinals then elected to pass on Culberson to pitch to Partee. The bases were loaded with one out, as Roy snapped a shot to the reliable Marty Marion. He made a terrific stop, but was after the double-play. He threw off-balance, sending the throw beyond second base and far out into right field. York ambled home and so did Higgins.

That made the score 6 to 1 and, except for the miscues in the ninth-inning, the Red Sox left the field a relieved bunch. But there was no exulting over the win when the team walked in the locker room. Eddie Pellagrini was the first to break the stillness when he shouted across the room, "Nice pitching Burrhead (Dobson). You really had something out there!"

Bobby Doerr joined the team on the train, after having spent the entire day in bed, suffering from his migraine and a sick stomach. Most of the Boston team flew to St. Louis on the 6 o'clock flight, but Doerr, Charlie Wagner, Tex Hughson, Glenn Russell, Don Gutteridge, Jim Bagby, Bill Zuber and Joe Cronin all took the 6 o'clock train.