THE CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 2 ...
A POWERFUL RED SOX TEAM FAILS
IN THE WORLD SERIES ...
 1946 WORLD SERIES, GAME #6
Harry Brecheen again shuts down the Red Sox

October 13, 1946 ... With a curveball that broke sharply, and a screwball that bounced frightfully, Harry Brecheen was at the Red Sox throats for a 4 to 1 victory. The cunning pitcher, the ace of the Cardinals, sent the 1946 World Series to a seventh and final game. For 15 innings, starting last Monday, in the green expanse of Sportsman's Park, he horse collared the impotent bats of Boston.

From the third inning to the ninth-inning, Brecheen pitched to only 33 batters, yielding only three hits over that stretch, singles by Tex Hughson and Ted Williams, as well as a tremendous triple by Rudy York.

It was York, who finally shattered Brecheen's hex over the Red Sox. It was York, who had flailed ineffectively into a double play with the bases full in the first inning. Rudy led off the seventh, down 3 to 0, with a monumental three base hit, 420 feet into deep left field. Terry Moore, in brisk pursuit, met the ball as it bounced off the wall. Rudy struggled, but made it safely to third base. Bobby Doerr then proceeded to drive in the only run made in 18 innings off Brecheen, by smashing a towering fly to deep left field. It was a smash that surely would've been over the wall and onto Lansdowne Street, had the game been played in Boston. York rumbled home, however, ahead of Harry Walker's long throw.

In the eighth-inning, Brecheen left Leon Culberson and Johnny Pesky standing at the plate in quick succession, as result of whipping his fiery curveball pass them for called third strikes. He fanned six Red Sox today, and one of them was Ted Williams, who swung furiously with all the frustration of a disastrous World Series in his desire to do something positive. But Ted missed and walked into a solid wall of boos from the left-field bleacherites as he took his position. The Kid never looked up, spit into his glove, and energetically tugged at his visor.

The Red Sox would have five men aboard in the first two innings, but none were able to score off Harry. But the Cardinals jumped to a 3 run lead in the third inning off Mickey Harris. Harris poured all his pitches in there at one speed, fast and more fast. He never mixed them up and by the third inning the Cardinals had a line on him.

Dell Rice opened with their first hit off Mickey, a hot single to center field. After Brecheen traded places with Rice on a fielder's choice, Red Schoendinst came to bat. He caught a piece of an outside pitch and bored it for a double to right field, just a hair inside the foul line. Brecheen raced to third and sprinted home when Terry Moore lofted a fly ball out to Leon Culberson in right-center field. Stan Musial belted a hot ball down to Johnny Pesky who made a truly great stop, especially with Schoendinst running in the same path. Johnny made a great throw to first but Musial got there before the ball. Whitey Kurowski followed and hit a line single over third base on a two and two pitch, to bring Schoendinst home. Enos Slaughter, who played in spite of and his aching elbow, bounced a ground ball single in the centerfield and Musial came across making it 3 to 0.

That was the afternoon for Mr. Harris. Joe Cronin brought in Tex Hughson from the bullpen to pitch to Harry Walker, who was pinch hitting for Erv Dusak. A shoestring catch by Dom DiMaggio got him for the third out.

Hughson held St. Louis off easily through the next four innings, when he was benched in favor of a pinch-hitter. Earl Johnson pitched the eighth and allowed the fourth run, when Walker scored from first on Marty Marion's sliced double inside the right-field foul line.

Brecheen set the Sox down 1-2-3 in the third, fourth, sixth, eighth and finally in the ninth-inning. He threw to only four batters in the second inning and seventh-inning.

The first member of the team back into the clubhouse was Mike Higgins. He had a little difficulty in finding his locker. He was surprised that the Red Sox uniform trays were on top of the lockers. The Sox were all prepared to leave St. Louis right after the game, and their trays been placed on the floor in the center of the clubhouse so they could toss in their sweaty uniforms in a hurry and make it easier to pack their trunks. But with the score 3 to 0 against the Red Sox, the clubhouse attendants placed the trays on top of the Red Sox lockers, feeling sure that they would be back for a seventh game.

Manager Joe Cronin was downcast but cordial to the large delegation of newspapermen. Mickey Harris was disconsolate over his second defeat of the series. He felt he had pitched a great game and didn't know how much more he could have done.