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CHIEF WILSON |
THE 1914 "MIRACLE" BRAVES
One bad inning does in the Braves
June 22, 1914 ... Miller
Huggins' St. Louis Cardinals, with their four hits in the
eighth-inning and a bad play on a throw to first base by catcher Bert
Whaling of the Braves, were able to win the final game of their
series at the South End Grounds, 4 to 3 and carry an even break for
their visit. It was a strange game because each of the seven errors
placed a runner at first base and it was exciting because of the
frequent occupancy of runners at the corner the bases. Up until the
eighth-inning, the Braves seem to get the 3 to 1 break of the series
and in happy retrospect, won 12 of the 16 games played against the
Western clubs on the home field. But it was in the
eighth-inning where Lefty Tyler lost his cunning and the home team's 2 to 1
lead. But it was more the result of Whaling's bad throw and to a base hit to
right-field by Art Butler. To start the inning, Lee Magee, Ted Cather and Dots
Miller laced out singles. Chief Wilson then hit sharply down to Rabbit
Maranville who whipped the ball home to Whaling at the plate for a force out. A
double play should've been easy, but Whaling's throw to Hank Gowdy at first base
hit Wilson in the back, and before the ball was recovered, Cozy Dolan, who was
running for Cather, scored from second while the other runners went to second
and third.
The Braves then pulled their infield close only to see art
Butler tap the ball over a spot that Johnny Evers would ordinarily be covering.
But the ball shot narrowly past Larry Gilbert allowing Miller and Wilson to
score. These three runs were the undoing of the Braves, who came back in their
home half of the eighth, with hits by Maranville and Gowdy. With the runners on
second and third, Miller Huggins replaced Hank Robinson with Slim Sallee. He
fanned Charlie Deal and kept the Braves rally down to just one run.
In the ninth-inning the home team made a great effort to
score when Oscar Dugey, who batted for Tyler, opened with a hit, but two outs
followed and he was left on third as Jim Murray bounced one down to Huggins to
end it.
Except for the errors that so often caused each team to get a
man on first, the game was well played. The pitching was good and each team put
in a good show in the field, yet at the same time prevented the game from being
dull. |
