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The Red Sox had become a dumping ground for players that no other teams wanted. All the improvements made during 1931 vanished. Owner, Bob Quinn, tried to mix and match, acquiring several players. On December 2nd, he traded Milt Gaston to the White Sox for pitcher, Bob Wieland. The season was really a tale of two halves. The Sox clearly were not a good team, but in the second half they played some exciting ball games and were worth the price of admission on those few occasions.
During spring training, the new season started off under a darker than usual cloud. Ed Morris, the hard drinking pitcher, was dead. Red Sox hurlers were due to report for preseason training camp in Savannah, Georgia on March 2nd, so some of Ed’s friends planned a fish fry/peanut boil as a going-away party for him the day before he was scheduled to leave. The party was held on or near a body of water on February 29, 1932. Quantities of prohibition era alcohol were present. The guest of honor was stabbed twice in a scuffle with a Brewton service station operator named Joe White during the festivities. Ed ended up in the hospital in Century, Florida and died on Thursday, March 3rd as a result of the stabbing. The cause of the brawl and role of the combatants is also a matter of some conjecture. What seems a very plausible account has Morris urinating in the community pot of boiled peanuts, a stunt that the rest of the party didn’t really appreciate. Another version claims that argument occurred because White thought Morris had made a pass at White’s wife. In the differing versions Morris is variously portrayed as the instigator as well as an innocent bystander. Initially, doctors at Century Hospital had given Morris an even chance to recover. On March 2nd it was reported that he was holding his own and doing as well as could be expected. But his condition worsened that night and he died early the next day.
The Red Sox started the season losing four straight games, until they managed to win the first game of the Patriots Day doubleheader against the Yankees at Fenway on April 19th, 6-5. Tom Oliver's double, followed Urbane Pickering's single, after two men were out in the seventh inning, broke up a 5-5 score. Oliver had three hits and knocked in three runs. Two days later Jack Russell pitched a marvelous game, beating General Crowder, 1-0, in Washington. However, a single and a double put men on second and third, with two outs in the ninth, and Wilcy Moore came in to get the third out. Ed Durham outpitched Lefty Grove in Philly, as the Sox beat the A's 10-2, on April 26th. Earl Webb homered as part of a 3-for-3 day. On April 29th, Bob Quinn traded Jack Rothrock and Charlie Berry to the White Sox for outfielder, Smead Jolley, Bennie Tate and Johnnie Watwood.
Jolley hit a home run on May 5th, against the St. Louis Browns, that was said to be close to 500 feet, deep into the center-field bleachers, but the Sox lost 11-3. They lost eight straight games before winning their next one on May 8th, beating the Browns, 7 to 5. New secondbaseman, Marv Olson, enjoyed a 4-for-5 afternoon as Danny MacFayden picked up his first win of the year. Clumsy baserunning knocked down Mel Harder fielding a roller he hit, and Smead Jolley was called out for interference, leaving the Red Sox one run short of catching the Indians in a 5-4 game on May 12th. The Sox next won a game on May 18th, when they hosted the Chicago White Sox, winning 13-10. In a game that more resembled a game among a bunch of guys out for an afternoon of beer and softball, Smead knocked out five hits, there were 16 free passes, a balk that forced in a run, and an unassisted doubleplay, that retired the side, but still allowed a run to score.
Hammering a trio of pitchers in Washington, the Sox registered a lopsided 6-3 victory. Al Van Camp manufactured four clean hits. He first got a triple and then cracked a double and two singles. In their last 22 games, however, the Sox only could only mange to win three of them. Rumors circulated about the sale of the Sox. One such rumor was that the Guggenheims were interested in buying the Red Sox. Their condition was that Babe Ruth would come over and manage the club. On May 27th, Massachusetts Governor, Joe Ely signed a ball passed by the legislature, to permit playing baseball on Sundays at Fenway Park, but the doubleheader scheduled to be played on May 29th, would be still played at Braves Field. In that doubleheader the Sox managed to win the first game behind the excellent pitching of Bob Weiland. For five innings he did not allow a hit, eventually winning, 6 to 3, and giving up five hits. The Sox finished up the month of May losing a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. Their record for the month was 7-22.
On June 4th, the Sox actually swept a doubleheader from Washington at Fenway Park. The first game was won by a 4-2 score. Bob Kline allowed five hits and one earned run. Marty McManus had three hits for the Sox. In the fourth inning, Smead Jolley took a header on Duffy’s Cliff, then caught Ossie Bluege’s high fly ball while in a seated position. The Sox survived a 9-8 free-for-all in the nitecap. Ahead 9-1 going into the seventh inning, the Nats scored two in the seventh, one in the eighth and three in the ninth. With the tying run on third, Wilcy Moore got Joe Kuhel to hit an easy fly to center, saving the game for Jack Russell. Danny MacFayden had played a great deal of squash over the winter for stamina and to strengthen his wrists, and started the season poorly winning one game in eleven starts. On June 5th, he was traded to the Yankees for pitcher, Ivy Andrews and Hank Johnson. Ivy Andrews picked up his first win for the Sox on June 11th, beating the White Sox 4-1. He allowed just four hits. The Sox split the series with the White Sox, winning another game on June 14th, 5 to 4, in 11 innings. A double by Urbane Pickering, a sac fly that moved him to third and another long fly that scored him, by Marty McManus broke a 4-4 tie. Al Van Camp had three hits, including two doubles.
Bob Quinn traded his most productive player from the 1931 team, Earl Webb to Detroit on June 13th. In return he got firstbaseman Dale Alexander and outfielder, Roy Johnson. Alexander’s first game in a Red Sox uniform came on June 15, 1932. He was 2-for-3 and drove in a run. On June 18th in Cleveland, Smead Jolley turned two line drives into doubles and the Red Sox lost, 9-2. The next day, Dale Alexander (.400 BA) had a 6-for-8 day in a doubleheader, that the Sox lost, 9-3 and 6-3. He was 4-for-4 in the first game with a triple. On June 19th, Manager Shano Collins quit and was replaced by infielder Marty McManus. The Red Sox, who were 11-46, had the worst start by any team in the century. In Detroit, on June 21st, Jolley’s baserunning cost his new skipper a game, when he held up at second on a ball Pickering hit that should have been a double. Seeing Pickering approaching, Smead suddenly broke for third and was tagged out. Rabbit Warstler singled and Bennie Tate tripled, but the Sox scored only two runs and lost the game, 3-2. The Sox (12-55) fifth and final win for the month of June, was on June 25th, when they beat the Nats, 7 to 6.
With a bat like that of Dale Alexander in their line-up, the second half of the season was much improved for the Red Sox. In the first half they won only 18% of their games. They would finish, winning 34% of their remaining games, 29 wins and 56 losses. They started July by shellacking the Yankees, 11 to 6. The Sox collected 15 hits, of which six were doubles and three were triples. Roy Johnson smacked two doubles and a triple in three times up. He stretched a lazy single into a double and breezed home from third on a short passed ball. Urbane Pickering and Marv Olson also rapped out three hits apiece. The next day, July 2nd, was a doubleheader and the Sox and Yankees split it. The Sox won the late game by a 6-5 score. Smead Jolley singled and Dale Alexander brought him home with a double in the second inning for the first run. Both had three hit apiece. On July 6th, player-manager Marty McManus took things into his own hands. The St. Louis Browns were in town and the score was tied at four apiece with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Roy Johnson laced a double to center, bringing up McManus. He slammed a knee high line drive to left that buried itself into "Duffy's Cliff". Goose Goslin could do nothing to dig it out and Johnson crawled home with the walk-off winning run, 5-4. The Sox rallied with two runs in the bottom of the eighth on July 9th, to beat the Browns, 4-2, and split the series. Alexander homered with a man on to score the winning runs. Smead Jolley (.339 BA) wielded a powerful bat when the Sox split a doubleheader with the Tigers at Fenway on July 10th. In the first game he went 3-for-5, and in the second game he homered and was 4-for-4, with three RBIs, leading the Sox to a 13-2 white-wash. It was Smead's bat that furnished the punch again on July 12th. He was 3-for-5 with a double and knocked in three runs in the Sox' 8-7 win over the same Tigers. The win gave the Sox their first win of a series this season, beating Detroit three games to two. Smead was hot, collecting 24 hits in his last 34 at bats, batting .466 over the 14 games played in the homestand. Bob Kline shut out the White Sox, who next came to Fenway on July 16th. He allowed just two hits and Roy Johnson backed him up with three hits, in the 3-0 win. Jolley again won the game on July 18th against the Indians. His double in the first inning scored two runs and his eighth inning double scored another run, the Sox winning 4 to 3. The Sox concluded their homestand winning 9-of-22 and remained in the basement, 40 games behind. The Sox next went on the road and started at Yankee Stadium on July 21st. The Yanks had a 2-1 lead into the eighth inning. In the first inning, the Sox jumped out front when Roy Johnson homered off old friend Danny MacFayden. After the Yanks took the lead, Ed Connolly tripled to lead off the eighth. Marv Olson brought him home with a base hit to knot the score a two apiece. In the ninth with Sox runners on first and second, Rabbit Warstler whistled a line drive to center, bringing home the game winner, 3-2. The Red Sox beat up the White Sox, taking the first three games of a four game series in Chicago. Former Cub, Johnny Welch made his first start for the Red Sox on July 26th and handcuffed the White Sox, 6 to 1. Welch's double and two singles were primarily responsible for his win. 15 to 5 was the score in the next game, as Boston hitters banged out 18 hits. Smead Jolley was 4-for-4 with two doubles, driving in four runs. Rabbit Warstler also brought four runs home with a pair of hits. The third game was a 2-1 pitcher's due; between Ed Durham and Ted Lyons. Durham, in spite of giving up nine hits, was able to escape numerous jams, coming out on the winning end. On July 30th, in St. Louis the Sox took the Browns into extras and win this won in the 12th. Urbane Pickering's double was followed by a triple by Rabbit Warstler to give the Sox a 3-2 victory. The Red Sox finished the month winning fourteen and losing eighteen.
On August 1st, Wilcy Moore was traded back to the Yankees for Gordon Rhodes. Another notable date was August 6th in Cleveland. Dale Alexander’s fourth-inning bad hop that bounced over second baseman Bill Cissell, proved to be the only hit off the Indians’ Wes Ferrell in the game. From July 31st thru August 10th, the Sox lost a season-high eleven straight games. Ivy Andrews opened up a homestand on August 12th by holding the Philadelphia Athletics to five hits, beating them 2 to 1. Smead Jolley's sixth inning homer into the right field bleachers proved to be the difference. In the last game of two double headers over the next two days, young Johnny Welch shut out the A's, 2 to 0. Urbane Pickering set a major-league record on August 14th, for most assists by a third baseman in a game (9). On the August 17th, Dale Alexander had a 3-for-3 day, and walked his other time up. Two singles and a home run gave him four RBIs in a 7-3 win over St. Louis. Smead also came up big with a 3-for-4 day, in helping Ivy Andrews win another well-pitched game. The next day, August 18th, a utility outfielder named George Stumpf, slid home with the winning run in the 15th inning to vault the Sox over the Browns, 7 to 6, in the 15th inning. Three straight games were won against the White Sox at Fenway in August. On August 26th, the White Sox banged out 18 hits to 11 by the Red Sox, but Boston hitters made theirs count and outscored their opponents, 11 to 8. The next day, both teams worked pitchers for 29 hits and again, the Red Sox won the slugfest, 13-10. On August 28th the Sox played the Cleveland Indians at Fenway. They were up 1-0 in the sixth inning. The next inning the score was tied and then they were down by two in the top of the tenth. The Sox tied it up in their half and Bennie Tate slammed a walk-off homer to take home the honors, Sox winning 4 to 3. Smead Jolley and Dale Alexander each had three hits and Johnny Welch allowed the Indians only four hits in the homestand finale, winning, 6 to 2. In a dismal season, winning nine of the 22-game homestand was a bright spot. Tom Oliver's line drive double in the bottom of the ninth, provided the Sox with a walk-off 6 to 5 win, against the Tigers on August 22nd. Oliver drove in four runs as the Red Sox battled the White Sox and came up on the winning end of a 13-10 score on August 27th. It was a battle that raged back and forth, in an exciting slugfest for the American League cellar. Now, the Cleveland Indians came to Fenway for four games. August 28th was a doubleheader. The Red Sox had been beaten down by Wil Hudlin in the first game, 10 to 1, and in the second game, a pitching duel between Ivy Andrews and Clint Brown had been battled. Bennie Tate slammed an 11th inning walk-off home run into the right field bleachers, to win the second game, after the Sox came back to tie the game in the 10th inning.
The two Sox teams continued their battle for the basement in Chicago. On September 9th, the White Sox were ahead 6-0 after five innings. The Red Sox came back with a run in the sixth and seventh, three runs in the eight and one in the ninth to tie the game. In the tenth former Red Sox pitcher, Milt Gaston, pitching for the South Siders, gave up three runs to his old mates, losing the game 9 to 6. Red Sox hitters garnered 16 hits in the game. The next game saw the two teams in a tie game once again. The score was knotted a three apiece going into the ninth inning. The Red Sox had four consecutive singles that netted them two runs, and errant pick-off attempt at first, brought a third run in. Boston won 6 to 3. The Sox took two-of-three but were so far in last place that the White Sox had a 5 1/2 game lead on them for seventh place. Dale Alexander had three hits and four RBIs, including a home run in St. Louis on September 11th. He raised his batting average to a .370 with another 3-for-4 day against the White Sox, on September 14th. On September 19th, Smead Jolley caught his first major-league game. It was in Detroit, and he fielded well as well as winning the game with a three-run homer. He never committed an error in the five games behind the plate, but there were the four Washington stolen bases against him. September 21st was a 4-for-8 doubleheader for Alexander, and on the 24th, he went 3-for-3. In the last game of the season, he had a 2-for-4 day to finish with a .372 batting average, three points ahead of Jimmie Foxx, of the Athletics, preventing him from being the only player ever to achieve consecutive Triple Crowns. Alexander didn’t play as much as Foxx. He batted 392 times to Foxx’s 585. Under current rules, he would not qualify That rule has since been adjusted to count plate appearances rather than at-bats, so as not to penalize selective hitters who worked walks to get on base. In 1932 the requirement was to play in 100 games. Alexander easily exceeded that standard, appearing in 124 games. So, therefore Dale Alexander became the first Red Sox player to be the American League batting champion. Smead Jolley played left field and began the season wearing No. 9. He turned everything hit to him into an adventure, but batted .309. He got in a full year, playing in 137 games, banged out 18 homers and drove in 99 runs. But Jolley was giving away more runs than he knocks in with his bat. There were more gaffes in the field. Smead took apparent umbrage at taking guff over a ball that had struck him on the head instead of nestling in his glove. For someone who played in as many games as Marv Olson did, the 25 RBIs he had in the 1932 season seem remarkably few, but he did get on base (he hit .248, but had a .347 on-base percentage) and scored 58 runs and he committed 28 errors. Only four times did Olson drive in two runs in a game, and in none of those times were the runs decisive. Rabbit Warstler led the league in total chances per game and turned the third highest number of double plays. Offensively he hit .211 with sixty runs produced. Urbane Pickering was the starting third baseman in 1932, playing in 132 games and batting .260. He knocked in only 40 runs, with two homers.
Bennie Tate became Boston’s primary catcher and appeared in 81 games, batting
.245. He drove in 26 runs, and hit two home runs in the one season, half his
career production. Roy Johnson hit .298 the rest of the year for the Red Sox
after being traded. Even in doubles,
Johnson, with 38, topped
Earl Webb who, after establishing the
doubles record in 1931, had only 28.
The Boston Red Sox lost 111 games in 1932, the worst in franchise history. How bad were they? They were outscored 915-566. Their 18 pitchers had a combined 5.06 ERA, worst in the league. They had an 11 game losing streak and two, eight game losing streaks. They were 27-50 at Fenway Park. The attendance was 182,150 fans for the year, the lowest in franchise history. Under Bob Quinn, the Red Sox finished last, nine times out of eleven seasons (1922-1932). With the future looking even worse, Quinn had borrowed and bargained into such debt, that he had no choice but to sell. |
