The Red Sox entire infield from 1943 was classified 1-A going into spring training, so the Sox future was uncertain. Joe Cronin himself, although 37 and the father of two children was also reclassified at 1-A. Gone into the service already were pitchers Joe Dobson, Dick Newsome and Mace Brown. In case he lost his players to the draft, Tom Yawkey therefore bought outfielder Bob Johnson from Washington on December 4th, reportedly for $10,000 as back-up insurance. Bobby Doerr had taken a wintertime defense job in Los Angeles, working at a sheet metal machine shop run by the man who had managed his old American Legion team. When he left the defense job to play, he received his draft orders and was told to report at the beginning of September. In January 1944, the Allies launched a series of attacks in Italy against the line at Monte Cassino and tried to outflank it with landings at Anzio. Pitcher, Yank Terry had a draft physical in Indianapolis in March and was rejected for military service because of what was described as “heart trouble.” Ford Garrison had been working on a government building project in St. Petersburg over the winter. Just on the eve of reporting to spring training, he received notice that he had been reclassified 1-A. He was asked to report for his pre-induction physical on March 6th. As it happened, he was never called up and got in a full season of baseball. Pitcher Lou Lucier delayed signing his contract because he was waiting to hear from his draft board. He was a father of two, and back in South Grafton, MA making machinery for cotton manufacturing at the Whitin Machine Work in South Northbridge, which qualified as a defense plant. Under 26 years old, he was subject to the draft. If he left the plant before his deferment expired on April 20th, he could be immediately reclassified 1-A. But he decided to leave the plant early, report to Bradenton for spring training with Louisville, and take his chances like everyone else in the draft. His physical for the Army was scheduled for April 12th, but he was rejected because of a concussion he’d suffered at Louisville eight months earlier. He still had missed almost all of spring training however, so had very little work. The Red Sox held spring training at Tufts again. Joe Cronin told players who lived in warm-weather states to stay home and train on their own. Consequently, Jim Tabor, who had again spent the winter in Boston working at the shipyard, was one of only four players to attend early spring training. Earlier in the year, pitcher George Woods was due to be inducted in January, but a toe amputation brought about his rejection. Woods reported at 232 pounds, and brought his weight down to 220 by the beginning of April. He was also one of the first to report for duty at spring training in Medford, In the spring the team also experimented with Johnny Lazor catching some games and working out in the infield. He hit two home runs in the sixth inning of a 19-3 game against Baltimore during the exhibition season, but didn’t play much during the regular season.
By the end of March, the Allies breached the Japanese perimeter at the Gilbert and Marshall Island and also neutralized their base at Turk in the Carolone Islands. In April, the Allies launched an operation to retake Western New Guniea. In mid-April, just before the season began, the Red Sox sold first baseman Tony Lupien to the Philadelphia Phillies for a sum understood to be around $10,000. The plan was to move George Metkovich to first base, and have Ford Garrison play right field. The Sox opened the season with a loss to the Yankees at Fenway Park. They followed by sweeping a Patriots Day doubleheader from the Yanks. In Washington on April 25th, Bobby Doerr rapped out the third of his doubles in the 14th inning. He then scored the winning run when the 33-year old Red Sox rookie pitcher, Joe Bowman, pinch hit a game-winning single into right field, giving the Sox a 5 to 4 decision over the Nats. On April 29th, Bowman, who had been picked up from St. Paul, pitched his fourth career shutout, a four-hit gem over the Athletics, 7 to 0. He allowed only one hit over the last seven innings, and was supported by teammate Leon Culberson, who had two singles, a double and a triple.
Rookie pitcher, Joe Frank Wood was commonly called Joe Wood Jr., even though his father Smoky Joe Wood had the given name of Howard Ellsworth Wood. “Joe Jr” even sometimes referred to his father as “Joe Wood Sr”. Joe Jr appeared in just three games with the Red Sox. His debut came on May 1st. Washington was up, 6-0, after they completed their half of the fourth inning. He held them to one run in three innings, then departed for a pinch-hitter, Pete Fox. The Nats ended up beating the Sox 11-4. On May 2nd, Philadelphia A's catcher Hal Wagner was called to take a pre-induction physical at Camden, New Jersey. Two days later, he was traded to the Red Sox for Ford Garrison. The Sox had reportedly been assured that Wagner wouldn’t be called until August.
Joe Cronin inserted himself at first base on May 3rd and came through with three hits, including an eighth inning home run to help beat Washington, 11 to 10. Cronin hit .368, going 14 for 38 over the next two weeks, and moved George Metkovich into center field. Pete Fox banged out four hits, giving him nine hits in his last 13 at-bats on May 12th, as the Sox beat the Indians 10-3 at Fenway. Against Detroit on May 13th, pitcher Emmett O'Neill yielded only one earned run on eight hits, and also singled home what proved to be the game winning run, in a 4-2 victory.
Tex Hughson pitched four-hit baseball against the league leading St. Louis Browns, on May 17th, in the first game of a doubleheader, winning 5 to 1. The Sox then found themselves on the short end of a 12-8 marathon in the second game. Bobby Doerr singled in the first game and then hit for the cycle in the second game. Infielder Eddie Lake had the uncommon opportunity to actually pitch not just one time, but in six games. After he had thrown a half-hour of batting practice, Joe Cronin stuck him on the mound in the sixth inning of the second game of the doubleheader, after the Browns had posted nine runs. Lake pitched 2 1/3 innings, gave up three hits, walked two, struck out one, and made a fielding error as pitcher. A couple of weeks later, he was called upon again and pitched no-hit ball for two innings. All told, his line as a pitcher was 19 1/3 IP, 20 hits, two HRs, 11 BB, seven K, and an almost respectable 4.19 ERA. Because of arm trouble, pitcher Oscar Judd was unable to start until May 18th, when he turned in a 12-1 complete game win, against the Browns. Bobby Doerr had three hits, knocking in four runs. Tom McBride also had three hits and was batting .381 The Red Sox defeated the White Sox by a 3 to 2 score in 12 innings at Fenway Park on May 19th and it was Mike Ryba who did the important business at the end. With both teams in a 2 to 2 deadlock in the third extra frame of the game, Ryba slapped a clean-cut single into left field that scored Tom McBride from second base. The next day there was a triple play in the first inning of the game with Chicago. It was a sloppy game however that Joe Bowman won for the Red Sox, 8 to 1, after giving up a homer in the first inning. The Red Sox loaded the bases and Bob Johnson grounded into a 6-4-3 doubleplay. George Metkovich, who was on third, tried to score, but firstbaseman Hal Trosky rifled the ball to catcher Tommy Turner, and it was on the mark for the third out. The Red Sox made their weekend perfect by sweeping a Sunday doubleheader from the White Sox on May 21st. In St. Louis, Browns pitcher Nelson Potter was within four outs of a perfect game, leading 2-0. But the Sox scored one in the eighth and another in the ninth to tie the game. Then with two outs in the 11th inning, George Metkovich singled to center and moved to second on a walk to Tom McBride. Joe Cronin lashed a single off the right field screen and Metkovich scored the go-ahead run. A single to right brought home McBride with another run, and Potter had lost the game 4 to 2. Pete Fox knocked out four hits in a doubleheader sweep of the White Sox in Chicago on May 28th. The next day Tex Hughson allowed the White Sox just four hits, coasting to a 3-1 victory. It marked the Red Sox seventh straight win over Chicago this season. Jim Bucher started the season with the Toledo Mud Hens and was hitting .244. With Jim Tabor and Eddie Lake were both fighting injuries, on May 29th, the Red Sox bought rights to Bucher.
On June 1st in Cleveland the Sox were down 6-4 and two outs away from a loss. But after Skeeter Newsome walked and Joe Bowman singled, George Metkovich belted a three-run homer that boosted the Sox to a 7-6 win over the Indians. On June 3rd, Jim Bucher opened a Red Sox assault with a two-run single in the second inning. And in the ninth he hit a grand slam, and drove in six runs against the Tigers in an 11-1 win at Detroit. On June 4th, Rome was captured by the Allies, then on June 6th (D-Day), with the largest fleet ever assembled in history, the Allies invaded northern France at Normandy. The Sox came home on June 7th and put together an eight game undefeated winning streak, that pushed them to within 1/2 game of first place. The Red Sox beat the Yankees by an 8 to 7 score because Roy Partee fashioned a dramatic finish in the ninth-inning with two men out, when he hit a home run to win the game on June 8th. The score was tied at seven apiece when Partee wailed Atley Donald's first pitch out of the ballpark. Mike Ryba got the win and was 6-1, despite not starting a single game. He was the league’s most-winning pitcher. On June 10th Frank Barrett was traded to the Sox for left-handed pitcher Stan Partenheimer and an unspecified amount of money. Johnny Peacock had only four at-bats in four games for the Red Sox before he was sold to the Philadelphia Phillies for the waiver price of $7,500. Tex Hughson and Clem Hausmann both pitched a masterful game as the Sox swept the Yankees in a doubleheader at Fenway Park, 2-1 and 4-1 on June 11th. Hughson allowed the Yanks just three hits and both pitchers now had four consecutive wins. Joe Bowman was a hot pitcher for the first eight innings, pitching tremendously before tiring, but beat the A's, 7 to 2, on June 13th. Newcomer Frank Barrett came into relieve Emmett O'Neill in the second inning of a doubleheader with the A's the next day and pitched a great game, earning a 6-4 victory. George Woods shutout the A's, 5-0, in the second game on five hits. Joe Cronin had four hits in his seven plate appearances. Tex Hughson completed a sweep of the A's on June 15th, winning his ninth game, 5 to 1. It was the fifth time this season he had allowed his opponents only one run, giving up just four earned runs over his last 46 innings pitched (0.78 ERA). In mid-June, U.S. forces began their offensive against the Mariana and Palau islands and decisively defeated the Japanese in the Battle of the Philipine Sea. These defeats led to the resignation of the Japanese Prime Minister, Hideki Tojo, and provided the United States with air bases to launch intensive heavy bomber attacks on the Japanese home islands. The Sox belted the Nationals in Washington on June 17th, 11 to 4. Pete Fox belted a single, double and triple while Bob Johnson thumped three singles and a double, pacing a 15-hit attack. Jim Bucher had three hits and Bobby Doerr homered to lead the Sox to a 9-6 win against the Nats on June 18th in the first game of a doubleheader. The second game was a 1-0 pitcher's duel between George Woods and Early Wynn, in which the Sox came out on the short end. They still were only 1/2 game out of first in the A.L. standings at the end of the afternoon however. The Sox split a doubleheader with the A's on June 22nd. In the opener, the Sox pulled out a 5 to 4 victory in 12 innings. Pitcher Mike Ryba led off with a doubleand scored the game winner when Pete Fox banged out his fourth hit of the game. Lou Finney had retired from baseball and sat out the entire 1943 season. Two weeks after the Allies invaded France on D-Day, Finney left Alabama and returned to baseball and Boston, being activated on June 24th. Pitcher Vic Johnson was sent to Louisville, to make room on the roster for Finney. Cronin inserted Finney in his place at first base and continued in pinch-hitting roles. When the Sox returned to Fenway, Bob Johnson was leading the league in runs scored, Bobby Doerr was the leader in hits and pitcher Mike Ryba had a 7-1 record.
Tex Hughson won his 10th game, shutting out Washington, 4 to 0 at Fenway in the second game of a doubleheader. He faced only 30 men. The win came after the Sox blew a 4-0 lead in the opening game, losing 5 to 4. Pete Fox was 3-for-3 against the Chicago White Sox, leading the BoSox to a 4 to 3 decision on June 28th. Tex Hughson beat the Chicago the next game in a 5-4 decision for his 11th victory. When the Red Sox won again the next day, 11-0, it marked their tenth straight win over the White Sox. Joe Cronin homered in that game and Jim Bucher put together three hits. The first place St. Louis Browns were beaten twice in a doubleheader on July 2nd. Tex Hughson (12-2) shut the down, 1-0, beating Jack Kramer in a pitching duel. With a runner on second Pete Fox (.333 BA) came thru again with a sharp single to center to score the Red Sox only run. In the second game, the long forgotten Lou Finney was the hero. In the ninth inning, with the Sox down 3-1, and Bob Johnson on second, Finney looped a double to center to score him. Then Hal Wagner singled Finney home to tie the game. Moving to the 11th inning, Pete Fox led off with a double but was thrown out at home on Bobby Doerr's grounder. Finney came through again with the hit that scored Doerr, giving the Sox another win, 4 to 3. After blowing a leading in a July 4th doubleheader with the Tigers, the Sox led by Bobby Doerr, split the day with a 7-4 victory. Doerr was 2 for 3 in the opener, then hit a three-run homer and a two-run single in the nitecap. Bob Johnson also homered deep into the center field bleachers. Johnson hit for the cylce on July 6th vs the Tigers. He singled, homered into the right field corner, tripled to center and doubled to left in five times up. Doerr also came up big, with a 4-for-4 day, knocking in another five runs. The two paced the Sox to a 13-3 whitewash. A couple of days later, it was Bobby Doerr once again. On July 8th, he singled and homered, taking the American League batting lead with a .342 average. The Sox batted around for five runs in the first inning and batted around in the second inning, scoring six runs. At the end, the Sox beat the Indians, 11-7. Pete Fox enjoyed a 4-for-5 day, bringing in three off the runs. Fox took over the American League batting lead for a couple of hours the next day, with two hits in the first game of the doubleheader with the Indians. He was hitting .339 to Doerr's .338, but in the second game he went hitless and Bobby had two, including a triple, and ended the day with a .340 BA. The Sox lost the first game but won the second one, 4 to 2, thanks primarily to Bob Johnson's two-run homer. The Sox finished the first half of the season, 2 1/2 games behind, in second place to the St. Louis Browns.
Selected to his third and final All-Star team, Tex Hughson was the pitcher of record in the AL’s 7-1 loss at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh on July 11th. After retiring the side in order in the fourth and getting two outs in the fifth, he allowed four runs, three of them earned, on five hits in the fifth. Bobby Doerr and Bob Johnson were both starters for the American Leaguers, but neither had a hit. Pete Fox was also an All Star but didn't get into the game. Hughson won his 14th game in Chicago on July 18th. He beat the White Sox in 11 innings, 4-2, allowing just four hits and one earned run. Bobby Doerr (.338 BA) cranked out two hits to keep his A.L. batting lead, but it was Jim Tabor who supplied the game winning hit. Doerr and Pete Fox each knocked in three runs in an 11-7 win over the White Sox two days later. On July 20th German conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolph Hitler inside his "Wolf's Lair" field headquarters in East Prussia, in present-day Poland. The name "Operation Valkyrie" is associated with the event. The aim was to take control of Germany from the Nazi Party by the German resistance. The Gestapo arrested more than 7000 people following the failed attempt. The St. Louis Browns were in first place for most of the summer and the Red Sox were their closest pursuer in second place in July and most of August. In St. Louis, Hal Wagner with a double and two singles led the Sox to an 8 to 4 victory on July 22nd. The next day the Sox really had a chance to gain some ground when they clobbered the Browns 12-1 in the first game of a doubleheader. The Sox knocked out 16 hits, scored seven runs in the second inning, and gave Tex Hughson his 15th win. Unfortunatly the lost the nite cap, but Bobby Doerr homered in each contest. The Sox won in Detroit, as Hughson shut down the Tigers, 8 to 1, July 27th. The next game saw the Sox clobber the Tigers, 15-9. Pete Fox made a triple and had two doubles, scoring four runs. Bob Johnson had two singles and a double, and drove in four runs. Bobby Doerr got a single, his 15th straight game with a hit. Pete Fox came up in the ninth inning in Cleveland on July 31st and knocked in a run that gave the Sox a 1-0 win.
Tex Hughson started the month of August with and 8-4 loss to the Indians. In July he had given up just eight runs over 59 innings of work for a 1.22 ERA Washington was only able the get five hits off Hughson when they faced him at Fenway on August 5th. Tex led the American League pitchers with 17 wins and the majors with 107 strikeouts. Bobby Doerr knocked out his 14th homer in his support. On August 9th, Hughson (18-5, 2.26 ERA) pitched his final game before leaving the team for his Navy induction, defeating the White Sox with a 9-1 four-hitter at Fenway, the ninth game he had won that year by allowing only one run. Both Jim Tabor and Bob Johnson bid goodbye to Tex by banging out home runs. The next day Tabor passed his military pre-induction exam, making him eligible for call-up to the Army at any time, but he was allowed to finish the season. On August 12th, he homered into the left field screen to break upo a tie game in the eighth inning, giving the Sox a 5 to 4 decision over the White Sox. Johnny Lazor was optioned to the San Diego Padres on as part of a deal that brought pitcher, Rex Cecil to the Sox. Cecil hopped on an airplane on Friday afternoon, August 11th and got as far as Tucson, when he was asked to get off the plane because of a military priority. He trudged the streets of Tucson for several hours searching for lodging. Finally, the Red Sox were able to get him on a plane leaving Tucson late on the afternoon on Saturday. He arrived in Boston around 12:30 P.M. on Sunday, August 13th. He had never seen a major-league game and had never even been in a major-league ballpark. The Sox were hosting the first place Browns and had tied it up by the end of five, but St. Louis took a 6-5 lead in the top of the eighth. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Leon Culberson hit his second home run of the year, a solo shot that tied the game and sent it into extra innings. The Red Sox asked Cecil to take over in the tenth. He got one quick out but then he gave up a single, hit a batter, and walked another batter. The bases were loaded with just one out. He then struck out George Caster and struck out Don Gutteridge, and the threat was subdued. He kept the Browns off the board for four innings (Culberson’s game-saving catch in the top of the 12th helped), and then pocketed the win when, with one out in the bottom of the 13th inning, Bobby Doerr smacked a home run over the left-center-field wall. George Metkovich had a 4-for-4 day on August 19th, leading the Sox to a 9-1 win over the Tigers. Joe Bowman pitched magnificently and allowed Detroit three hits. Jim Tabor had three hits and drove in four runs in an 8-6 win over the Indians in the first game of an August 20th doiubleheader. The Sox bats banged out 16 hits in the second game, wiunning 11 to 4. George Metkovich and Bob Johnson (including a home run) each had three hits while Leon Culberson banged out two doubles. Oscar Judd had his tonsils removed in July and didn’t rejoin the team until early August. Later in the month he injured his pitching arm. He was done for the season and returned to Canada, in effect retiring on August 22nd. Paris was liberated on August 25th by the local resistance assisted by the Free French Forces, both led by General Charles de Gaulle as the Allies continued to push back German troops in western Europe. In Philadelphia, along with Bob Johnson, Pete Fox collected three hits in the first game of a doubleheader, winning 8 to 5. They each collected two more in the second game and the Sox won that one 7 to 2.
Hal Wagner was hitting so well that as late as August 22nd, he was leading the American League in batting average. On August 28th he was taken into the United States Army at Fort Devens. He had enjoyed a terrific year for the Red Sox, hitting .332, with 38 RBIs, in his 68 games between the trade and his departure for the Army. Meanwhile in New York, the Sox collected 10 hits including triples by George Metkovich and Bob Johnson, beating the Yankees, 7-4. Metkovich and Johnson's hot bats continued to burn the Yankees again the next day. The two had seven of the Sox 17 hits in an 8 to 1 win in the opener of a doubleheader. Metkovich homered in the second game, but the Sox lost that one, 11 tconsolidated passed ball got he did not indicate thatredit for the Jazz but 2. Metkovich and Johnson had two more hits each against the Yankees on August 30th, but it was Jim Bucher who drove in four runs, with two home runs in a game the Sox lost, 9-7. By the time September came around, the Red Sox were in the thick of the pennant race, just four games out of first place. Bob Johnson was sizzling, going 18 for 42 (.462 BA) in his last ten games and leading the league in batting.
On September 1st, Jim Tabor went 3-for-3 and produced his 13th homer of the year in the seventh inning, of a game with the Athletics at Fenway Park. Lou Finney then brought home Roy Partee with a base hit in the same inning and the Sox won the game, 4 to 3. The Sox were in the thick of the pennant race when they beat the A's 6 to 5 on September 2nd, on a walk-off base hit in the bottom of the ninth inning. Unfortunatly Bobby Doerr (.325 BA at the time and his .528 slugging average leading the league) had to leave for military induction after the game. In this, his last game, he had two hits and drove in four runs.
The Red Sox were 1 1/2 games behind the Browns, but in fourth place, because the Yankees and Tigers were tied for second place, only a game behind. In Washington, the Sox split a double bill with the Nationals on September 4th. The first game was an 11-7 slugfest. George Metkovich collected four hits in six times up and Bob Johnson had three. On September 9th, the Sox pounded the Yankees, 7 to 1. Rex Cecil held New York to five hits. The next day the Sox and Yanks split a doubleheader. Metkovich hit in his 24th straight game in the opener with two doubles, setting a Red Sox record. When George Metkovich didn't get a hit against Washington on September 15th, it ended a 25 consecutive game hitting streak, during which he was 46 for 113 (.407 BA). After lossing 11 of their 12 last games, the Red Sox were finally able to win one on the last day of September. They beat the White Sox in Chicago, 11 to 4. Metkovich scored five of the runs after a double and three singles. Bob Johnson had a double and two singles, raising his average to .327, two points above Lou Boudreau in his race for the A.L. batting title.
Bob Johnson was only able to register one hit in his final eight at bats in the season finale, a doubleheader split with the White Sox on October 1st. He finished in second place with a .326 BA to Boudreau's .327 BA. Bobby Doerr finished third with a .325 BA. Johnson was the Sox best player in 1944, driving in 106 runs, the eighth time he’d exceeded 100 RBIs. He was named to the All-Star team, and placed 10th for MVP. Bobby Doerr with a .325 BA, 81 RBIs and 15 HRs, was named AL Player of the Year by the Sporting News. With the loss of Tex Hughson, coupled with the further loss both Doerr and catcher Hal Wagner to the military, the Red Sox finished with a 77-77 record. They lost 29 of their final 50 games, while the St. Louis Browns won their first and only American League flag. Jim Tabor finished the year with a .285 average in 116 games. He had 25 doubles, 3 triples, 13 home runs, and 72 RBIs. On October 26th, he got the call from Uncle Sam and entered the Army at Fort Devens. Red Sox manager Joe Cronin allowed a long leash to the 34-year-old righty pitcher, Joe Bowman resulting in a single-season career-high 12 wins. He turned increasingly to the knuckleball, a pitch he loved to throw but had used Well known for his ability to hit, Bowman also served as the team’s principal pinch-hitter. He led the Red Sox in games started (24) and placed among the team leaders with 10 complete games. Cronin finished the year with a .241 BA in 191 at bats, and only went 4 for 26 (.153 BA) as a pinch hitter. Pete Fox ruptured blood vessels in his left arm, delaying the start of his season, but he made the All Star team for the first time. For most of the season he contended for the AL batting title along with Johnson and Doerr. He led with a .328 BA, before pulling a muscle in mid-September. He ended up batting .315 for the year. Tex Hughson compiling an 18-5, 2.26 (career-best ERA) record, his .783 winning percentage and 1.05 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) leading the league and keeping the Red Sox in contention At the time of his induction into the military, the 6-foot-3, 198-pound Hughson was in the prime of his career. He coupled power pitching with superb control and a masterful knowledge of what to throw to which hitter.
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