| 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers | |
|---|---|
| League | National League |
| Ballpark | Ebbets Field |
| City | Brooklyn, New York |
| Owners | James & Dearie Mulvey, Brooklyn Trust Company |
| President | Larry MacPhail |
| Managers | Leo Durocher |
| Radio | WHN, WOR Red Barber, Alan Hale |
The 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers team won 104 games in the season, but fell two games short of the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League pennant race. The Dodgers' 104 wins tied the 1909 Chicago Cubs for the most wins by a team that failed to finish first in its league (or, since 1969, division); this record lasted until 2021, when the Dodgers won 106 games but finished a game behind the San Francisco Giants in the NL West. [1]
The Dodgers were 73–30 and 10 games ahead on August 4, but the Cardinals went on to win 45 of their last 56 to grab the NL title. To exacerbate the problem, the Dodgers had also dropped several close games to St. Louis in September.
Defending NL batting champ Pete Reiser, hitting .380, was sidelined in mid-season after repeatedly crashing into the unpadded outfield wall in Ebbets Field. While he recovered from a fractured skull, Brooklyn could not keep up their early pace. A healthy Reiser may very well have made up the two-game difference. [10]
| National League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | 106 | 48 | 0.688 | — | 60–17 | 46–31 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 104 | 50 | 0.675 | 2 | 57–22 | 47–28 |
| New York Giants | 85 | 67 | 0.559 | 20 | 47–31 | 38–36 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 76 | 76 | 0.500 | 29 | 38–39 | 38–37 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 66 | 81 | 0.449 | 36½ | 41–34 | 25–47 |
| Chicago Cubs | 68 | 86 | 0.442 | 38 | 36–41 | 32–45 |
| Boston Braves | 59 | 89 | 0.399 | 44 | 33–36 | 26–53 |
| Philadelphia Phils | 42 | 109 | 0.278 | 62½ | 23–51 | 19–58 |
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | BR | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Boston | — | 6–16 | 13–9 | 5–16–1 | 8–12 | 14–8 | 7–12–1 | 6–16 | |||||
| Brooklyn | 16–6 | — | 16–6 | 15–7 | 14–8–1 | 18–4 | 16–6 | 9–13 | |||||
| Chicago | 9–13 | 6–16 | — | 13–9 | 9–13–1 | 14–8 | 11–11 | 6–16 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 16–5–1 | 7–15 | 9–13 | — | 9–13 | 16–6 | 12–9–1 | 7–15 | |||||
| New York | 12–8 | 8–14–1 | 13–9–1 | 13–9 | — | 17–5 | 15–7 | 7–15 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 8–14 | 4–18 | 8–14 | 6–16 | 5–17 | — | 6–13 | 5–17 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 12–7–1 | 6–16 | 11–11 | 9–12–1 | 7–15 | 13–6 | — | 8–14–2 | |||||
| St. Louis | 16–6 | 13–9 | 16–6 | 15–7 | 15–7 | 17–5 | 14–8–2 | — | |||||
| 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
| Catchers
Infielders
| Outfielders
| Manager Coaches | ||||||
| = Indicates team leader |
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
| Pos | Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Mickey Owen | 133 | 421 | 53 | 109 | .259 | 0 | 44 | 10 |
| 1B | Dolph Camilli | 150 | 524 | 89 | 132 | .252 | 26 | 109 | 10 |
| 2B | Billy Herman | 155 | 571 | 76 | 146 | .256 | 2 | 65 | 6 |
| 3B | Arky Vaughan | 128 | 495 | 82 | 137 | .277 | 2 | 49 | 8 |
| SS | Pee Wee Reese | 151 | 564 | 87 | 144 | .255 | 3 | 53 | 15 |
| LF | Joe Medwick | 142 | 553 | 69 | 166 | .300 | 4 | 96 | 2 |
| CF | Pete Reiser | 125 | 480 | 89 | 149 | .310 | 10 | 64 | 20 |
| RF | Dixie Walker | 118 | 393 | 57 | 114 | .290 | 6 | 54 | 1 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | R | H | Avg. | HR | RBI | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Rizzo | 78 | 217 | 31 | 50 | .230 | 4 | 27 | 2 |
| Augie Galan | 69 | 209 | 24 | 55 | .263 | 0 | 22 | 2 |
| Lew Riggs | 70 | 199 | 20 | 50 | .278 | 3 | 22 | 0 |
| Billy Sullivan | 43 | 101 | 11 | 27 | .267 | 1 | 14 | 1 |
| Frenchy Bordagaray | 48 | 58 | 11 | 14 | .241 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Alex Kampouris | 10 | 21 | 3 | 5 | .238 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Babe Dahlgren | 17 | 19 | 2 | 1 | .053 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cliff Dapper | 8 | 17 | 2 | 8 | .471 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| Stan Rojek | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; CG = Complete games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | GS | CG | IP | W | L | ERA | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirby Higbe | 38 | 32 | 13 | 221.2 | 16 | 11 | 3.25 | 106 | 115 |
| Whit Wyatt | 31 | 30 | 16 | 217.1 | 19 | 7 | 2.73 | 63 | 104 |
| Curt Davis | 32 | 26 | 13 | 206.0 | 15 | 6 | 2.36 | 51 | 60 |
| Bobo Newsom | 6 | 5 | 2 | 32.0 | 2 | 2 | 3.38 | 14 | 21 |
| Freddie Fitzsimmons | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 15.00 | 1 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; CG = Complete games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | GS | CG | IP | W | L | ERA | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry French | 38 | 14 | 5 | 147.2 | 15 | 4 | 1.83 | 36 | 62 |
| Ed Head | 36 | 15 | 5 | 136.2 | 10 | 6 | 3.56 | 47 | 78 |
| Johnny Allen | 27 | 15 | 5 | 118.0 | 10 | 6 | 3.20 | 39 | 50 |
| Max Macon | 14 | 8 | 4 | 84.0 | 5 | 3 | 1.93 | 33 | 27 |
| Les Webber | 19 | 3 | 1 | 51.2 | 3 | 2 | 2.96 | 22 | 23 |
| Schoolboy Rowe | 9 | 2 | 0 | 30.1 | 1 | 0 | 5.34 | 12 | 6 |
| Chet Kehn | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7.2 | 0 | 0 | 7.04 | 4 | 3 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugh Casey | 50 | 112.0 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 2.25 | 44 | 54 |
| Newt Kimball | 14 | 29.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.68 | 19 | 8 |
| Bob Chipman | 2 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 1 |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Santa Barbara
The 1957 Brooklyn Dodgers season was overshadowed by Walter O'Malley's threat to move the Dodgers out of Brooklyn if the city did not build him a new stadium in that borough. When the best the mayor could promise was a stadium in Queens, O'Malley made good on his threats and moved the team to Los Angeles after the season ended. The Dodgers final game at Ebbets Field was on September 24 as they finished their 68th and last NL season, and their 75th overall, in Brooklyn in third place with an 84–70 record, 11 games behind the NL and World Series Champion Milwaukee Braves.
The 1952 Brooklyn Dodgers rebounded from the heartbreaking ending of 1951 to win the National League pennant by four games over the New York Giants. However, they dropped the World Series in seven games to the New York Yankees. Led by Gil Hodges, Jackie Robinson, and Duke Snider, the high-powered Brooklyn offense scored the most runs in the majors.
The 1949 Brooklyn Dodgers held off the St. Louis Cardinals to win the National League title by one game. The Dodgers lost the World Series to the New York Yankees in five games.
Leo Durocher returned as manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers to start the 1948 season but was fired in mid-season. He was replaced first by team coach Ray Blades and then by Burt Shotton, who had managed the team to the 1947 pennant. The Dodgers finished third in the National League after this tumultuous season.
The 1946 Brooklyn Dodgers finished the season tied for first place with the St. Louis Cardinals. The two teams played in the first ever regular season tie-breaker to decide the pennant, and the Cardinals took two straight to win the title.
With the roster depleted by players leaving for service in World War II, the 1943 Brooklyn Dodgers finished the season in third place.
The 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers, led by manager Leo Durocher, won their first pennant in 21 years, edging the St. Louis Cardinals by 2.5 games. They went on to lose to the New York Yankees in the World Series.
The 1940 Brooklyn Dodgers finished the season in second place. It was their best finish in 16 years.
The 1939 Brooklyn Dodgers started the year with a new manager, Leo Durocher, who became both the team's manager and starting shortstop. They also became the first New York NL team to have a regular radio broadcast, with Red Barber handing the announcers job, and the first team to have a television broadcast. The team finished in third place, showing some improvement over the previous seasons.
The 1936 Brooklyn Dodgers fired manager Casey Stengel after another dismal campaign, which saw the team finish in sixth place.
The 1931 Brooklyn Robins finished in fourth place, after which longtime manager Wilbert Robinson announced his retirement with 1,399 career victories.
The 1930 Brooklyn Robins were in first place from mid-May through mid-August but faded down the stretch and finished the season in fourth place.
The 1928 Brooklyn Robins finished in sixth place, despite pitcher Dazzy Vance leading the league in strikeouts for a seventh straight season as well as posting a career best 2.09 ERA.
The 1920 Brooklyn Robins, also known as the Dodgers, won 16 of their final 18 games to pull away from a tight pennant race and earn a trip to their second World Series against the Cleveland Indians. They lost the series in seven games.
The 1916 Brooklyn Robins won their first National League pennant in 16 years and advanced to the first World Series in franchise history, where they lost to Babe Ruth and the Boston Red Sox in five games.
The 1903 Brooklyn Superbas season was a season in Major League Baseball. The Superbas began their slide from contention in the National League by finishing in fifth place.
The 1896 Brooklyn Bridegrooms finished the season tied for ninth place in the crowded National League race.
The 1893 Brooklyn Grooms finished a disappointing seventh in the National League race under new player/manager Dave Foutz. The highlight of the year was when pitcher Brickyard Kennedy became the first major leaguer to pitch and win two games on the same day since the mound was moved back to 60 feet 6 inches. He allowed just eight hits in beating the Louisville Colonels 3–0 and 6–2 in a doubleheader on May 30, 1893.
The 1941 Pittsburgh Pirates was a season in American baseball. The team finished fourth in the National League with a record of 81–73, 19 games behind the first-place Brooklyn Dodgers.
The 1949 Boston Braves season was the 79th season of the franchise.
