| 1946 Brooklyn Dodgers | |
|---|---|
| League | National League |
| Ballpark | Ebbets Field |
| City | Brooklyn, New York |
| Owners | James & Dearie Mulvey, Walter O'Malley, Branch Rickey, John L. Smith |
| President | Branch Rickey |
| Managers | Leo Durocher |
| Radio | WHN Red Barber, Connie Desmond |
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 their star players back from the war, Brooklyn had jumped back into serious contention. They would be respectable until their move to Los Angeles 10 years later.
This season was the team's – and Major League Baseball's – last non-integrated one.
On October 23, 1945, the Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson as a free agent. Robinson was the first black player to be officially a part of a major league organization in over 60 years, since the barring of Fleet and Welday Walker in 1884. For the 1946 season, Robinson was assigned to the Montreal Royals, the Dodgers' top farm team.
Later in the offseason, the Dodgers signed two more players from the Negro leagues, Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe, who were assigned to the Nashua Dodgers.
| National League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals | 98 | 58 | 0.628 | — | 49–29 | 49–29 |
| Brooklyn Dodgers | 96 | 60 | 0.615 | 2 | 56–22 | 40–38 |
| Chicago Cubs | 82 | 71 | 0.536 | 14½ | 44–33 | 38–38 |
| Boston Braves | 81 | 72 | 0.529 | 15½ | 45–31 | 36–41 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 69 | 85 | 0.448 | 28 | 41–36 | 28–49 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 67 | 87 | 0.435 | 30 | 35–42 | 32–45 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 63 | 91 | 0.409 | 34 | 37–40 | 26–51 |
| New York Giants | 61 | 93 | 0.396 | 36 | 38–39 | 23–54 |
Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | BR | CHC | CIN | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||
| Boston | — | 5–17 | 12–9–1 | 15–7 | 13–9 | 14–8 | 15–7 | 7–15 | |||||
| Brooklyn | 17–5 | — | 11–11 | 14–8–1 | 15–7 | 17–5 | 14–8 | 8–16 | |||||
| Chicago | 9–12–1 | 11–11 | — | 13–9 | 17–5 | 12–10 | 12–10–1 | 8–14 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 7–15 | 8–14–1 | 9–13 | — | 14–8 | 8–14–1 | 13–9 | 8–14 | |||||
| New York | 9–13 | 7–15 | 5–17 | 8–14 | — | 12–10 | 10–12 | 10–12 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 8–14 | 5–17 | 10–12 | 14–8–1 | 10–12 | — | 14–8 | 8–14 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 7–15 | 8–14 | 10–12–1 | 9–13 | 12–10 | 8–14 | — | 9–13 | |||||
| St. Louis | 15–7 | 16–8 | 14–8 | 14–8 | 12–10 | 14–8 | 13–9 | — | |||||
| 1946 Brooklyn Dodgers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
| Catchers
Infielders
| Outfielders
Other batters
| Manager Coaches | ||||||
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Bruce Edwards | 92 | 292 | 78 | .267 | 1 | 25 |
| 1B | Ed Stevens | 103 | 310 | 75 | .242 | 10 | 60 |
| 2B | Eddie Stanky | 144 | 483 | 132 | .273 | 0 | 36 |
| 3B | Cookie Lavagetto | 88 | 242 | 57 | .236 | 3 | 27 |
| SS | Pee Wee Reese | 152 | 542 | 154 | .284 | 5 | 60 |
| OF | Carl Furillo | 117 | 335 | 95 | .284 | 3 | 35 |
| OF | Pete Reiser | 122 | 423 | 117 | .277 | 11 | 73 |
| OF | Dixie Walker | 150 | 576 | 184 | .319 | 9 | 116 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augie Galan | 99 | 274 | 85 | .310 | 3 | 38 |
| Dick Whitman | 104 | 265 | 69 | .260 | 2 | 31 |
| Howie Schultz | 90 | 249 | 63 | .253 | 3 | 27 |
| Ferrell Anderson | 79 | 199 | 51 | .256 | 2 | 14 |
| Billy Herman | 47 | 184 | 53 | .288 | 0 | 28 |
| Bob Ramazzotti | 62 | 120 | 25 | .208 | 0 | 7 |
| Gene Hermanski | 64 | 110 | 22 | .200 | 0 | 8 |
| Joe Medwick | 41 | 77 | 24 | .312 | 2 | 18 |
| Eddie Miksis | 23 | 48 | 7 | .146 | 0 | 5 |
| Stan Rojek | 45 | 47 | 13 | .277 | 0 | 2 |
| Mike Sandlock | 19 | 34 | 5 | .147 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Padgett | 19 | 30 | 5 | .167 | 1 | 9 |
| Joe Tepsic | 15 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Graham | 2 | 5 | 1 | .200 | 0 | 0 |
| Lew Riggs | 1 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Goody Rosen | 3 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
| Earl Naylor | 3 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Otis Davis | 1 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 |
| John Corriden | 1 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Hatten | 42 | 222.0 | 14 | 11 | 2.84 | 85 |
| Kirby Higbe | 42 | 210.2 | 17 | 8 | 3.03 | 134 |
| Vic Lombardi | 41 | 193.0 | 13 | 10 | 2.89 | 60 |
| Hal Gregg | 26 | 117.1 | 6 | 4 | 2.99 | 54 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hank Behrman | 47 | 150.2 | 11 | 5 | 2.93 | 78 |
| Rube Melton | 24 | 99.2 | 6 | 3 | 1.99 | 44 |
| Ralph Branca | 24 | 67.1 | 3 | 1 | 3.88 | 42 |
| Ed Head | 13 | 56.0 | 3 | 2 | 3.21 | 17 |
| Rex Barney | 16 | 53.2 | 2 | 5 | 5.87 | 36 |
| Les Webber | 11 | 43.0 | 3 | 3 | 2.30 | 16 |
| Jean-Pierre Roy | 3 | 6.1 | 0 | 0 | 9.95 | 6 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugh Casey | 46 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1.99 | 31 |
| Art Herring | 35 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 3.35 | 34 |
| Harry Taylor | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3.86 | 6 |
| Paul Minner | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.75 | 3 |
| Curt Davis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 0 |
| Glen Moulder | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 1 |
| Cal McLish | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | inf | 0 |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Montreal, Nashua, Newport News, Trois-Rivières, Zanesville
The 1953 New York Yankees season was the 51st season for the team. The team finished with a record of 99–52, winning their 20th pennant, finishing 8.5 games ahead of the Cleveland Indians. New York was managed by Casey Stengel. The Yankees played their home games at Yankee Stadium. In the World Series, they defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in 6 games. This was the Yankees fifth consecutive World Series win, a record that still stands.
The 1946 St. Louis Cardinals season was a season in American baseball. It was the team's 65th season in St. Louis, Missouri and their 55th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 96–58 during the championship season and finished tied with the Brooklyn Dodgers for first in the National League. St. Louis then won a best-of-three playoff for the pennant, two games to none. In the World Series, they won in seven games over the Boston Red Sox. They won on Enos Slaughter's "mad dash" that gave them a 4–3 lead in the eighth inning of game 7.
The 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers repeated as National League champions by posting a 105–49 record. However, Brooklyn again failed to capture the World Series, losing in six games to the American League champion New York Yankees.
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.
On April 15, Jackie Robinson was the opening day first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first black player in Major League Baseball. Robinson went on to bat .297, score 125 runs, steal 29 bases and win Major League Baseball's inaugural Rookie of the Year award. The Dodgers won the National League title and went on to lose to the New York Yankees in the World Series. This season was dramatized in the movie 42.
As World War II was drawing to a close, the 1945 Brooklyn Dodgers finished 11 games back in third place in the National League race.
The 1944 Brooklyn Dodgers saw a constant roster turnover as players left for service in World War II. The team finished the season in seventh place in the National League.
With the roster depleted by players leaving for service in World War II, the 1943 Brooklyn Dodgers finished the season in third place.
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 ; this record lasted until 2021, when the Dodgers won 106 games but finished a game behind the San Francisco Giants in the NL West.
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 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 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 1909 Chicago Cubs season was the 38th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 34th in the National League and the 17th at West Side Park. The Cubs won 104 games but finished second in the National League, 6½ games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cubs had won the pennant the previous three years and would win it again in 1910. Of their 104 victories, 97 were wins for a Cubs starting pitcher; this was the most wins in a season by the starting staff of any major league team from 1908 to the present day. The 104 wins was the most by any team in Major League Baseball history by a team that failed to finish first—a record that would be unbroken for more than a century. The record was equaled by the 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers and eventually broken by the 2021 Dodgers, who won 106 games but finished a game behind the San Francisco Giants in the NL West.
The 1949 Boston Braves season was the 79th season of the franchise.
