1947 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1947 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1947 in baseball.

1947 MLB season
League	American League (AL) National League (NL)
Sport	Baseball
Duration	Regular season: April 15 – September 28, 1947 World Series: September 30 – October 6, 1947
Number of games	154
Number of teams	16 (8 per league)
Regular season
Season MVP	AL: Joe DiMaggio (NYY) NL: Bob Elliott (BSB)
AL champions	New York Yankees
AL runners-up	Detroit Tigers
NL champions	Brooklyn Dodgers
NL runners-up	St. Louis Cardinals
World Series
Champions	New York Yankees
Runners-up	Brooklyn Dodgers
MLB seasons
← 1946 1948 →

Red Sox

White Sox   

Indians

Tigers

Athletics

Browns

Yankees

Senators

Locations of teams for the 1942–1953 American League seasons
American League

Braves

Dodgers

Cubs

Reds

Giants

Phillies

Pirates

Cardinals

Locations of teams for the 1943–1952 National League seasons
National League

The 1947 major league baseball season began on April 15, 1947. The regular season ended on September 28, with the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 44th World Series on September 30 and ended with Game 7 on October 6. In the second iteration of this Subway Series World Series matchup, the Yankees defeated the Dodgers, four games to three, capturing their 11th championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1943.

The 14th Major League Baseball All-Star Game was played on July 8, hosted by the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, with the American League winning, 2–1.

The 1947 season is most notable as the year that the baseball color line broke, thanks to the Brooklyn Dodgers starting Jackie Robinson on Opening Day. ^[1]

Integration: Breaking the color line

See also: Baseball color line § Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby

On April 15, Opening Day for the National League's Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie Robinson was in the Dodgers' lineup, playing first base against the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field. ^[1] His appearance in a major league game broke the baseball color line, the practice of excluding players of black African descent. Though he endured epithets and death threats, as well as a slow start, his skill would earn him the first ever Rookie of the Year award, named in Robinson's honor 40 years later. ^[2]

Halfway through the season on July 5, the American League's Cleveland Indians debuted Larry Doby, becoming the first black player in the American League and breaking the AL color line. Doby was a more low-key figure, suffered many of the same indignities that Robinson did, albeit with less press coverage. ^[3]

Kansas City Monarchs star Willard Brown and teammate Hank Thompson briefly played for the St. Louis Browns, becoming the third and fourth Black players in either the NL or AL, and made the St. Louis Browns the first of either the NL or AL to field two Black players on one roster. Brown was the first black player to hit a home run in the American League.

Schedule

See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1947 schedule consisted of 154 games for all teams in the American League and National League, each of which had eight teams. Each team was scheduled to play 22 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place since the 1904 season (except for 1919) and would be used until 1961 in the American League and 1962 in the National League.

Opening Day took place on April 15, featuring all sixteen teams, continuing the trend from 1945. The final day of the regular season was on September 28, which also saw all sixteen teams play, continuing the trend from the previous season. This was the first time since 1940 that all sixteen teams played their first and last games on the same days. The World Series took place between September 30 and October 6.

Teams

League	Team	City	Stadium	Capacity	Manager
American League	Boston Red Sox	Boston, Massachusetts	Fenway Park	35,500	Joe Cronin
	Chicago White Sox	Chicago, Illinois	Comiskey Park	47,400	Ted Lyons
	Cleveland Indians	Cleveland, Ohio	Cleveland Stadium	78,811	Lou Boudreau
	Detroit Tigers	Detroit, Michigan	Briggs Stadium	58,000	Steve O'Neill
	New York Yankees	New York, New York	Yankee Stadium	70,000	Bucky Harris
	Philadelphia Athletics	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Shibe Park	33,166	Connie Mack
	St. Louis Browns	St. Louis, Missouri	Sportsman's Park	31,250	Muddy Ruel
	Washington Senators	Washington, D.C.	Griffith Stadium	32,000	Ossie Bluege
National League	Boston Braves	Boston, Massachusetts	Braves Field	36,706	Billy Southworth
	Brooklyn Dodgers	New York, New York	Ebbets Field	34,219	Clyde Sukeforth, Burt Shotton
	Chicago Cubs	Chicago, Illinois	Wrigley Field	38,396	Charlie Grimm
	Cincinnati Reds	Cincinnati, Ohio	Crosley Field	30,101	Johnny Neun
	New York Giants	New York, New York	Polo Grounds	54,500	Mel Ott
	Philadelphia Phillies	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Shibe Park	33,166	Ben Chapman
	Pittsburgh Pirates	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Forbes Field	33,730	Billy Herman, Bill Burwell
	St. Louis Cardinals	St. Louis, Missouri	Sportsman's Park	31,250	Eddie Dyer

Standings

American League

• v
• t
• e

American League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	97	57	.630	—	55‍–‍22	42‍–‍35
Detroit Tigers	85	69	.552	12	46‍–‍31	39‍–‍38
Boston Red Sox	83	71	.539	14	49‍–‍30	34‍–‍41
Cleveland Indians	80	74	.519	17	38‍–‍39	42‍–‍35
Philadelphia Athletics	78	76	.506	19	39‍–‍38	39‍–‍38
Chicago White Sox	70	84	.455	27	32‍–‍43	38‍–‍41
Washington Senators	64	90	.416	33	36‍–‍41	28‍–‍49
St. Louis Browns	59	95	.383	38	29‍–‍48	30‍–‍47

National League

• v
• t
• e

National League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Brooklyn Dodgers	94	60	.610	—	52‍–‍25	42‍–‍35
St. Louis Cardinals	89	65	.578	5	46‍–‍31	43‍–‍34
Boston Braves	86	68	.558	8	50‍–‍27	36‍–‍41
New York Giants	81	73	.526	13	45‍–‍31	36‍–‍42
Cincinnati Reds	73	81	.474	21	42‍–‍35	31‍–‍46
Chicago Cubs	69	85	.448	25	36‍–‍43	33‍–‍42
Philadelphia Phillies	62	92	.403	32	38‍–‍38	24‍–‍54
Pittsburgh Pirates	62	92	.403	32	32‍–‍45	30‍–‍47

Postseason

Bracket

	World Series
	AL	New York Yankees	4
	NL	Brooklyn Dodgers	3

Managerial changes

Off-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Brooklyn Dodgers	Leo Durocher	Clyde Sukeforth
Cincinnati Reds	Hank Gowdy	Johnny Neun
New York Yankees	Johnny Neun	Bucky Harris
Pittsburgh Pirates	Spud Davis	Billy Herman
St. Louis Browns	Zack Taylor	Muddy Ruel

In-season

Team	Former Manager	New Manager
Brooklyn Dodgers	Clyde Sukeforth	Burt Shotton
Pittsburgh Pirates	Billy Herman	Bill Burwell

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Ted Williams 1 (BRS)	.343
OPS	Ted Williams (BRS)	1.133
HR	Ted Williams 1 (BRS)	32
RBI	Ted Williams 1 (BRS)	114
R	Ted Williams (BRS)	125
H	Johnny Pesky (BRS)	207
SB	Bob Dillinger (SLB)	34

¹ American League Triple Crown batting winner

Pitching leaders

Stat	Player	Total
W	Bob Feller (CLE)	20
L	Hal Newhouser (DET)	17
ERA	Joe Haynes (CWS)	2.42
K	Bob Feller (CLE)	196
IP	Bob Feller (CLE)	299.0
SV	Ed Klieman (CLE) Joe Page (NYY)	17
WHIP	Bob Feller (CLE)	1.194

National League

Hitting leaders

Stat	Player	Total
AVG	Harry Walker (PHP/ SLC )	.363
OPS	Ralph Kiner (PIT)	1.055
HR	Ralph Kiner (PIT) Johnny Mize (NYG)	51
RBI	Johnny Mize (NYG)	138
R	Johnny Mize (NYG)	137
H	Tommy Holmes (BSB)	191
SB	Jackie Robinson (BKN)	29

Pitching leaders

Stat	Player	Total
W	Ewell Blackwell (CIN)	22
L	Johnny Schmitz (CHC)	18
ERA	Warren Spahn (BSB)	2.33
K	Ewell Blackwell (CIN)	193
IP	Warren Spahn (BSB)	289.2
SV	Hugh Casey (BKN)	18
WHIP	Warren Spahn (BSB)	1.136

Awards and honors

Joe DiMaggio (1951)

Regular season

Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award	National League	American League
Rookie of the Year	Jackie Robinson (BKN)	—
Most Valuable Player	Bob Elliott (BSB)	Joe DiMaggio (NYY)

Other awards

The Sporting News Awards
Award	National League	American League
Player of the Year [4]	—	Ted Williams (BRS)
Rookie of the Year [5]	Jackie Robinson (BKN)	—
Manager of the Year [6]	—	Bucky Harris (NYY)
Executive of the Year [7]	Branch Rickey (BKN)	—

Baseball Hall of Fame

Main article: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

• Carl Hubbell
• Frankie Frisch
• Mickey Cochrane
• Lefty Grove

Further information: 1947 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting

Home field attendance

Team name	Wins	%±	Home attendance	%±	Per game
New York Yankees [8]	97	11.5%	2,178,937	−3.8%	28,298
Brooklyn Dodgers [9]	94	−2.1%	1,807,526	0.6%	23,173
New York Giants [10]	81	32.8%	1,600,793	31.2%	21,063
Cleveland Indians [11]	80	17.6%	1,521,978	44.0%	19,513
Boston Red Sox [12]	83	−20.2%	1,427,315	0.7%	17,621
Detroit Tigers [13]	85	−7.6%	1,398,093	−18.8%	17,476
Chicago Cubs [14]	69	−15.9%	1,364,039	1.6%	17,266
Pittsburgh Pirates [15]	62	−1.6%	1,283,531	71.1%	16,247
Boston Braves [16]	86	6.2%	1,277,361	31.7%	16,589
St. Louis Cardinals [17]	89	−9.2%	1,247,913	17.5%	16,207
Philadelphia Athletics [18]	78	59.2%	911,566	46.6%	11,687
Philadelphia Phillies [19]	62	−10.1%	907,332	−13.2%	11,784
Cincinnati Reds [20]	73	9.0%	899,975	25.7%	11,688
Chicago White Sox [21]	70	−5.4%	876,948	−10.8%	11,693
Washington Senators [22]	64	−15.8%	850,758	−17.2%	11,049
St. Louis Browns [23]	59	−10.6%	320,474	−39.1%	4,162

Events

April–June

• April 15 – Major League Baseball's color line is officially broken when Jackie Robinson makes his Major League debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers against the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field.
• April 27 – It is Babe Ruth Day at Yankee Stadium. Despite having throat cancer, he speaks to the packed house, proclaiming, "The only real game, I think, in the world is baseball."
• June 18 – Ewell Blackwell pitches a no-hitter, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 6–0 win over the Boston Braves.

July–September

• July 5 – Larry Doby makes his debut for the Cleveland Indians, becoming the first black baseball player in the American League, and fully integrating Major League Baseball.
• July 8 – At Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, the American League defeats the National League, 2–1, in the All-Star Game.
• July 10 – Cleveland Indians pitcher Don Black throws a no-hitter in a 3–0 win over the Philadelphia Athletics.
• July 19 – Hall of Fame Negro leagues player Willard Brown makes his major league debut with the St. Louis Browns. Brown would only appear in 21 games for St. Louis in his only major league season, batting .179 with one home run and six runs batted in.
• July 20 – With both Hank Thompson and Willard Brown in the starting line-up, the St. Louis Browns become the first major league club to field two black players at the same time. Both players play all nine innings of both games of a doubleheader with the Boston Red Sox.
• August 13 – The St. Louis Browns' Willard Brown clubs a pinch hit a two-run, inside-the-park homer against Detroit Tigers pitcher Hal Newhouser, to become the first African American player to hit a home run in American League history.
• August 20 – Washington Senators relief pitcher Tom Ferrick loses both games of a doubleheader with the Cleveland Indians. While pitching with the St. Louis Browns the previous season, Ferrick won both games of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Athletics on August 4.
• August 26 – Brooklyn Dodgers' Dan Bankhead became the first black pitcher in the majors. He homered in his first major league plate appearance, but didn't fare well on the mound. In 3 ¹⁄₃ innings of relief, he gave up 10 hits and six earned runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates, who won the game, 16–3.
• September 3 – Bill McCahan of the Philadelphia Athletics no-hits the Washington Senators in a 3–0 victory.

October–December

• October 6 – The New York Yankees defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 5–2, in Game 7 of the World Series to win their eleventh World Championship, four games to three. This was the first World Series involving a nonwhite player, as Dodgers first baseman Jackie Robinson had racially integrated Major League Baseball at the beginning of the season. It was also the first Series to be shown on television although coverage was limited to New York City and surrounding environs.
• November 27 – Triple Crown winner Ted Williams (.343 BA, 32 home runs, 114 RBI) is edged out by Joe DiMaggio (.315, 20, 97) for the American League MVP Award by one point. One BBWAA member fails to include Williams anywhere on his ballot.

See also

• 1947 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League season

References

1. Spatz, Lyle. "April 15, 1947: Jackie Robinson's major league debut". SABR . Retrieved October 8, 2020.
2. "Sports News". Associated Press. July 14, 1987.
3. McMurray, John. "Larry Doby". SABR . Retrieved October 8, 2020.
4. "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
5. "Rookie of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
6. "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
7. "MLB Executive of the Year Award | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
8. "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
9. "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
10. "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
11. "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
12. "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
13. "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
14. "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
15. "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
16. "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
17. "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
18. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
19. "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
20. "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
21. "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
22. "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
23. "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.

External links

• 1947 Major League Baseball season schedule at Baseball Reference