1947 Major League Baseball season

Last updated

1947 MLB season
League American League (AL)
National League (NL)
Sport Baseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 15 – September 28, 1947
World Series:
  • September 30 – October 6, 1947
Number of games154
Number of teams16 (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
Locations of teams for the 1942–1953 American League seasons
ButtonRed.svg American League
Locations of teams for the 1943–1952 National League seasons
ButtonBlue.svg 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. The Yankees defeated the Dodgers, four games to three, capturing the 11th championship in franchise history.

Contents

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

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

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 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

LeagueTeamCityStadiumCapacityManager
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

American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 9757.630—55‍–‍2242‍–‍35
Detroit Tigers 8569.5521246‍–‍3139‍–‍38
Boston Red Sox 8371.5391449‍–‍3034‍–‍41
Cleveland Indians 8074.5191738‍–‍3942‍–‍35
Philadelphia Athletics 7876.5061939‍–‍3839‍–‍38
Chicago White Sox 7084.4552732‍–‍4338‍–‍41
Washington Senators 6490.4163336‍–‍4128‍–‍49
St. Louis Browns 5995.3833829‍–‍4830‍–‍47

National League

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Brooklyn Dodgers 9460.610—52‍–‍2542‍–‍35
St. Louis Cardinals 8965.578546‍–‍3143‍–‍34
Boston Braves 8668.558850‍–‍2736‍–‍41
New York Giants 8173.5261345‍–‍3136‍–‍42
Cincinnati Reds 7381.4742142‍–‍3531‍–‍46
Chicago Cubs 6985.4482536‍–‍4333‍–‍42
Philadelphia Phillies 6292.4033238‍–‍3824‍–‍54
Pittsburgh Pirates 6292.4033232‍–‍4530‍–‍47

Postseason

Bracket

World Series
         
AL New York Yankees 5108 2 26 5
NL Brooklyn Dodgers 3 3 93*1 82

*Denotes walk-off

Managerial changes

Off-season

TeamFormer ManagerNew 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

TeamFormer ManagerNew Manager
Brooklyn Dodgers Clyde Sukeforth Burt Shotton
Pittsburgh Pirates Billy Herman Bill Burwell

League leaders

American League

Hitting leaders
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Ted Williams 1 (BRS).343
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
StatPlayerTotal
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

National League

Hitting leaders
StatPlayerTotal
AVG Harry Walker (PHP/ SLC ).363
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
StatPlayerTotal
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

Awards and honors

Joe DiMaggio (1951) Joe DiMaggio 1951.png
Joe DiMaggio (1951)

Regular season

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

Other awards

Baseball Hall of Fame

Home field attendance

Team nameWins%±Home attendance%±Per game
New York Yankees [4] 9711.5%2,178,937−3.8%28,298
Brooklyn Dodgers [5] 94−2.1%1,807,5260.6%23,173
New York Giants [6] 8132.8%1,600,79331.2%21,063
Cleveland Indians [7] 8017.6%1,521,97844.0%19,513
Boston Red Sox [8] 83−20.2%1,427,3150.7%17,621
Detroit Tigers [9] 85−7.6%1,398,093−18.8%17,476
Chicago Cubs [10] 69−15.9%1,364,0391.6%17,266
Pittsburgh Pirates [11] 62−1.6%1,283,53171.1%16,247
Boston Braves [12] 866.2%1,277,36131.7%16,589
St. Louis Cardinals [13] 89−9.2%1,247,91317.5%16,207
Philadelphia Athletics [14] 7859.2%911,56646.6%11,687
Philadelphia Phillies [15] 62−10.1%907,332−13.2%11,784
Cincinnati Reds [16] 739.0%899,97525.7%11,688
Chicago White Sox [17] 70−5.4%876,948−10.8%11,693
Washington Senators [18] 64−15.8%850,758−17.2%11,049
St. Louis Browns [19] 59−10.6%320,474−39.1%4,162

Events

April–June

July–September

October–December

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Major League Baseball season</span> Sports season

The 2007 Major League Baseball season began on April 1 with a rematch of the 2006 National League Championship Series; the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets played the first game of the season at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, which was won by the Mets, 6–1. The regular season concluded with seven teams entering the postseason who had failed to reach the 2006 playoffs including all National League teams, with only the New York Yankees returning; a dramatic one-game playoff between the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres; and the largest September collapse for a leading team in baseball history, with the Mets squandering a 7-game lead with 17 to play, losing on the final day of the regular season, and the Philadelphia Phillies capturing the National League East for the first time since 1993. The season ended on October 28, with the Boston Red Sox sweeping the World Series over the Rockies, four games to zero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1959 Major League Baseball season</span> Sports season

The 1959 Major League Baseball season was played from April 9 to October 9, 1959. It saw the Los Angeles Dodgers, free of the strife produced by their move from Brooklyn the previous season, rebound to win the National League pennant after a two-game playoff against the Milwaukee Braves, who themselves had moved from Boston in 1953. The Dodgers won the World Series against a Chicago White Sox team that had not played in the "Fall Classic" since 1919 and was interrupting a Yankees' dynasty that dominated the American League between 1949 and 1964.

The 1949 major league baseball season began on April 18, 1949. The regular season ended on October 2, 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 46th World Series on October 5 and ended with Game 5 on October 9. The Yankees defeated the Dodgers, four games to one, capturing the 12th championship in franchise history.

The 1939 major league baseball season began on April 17, 1939. The regular season ended on October 1, with the Cincinnati Reds 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 36th World Series on October 4 and ended with Game 4 on October 8. The Yankees swept the Reds in four games. The Yankees became the first team to win the World Series four years in a row.

The 1957 Major League Baseball season was played from April 15 to October 10, 1957. The National League's Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants played their final seasons as New York City-based franchises before their moves to California for the 1958 season, leaving New York City without a National League team until the birth of the Mets in 1962.

The 1962 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 9 to October 16, 1962. The National League (NL) added two teams via expansion, the Houston Colt .45s and New York Mets. This marked the return of the NL to New York City after a four-year absence, although the Mets would lose 120 games and finish in last place. All major league teams now played 162-game schedules, which had been adopted by the American League (AL) the prior season, with each team facing the nine other clubs in the same league 18 times during the season.

The 1966 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 11 to October 9, 1966. The Braves played their inaugural season in Atlanta, following their relocation from Milwaukee. Three teams played the 1966 season in new stadiums. On April 12, the Braves ushered in Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium with the Pittsburgh Pirates taking a 3–2 win in 13 innings. One week later, Anaheim Stadium opened with the California Angels losing to the Chicago White Sox, 3–1 in the Angels' debut following their move from Los Angeles to nearby Orange County. On May 8, the St. Louis Cardinals closed out old Sportsman's Park/Busch Stadium I with a 10–5 loss to the San Francisco Giants before opening the new Busch Memorial Stadium four days later with a 4–3 win in 12 innings over the Atlanta Braves.

The 1951 major league baseball season began on April 16, 1951. The regular season ended on October 3, with the New York Giants and New York Yankees as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Giants defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in a regular season best-of-three tiebreaker, for the National League title, after both teams finished their 154-game schedules with identical 96–58 records. This was the third regular season tie-breaker, and saw a reversion from the single-game tie-breaker featured in 1948 to the three-game format featured in the 1946 tie-breaker series. After splitting the first two games, the stage was set for a decisive third game, won in dramatic fashion on a walk-off home run from the bat of Giant Bobby Thomson, one of the most famous moments in the history of baseball, commemorated as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" and "The Miracle at Coogan's Bluff". The postseason began with Game 1 of the 48th World Series on October 4 and ended with Game 6 on October 10. The Yankees defeated the Giants, four games to two, capturing the 14th championship in franchise history, in the midst of a 5-year World Series winning streak.

The 1956 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 17 to October 10, 1956, featuring eight teams in the National League and eight teams in the American League. The 1956 World Series was a rematch of the previous year's series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers. The series is notable for Yankees pitcher Don Larsen's perfect game in Game 5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1955 Major League Baseball season</span> Sports season

The 1955 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 11 to October 4, 1955. It featured 16 teams, eight in the National League and eight in the American League, with each team playing a 154-game schedule. In the World Series the Brooklyn Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees 4 games to 3.

The 1953 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 13 to October 12, 1953. It marked the first relocation of an MLB franchise in fifty years, as the Boston Braves moved their NL franchise to Milwaukee, where they would play their home games at the new County Stadium. This was also the first regular season of the televised Major League Baseball Game of the Week, originally broadcast on ABC.

The 1958 Major League Baseball season was played from April 14 to October 15, 1958. It was the first season of play in California for both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants ; in turn, this marked the first teams to ever play on the West Coast. Three teams had relocated earlier in the decade: the Milwaukee Braves, Baltimore Orioles, and Kansas City Athletics. New York went without a National League team for four seasons, until the expansion New York Mets began play in 1962.

The 1932 major league baseball season began on April 11, 1932. The regular season ended on September 25, with the Chicago Cubs 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 29th World Series on September 28 and ended with Game 4 on October 2. The Yankees swept the Cubs in four games.

The 1933 major league baseball season began on April 12, 1933. The regular season ended on October 1, with the New York Giants and Washington Senators as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 30th World Series on October 3 and ended with Game 5 on October 7. The Giants defeated the Senators, four games to one.

The 1936 major league baseball season began on April 14, 1936. The regular season ended on September 27, with the New York Giants 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 33rd World Series on September 30 and ended with Game 6 on October 6. In the fourth iteration of this World Series matchup, the Yankees defeated the Giants, four games to two.

The 1940 major league baseball season began on April 16, 1940. The regular season ended on September 29, with the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 37th World Series on October 2 and ended with Game 7 on October 8. The Reds defeated the Tigers, four games to three.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1941 Major League Baseball season</span> Sports season

The 1941 major league baseball season began on April 14, 1941. 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 38th World Series on October 1 and ended with Game 5 on October 6. The Yankees defeated the Dodgers, four games to one.

The 1942 major league baseball season began on April 14, 1942. The regular season ended on September 27, with the St. Louis Cardinals 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 39th World Series on September 30 and ended with Game 5 on October 5. The Cardinals defeated the Yankees, four games to one.

The 1944 major league baseball season began on April 18, 1944. The regular season ended on October 1, with the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. In an all-St. Louis postseason, the postseason began with Game 1 of the 41st World Series on October 4 and ended with Game 6 on October 9. The Cardinals defeated the Browns, four games to two.

The 1946 major league baseball season began on April 16, 1946. The regular season ended on October 3, with the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox as the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Cardinals defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers in a regular season best-of-three tiebreaker, for the National League title, after both teams finished their 154-game schedules with identical 96–58 records. It was Major League Baseball's first-ever regular season tie-breaker. The postseason began with Game 1 of the 43rd World Series on October 6 and ended with Game 7 on October 15. The Cardinals defeated the Red Sox, four games to three.

References

  1. 1 2 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. ↑ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  6. ↑ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  13. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 8, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.