Burleigh Grimes came through again when the 1931 St. Louis Cardinals needed him most. Grimes allowed just 4 hits and a run in a complete game 6-1 victory over the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics that sends the series to a deciding Game 7. The lone Athletics run came on Mickey Cochrane’s 5th home run of the Tournament. Pepper Martin tripled off Rube Walberg for the 1st Cardinals run. Ripper Collins followed with an RBI single to give St. Louis an early 2-0 lead. Chick Hafey hit is 8th homer of the Tournament, a solo shot in the 4th to extend the lead to 3-0. Martin drove in Jim Bottomley with another RBI single in the 6th, and singled and scored one of two Cardinals runs in the 8th. Overall, Walberg allowed 12 hits in 8 innings. Martin finished 4 for 4 for St. Louis, who have tied the Series at 3. Tomorrow will decide who the best team of the 1930s truly is.

’31 Cardinals @ ’31 Athletics – 10/22/23

The 1931 St. Louis Cardinals took advantage of two Dib Williams errors, topping Lefty Grove and the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics 2-1 to keep their hopes alive in the Best of the 1930s World Series. Williams’ first error came when leadoff hitter Sparky Adams hit a sharp grounder in the 1st inning that Williams couldn’t handle. Adams stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on a grounder, and scored on Jim Bottomley’s single. In the 3rd, Williams tried to ready for a quick throw to home after George Watkins tripled, but bobbled it to allow the 2nd run to score. Grove struck out 7 and allowed just 7 hits. Bill Hallahan bounced back from a rough start in Game 1, holding the Athletics to 6 hits and striking out 9 in 8 innings. Hallahan struggled with control at points, walking 8, including 3 straight walks in the 5th to walk in the lone Philadelphia run. Hallahan walked the 1st two batters he faced in the 9th before Jim Lindsey came in to relieve him. Lindsay walked Mule Haas to load the bases, but the Athletics couldn’t score the tying run. Mickey Cochrane grounded to 2nd, but Frankie Frisch threw out Eric McNair at the plate. Al Simmons struck out, and Jimmie Foxx flew out to end the game. The series heads back to Philadelphia for Game 5, with the Athletics leading the series 3-2.

’31 Athletics @ ’31 Cardinals – 10/20/23

Eric McNair had two key hits, and both starters turned in great performances, but a 10th-inning mental mistake sealed a 3-2 Philadelphia Athletics victory, putting them up 3-1 and just a win away from a World Series victory over the 1931 St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals struck first with a 1st inning RBI single from Frankie Frisch against Roy Mahaffey. McNair, hitting just .149 in the Tournament, had RBI singles off Syl Johnson in the 5th and 7th to give Philadelphia a 2-1 lead. Chick Hafey came through to tie things in the 8th with his 1st hit of the game, driving in Jim Bottomley who had tripled. Mahaffey finished allowing just 2 runs while scattering 11 hits in 7 1/3 innings. Johnson allowed just 8 hits and 2 runs in 7 innings for St. Louis. Cardinals reliever Allyn Stout loaded the bases with back-to-back two-out walks in the 9th, but got Jimmy Dykes to ground out to end the inning. Mickey Cochrane led off the 10th with a double off Stout. Al Simmons singled Cochrane to 3rd, and Jimmy Foxx hit a flyball to left to score him. Foxx finished 0 for 3 and is hitting just .229 in the Tournament. Lew Krausse entered his 3rd inning of relief, retiring Frisch and Bottomley. But Hafey hit a double, putting the tying run on 2nd. Hafey took a wide lead at 2nd in hopes of scoring on a base hit, but Krausse threw behind him to catch him off the base, ending the game and stunning Cardinals fans. The Cardinals will need to beat Lefty Grove tomorrow, in a rematch of the Game 1 starters.

’31 Athletics @ ’31 Cardinals – 10/19/23

For the 3rd straight game, a starting pitcher didn’t make it past the 3rd inning. This time it was St. Louis Cardinals starter Paul Derringer. Derringer walked the 1st two batters he faced before allowing an RBI single to Al Simmons sandwiched between two strikeouts. Bing Miller followed with a double that scored another, but Chick Hafey threw Simmons out at the plate to end the inning. A botched pickoff throw and a bobbled grounder led to 3 unearned runs in the 2nd. It was Simmons again who drove in two of those runs. Facing a 5-0 deficit, Derringer felt a pulled hamstring before he came out for the 3rd inning. Jesse Haines allowed a run on 5 hits over the next 5 1/3 innings, but the damage was already done. George Earnshaw pitched a gem on the other side, allowing just 5 hits and 2 runs in 7 2/3 inning. Earnshaw drilled Frisch with 2 outs in the 8th, clearing both benches. A few punches were thrown, but order was restored. Both Earnshaw and Frisch were ejected. The Cardinals got a couple of two-out singles in the 9th, but couldn’t score again, dropping Game 3 6-2. Simmons finished 4 for 5 with 3 RBI to raise his Tournament average to .518. Ripper Collins was 3 for 4 for the Cardinals. Hafey finished 0 for 3, and is now hitless in both St. Louis losses.

’31 Athletics @ ’31 Cardinals – 10/18/23

A day after losing 13-1, the 1931 St. Louis Cardinals got their revenge, topping the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics 9-0. The series is now tied 1-1 heading to St. Louis. Burleigh Grimes was fantastic for St. Louis, allowing just 5 hits in a complete game shutout. Chick Hafey and George Watkins each went 4 for 5 for St. Louis. The Cardinals batted around and scored 5 runs in the 1st inning. In the 2nd, Dib Williams commited the 1st of 2 errors in the game, and Jim Bottomley followed with a 3-run home run to end Rube Walberg’s day. Walberg allowed 6 runs and walked 3 in his one inning of work. The Athletic relievers allowed just 1 run on 9 hits the rest of the game. Hank McDonald will miss the rest of the Series after tearing his hamstring in the the 8th. The lone offensive bright spot for Philadelphia was Mickey Cochrane, who was 2 for 4 with 2 doubles.

’31 Cardinals @ ’31 Athletics – 10/16/23

Lefty Grove left no chance, holding the 1931 St. Louis Cardinals to just a run on 6 hits while striking out 9 as the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics offense pummeled the Cardinals 13-1 in Game 1 of the 1930s World Series. Cardinals starter Bill Hallahan didn’t make it out of the 3rd inning, allowing 8 runs on 8 hits. St. Louis also committed 4 errors in the game. Philadelphia scored in all but two innings. Allyn Stout left in the 5th after giving up a 2-run home run to Eric McNair. Flint Rhem did a little better for the Cardinals, but even he allowed 6 hits and 3 runs in 4 innings. Mule Haas drove in 3 runs to lead the offense in a game in which every Athletics starter had a hit. St. Louis’ top hitter, Chick Hafey, was 0 for 4 and struck out 3 times. Frankie Frisch broke up Grove’s shutout in the 9th with a leadoff solo homer. Al Simmons was 2 for 5 with a home run. His average is an astounding .521 in the Tournament. The Cardinals hope to forget this game as they look on to Game 2 of the Series.

’31 Cardinals @ ’31 Athletics – 10/15/23

George Watkins got the 1931 St. Louis Cardinals on the board early, with a solo home run off 1935 Chicago Cubs starter Charlie Root in the 1st. The Cubs put together a run of their own on a sacrifice fly by Gabby Hartnett in the bottom of the inning. After that, it was all Cardinals, as Root didn’t have any kind of answer for the St. Louis offense. His day was ended when Watkins hit his 2nd homer of the game, a 2-run shot with 2 outs in the 6th to give the Cardinals an 8-1 lead. But St. Louis added another run off Clyde Shoun, and 4 more in the 9th off Hugh Casey. Watkins finished 4 for 6 with 2 homers, a triple, and 4 RBI. Chick Hafey was also 4 for 6, adding a homer and 3 RBI. St. Louis finished with 22 runs in the 13-1 thrashing. St. Louis starter Syl Johnson had another amazing start, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits in another complete game. Johnson is 4-1 with a 3.12 ERA in the Tournament. Other than Roy Henshaw, Cubs pitchers allowed 23 runs in 12 1/3 innings of relief. St. Louis advances to face the Philadelphia Athletics in the Best of the 1930s World Series, a matchup of the real life 1931 Series.

’31 Cardinals @ ’35 Cubs – 10/14/23

1935 Chicago Cubs starter Larry French walked in a run in the 1st, allowed a 3-run double to Chick Hafey in the 3rd, and a Jim Bottomley home run in the 5th to give the 1931 St. Louis Cardinals a 5-0 lead in what should have been the game that sent them to the 1930s World Series. But Gabby Hartnett hit a 2-run single in the 6th and Frank Demaree added a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 5-3 against Paul Derringer. Down to their final 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, Freddie Lindstrom singled. Tuck Stainback, starting for an injured Chuck Klein, took the next pitch 458′ to tie the game 5-5 and end Derringer’s night. Derringer had allowed just 4 hits until that inning, while striking out 9. While French had been ineffective for Chicago, Roy Henshaw allowed no runs and just 3 hits, striking out 4 in 6 2/3 innings of relief work. The Cubs loaded the bases with no outs in the 10th against Jim Lindsey, but Lindsey worked out of the jam. The Cardinals finally pulled ahead with a run in the top of the 12th against Tex Carleton. Lindsey couldn’t close the deal, bobbling an easy come-backer and walking Demaree to load the bases again with no outs. Jesse Haines relieved and got Stan Hack to pop up for the 1st out, but Phil Cavarretta followed with a 2-run single to give the Cubs the crazy 7-6 walk-off win. The series will not turn to the decisive Game 7. The winner will face the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics in the 1930s World Series.

’31 Cardinals @ ’35 Cubs – 10/13/23

Strong winds were the difference in today’s game between the 1935 Chicago Cubs and the 1931 St. Louis Cardinals. Burleigh Grimes allowed just 5 hits and took a 1-0 lead into the 7th, but Freddie Lindstrom hit a 2-run single, and scored on a double play later in the inning to give Chicago a 3-1 lead. Chicago had threatened in the 6th when Billy Herman hit a leadoff double and Gabby Hartnett walked, but Frank Demaree grounded hard right to Sparky Adams, who turned it into a 5-4-3 triple play. George Watkins and Jim Bottomley drove in runs to tie it up in the bottom half of the 7th against Lon Warneke. But Tuck Stainback gunned down Bottomley at the plate to end the inning and prevent the go-ahead run. Jesse Haines pitched a scoreless 10th for the Cardinals. Clyde Shoun retired the 1st two batters he faced in the bottom of the inning, but walked Jimmie Wilson. That’s when Adams hit a high fly ball that the wind carried over the wall for a walk-off home run. Adams had just 9 homers in his career. He finished 4 for 6 with 3 RBI. The Cardinals are now a win away from heading to the Best of the 1930s World Series. The Cubs must win the next two games, but both are at Wrigley Field.

’35 Cubs @ ’31 Cardinals – 10/11/23

St. Louis Cardinals starter Bill Hallahan held the Chicago Cubs to 1 run on 7 hits in the 1st 8 innings. With an RBI single in the 2nd and 5th off Bill Lee, the Cardinals looked poised to take a 3-1 series lead. But Kiki Cuyler came off the bench at just the right time. Pinch hitting for Billy Jurges, Cuyler hit one into the leftfield corner, driving in Phil Cavarretta and Freddie Lindstrom to give the Cubs a 3-2 lead. Chick Hafey hit a leadoff double in the bottom of the 9th, ending Lee’s day. But Roy Henshaw got Pepper Martin and Ripper Collins to fly out. Charlie Gelbert drew a walk, bringing up pinch-hitter Taylor Douthit, who grounded out to end the game. Lee is now 4-2 in the Tournament. It was Henshaw’s 3rd save. Hafey finished 3 for 4, and has now hit safely in 10 straight games. The series is now tied 2-2 heading into the final game in St. Louis.

’35 Cubs @ ’31 Cardinals – 10/10/23