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

The 1935 Chicago Cubs offense finally broke loose, scoring 12 runs against the 1931 St. Louis Cardinals and figuring out Syl Johnson to hand him his 1st loss of the Tournament. But it wasn’t easy. The Cardinals kept pressure on Charlie Root the entire game, never being more than 3 runs back at the end of any inning. St. Louis tied it in the 5th inning and scored in every inning after the 3rd. Even after allowing a 5-run 8th inning, the Cardinals scored 3 in the bottom of the inning and had the tying run at the plate in the 9th before Sparky Adams grounded into a double play. Roy Henshaw picked up his 2nd save with the 12-10 victory and sent the Cubs to Game 4 down just 2 games to 1 and ended their 4-game losing streak. Augie Galan was the star for Chicago, going 4 for 6 with a home run, 2 doubles, and 5 RBI. The teams combined for 38 hits.

’35 Cubs @ ’31 Cardinals – 10/9/23

1935 Chicago Cubs starter Larry French allowed 9 hits in the 1st 3 innings against the 1931 St. Louis Cardinals, but still found himself up 4-3. The Cardinals took a lead in the 2nd and 3rd innings, but Chicago came right back to retake it each time. Augie Galan added an insurance run in the 6th with an RBI double to give the Cubs a 5-3 lead. French left the game after allowing 2 hits in the 8th, but Clyde Shoun allowed just one of those runners to score to take a 5-4 lead into the 9th. But Shoun allowed Frankie Frisch a leadoff single, and Jim Bottomley walked before Chick Hafey doubled to tie the game. Pepper Martin followed and silenced the Wrigley Field crowd with a 3-run home run. Jim Lindsey pitched a scoreless 9th against the stunned Cubs, giving the Cardinals an 8-5 win and a 2-0 series lead heading to St. Louis. The Cubs will now need to win 4 of their next 5 games, the next 3 being at Sportsman’s Park. The Cardinals have won 4 straight and carry all of the momentum home.

’31 Cardinals @ ’35 Cubs – 10/7/23

The 1931 St. Louis Cardinals were limited to two hits through 7 innings against 1935 Chicago Cubs starter Lon Warneke. They finally broke through in the 8th. Charlie Gelbert led off with a double, and after Jimmie Wilson grounded out, Sparky Adams reached on one of Chicago’s 4 errors in the game. George Watkins came in clutch, bouncing one into the corner for a 2-run triple. Gelbert added an insurance run with an RBI double in the 9th. Meanwhile, Burleigh Grimes allowed just 4 hits in a 3-0 shutout. Chicago threatened in the 8th when Freddie Lindstrom doubled and moved to 3rd on a Billy Jurges sacrifice. Augie Galan and Billy Herman walked to load the bases, but Grimes struck out Chuck Klein and Gabby Hartnett to end the threat. After facing elimination, the Cardinals have now won 3 straight. This Game 1 victory at Wrigley Field puts the Cardinals in the driver’s seat for the series. The winner of this Best-of-7 series will face the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics in the Best of the 1930s World Series.

’31 Cardinals @ ’35 Cubs – 10/6/23

Facing an early deficit in the 3rd inning of a do-or-die game, Jim Bottomley hit a 3-run home run off 1935 Chicago Cubs starter Bill Lee to give the 1931 St. Louis Cardinals the lead. It was Bottomley’s 1st homer of the Tournament. It came after Cubs shortstop Billy Jurges bobbled a grounder that could have ended the inning. The game stayed close until the 7th, when the Cardinals piled on more runs. Cubs reliever Roy Henshaw couldn’t stop the bleeding as St. Louis scored 5 runs, 4 of them charged to Lee. A Billy Herman error in the 9th led to two more unearned runs, giving the Cardinals an 11-3 victory. Bottomley finished 2 for 5 with 4 RBI. Bill Hallahan went the distance for St. Louis, allowing 3 runs on 11 hits. The victory took the series for the Cardinals. Now, with both teams having one losing series, they’ll face off in a Best of Seven to see who advances to the World Series to face the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics.

Cardinals @ Cubs – 10/5/23

Even without Al Simmons, the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics found a way to win. After Joe Kuhel hit a 2-run home run off Lefty Grove to give the 1933 Washington Senators an early lead, Mickey Cochrane got the Athletics back on top with a 3-run homer in the 3rd. After Earl Whitehill hit Jimmy Dykes to lead off the 4th, Dib Williams singled. Eric McNair flew out, but Max Bishop doubled in Williams, and Lou Finney and Mule Haas singled to drive in two more, putting Philadelphia up 7-2. Washington’s Dave Harris hit a 2-run shot in the 7th off Grove, and a Bishop error in the 8th led to 2 more unearned runs to make it a 1-run game. Buddy Myer singled with 2 outs in the 9th, but Heinie Manush grounded out to Jimmie Foxx to end the game and send Washington home. The Athletics now wait for the Cubs-Cardinals series to find out who they will play in the 1930s World Series. Al Simmons is set to rejoin the team for the Series.

’33 Nationals @ ’31 Athletics – 10/5/23