The 1931 World Series was the last the Philadelphia Athletics would reach.
Sort of an early dynasty in baseball, the A's were. They won the Fall Classic in 1910, 1911 and 1913. But then the Red Sox of Babe Ruth took over. When Ruth went to the Yankees in 1920, the A's languished behind them for many years.
But in 1929, they won the pennant and then the World Series over Chicago. They would repeat that the next year. They also had a great team. Take a look at the '29 Athletics.
Mickey Cochrane, Jimmy Foxx, Al Simmons, Max Bishop, Mule Haas and Jimmy Dykes led the offence.
They had some pretty good pitching with Lefty Grove, Jack Quinn, Rube Walberg and George Earnshaw. Howard Ehmke even pitched that World Series and had one last hurrah!
The team also had one last hurrah in the 1931 World Series. Looking for 3-peat they were. But it wasn't quite in the Cards. The World Series between Philly and St. Louis that year was a classic, to put it mildly.
In game 2, Bill Hallahan (Wild Bill) pitched a fine 3-hitter to even up the Series for St, Louis. Burleigh Grimes then somehow went out in game 3 and trumpted that.
Grimes, the last legal spitballer, tossed a 2-hit shutout for the Cardinals. The final score was 5-2. St. Louis was also up 2 games to 1.
Grimes was actually better than that, as he took a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the 9th. A walk and a Simmons' homerun broke up his shutout bid.
Was this it for the A's? Not so fast!
Earnshaw went out there in game 4 at Shibe Park and fired a fine 2-hitter of his own. The Cardinals failed to score. Series tied, 2-2.
But Hallahan clearly got the better of former Yankee Waite Hoyt in game 5. St. Louis won it rather easily, 5-2.
But Grove went out and gave up just 5 hits to the Birds. The A's scored 8 times. Amazingly, none of them came via the longball. It was time for a winner-take-all game 7.
Grimes and Earnshaw hooked up in a pitcher's duel. But the Cards used the most out of just 7 hits off George to score 4 runs.
Things were looking grim for the A's as they came up in the top of the 9th down 4-0. But Philadelphia, showing the heart of a champion, did not go away quietly.
Al Simmons led off with a walk. The next two batters were retired. It looked all over. But Jimmy Dykes kept a faint hope alive by drawing Grimes' 2nd walk of the inning and 5th of the game. When Dib Williams singled, it was bases loaded and 2 outs.
In game 7.
Isn't this the spot we all dream about being in?
Doc Cramer pinch-hit for Rube Walker, who had pitched the 8th for the A's. And Cramer came through with a clutch single. Two runs scored! Grimes was through for the day, as Wild Bill came on in.
Max Bishop lofted a flyball to center that Pepper Martin caught. It was all over.
It had been a great World Series, but it was also the end of the line for the A's. At least the chapter that covers the Philadelphia portion!
Connie Mack, looking at the depression, was forced to sell much of the team. By 1934, the team was in 5th place. Then they would usually occupy the 7th or 8th spot in the coming years.
By the 1950s it was getting harder and harder for a city to support 2 major league teams. After 1954, with a record of 51-103, the Athletics left Philadelphia and moved to Kansas City. The Phillies were all alone.
And the A's would never return to the World Series until 1972. By then, they had moved again. Oakland was (and still is) there home.
Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. Jan 3, 2014.
Sort of an early dynasty in baseball, the A's were. They won the Fall Classic in 1910, 1911 and 1913. But then the Red Sox of Babe Ruth took over. When Ruth went to the Yankees in 1920, the A's languished behind them for many years.
But in 1929, they won the pennant and then the World Series over Chicago. They would repeat that the next year. They also had a great team. Take a look at the '29 Athletics.
Mickey Cochrane, Jimmy Foxx, Al Simmons, Max Bishop, Mule Haas and Jimmy Dykes led the offence.
They had some pretty good pitching with Lefty Grove, Jack Quinn, Rube Walberg and George Earnshaw. Howard Ehmke even pitched that World Series and had one last hurrah!
The team also had one last hurrah in the 1931 World Series. Looking for 3-peat they were. But it wasn't quite in the Cards. The World Series between Philly and St. Louis that year was a classic, to put it mildly.
In game 2, Bill Hallahan (Wild Bill) pitched a fine 3-hitter to even up the Series for St, Louis. Burleigh Grimes then somehow went out in game 3 and trumpted that.
Grimes, the last legal spitballer, tossed a 2-hit shutout for the Cardinals. The final score was 5-2. St. Louis was also up 2 games to 1.
Grimes was actually better than that, as he took a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the 9th. A walk and a Simmons' homerun broke up his shutout bid.
Was this it for the A's? Not so fast!
Earnshaw went out there in game 4 at Shibe Park and fired a fine 2-hitter of his own. The Cardinals failed to score. Series tied, 2-2.
But Hallahan clearly got the better of former Yankee Waite Hoyt in game 5. St. Louis won it rather easily, 5-2.
But Grove went out and gave up just 5 hits to the Birds. The A's scored 8 times. Amazingly, none of them came via the longball. It was time for a winner-take-all game 7.
Grimes and Earnshaw hooked up in a pitcher's duel. But the Cards used the most out of just 7 hits off George to score 4 runs.
Things were looking grim for the A's as they came up in the top of the 9th down 4-0. But Philadelphia, showing the heart of a champion, did not go away quietly.
Al Simmons led off with a walk. The next two batters were retired. It looked all over. But Jimmy Dykes kept a faint hope alive by drawing Grimes' 2nd walk of the inning and 5th of the game. When Dib Williams singled, it was bases loaded and 2 outs.
In game 7.
Isn't this the spot we all dream about being in?
Doc Cramer pinch-hit for Rube Walker, who had pitched the 8th for the A's. And Cramer came through with a clutch single. Two runs scored! Grimes was through for the day, as Wild Bill came on in.
Max Bishop lofted a flyball to center that Pepper Martin caught. It was all over.
It had been a great World Series, but it was also the end of the line for the A's. At least the chapter that covers the Philadelphia portion!
Connie Mack, looking at the depression, was forced to sell much of the team. By 1934, the team was in 5th place. Then they would usually occupy the 7th or 8th spot in the coming years.
By the 1950s it was getting harder and harder for a city to support 2 major league teams. After 1954, with a record of 51-103, the Athletics left Philadelphia and moved to Kansas City. The Phillies were all alone.
And the A's would never return to the World Series until 1972. By then, they had moved again. Oakland was (and still is) there home.
References
Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. Jan 3, 2014.
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