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1944 Major League Baseball season

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1944 MLB season
LeagueAmerican League (AL)
National League (NL)
SportBaseball
DurationRegular season:
  • April 18 – October 1, 1944
World Series:
  • October 4–9, 1944
Games154
Teams16 (8 per league)
Regular season
Season MVPAL: Hal Newhouser (DET)
NL: Marty Marion (STL)
AL championsSt. Louis Browns
  AL runners-upDetroit Tigers
NL championsSt. Louis Cardinals
  NL runners-upPittsburgh Pirates
World Series
VenueSportsman's Park, St. Louis, Missouri
ChampionsSt. Louis Cardinals
  Runners-upSt. Louis Browns
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1942–1953 American League seasons
American League

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, capturing their fifth championship in franchise history, since their previous in 1942. Going into the season, the defending World Series champions were the New York Yankees from the 1943 season.

The 12th All-Star Game was held on July 11 at the Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The National League won, 7–1.

The season is notable for greatly relaxing restrictions on night games.[1]

This was Kenesaw Mountain Landis' last season of his 24-year tenure as commissioner, following his death in November. He would be succeeded by Happy Chandler.

Challenging the color line

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During the final days of the 1943 Winter Meetings prior to the season's start, commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis (who, according to a number of baseball authors, has had racism ascribed to him for actively perpetuating the baseball color line)[2] invited singer Paul Robeson, and three black journalists, Ira F. Lewis of the Pittsburgh Courier, John H. Sengstacke of The Chicago Defender, and Howard Murphy of the Baltimore Afro-American, to plead their case in favor of integration in baseball, marking the first time a black person had spoken directly with the leaders of Organized Baseball about this topic. In response, Landis read a joint American League-National League statement stating that "There is no rule, formal or informal, or any understanding — unwritten, subterranean or sub-anything — against the hiring of Negro players by the teams of organized baseball."[3]

However, it would not be until after Landis' death in November 1944 that baseball would begin to move towards breaking the color line. With the support from incoming commissioner Happy Chandler, Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson in late-October 1945 to their top minor-league affiliate, the Montreal Royals, eventually breaking the major-league color barrier following his promotion to the majors in 1947.

Schedule

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The 1944 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 18, featuring fourteen teams. The final day of the regular season was on October 1, which saw all sixteen teams play, continuing the trend since the previous season. The World Series took place between October 4 and October 9.

Tri-Cornered Baseball Game

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A unique three-way exhibition game, formatted as a round-robin, was held at the Polo Grounds, which saw the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, and New York Yankees play a game on June 26 to sell war bonds to aid in the U.S. war effort in World War II, in which they would raise $6 million (equivalent to $109.7 million in 2025).[4] The Dodgers defeating the Yankees and Giants, winning the game 5–1–0, respectively.[4] Including a $50 million donation from New York City, a total of $56 million (equivalent to $1.024 billion in 2025) was raised or the war effort.[5]

Rule change

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The 1944 season saw the following rule change:

  • During the July All-Star break, all teams were given permission to have unlimited weekday night games. Previously, all teams were allowed only 14 (except the Washington Senators, which were allowed 21).[1]

Teams

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An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at

League Team City Ballpark Capacity Manager[6]
American League Boston Red Sox Boston, Massachusetts Fenway Park 33,817 Joe Cronin
Chicago White Sox Chicago, Illinois Comiskey Park 50,000 Jimmy Dykes
Cleveland Indians Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland Stadium 78,811 Lou Boudreau
League Park* 22,500*
Detroit Tigers Detroit, Michigan Briggs Stadium 58,000 Steve O'Neill
New York Yankees New York, New York Yankee Stadium 70,000 Joe McCarthy
Philadelphia Athletics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 33,000 Connie Mack
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 34,023 Luke Sewell
Washington Senators Washington, D.C. Griffith Stadium 32,000 Ossie Bluege
National League Boston Braves Boston, Massachusetts Braves Field 37,746 Bob Coleman
Brooklyn Dodgers New York, New York Ebbets Field 35,000 Leo Durocher
Chicago Cubs Chicago, Illinois Wrigley Field 38,396 Jimmie Wilson
Roy Johnson
Charlie Grimm
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio Crosley Field 29,401 Bill McKechnie
New York Giants New York, New York Polo Grounds 56,000 Mel Ott
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Shibe Park 33,000 Freddie Fitzsimmons
Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Forbes Field 33,467 Frankie Frisch
St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 34,023 Billy Southworth

Standings

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American League

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American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
St. Louis Browns 8965 .578 — 54‍–‍23 35‍–‍42
Detroit Tigers 8866 .571 1 43‍–‍34 45‍–‍32
New York Yankees 8371 .539 6 47‍–‍31 36‍–‍40
Boston Red Sox 7777 .500 12 47‍–‍30 30‍–‍47
Cleveland Indians 7282 .468 17 39‍–‍38 33‍–‍44
Philadelphia Athletics 7282 .468 17 39‍–‍37 33‍–‍45
Chicago White Sox 7183 .461 18 41‍–‍36 30‍–‍47
Washington Senators 6490 .416 25 40‍–‍37 24‍–‍53

National League

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National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
St. Louis Cardinals 10549 .682 — 54‍–‍22 51‍–‍27
Pittsburgh Pirates 9063 .588 14½ 49‍–‍28 41‍–‍35
Cincinnati Reds 8965 .578 16 45‍–‍33 44‍–‍32
Chicago Cubs 7579 .487 30 35‍–‍42 40‍–‍37
New York Giants 6787 .435 38 39‍–‍36 28‍–‍51
Boston Braves 6589 .422 40 38‍–‍40 27‍–‍49
Brooklyn Dodgers 6391 .409 42 37‍–‍39 26‍–‍52
Philadelphia Phillies 6192 .399 43½ 29‍–‍49 32‍–‍43

Tie games

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11 tie games (3 in AL, 8 in NL), which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind (and were often replayed again) occurred throughout the season.

American League

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  • Boston Red Sox, 2
  • Cleveland Indians, 1
  • Detroit Tigers, 2
  • Philadelphia Athletics, 1

National League

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  • Boston Braves, 1
  • Brooklyn Dodgers, 1
  • Chicago Cubs, 3
  • Cincinnati Reds, 1
  • New York Giants, 1
  • Philadelphia Phillies, 1
  • Pittsburgh Pirates, 5
  • St. Louis Cardinals, 3

Postseason

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The postseason began on October 4 and ended on October 9 with the St. Louis Cardinals defeating the St. Louis Browns in the 1944 World Series in six games.

Bracket

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World Series
   
AL St. Louis Browns 2
NL St. Louis Cardinals 4

Managerial changes

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In-season

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Team Former Manager New Manager
Chicago Cubs Jimmie Wilson Roy Johnson
Roy Johnson Charlie Grimm

League leaders

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American League

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Hitting leaders[7]
Stat Player Total
AVG Lou Boudreau (CLE) .327
OPS Bob Johnson (BOS) .959
HR Nick Etten (NYY) 22
RBI Vern Stephens (SLB) 109
R Snuffy Stirnweiss (NYY) 125
H Snuffy Stirnweiss (NYY) 205
SB Snuffy Stirnweiss (NYY) 55
Pitching leaders[8]
Stat Player Total
W Hal Newhouser (DET) 29
L Bill Dietrich (CWS)
Early Wynn (WSH)		 17
ERA Dizzy Trout (DET) 2.12
K Hal Newhouser (DET) 187
IP Dizzy Trout (DET) 352.1
SV Joe Berry (PHA)
George Caster (SLB)
Gordon Maltzberger (CWS)		 12
WHIP Tex Hughson (BOS) 1.048

National League

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Hitting leaders[9]
Stat Player Total
AVG Dixie Walker (BRO) .357
OPS Stan Musial (STL) .990
HR Bill Nicholson (CHC) 33
RBI Bill Nicholson (CHC) 122
R Bill Nicholson (CHC) 116
H Phil Cavarretta (CHC)
Stan Musial (STL)		 197
SB Johnny Barrett (PIT) 28
Pitching leaders[10]
Stat Player Total
W Bucky Walters (CIN) 23
L Ken Raffensberger (PHI) 20
ERA Ed Heusser (CIN) 2.38
K Bill Voiselle (NYG) 161
IP Bill Voiselle (NYG) 312.2
SV Ace Adams (NYG) 13
WHIP Ted Wilks (STL) 1.069

Milestones

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Batters

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Cycles

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Other batting accomplishments

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Pitchers

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No-hitters

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  • Jim Tobin (BSN):
    • Tobin threw his first career no-hitter and the sixth no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers 2–0 on April 27. Tobin walked two and struck out four.[16]
  • Clyde Shoun (CIN):
    • Shoun threw his first career no-hitter and the eighth no-hitter in franchise history, by defeating the Boston Braves 1–0 on May 15. Shoun walked one and struck out one.[17]

Other pitching accomplishments

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Awards and honors

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Regular season

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Baseball Writers' Association of America Awards
BBWAA Award National League American League
Most Valuable Player Marty Marion (STL) Hal Newhouser (DET)

Other awards

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The Sporting News Awards
Award National League American League
Most Valuable Player[18] Marty Marion (STL) Bobby Doerr (BOS)
Player of the Year[19] Marty Marion (STL) —
Pitcher of the Year[20] Bill Voiselle (NYG) Hal Newhouser (DET)
Manager of the Year[21] — Luke Sewell (SLB)
Executive of the Year[22] — Bill DeWitt (SLB)

Baseball Hall of Fame

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Home field attendance

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Team name Wins %± Home attendance %± Per game
Detroit Tigers[23] 88 12.8% 923,176 52.3% 11,836
New York Yankees[24] 83 −15.3% 789,995 27.8% 10,128
New York Giants[25] 67 21.8% 674,483 44.7% 8,993
Chicago Cubs[26] 75 1.4% 640,110 25.9% 8,207
Brooklyn Dodgers[27] 63 −22.2% 605,905 −8.4% 7,869
Pittsburgh Pirates[28] 90 12.5% 604,278 21.2% 7,460
Chicago White Sox[29] 71 −13.4% 563,539 10.7% 7,319
Washington Senators[30] 64 −23.8% 525,235 −8.6% 6,821
St. Louis Browns[31] 89 23.6% 508,644 137.2% 6,606
Boston Red Sox[32] 77 13.2% 506,975 41.5% 6,500
Philadelphia Athletics[33] 72 46.9% 505,322 34.1% 6,649
Cleveland Indians[34] 72 −12.2% 475,272 8.3% 6,093
St. Louis Cardinals[35] 105 0.0% 461,968 −10.7% 6,000
Cincinnati Reds[36] 89 2.3% 409,567 8.0% 5,251
Philadelphia Phillies[37] 61 −4.7% 369,586 −20.9% 4,678
Boston Braves[38] 65 −4.4% 208,691 −23.1% 2,676

Venues

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Over 78 home games, the Cleveland Indians played 43 games at Cleveland Stadium and 35 games at League Park.[39] All Sunday home games took place at Cleveland Stadium. All Saturday home games took place at League Park. This would be the 10th of 12 seasons since 1932 that saw the Indians play at both venues.

Retired numbers

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Carl Hubbell had his No. 11 retired by the New York Giants. This was the first number retired by the team.

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 Moraski, Richard. "The Washington Senators in Wartime". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  2. ↑ Pietrusza, David (1998). Judge and Jury: The Life and Times of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis. South Bend, Indiana: Diamond Communications. p. 406. ISBN 978-1-888698-09-1.
  3. ↑ Klopsis, Nick. "1943 Winter Meetings: War on the Home Front". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Huber, Mike; Hamelers, Rachel (2015). "The Tri-Cornered War Bond Baseball Game". In Aaron, Marc Z.; Nowlin, Bill (eds.). Who's on First: Replacement Players in World War II. Society for American Baseball Research. pp. 18–20. ISBN 978-1-933599-90-8.
  5. ↑ Alonso, Nathalie. "Three-team game celebrates 75th anniversary". Major League Baseball. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  6. ↑ "1944 Major League Managers". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  7. ↑ "1944 American League Batting Leaders". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  8. ↑ "1944 American League Pitching Leaders". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  9. ↑ "1944 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  10. ↑ "1944 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  11. ↑ "St. Louis Browns 12, Boston Red Sox 8 (2)". Retrosheet. May 17, 1944. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Boston Red Sox 13, Detroit Tigers 3". Retrosheet. July 6, 1944. Archived from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Brooklyn Dodgers 8, New York Giants 4". Retrosheet. September 2, 1944. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  14. ↑ "April 30, 1944 Brooklyn Dodgers at New York Giants Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. April 30, 1944. Archived from the original on September 16, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Phil Weintraub Statistics and History". Baseball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on June 2, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Brooklyn Dodgers vs Boston Braves Box Score: April 27, 1944". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Boston Braves vs Cincinnati Reds Box Score: May 15, 1944". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 8, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Most Valuable Player Award by The Sporting News". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Major League Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Pitcher of the Year Award by The Sporting News". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Manager of the Year Award by The Sporting News". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  22. ↑ "MLB Executive of the Year Award". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  23. ↑ "Detroit Tigers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  24. ↑ "New York Yankees Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  25. ↑ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  27. ↑ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  28. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  29. ↑ "Chicago White Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Minnesota Twins Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  31. ↑ "Baltimore Orioles Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  32. ↑ "Boston Red Sox Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  33. ↑ "Oakland Athletics Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Cleveland Indians Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  35. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  36. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  37. ↑ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  38. ↑ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums and Park Factors". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  39. ↑ "Seamheads.com Ballparks Database — 1944 Season". www.seamheads.com. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
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