The 1937 New York Yankees pounded the 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers 9-3 in game one of their series and looked poised to stay at or near the top of the league standings. But then New York scored just six runs in the next three games, the Dodgers scored five runs in each of them, and Brooklyn bounced back to win the series.
Cookie Lavagetto batted .429 (6-for-14) with five RBI, Pete Reiser hit a pair of home runs and Curt Davis improved to 4-0 for the Dodgers (9-7). Bill Dickey hit .500 (8-for-16), Tony Lazzeri and Joe DiMaggio both homered twice and Red Ruffing moved to 4-0 for the Yankees (11-9). DiMaggio is now tied with teammate Lou Gehrig for the league lead with seven home runs.
Game #1: New York 9, Brooklyn 3
Bill Dickey and Joe DiMaggio both hit two-run home runs in the second and third innings, respectively, to stake the Yankees to a 4-0 lead. Dickey drove in two more with a double in the fifth and a single in the eighth, the latter making it 9-0. Brooklyn ended Red Ruffing’s shutout bid with three runs in the bottom of the eighth, which included a solo homer from pinch-hitter Jimmy Wasdell and a two-run single from Joe Medwick. Still, Ruffing improved to 4-0 after five starts.
1937 NEW YORK YANKEE AB R H BI 1941 BROOKLYN DODGER AB R H BI
Jake Powell 6 2 2 0 Pee Wee Reese 3 1 1 0
Red Rolfe 5 0 0 0 Billy Herman 4 1 1 0
Joe DiMaggio 3 2 1 2 Pete Reiser 4 0 0 0
Lou Gehrig 3 1 1 1 Joe Medwick 4 0 1 2
Bill Dickey 4 1 3 4 Dolph Camilli 4 0 0 0
Myril Hoag 4 0 0 0 Cookie Lavagetto 4 0 0 0
Frank Crosetti 5 0 1 0 Dixie Walker 3 0 0 0
Tony Lazzeri 4 2 2 0 Mickey Owen 4 0 0 0
Red Ruffing BXZ 2 1 1 1 Luke Hamlin CYZ 1 0 1 0
Kemp Wicker CRZ 1 0 0 0 Lew Riggs 1 0 1 0
Jimmy Wasdell 1 1 1 1
TOTALS 37 9 11 8 TOTALS 33 3 6 3
1937 NEW YORK YANKEES 022 110 030 -- 9
1941 BROOKLYN DODGERS 000 000 030 -- 3
LOB--1937 NEW YORK YANKEES 10, 1941 BROOKLYN DODGERS 5.
ERR--Red Ruffing BXZ, Pete Reiser, Joe Medwick. 2B--Bill
Dickey, Tony Lazzeri, Lou Gehrig, Luke Hamlin CYZ. HR--Bill
Dickey, Joe DiMaggio, Jimmy Wasdell. SACB--Red Ruffing BXZ.
1937 NEW YORK YANKEES IP H R ER BB SO HR
Red Ruffing BXZ [W] 7.67 6 3 1 2 8 1
Kemp Wicker CRZ 1.33 0 0 0 0 0 0
1941 BROOKLYN DODGERS
Luke Hamlin CYZ [L] 6.00 7 6 5 4 0 2
Newt Kimball CW 1.33 3 3 3 4 0 0
Larry French DYZ 0.67 1 0 0 0 0 0
Mace Brown BXW 1.00 0 0 0 0 0 0
Game #2: Brooklyn 5, New York 1
Kirby Higbe held the Yankees down in the next contest. An error helped plate the Dodgers’ first run in the fifth inning. New York’s only run came on Joe DiMaggio’s solo homer in the eighth to tie it. Brooklyn bounced back with four runs in the bottom of the eighth. Pete Reiser hit a two-run home run and Cookie Lavagetto and Dixie Walker had back-to-back RBI doubles.
1937 NEW YORK YANKEE AB R H BI 1941 BROOKLYN DODGER AB R H BI
Jake Powell 4 0 1 0 Pee Wee Reese 4 0 0 0
Red Rolfe 4 0 1 0 Billy Herman 4 1 1 0
Joe DiMaggio 4 1 1 1 Pete Reiser 4 1 1 2
Lou Gehrig 4 0 1 0 Joe Medwick 3 0 0 0
Bill Dickey 4 0 1 0 Dolph Camilli 2 1 0 0
Myril Hoag 4 0 0 0 Cookie Lavagetto 3 1 1 1
Frank Crosetti 3 0 0 0 Dixie Walker 4 1 2 1
Tony Lazzeri 4 0 1 0 Mickey Owen 4 0 0 0
Lefty Gomez AKZ 1 0 1 0 Kirby Higbe BY 3 0 1 0
TOTALS 32 1 7 1 TOTALS 31 5 6 4
1937 NEW YORK YANKEES 000 000 010 -- 1
1941 BROOKLYN DODGERS 000 010 04x -- 5
LOB--1937 NEW YORK YANKEES 7, 1941 BROOKLYN DODGERS 6.
ERR--Red Rolfe. 2B--Bill Dickey, Cookie Lavagetto, Dixie
Walker (2). HR--Joe DiMaggio, Pete Reiser. SACB--Lefty Gomez
AKZ.
1937 NEW YORK YANKEES IP H R ER BB SO HR
Lefty Gomez AKZ [L] 8.00 6 5 4 4 7 1
1941 BROOKLYN DODGERS
Kirby Higbe BY [W] 9.00 7 1 1 2 4 1
Game #3: Brooklyn 5, New York 2
The Dodgers got off to a great start and made it hold up. Mickey Owen’s sacrifice fly made it 1-0 in the second inning. Brooklyn had another four-run effort in the third, with Pete Reiser hitting another two-run homer, and Cookie Lavagetto providing a two-run double. Joe DiMaggio got the Yankees on the board in the sixth with an RBI double, and Tony Lazzeri hit a solo homer in the eighth. The Yankees brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth but hit into a game-ending double play as Curt Davis improved to 4-0 after four starts.
1941 BROOKLYN DODGER AB R H BI 1937 NEW YORK YANKEE AB R H BI
Pee Wee Reese 4 1 2 0 Jake Powell 4 0 1 0
Billy Herman 4 0 1 0 Red Rolfe 4 0 1 0
Pete Reiser 5 1 2 2 Joe DiMaggio 4 0 1 1
Joe Medwick 4 1 1 0 Lou Gehrig 4 0 1 0
Dolph Camilli 3 2 0 0 Bill Dickey 4 0 1 0
Cookie Lavagetto 5 0 3 2 Myril Hoag 3 0 1 0
Dixie Walker 4 0 2 0 Frank Crosetti 3 0 0 0
Mickey Owen 3 0 0 1 Tony Lazzeri 3 1 2 1
Curt Davis BZ 3 0 0 0 Bump Hadley CY 1 0 0 0
George Selkirk 0 1 0 0
Tommy Henrich 1 0 0 0
TOTALS 35 5 11 5 TOTALS 31 2 8 2
1941 BROOKLYN DODGERS 014 000 000 -- 5
1937 NEW YORK YANKEES 000 001 010 -- 2
LOB--1941 BROOKLYN DODGERS 11, 1937 NEW YORK YANKEES 4.
ERR--Tony Lazzeri. 2B--Cookie Lavagetto, Pee Wee Reese,
Myril Hoag, Joe DiMaggio, Red Rolfe. 3B--Tony Lazzeri.
HR--Pete Reiser, Tony Lazzeri. SACB--Curt Davis BZ.
1941 BROOKLYN DODGERS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Curt Davis BZ [W] 9.00 8 2 2 2 3 1
1937 NEW YORK YANKEES
Bump Hadley CY [L] 6.00 9 5 4 4 3 1
Johnny Murphy C 2.00 1 0 0 2 0 0
Ivy Andrews CZ 1.00 1 0 0 1 0 0
Game #4: Brooklyn 5, New York 3
Once again, the Dodgers got off to a good start. A first-inning run scored on a double play. Dolph Camilli hit a solo homer to lead off the second, and starting pitcher Whit Wyatt later had an RBI single to make it 3-0. The Yankees showed some life, as Tony Lazzeri hit a two-run homer in the fifth and Jake Powell tied it with an RBI single in the seventh. The Dodgers came right back and scored two in the top of the eighth on Cookie Lavagetto’s two-RBI double. New York again brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning but couldn’t do anything.
1941 BROOKLYN DODGER AB R H BI 1937 NEW YORK YANKEE AB R H BI
Pee Wee Reese 4 1 2 0 Jake Powell 5 0 1 1
Billy Herman 5 0 2 0 Red Rolfe 5 0 1 0
Pete Reiser 5 1 2 0 Joe DiMaggio 4 0 1 0
Joe Medwick 5 0 0 0 Lou Gehrig 4 0 1 0
Dolph Camilli 4 2 2 1 Bill Dickey 4 0 3 0
Cookie Lavagetto 2 1 2 2 Myril Hoag 3 1 1 0
Dixie Walker 4 0 0 0 Frank Crosetti 3 0 0 0
Mickey Owen 4 0 0 0 Tony Lazzeri 4 2 2 2
Whit Wyatt BKZ 4 0 1 1 Monte Pearson BX 2 0 0 0
Tommy Henrich 0 0 0 0
TOTALS 37 5 11 4 TOTALS 34 3 10 3
1941 BROOKLYN DODGERS 120 000 020 -- 5
1937 NEW YORK YANKEES 000 020 100 -- 3
LOB--1941 BROOKLYN DODGERS 8, 1937 NEW YORK YANKEES 8.
ERR--Joe DiMaggio (2). 2B--Cookie Lavagetto, Bill Dickey
(2), Tony Lazzeri. HR--Dolph Camilli, Tony Lazzeri.
SACB--Monte Pearson BX.
1941 BROOKLYN DODGERS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Whit Wyatt BKZ [W] 9.00 10 3 3 3 9 1
1937 NEW YORK YANKEES
Monte Pearson BX [L] 8.33 11 5 5 3 6 1
Ivy Andrews CZ 0.67 0 0 0 0 0 0
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 