It was, perhaps, surprising that Dean had to win over the fans at all after his incredible 1934 season. In that historic campaign, Dean led the league with 30 wins against just seven losses, leading the Cardinals to the 1934 National League pennant and a World Series championship against the Detroit Tigers. His seven shutouts and 195 strikeouts each led the league, and he ended the regular season with a 2.66 ERA in 311 2/3 innings.

In the seven-game World Series, Dean pitched 26 innings, allowing just five earned runs for a 1.73 ERA. He pitched all nine innings of the Cardinals’ 8-3 Game 1 win, then took a tough-luck loss in Game 5 after allowing two earned runs over eight innings. With just one day of rest, Dean pitched the decisive Game 7, holding the Tigers to just six hits in a complete-game shutout.

Following Dean’s historic season, he was named National League MVP ahead of Pittsburgh’s Paul Waner, who placed second, and the Giants’ Jo-Jo Moore, Travis Jackson, and Mel Ott, who finished third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.

The Sporting News chose to honor Dean with a trophy presentation as part of one of the biggest days on the St. Louis baseball calendar. The Cardinals’ annual Tuberculosis Day carnival raised funds for the Tuberculosis and Health Society, which supported a variety of causes in the city. The fundraiser was so important to the city that union leadership, which was boycotting Sportsman’s Park over the employment of union bartenders and ushers, called a one-day halt to support the event. As the St. Louis Globe-Democrat explained, “The Central Trades and Labor Union, in raising the boycott, was influenced by the fact the Tuberculosis Society spends a great deal of its income to feed underprivileged children, some of whom come from union homes.”[1]

Tuberculosis and Health Society officials declared that the event would be “the largest and most spectacular in the history of the tuberculosis games,” including:

• a performance by 8-year-old trapeze artist Adele Inge;
• an exhibition by the Southwest Gymnastic Society;
• a niblick contest featuring golf stars Johnny and Jimmy Manion, Bob Cochran, Ben Richter, Lou Fehlig, George Dawson, Tom Draper, and Francis Schwartz;
• a race between 100- and 220-yard world record holder Helen Stephens, University City’s Harriet la Mertha, and U.S. Olympian Gertrude Webb;
• a model airplane contest;
• an exhibition by the Shriners Drum and Bugle Corps and Patrol;
• and a band concert.[2]

The extravaganza featured 3,000 total performers and attracted 16,000 fans to the stadium. As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, “Women outnumbered the men in attendance by more than three to one, their bright dresses making a coat of many colors for the stands, and their voices during the closely contested ball game, adding a predominating, vibrant note.”[3]

Despite the positive spirit of the festivities and his accomplishments of the past year, Dean had attracted some controversy in recent days. One day earlier, on July 15, he had been slated to appear at an exhibition game in Springfield, Illinois. However, Dean’s scheduled start for the previous day was pushed back. As a result, he pitched all nine innings in the Cardinals’ 13-6 victory over the Braves. After showering, driving 2 ½ hours to Springfield, and stopping at a restaurant, Dean arrived late.

In his Post-Dispatch column, Dean explained:

They tell me in the spring that I am doin’ too many things and should ought to rest more and be sure to eat good nourishin’ food and not miss my meals on account of outside engagements. I try to remember all these things so when I hurry from pitchin’ a ballgame and goes to Springfield and ain’t had my dinner I figure I owe something to the ball club to be sure and eat nourishin’ food, so I goes to a restaurant and orders a steak. And what happens? Why, I get the blast because it seems a Governor and some other people was waitin’. But the Governor can’t pitch for us none and old Diz has got to stay in shape.[4]

Dean was scheduled to receive the MVP trophy from St. Louis Mayor Bernard Dickmann, but in a late change, Dickmann was replaced by Sporting News editor E.G. Brands. With the Braves and Cardinals gathered at home plate, Dean accepted the award and, after a fan loudly shouted, “Say something, you big weed jumper!” made a few brief remarks.[5]

“I want to thank the Sporting News for this trophy and I want to thank each and every St. Louis fan for the loyal support you have given me and I hope I will spend many more years here with the fans of St. Louis,” Dean said.^[6]

The St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported, “Dizzy’s speech won his public back, and they cheered loudly as he left the field.”[7]

In the game that followed, it was another Cardinals pitcher, Jesse Haines, who stole the show, allowing one run on eight hits in a complete-game victory. After the Braves’ Buck Jordan hit a first-inning home run, Bill DeLancey hit an RBI single and Terry Moore drove a run home on a fielder’s choice in the fourth. St. Louis won the game, 2-1.

A few days later, the Baseball Writers Association of America presented Dean with its National League MVP Award before a July 21 doubleheader against Brooklyn.[8]

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[1] “T.B. Charity Carnival to Be Staged Today at Sportsmans Park,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 16, 1935.

[2] “T.B. Charity Carnival to Be Staged Today at Sportsmans Park,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 16, 1935.

[3] “16,000 At Ball Game On Tuberculosis Day,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 17, 1935.

[4] Dizzy Dean, “Poppin’ Off,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 17, 1935.

[5] “16,000 Witness Colorful Events at T.B. Carnival,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 17, 1935.

[6] “Charity Day Race At Ball Park Won By Miss Stephens,” St. Louis Star and Times, July 16, 1935.

[7] “16,000 Witness Colorful Events at T.B. Carnival,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 17, 1935.

[8] “Writers Will Award Dean Trophy Sunday,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 17, 1935.

The post July 16, 1935: Dizzy Dean wins over the crowd as he accepts the NL MVP trophy first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

Signed off the New Jersey sandlots, the muscular and quick-tempered Medwick quickly developed a reputation as one of the best bad-ball hitters in the league. The Dodgers’ Van Lingle Mungo said, “I’d rather pitch to any other hitter in the league,” while his teammate, Dutch Leonard, suggested, “Forbid Medwick to carry a bat to the plate – make him hit it with his fists. Then he’d only get singles.”[1]

After appearing in 26 games in 1932, Medwick was inserted into the starting lineup and hit .306 with 18 home runs and 98 RBIs in 1933. During the Gashouse Gang’s world championship season in 1934, Medwick batted .319 with 18 homers and 106 RBIs.

“I just smell the lettuce,” Medwick said, using a slang term for money. “I have two good friends in this world: buckerinoes and base hits. If I get base hits, I will get buckerinoes. I smell World Series lettuce, and I’ll get my two or three a day.”[2]

Facing the Reds at Crosley Field on June 29, 1935, Medwick got more than the two or three hits he’d bargained for. Batting cleanup, he opened the day’s scoring with an RBI double to left field that scored Ernie Orsatti. Catcher Bill DeLancey launched a solo home run over the right-field wall to make it 2-0 before Medwick struck again in the third. This time, Medwick tripled into center field, scoring Burgess Whitehead. Ripper Collins followed with a single up the middle to score Medwick and give the Cardinals a 4-0 lead.

Medwick led off the fifth inning with a single and scored when DeLancey tripled off the right-field wall.

Paul Dean allowed two runs in the bottom of the fifth, including a solo home run by Oval Goodman, to trim the Cardinals’ lead to 5-3. After Cincinnati’s Billy Myers led off the seventh with a triple, manager Frankie Frisch replaced Dean with Bill Walker. Walker allowed five hits in the inning, including a two-run double by Alex Kampouris, as “base hits then cracked to all parts of the field like exploding firecrackers,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.[3] With the rally, the Reds grabbed an 8-5 lead.

The Reds continued to hold that three-run lead into the ninth. After Al Hollinsworth retired Orsatti and Whitehead, Medwick came to the plate seeking to keep the Cardinals’ chances alive, needing a home run for the cycle. With a blast that bounced off the left-field foul pole and back onto the field, he accomplished both.

Collins followed with a single, and DeLancey drew a walk to bring the winning run to the plate, but Terry Moore hit a ground ball to third base, and the Reds’ Lew Riggs stepped on the bag to force out Collins and end the game.

Medwick’s performance raised his average to .370, trailing only the Pirates’ Arky Vaughan, who was batting .392 through 199 at-bats. Medwick finished the season batting .353 with 23 homers and 126 RBIs and placed fifth in that year’s MVP voting behind Gabby Hartnett, Dizzy Dean, Vaughan, and Billy Herman.

Throughout the 1930s, Medwick was a mainstay in the Cardinals’ lineup, leading the league in runs, hits, doubles, home runs, RBIs, batting average, and total bases en route to the National League MVP in 1937. In 1940, to avoid his rising salary demands, the Cardinals traded Medwick and Curt Davis to the Dodgers for Carl Doyle, Bert Haas, Ernie Koy, Sam Nahem, and $125,000.

Medwick returned to the Cardinals for the final two years of his career in 1947 and 1948 before retiring. His 17-year major league career included a .324 batting average and 10 All-Star Game appearances. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968.

Give the gift of Cardinals history! The Trades That Made The St. Louis Cardinals is available now on Amazon.

[1] Doug Feldmann (2015), Dizzy and the Gas House Gang, McFarland Publishing, Kindle file, Page 42.

[2] Doug Feldmann (2015), Dizzy and the Gas House Gang, McFarland Publishing, Kindle file, Page 41.

[3] J. Roy Stockton, “Medwick Hits Home Run, Triple, Double, and Single,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 30, 1935.

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Dean was a fan of Ruth and even called the Yankees slugger after his Game 1 World Series victory over the Detroit Tigers, inviting him to stop by the Cardinals’ clubhouse.[1] After the series concluded, no less an authority than Grantland Rice, known as the “Dean of American Sports Writers” (no pun intended), wrote that Dean’s legacy would come to match those of Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Ty Cobb in the years ahead.

“As Babe Ruth fades out, the bounding Deans arrive just in time to fill the gap against the skyline,” Rice wrote.[2]

Though everyone expected Ruth to retire at the end of the season, the Boston Braves offered him an opportunity to extend his career as a player, assistant manager, and team vice president. When Dean and the Cardinals squared off against Boston on May 5, 1935, at Braves Field, the 40-year-old Ruth was penciled in at left field, batting third in the lineup.

Dean entered the game with a 2-2 record and a 2.08 ERA, and quickly overpowered the Braves, who finished last in the National League that season with a 38-115 record. Dean retired Billy Urbanski and Buck Jordan, then respectfully tipped his cap as Ruth stepped to the plate.[3] Ruth drew a walk before Dean retired Wally Berger.

The Cardinals jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the second inning. Catcher Spud Davis hit an RBI triple and Terry Moore followed with a two-run homer. With two outs, Dean strolled to the plate. With the Boston fans greeting him with a mix of cheers and boos, he gave the crowd a bow before hitting a slow curve into the stands.[4] Following Dean’s home run, Jack Rothrock hit an RBI double and Charlie Wilson brought him home with a single.

“From that point, it was a gallop for Dizzy,” sports editor Sid C. Keener wrote for the St. Louis Star and Times. “He laughed and joked with the Braves.”[5]

In the fourth inning, Dean still held a 6-0 lead when he struck out Ruth with a high fastball[6] for his ninth consecutive out. Two innings later, Moore hit a sacrifice fly to extend the Cardinals’ lead to 7-0.

In the bottom of the sixth, Ruth led off the inning with a groundout to the shortstop. After the inning ended, Braves manager Bill McKechnie replaced Ruth with Joe Mowry.

“I hated stealin’ the show from him like that,” Dean later said, referring to Ruth.[7]

Dean worked around a single and a walk in the ninth inning to secure the complete-game victory. He improved to 3-2 on the season while scattering 10 hits and striking out three. Ed Brandt took the loss for Boston.

Exactly two weeks later, on May 19, Dean and Ruth met again for the second and final time. One day earlier, Dean injured his right knee during practice, and there were fears that the injury might prevent him from making his start against Ruth and the Braves.[8]

When game time came, however, Dean was ready for the rematch. He struck out Ruth in the first inning, but the veteran made up for it when he raced to deep left field and leaped to catch a deep drive off Collins’ bat.

“It was a great catch, reminiscent of the kind Babe used to make in his heyday as a star,” Ray J. Gillespie wrote for the St. Louis Star and Times. “The play brought down the place in thunderous applause, and the big fellow doffed his cap and smiled broadly as he marched to the dugout between innings.”[9]

Ruth hit sharply into an inning-ending double play in the third, then grounded out to Dean and hit a foul pop fly to third base. He finished the day 0-for-4, dropping his batting average for the season to .156.

Dean again pitched a complete game, allowing three runs on seven hits, including a two-run homer by Randy Moore.

Dean led the league with 28 wins in 1935. His 325 1/3 innings pitched and 190 strikeouts also paced the circuit as he finished second in the National League MVP voting behind Gabby Hartnett.

Ruth played in just 25 games in 1935, batting .181 with six homers and 12 RBIs. Less than a week after facing Dean for the final time, on May 25, Ruth hit three homers and drove in six runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ruth’s third homer of the day, the 714^th and final blast of his incredible career, cleared the right field roof for the longest home run ever hit at Forbes Field.[10]

Give the gift of Cardinals history! The Trades That Made The St. Louis Cardinals is available on Amazon.

[1] Doug Feldmann (2000), Dizzy and the Gas House Gang: The 1934 St. Louis Cardinals and Depression-Era Baseball, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, NC, 147.

[2] Doug Feldmann (2000), Dizzy and the Gas House Gang: The 1934 St. Louis Cardinals and Depression-Era Baseball, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, NC, 171.

[3] Doug Feldmann (2000), Dizzy and the Gas House Gang: The 1934 St. Louis Cardinals and Depression-Era Baseball, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, NC, 175.

[4] Sid C. Keener, “Cards, Two Games Behind Leading Giants, Oppose Robins Next,” St. Louis Star and Times, May 6, 1935.

[5] Sid C. Keener, “Cards, Two Games Behind Leading Giants, Oppose Robins Next,” St. Louis Star and Times, May 6, 1935.

[6] Associated Press, “Dizzy Toys With Braves As Cards Triumph, 7-0,” St. Louis Daily Globe-Democrat, May 6, 1935.

[7] Doug Feldmann (2000), Dizzy and the Gas House Gang: The 1934 St. Louis Cardinals and Depression-Era Baseball, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, NC, 176.

[8] “Dizzy Dean Hurt In Fall, But He May Pitch Today,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 19, 1935.

[9] Ray J. Gillespie, “Dizzy Dean and Ruth Provide Thrills As Cards Trim Braves 7 To 3,” St. Louis Star and Times, May 20, 1935.

[10] Allan Wood, “Babe Ruth,” Society for American Baseball Research, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/babe-ruth/.

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