May 1, 1942: Stan Musial records his first career multi-homer game for Cardinals

In the words of Stan Musial, “If I hadn’t come up to the Cardinals in the fall of 1941 and hit so hard, I’m convinced I would have been sent down in the spring of 1942 because I hit so softly.”1 Musial, the rookie most discussed in baseball circles, started slowly in spring training in Florida. Despite Musial’s struggles, Boston Braves manager Casey Stengel predicted, “You’ll be looking at [Musial] a long, long while … 10 … 15 … maybe 20 years. He’s up to stay.”2

Fittingly, it was Stengel and his Braves who witnessed the first of Musial’s many multihomer games. In a tight back-and-forth battle between the Braves and Cardinals on May 1, 1942, Musial’s home runs propelled the Cardinals to an 8-7 victory.3

St. Louis, considered the favorite to win the National League pennant,4 entered May with a record of 7-7. The starter for the Cardinals on May 1 was the veteran right-hander Lon Warneke. Warneke, a 1941 All-Star pitcher who won 17 games that season, was searching for his first victory of the season. He had lost his previous two starts, both against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but pitched seven innings each time and allowed a combined four runs.

The Braves, winners of five straight games, opened the scoring on the second pitch of the game with a line drive hit by Tommy Holmes that bounced past Terry Moore for an inside-the-park home run. Johnny Cooney singled and Eddie Miller hit an RBI double to center field that gave Boston a 2-0 lead with no outs recorded.5

The Cardinals got both runs back in the bottom of the second against third-year Brave Manny Salvo. Enos Slaughter doubled and Ray Sanders walked to bring up catcher Ken O’Dea. O’Dea, acquired over the offseason in the Johnny Mize trade with the New York Giants, doubled to right-center field, scoring Slaughter and moving Sanders to third base. After Frank Crespi grounded out to third baseman Nanny Fernandez, Marty Marion grounded to shortstop Miller, and Sanders raced home to even the score.6

In the bottom of the third, Musial hit a drive off the right-center-field roof for a double.7 Or was it?

The ball had bounced back to the field of play. First-base umpire Lee Ballanfant ruled that it had landed on the roof for a home run. The Braves protested the call; Stengel argued that the ball had hit against the screen on the roof for a double instead of over the roof. So outraged by the call was left fielder Max West that he fired the ball over the left-field stands in disgust. Despite these protests, Ballanfant, along with fellow umpires Babe Pinelli and Al Barlick, stuck with their call and the Cardinals now led 3-2. Sanders belted a home run to right field to make it 4-2.8

Musial hit a two-out double in the fifth but was left stranded. The Braves regained the lead in the top of the sixth. Consecutive singles by Fernandez, Ernie Lombardi, and Max West made it 4-3. With Lombardi at third, Sibby Sisti grounded to Marion between third and short and Marion, surprised to see the lumbering Lombardi take off for home, booted the ball. Everyone was safe, and the score was tied, 4-4.9

Manager Billy Southworth brought in right-hander Bill Lohrman to face Buddy Gremp. Gremp bunted back to Lohrman, who attempted to nab West at third but threw late. The bases were now loaded for pinch-hitter Paul Waner, who batted for Salvo.10

Waner, a noted thorn in the Cardinals’ side for many years,11 had the righty-on-lefty matchup advantage and drove a bases-clearing double that gave Boston a 7-4 lead. As W. Vernon Tietjen noted in the St. Louis Star-Times, “Paul Waner can apply for voluntary retirement anytime so far as the Cardinals are concerned.”12

Bill Donovan relieved Salvo in the bottom of the sixth. Sanders walked with one out and O’Dea singled to right field, moving Sanders to third. Crespi grounded to short and Eddie Miller fumbled the ball, allowing Sanders to score. Stengel summoned right-hander Dick Errickson to take over for Donovan. Errickson got pinch-hitter Coaker Triplett, batting for Marion, to ground into a rally-ending double play. 

The score remained 7-5 until the bottom of the ninth inning, when Errickson gave up a leadoff double to Walker Cooper. Estel Crabtree pinch-hit for Murry Dickson, who had thrown two shutout innings of relief in the eighth and ninth. Crabtree fouled out to catcher Lombardi, while Brown grounded out to second, moving Cooper to third. 

When the game appeared all but over, Stan Musial stepped into the left-handed batter’s box. Musial drove a pitch from Errickson to the right-field pavilion roof to tie the game at 7-7. In the 10th inning, rookie Johnny Sain got the first two Cardinals out before Ken O’Dea stepped into the left-handed box. O’Dea homered for the second time that season, and the Cardinals captured victory from the jaws of defeat with an 8-7 extra-inning triumph.13 St. Louis went on to win a franchise-record 106 games, and Musial played on the first of his three World Series championship teams.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for pertinent information, including the box score and play-by-play. He also consulted player biographies in the SABR BioProject.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN194205010.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1942/B05010SLN1942.htm

Notes                

1 Stan Musial and Bob Broeg, Stan Musial: “The Man’s” Own Story, as Told to Bob Broeg (Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1964), 53.

2 Musial and Broeg, 54.

3 “Birds 8, Braves 7: Musial’s Second Homer Ties Score; O’Dea Wins Game,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 2, 1942: 1B.

4 Musial and Broeg, 53.

5 Glen L. Wallar, “Browns Outslug Red Sox, 10-6; Cards Nip Braves in Tenth, 8-7,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, May 2, 1942: 3B.

6 Waller, 3B, 5B.

7 Gerry Moore, “Cards Show They Still Have Power,” Boston Globe, May 2, 1942: 8.

8 Moore.

9 Moore.

10 Waller, 5B.

11 Throughout his career, Paul Waner batted .345 at Sportsman’s Park.

12 W. Vernon Tietjen, “Musial and O’Dea Twin Heroes in Cards’ 10th Inning Victory,” St. Louis Star-Times, May 2, 1942: 4.

13 Waller.