May 23, 1932: At age 40, Rabbit Maranville records four hits in Braves’ victory over Dodgers

Fans of the Boston Braves were hungry for a winner. Over 15 seasons, 1917-31, the Braves had achieved a winning record only once, a 79-74 mark in 1921. The Braves almost got there in 1931, going 58-60 through August 22, but the team collapsed down the stretch, winning only 6 of the final 36 games.

The Braves’ 1932 season promised to be different. Led by manager Bill McKechnie, the team was off to a splendid 19-10 start through games of May 21 and was in second place, one game behind the Chicago Cubs.

Sunday major-league baseball, legalized in Boston in 1929,1 was immensely popular there. On Sunday, May 22, 1932, an overflow crowd of 51,331 attended a doubleheader at Braves Field, aka the “Wigwam.” The Boston Globe reported that this attendance set a new single-day record for the largest crowd to see baseball in Boston.2 The Braves and Philadelphia Phillies each won one game of the twin bill.

A day later, on May 23, the Braves hosted the Brooklyn Dodgers, and their diminutive (5-feet-5) captain, Walter “Rabbit” Maranville, played a big role in Boston’s victory.

Forty years old and in his 21st season in the National League, Maranville was the “patriarch” of NL infielders.3 In his prime, he was a “dazzling” shortstop with exceptional range.4 But with “aging legs,” he was moved by McKechnie to second base for the 1932 season.5 Maranville agreed to the move, saying with characteristic humor that second base is an apt position for an old man like himself. “All you have to do is knock ’em down and throw ’em out,” he said.6 He would prove that was easy for him by leading NL second basemen in fielding percentage that year.

Maranville was beloved by fans. They adored his trademark “vest pocket” catches of popups, nonchalantly catching the ball with his hands near his waist. When batting, if the umpire called a low pitch a strike, the impish Maranville might drop to his knees and take a few practice swings.7 Or he might pull eyeglasses from his pocket and offer them to the ump.8 A charming “entertainer on the diamond,”9 Maranville “never lost his boyish enthusiasm” for the game.10

On Monday, May 23, the Braves-Dodgers game was attended by 3,000 fans, typical for a weekday. It was the first of a three-game series. Skies were clear, and the temperature was a comfortable 67 degrees.11 The umpires were Beans Reardon behind home plate and Ernie Quigley watching the bases. The starting pitchers were right-handers: Waite Hoyt for the Dodgers and Bruce Cunningham for the Braves.

The Dodgers were managed by Max Carey, in his first year as a manager after 20 seasons as an NL outfielder. He employed as coach the delightful Casey Stengel, who matched Maranville for humor and enthusiasm.

The Dodgers scored first. In the top of the second inning, Tony Cuccinello reached on an error by Braves shortstop Billy Urbanski. Glenn Wright, the Dodgers’ captain, drew a walk. Al Lopez lifted a popup that was caught by Urbanski, and George Kelly followed with a single to right field, scoring Cuccinello.

A walk, Maranville’s single, and another walk filled the bases with one out in the bottom of the second. But Hoyt escaped the jam when right fielder Hack Wilson caught Cunningham’s fly ball and threw to first in time to double up the runner there.

In the top of the fourth, Cuccinello’s single was booted by Red Worthington in left field, giving him an extra base, and Wright’s double brought him home. In the bottom half, Worthington made amends by stroking a triple and scoring on a groundout. Maranville got his second single of the game in this inning.

The Dodgers tallied a run in the top of the fifth and nearly scored a second run. With one out, Johnny Frederick doubled to center field and scored on Lefty O’Doul’s single, a broken-bat Texas Leaguer to left field.12 O’Doul advanced to third on Joe Stripp’s double down the left-field line.

Wilson’s fly was caught by Wes Schulmerich in right field, and O’Doul tagged up at third. It was an exciting play at the plate. O’Doul arrived ahead of Schulmerich’s throw, but catcher Pinky Hargrave cleverly blocked him off the plate and tagged him out. The Boston Herald described it: Lefty “bounced off” Hargrave’s “left shin guard, [and] missed the plate.” Hargrave then “caught Schulmerich’s throw … and turned around and slapped the ball on O’Doul before that much shaken athlete could locate the plate.”13

In the bottom of the fifth, Urbanski belted a solo home run to left field. An inning later, the Braves scored twice to take a 4-3 lead. Art Shires singled to right field and Maranville reached on an error by the shortstop Wright, who “let the Rabbit’s scooter go between his legs.”14 Hargrave was intentionally walked, loading the bases, and Freddy Leach stepped to the plate, pinch-hitting for Cunningham. Leach’s double to left-center scored Shires and Maranville.

With Leo Mangum pitching in the top of the seventh, the Dodgers evened the score. Kelly singled, moved to second on a sacrifice by Danny Taylor (pinch-hitting for Hoyt), and came home on Frederick’s second double of the game. Mangum was replaced by Ben Cantwell, who delivered a beanball that glanced off O’Doul’s head. It was indeed a rough day for O’Doul, who remained in the game. Stripp grounded into a double play to end the threat.

Leading off and facing pitcher Hollis Thurston in the bottom of the eighth, Schulmerich singled to left field. Shires’ grounder forced Schulmerich at second base. Maranville reached on an infield single, his third hit of the game. Hargrave struck out, and catcher Lopez threw out Shires attempting to steal third base.

The game went to extra innings, tied 4-4. O’Doul led off the top of the 10th by drawing a walk, and after a sacrifice and groundout, reached third base. Cuccinello also drew a walk. With runners on the corners and two outs, Cantwell bore down and fanned the dangerous Wright.

With one out in the bottom of the 10th, Worthington doubled down the left-field line. Thurston gave Schulmerich an intentional walk. On Shires’ fly out to deep right field, Worthington tagged up and went to third. Maranville, a right-handed batter, then singled down the right-field line – his fourth hit of the game – and Worthington trotted home with the winning run. The final score was Braves 5, Dodgers 4.

The winning pitcher was Cantwell, and the losing pitcher was Thurston. With this victory, the Braves moved into a virtual tie with the Chicago Cubs for first place in the National League. But despite the Braves’ promising start, they finished the year in fifth place with a 77-77 record. Maranville appeared in 149 games, batting .235, leading NL second basemen in putouts and fielding percentage, and drawing votes for league MVP.

Maranville played his final major-league game on September 29, 1935, at the age of 43. Shortly after his death in 1954, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. As of 2026, he was the career leader in assists with 8,967 in 23 seasons, and he ranked seventh in career Defensive WAR (Wins Above Replacement). And while some may argue that he was not a strong hitter because of his modest .258 career batting average, he accumulated 2,605 hits and is tied with Stan Musial for career triples with 177.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Kevin Larkin and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Sources

Game accounts in the May 24, 1932, issues of the Boston Globe and Boston Herald.

Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org, accessed in November 2025.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BSN/BSN193205230.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1932/B05230BSN1932.htm

Photo: Rabbit Maranville at spring training with the Boston Braves in March 1932. Used by permission of the author Stephen V. Rice.

Notes

1 David F. Egan, “Crowd Law Abiding Except on Balls Knocked into Stands,” Boston Globe, April 29, 1929: 16.

2 David F. Egan, “City’s Record Crowd, 51,331 Sees Tribe and Phils Split,” Boston Globe, May 23, 1932: 1, 11.

3 W.N. Cox, “Breaks of the Game,” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot and Landmark, March 12, 1932: 6.

4 Edward F. Balinger, “Maranville Comes to Pirates in Biggest Deal of Season,” Pittsburgh Post, January 24, 1921: 8.

5 Edward M. Darrow, “Rebuild Braves to Make Them Real Flag Threat,” Brooklyn Standard-Union, December 31, 1931: Sports Extra, 8.

6 Harold W. Heinz, “Old Man’s Home,” Springfield (Massachusetts) Union, April 9, 1932: 16.

7 Harold Seymour, Introduction to Run, Rabbit, Run: The Hilarious and Mostly True Tales of Rabbit Maranville, Second Edition (Phoenix: SABR, 2012), 5.

8 Robert S. Fuchs and Wayne Soini, Judge Fuchs and the Boston Braves, 1923-1935 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 1998), 70.

9 Albert W. Keane, “Calling ’Em Right,” Hartford Courant, August 13, 1933: C2.

10 Quote from NL President John Heydler in J. Earl Chevalier, “Heydler, Chief of National League, among Many Who Welcome Back Maranville,” Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican, September 3, 1934: 1, 9.

11 “The Weather,” Boston Globe, May 24, 1932: 1.

12 Burt Whitman, “Boston Braves in First Place,” Boston Herald, May 24, 1932: 16.

13 Whitman, “Boston Braves in First Place.”

14 Whitman, “Boston Braves in First Place.”