1940 Pittsburgh Pirates season

1940 Pittsburgh Pirates
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1887)
Location
Forbes Field (since 1909)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1] (since 1907)
Other information
Owner(s)	Bill Benswanger
Manager(s)	Frankie Frisch
Local radio	KDKA Rosey Rowswell, Jack Craddock
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The 1940 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 59th season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 54th in the National League. The Pirates finished fourth in the league standings with a record of 78–76.

Offseason

• Prior to 1940 season: Billy Cox was signed as an amateur free agent by the Pirates.^[2]

Regular season

Season standings

National League	W	L	GB	Pct.
Cincinnati Reds	100	53	--	.654
Brooklyn Dodgers	88	65	12	.575
St. Louis Cardinals	84	69	16	.549
Pittsburgh Pirates	78	76	22.5	.506
Chicago Cubs	75	79	25.5	.487
New York Giants	72	80	37.5	.474
Boston Bees	65	87	34.5	.428
Philadelphia Phillies	50	103	50	.327

Record vs. opponents

1940 National League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	BR	CHC	CIN	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Boston	—	9–13	8–14	9–12	7–15	15–6	9–13	8–14
Brooklyn	13–9	—	10–12	8–14–1	16–5	17–5	15–7–1	9–13–1
Chicago	14–8	12–10	—	6–16	12–10	12–10	11–11	8–14
Cincinnati	12–9	14–8–1	16–6	—	15–7	15–7	16–6	12–10–1
New York	15–7	5–16	10–12	7–15	—	12–10	12–10	11–10
Philadelphia	6–15	5–17	10–12	7–15	10–12	—	6–16	6–16
Pittsburgh	13–9	7–15–1	11–11	6–16	10–12	16–6	—	15–7–1
St. Louis	14–8	13–9–1	14–8	10–12–1	10–11	16–6	7–15–1	—

Roster

1940 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 31 Russ Bauers 21 Joe Bowman 25 Mace Brown 19 Max Butcher -- Dutch Dietz 27 Ray Harrell 32 Ken Heintzelman 20 Bob Klinger 17,28 Dick Lanahan 29 Johnny Lanning 22 Danny MacFayden -- Pep Rambert 30 Rip Sewell 26 Oad Swigart		Catchers 12 Ray Berres 11 Spud Davis 38 Ed Fernandes 12 Al Lopez 14 Ray Mueller 38 Joe Schultz Infielders 15 Bill Brubaker 3,5 Elbie Fletcher 9,18 Debs Garms 16 Frankie Gustine 4,6 Lee Handley 10 Ed Leip 21 Arky Vaughan 4,6 Pep Young		Outfielders 17 Vince DiMaggio 8,37 Bob Elliott -- Frank Kalin  7 Johnny Rizzo 17,28 Maurice Van Robays 10 Lloyd Waner 9,18 Paul Waner Other batters 37 Fern Bell		Manager 35 Frankie Frisch Coaches 34 Jake Flowers 36 Mike Kelly 33 Honus Wagner

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
OF	Elliott, BobBob Elliott	148	551	161	.292	5	64

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Waner, PaulPaul Waner	89	238	69	.290	1	32

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Bowman, JoeJoe Bowman	32	187.2	9	10	4.46	57

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Brown, MaceMace Brown	48	173	10	9	3.49	73

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Bauers, RussRuss Bauers	15	0	2	0	7.63	11

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AA	Syracuse Chiefs	International League	Dick Porter
A	Albany Senators	Eastern League	Specs Toporcer
B	Gadsden Pilots	Southeastern League	Billy Bancroft
B	Harrisburg Senators	Interstate League	Les Bell
C	Gloversville-Johnstown Glovers	Canadian–American League	Steve Yerkes and Buster Blakeney
C	Hutchinson Pirates	Western Association	Jimmy Jordan and Buzz Arlitt
D	Carthage Pirates	Arkansas–Missouri League	Buzz Arlitt
D	Fort Lauderdale Tarpons	Florida East Coast League	Herb Thomas
D	McKeesport Little Braves/Oil City Oilers	Pennsylvania State Association	Elmer Klump
D	London Pirates	PONY League	Mickey LaLange and Jimmy Jordan

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Fort Lauderdale

Arkansas–Missouri League folded, July 1, 1940; McKeesport franchise moved to Oil City and renamed, July 1, 1940

Notes

1. From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.
2. Billy Cox page at Baseball Reference

References

• 1940 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at Baseball Reference
• 1940 Pittsburgh Pirates Page at Baseball Almanac
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-17-6.