1942 Brooklyn Dodgers season

1942 Brooklyn Dodgers
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1890)
Location
Ebbets Field (since 1913)
Brooklyn, New York (since 1883)
Other information
Owner(s)	James & Dearie Mulvey, Brooklyn Trust Company
General manager(s)	Larry MacPhail
Manager(s)	Leo Durocher
Local radio	WHN Red Barber, Alan Hale
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The 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers team won 104 games after another terrific season, but fell two games short of the St. Louis Cardinals in a great National League pennant race.

Offseason

• December 9, 1941: Heinie Mueller was purchased by the Dodgers from the Philadelphia Phillies.^[1]
• December 10, 1941: Mace Brown was purchased from the Dodgers the Boston Red Sox.^[2]
• December 10, 1941: Don Padgett was purchased by the Dodgers from the St. Louis Cardinals.^[3]
• December 10, 1941: Johnny Rizzo was purchased by the Dodgers from the Philadelphia Phillies.^[4]
• December 12, 1941: Pete Coscarart, Luke Hamlin, Babe Phelps and Jimmy Wasdell were traded by the Dodgers to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Arky Vaughan.^[5]
• March 13, 1942: Billy Sullivan was purchased by the Dodgers from the Detroit Tigers.^[6]
• March 23, 1942: Frenchy Bordagaray was purchased by the Dodgers from the New York Yankees.^[7]
• Prior to 1942 season: Steve Nagy was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers.^[8]

Regular season

The Dodgers were 73–30 and 10 games ahead on August 4, but the Cardinals went on to win 45 of their last 56 to grab the NL title. To exacerbate the problem, the Dodgers had also dropped several close games to St. Louis in September.

Defending NL batting champ Pete Reiser, hitting .380, was sidelined in mid-season after repeatedly crashing into the unpadded outfield wall in Ebbets Field. While he recovered from a fractured skull, Brooklyn couldn't keep up their early pace. A healthy Reiser may very well have made up the two-game difference.^[9]

Season standings

National League	W	L	GB	Pct.
St. Louis Cardinals	106	48	--	.688
Brooklyn Dodgers	104	50	2	.675
New York Giants	85	67	20	.559
Cincinnati Reds	76	76	29	.500
Pittsburgh Pirates	66	81	36.5	.449
Chicago Cubs	68	86	38	.442
Boston Braves	59	89	44	.399
Philadelphia Phillies	42	109	62.5	.278

Record vs. opponents

1942 National League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	BR	CHC	CIN	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Boston	—	6–16	13–9	5–16–1	8–12	14–8	7–12–1	6–16
Brooklyn	16–6	—	16–6	15–7	14–8–1	18–4	16–6	9–13
Chicago	9–13	6–16	—	13–9	9–13–1	14–8	11–11	6–16
Cincinnati	16–5–1	7–15	9–13	—	9–13	16–6	12–9–1	7–15
New York	12–8	8–14–1	13–9–1	13–9	—	17–5	15–7	7–15
Philadelphia	8–14	4–18	8–14	6–16	5–17	—	6–13	5–17
Pittsburgh	12–7–1	6–16	11–11	9–12–1	7–15	13–6	—	8–14–2
St. Louis	16–6	13–9	16–6	15–7	15–7	17–5	14–8–2	—

Notable transactions

• April 30, 1942: Schoolboy Rowe was purchased by the Dodgers from the Detroit Tigers.^[10]
• May 19, 1942: Babe Dahlgren was purchased by the Dodgers from the Chicago Cubs.^[11]
• August 30, 1942: Bobo Newsom was purchased by the Dodgers from the Washington Senators.^[12]

Roster

1942 Brooklyn Dodgers
Roster
Pitchers 22 Johnny Allen 25 Hugh Casey 12 Bob Chipman 26 Curt Davis 14 Freddie Fitzsimmons 20 Larry French 23 Ed Head 13 Kirby Higbe 33 Chet Kehn 21 Newt Kimball 28 Max Macon  8 Bobo Newsom  8 Schoolboy Rowe 31 Les Webber 17 Whit Wyatt		Catchers 19 Cliff Dapper 10 Mickey Owen  9 Billy Sullivan Infielders  4 Dolph Camilli 12 Babe Dahlgren 16 Billy Herman  3 Alex Kampouris  1 Pee Wee Reese 18 Lew Riggs  3 Stan Rojek  5 Arky Vaughan		Outfielders 37 Frenchy Bordagaray 24 Augie Galan  6 Joe Medwick 27 Pete Reiser 32 Johnny Rizzo 11 Dixie Walker		Manager  2 Leo Durocher Coaches 30 Red Corriden  7 Charlie Dressen 14 Freddie Fitzsimmons

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

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

Pos	Player	G	AB	R	H	Avg.	HR	RBI	SB
C	Owen, MickeyMickey Owen	133	421	53	109	.259	0	44	10
1B	Camilli, DolphDolph Camilli	150	524	89	132	.252	26	109	10
2B	Herman, BillyBilly Herman	155	571	76	146	.256	2	65	6
3B	Vaughan, ArkyArky Vaughan	128	495	82	137	.277	2	49	8
SS	Reese, Pee WeePee Wee Reese	151	564	87	144	.255	3	53	15
LF	Medwick, JoeJoe Medwick	142	553	69	166	.300	4	96	2
CF	Reiser, PetePete Reiser	125	480	89	149	.310	10	64	20
RF	Walker, DixieDixie Walker	118	393	57	114	.290	6	54	1

Other batters

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

Player	G	AB	R	H	Avg.	HR	RBI	SB
Rizzo, JohnnyJohnny Rizzo	78	217	31	50	.230	4	27	2
Galan, AugieAugie Galan	69	209	24	55	.263	0	22	2
Riggs, LewLew Riggs	70	199	20	50	.278	3	22	0
Sullivan, BillyBilly Sullivan	43	101	11	27	.267	1	14	1
Bordagaray, FrenchyFrenchy Bordagaray
Kampouris, AlexAlex Kampouris
Dahlgren, BabeBabe Dahlgren
Dapper, CliffCliff Dapper
Rojek, StanStan Rojek

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; CG = Complete games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	GS	CG	IP	W	L	ERA	BB	SO
Higbe, KirbyKirby Higbe
Wyatt, WhitWhit Wyatt
Davis, CurtCurt Davis
Newsom, BoboBobo Newsom
Fitzsimmons, FreddieFreddie Fitzsimmons

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; CG = Complete games; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	GS	CG	IP	W	L	ERA	BB	SO
French, LarryLarry French
Head, EdEd Head
Allen, JohnnyJohnny Allen	27	15	5	118	10	6	3.20	39	50
Macon, MaxMax Macon
Webber, LesLes Webber
Rowe, SchoolboySchoolboy Rowe
Kehn, ChetChet Kehn

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Bases on balls; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	BB	SO
Casey, HughHugh Casey	50	112	6	3	13	2.25	44	54
Kimball, NewtNewt Kimball
Chipman, BobBob Chipman

Awards and honors

• 1942 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
  • Arky Vaughan starter
  • Joe Medwick starter
  • Pete Reiser starter
  • Billy Herman reserve
  • Mickey Owen reserve
  • Pee Wee Reese reserve
  • Whit Wyatt reserve
• TSN Major League All-Star Team
  • Mickey Owen

League top five finishers

Dolph Camilli

• #2 in NL in home runs (26)
• #2 in NL in RBI (109)
• #3 in NL in walks (97)

Hugh Casey

• MLB leader in saves (13)

Curt Davis

• #3 in NL in ERA (2.36)

Kirby Higbe

• #3 in NL in strikeouts (115)

Ducky Medwick

• #2 in NL in doubles (37)
• #4 in NL in RBI (96)

Pistol Pete Reiser

• NL leader in stolen bases (20)
• #4 in NL in batting average (.310)

Farm System

Level	Team	League	Manager
AA	Montreal Royals	International League	Clyde Sukeforth
AA	San Francisco Seals	Pacific Coast League	Lefty O'Doul
B	Durham Bulls	Piedmont League	Bruno Betzel
C	Santa Barbara Saints	California League	John Clancy
C	Dayton Ducks	Middle Atlantic League	Paul Chervinko Howard Holmes William McWilliams
D	Kingsport Dodgers	Appalachian League	Merle Settlemire
D	Valdosta Trojans	Georgia–Florida League	Stew Hofferth Clancy Odell
D	Johnstown Johnnies	Pennsylvania State Association	Jay Kirke, Jr.
D	Olean Oilers	Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League	Jake Pitler
D	Lamesa Dodgers	West Texas–New Mexico League	Joe Tate

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Santa Barbara

Notes

1. Heinie Mueller page at Baseball Reference
2. Mace Brown page at Baseball Reference
3. Don Padgett page at Baseball Reference
4. Johnny Rizzo page at Baseball Reference
5. Pete Coscarart page at Baseball Reference
6. Billy Sullivan page at Baseball Reference
7. Frenchy Bordagaray page at Baseball Reference
8. Steve Nagy page at Baseball Reference
9. http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/1942-baseball-season.htm/printable
10. Schoolboy Rowe page at Baseball Reference
11. Babe Dahlgren page at Baseball Reference
12. Bobo Newsom page at Baseball Reference

References

• Baseball-Reference season page
• Baseball Almanac season page

External links

• 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers uniform
• Brooklyn Dodgers reference site
• Acme Dodgers page
• Retrosheet