The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
1948 Indians had memorable streak
Longest winning stretch of season featured 26-run game, four straight shutouts
On Aug. 12, 1948, the Indians sat in their clubhouse at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis, between games of a doubleheader against the Browns and following a loss.
Little did they know what was to come — their most prolific game of the season and in American League history, a run of shutouts, their longest win streak in that campaign and, of course, World Series hardware when it was all said and done.
To mark the 75th anniversary of 1948 world champion Indians, here is a look at that eight-game win streak, which ran from Aug. 12-20.
The reason the Indians were in a twinbill in St. Louis in the first place was because the teams’ July 4 encounter had been postponed by rain.
Following an 8-4 loss in Game 1, the bats were alive and well in the nightcap, as player-manager Lou Boudreau shuffled around his lineup.
The Indians plated nine runs in the first inning to buoy Gene Bearden’s cause before he even stepped on the mound.
Bearden did his part to help himself as well, going 4-for-6 with a home run, four runs and four RBI. Hal Peck doubled twice, scored four runs and had three RBI.
Bearden allowed one run on four hits in seven innings before giving way to Bob Feller with a 26-1 lead.
By that point, Boudreau had a different reason to tinker. After six, he removed most of his starters, and 14 players logged an atbat, combining for 29 hits.
It was one run short of the AL record held by the 1923 Indians in a 27-3 win over the Red Sox and one hit short of the majorleague standard set by the 1929 Cardinals.
Despite the lopsided win, the Indians were still percentage points behind the A’s.
As the Indians made their way to Chicago, excitement was high in the Windy City because the visitors were sending a familiar face, Satchel Paige, to the mound for the opener. Paige was making his second major-league start.
A crowd of 51,013 packed Comiskey Park, to date one of the largest ever seen for baseball in Chicago. An estimated 15,000 were turned away.
Paige didn’t disappoint, tossing a five-hitter in a 5-0 win over the White Sox. He retired 12 straight at one point, then 10 more in another stretch.
Before the game, Paige was honored by the Chicago Herald-American with a trophy for being “one of America’s most famous
athletes.”
“I am deeply honored,” Paige said. “I want to thank you very much.”
In a strange twist, the umpiring crew had to work in dress suits after their uniforms were mistakenly sent from St. Louis to Cleveland and not Chicago. Home plate umpire Art Passarella borrowed a White Sox cap and catcher shin guards.
A much smaller crowd, around 8,000, turned out for Game 2 of the series, with the Indians plating all their runs in the first in a 4-2 win. Joe Gordon provided the key hit with a two-run double, and Steve Gromek came within one out of a complete game to improve to 7-2.
The sweep was completed in Chicago in a doubleheader on Aug. 15, a Sunday before an off day Monday. Bob Feller and Bob Lemon combined to yield two runs over the two games, wins by scores of 6-2 and 8-0. Lemon’s victory in the nightcap was his 16th of the season, including his seventh shutout of 1948.
Boudreau went 7-for-10 over the twinbill to raise his average to .361. Dale Mitchell had five hits, including a double and triple.
Lemon’s gem was the first of four straight shutouts, as the Indians returned to Northeast Ohio to face the Browns.
Bearden sparkled in another 8-0 triumph, delivering a four-hitter for his 12th win and fourth shutout.
The flags at Cleveland Stadium flew at half-mast in honor of Babe Ruth, who had just died.
Ruth was interviewed shortly before his death by Sport Magazine’s Cameron Shipp. In that interview, he predicted the Indians would win the AL pennant.
It should probably be noted, as this win streak plays out here, that it would have been ideal to hear what Boudreau and his players thought of the hot streak. Unfortunately in that era, media accounts were anchored in play-byplay narrative, and only in rare instances was anyone quoted, even if there were
news conferences following a game.
Sam Zoldak blanked the Browns next, 3-0, scattering nine hits against his former team. Allie Clark scored all three runs.
The final part of the shutout string — and of the eight-game win streak — came Aug. 20 as the Indians edged the White Sox, 1-0.
Before a crowd of 78,382, the largest for a night game to date in baseball history, Paige tossed another gem. He struck out five and allowed three hits, none after a double in the fifth, as the Indians pushed their overall shutout run to 39 innings. The four straight complete-game shutouts tied the club record to that point set in 1903.
“Just threw fastballs out there,” Paige said. “When a pitch is working, I keep using it.
“Came up with my first curveballs in the eighth and threw three in a row for that strikeout.”
After the game, a teammate was told to turn to Paige and state, “Looks like you’re the rookie of the year.”
The Negro League and barnstorming pitching legend smiled and responded, “You may be right, man. But 22 years is a long time to be a rookie.”
Not including relief appearances, in three starts, Paige had drawn 201,829 fans to the ballpark in which he was pitching.
The win streak and the shutout streak ended Aug. 21 with a 3-2 defeat to the White Sox.
By its conclusion, the Indians had gone from a half-game back in the American League pennant race to up by three. It should be noted, though, that a 2-6 slide followed to temporarily put them back as a chaser.
The Indians later had a pair of seven-game win streaks in September, but not quite with the intrigue and variety of that run in August.
They would go on to capture that pennant in a tiebreaker game against the Red Sox, then secure the World Series crown in six games, also in Boston, against the Braves.
Little did they know what was in store between those doubleheader games in St. Louis, a wild ride in August that may have shown a future world champion its capability.
Before a crowd of 78,382, the largest for a night game to date in baseball history, Paige tossed another gem. He struck out five and allowed three hits, none after a double in the fifth, as the Indians pushed their overall shutout run to 39 innings.