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Baseball in 1941 Photo Gallery
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A Streak from 1941 You Probably Aren’t Aware Of!
(And no, I’m not talking about DiMaggio…)
The 1941 baseball season is considered by many as one of the greatest in baseball history. As we all know this was the year of Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. It was also the year of Ted Williams’ .406 average, the last time a player hit over .400. In addition, the Dodgers won their first pennant since 1920, and faced the Yankees in the Fall Classic.
But there was another memorable steak that year that often gets overlooked. Seventy-six years ago yesterday, June 1, 1941, a largely forgotten Yankee player named Johnny Sturm hit a home run, his first in the majors, and one of only three he hit in his one-year career. It was an eighth inning two-run blast into the right field stands at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, breaking a 1-1 deadlock.
Nothing memorable about this, right? Who would have thought that it was the start of a consecutive game home run streak that would stand for 53 years? From June 1 to July 29, 1949, the Yankees hit a homer in every game. The streak had New York fans buzzing…until it was overtaken by DiMaggio’s exciting and historic run.
In the featured photo above, we see first baseman Johnny Sturm (L) with Yankee infield teammates Joe Gordon (2B), Phil Rizzuto (S), and Red Rolfe (3B).
It wasn’t until 1994 that the record would be broken when the Tigers homered in 25 straight games. The current record is held by the 2002 Rangers with homers in 27 consecutive games.
In an otherwise unremarkable career, Johnny Sturm hit .239, with three home runs, and 36 RBI. He was the player who replaced Babe Dahlgren at first base, after Dahlgren had replaced Lou Gehrig. Sturm hit .286 in the 1941 World Series.
Here’s a few other notable events from the 1941 baseball world:
May 15, 1941: In a game against the Chicago White Sox, Joe DiMaggio began his major league record 56 game hitting streak with a hit off Sox pitcher Eddie Smith
January 21 – Bob Feller signs with the Indians for a reported $30,000.
February 25 – Days after the start of spring training‚ the New York Yankees sell Babe Dahlgren‚ the man who took over first base from Lou Gehrig in 1939‚ to the Boston Braves.
June 1 – Johnny Sturm hits a home run to start a consecutive game home run streak of 24 games.
June 1 – Mel Ott’s 2-run homer, the 400th of his career and his 1,500th RBI, gives the New York Giants a 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds
July 16 – Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak ends at 56 games against the Cleveland Indians.
July 25 – Lefty Grove of the Boston Red Sox earns his 300th career win, which is also his last
September 17 – 20 year old Stan Musial makes his major league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals
September 28 – Entering the last day of the season, Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox was hitting .3995, which would have been good for a .400 average. Williams decided to play in both games of a double-header to make it completely legitimate. He went 6 for 8 in the two games to leave his average at .406.
October 6 – The New York Yankees defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 3-1, in Game 5 of the World Series to win fifth title in six years, and their ninth overall, four games to one. This is the World Series made memorable by the Mickey Owen passed ball.
November 27 – in a controversial vote, Joe DiMaggio is named American League MVP over Ted Williams.
-Gary Livacari
Photo Credit: All from Google search
Information: Excerpts edited from the 1941 Yankees Wikipedia page.
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