1941 in baseball

The following are the baseball events of the year 1941 throughout the world.  

Contents 1 Headline events of the year 2 Champions 2.1 Major League Baseball 2.2 Other champions 3 Awards and honors 4 MLB statistical leaders 5 Major league baseball final standings 5.1 American League final standings 5.2 National League final standings 6 Negro League Baseball final standings 6.1 Negro National League final standings 7 Events 7.1 January–March 7.2 April–June 7.3 July–September 7.4 October–December 8 Births 8.1 January–February 8.2 March–April 8.3 May–June 8.4 July–August 8.5 September–October 8.6 November–December 9 Deaths 9.1 January–March 9.2 April–June 9.3 July–September 9.4 October–December

Headline events of the year

• Joe Dimaggio hits in 56 consecutive games. After being hitless in the 57th game, he hit safely in 16 more consecutive games for a streak of 72 of 73 games.
• Ted Williams ended the season with a .406 batting average. No hitter (qualifying for the batting title) has hit over .400 since the 1941 season.

Champions

Major League Baseball

• World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers (4-1)
• All-Star Game, July 8 at Briggs Stadium: American League, 7-5

Other champions

• IV World Cup of Baseball: Venezuela
• Negro League Baseball All-Star Game: East, 8-3

Awards and honors

• MLB Most Valuable Player Award
  • Joe DiMaggio, New York Yankees, OF
  • Dolph Camilli, Brooklyn Dodgers, 1B
• The Sporting News Most Valuable Player Award
  • Joe DiMaggio, New York Yankees, OF
  • Dolph Camilli, Brooklyn Dodgers, 1B
• The Sporting News Player of the Year Award
  • Ted Williams (AL) - OF, Boston Red Sox
• The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award
  • Billy Southworth (NL) - St. Louis Cardinals

MLB statistical leaders

American League National League Type Name Stat Name Stat AVG Ted Williams BOS .406 Pete Reiser BRO .343 HR Ted Williams BOS 37 Dolph Camilli BRO 34 RBI Joe DiMaggio NYY 125 Dolph Camilli BRO 120 Wins Bob Feller CLE 25 Kirby Higbe BRO Whit Wyatt BRO 22 ERA Thornton Lee CHW 2.37 Elmer Riddle CIN 2.24

Major league baseball final standings

American League final standings

American League Rank Club Wins Losses Win %   GB 1st New York Yankees 101   53 .656    -- 2nd Boston Red Sox 84   70 .545   17.0 3rd Chicago White Sox 77   77 .500   24.0 4th Detroit Tigers 75   79 .487   26.0 4th Cleveland Indians 75   79 .487   26.0 6th Washington Senators 70   84 .455   31.0 6th St. Louis Browns 70   84 .455   31 8th Philadelphia Athletics 64   90 .416   37.0

National League final standings

National League Rank Club Wins Losses Win %   GB 1st Brooklyn Dodgers 100   54 .649    -- 2nd St. Louis Cardinals 97   56 .634   2.5 3rd Cincinnati Reds 88   66 .571   12.0 4th Pittsburgh Pirates 81   73 .526   19.0 5th New York Giants 74   79 .484   25.5 6th Chicago Cubs 70   84 .455   30.0 7th Boston Braves 62   92 .403   38.0 8th Philadelphia Phillies 43   111 .279   57.0

Negro League Baseball final standings

Negro National League final standings

Negro National League
Club	Wins	Losses	Win %	GB
Baltimore Elite Giants	36	21	.632
Washington Homestead Grays	34	25	.577
Newark Eagles	19	15	.560
New York Cubans	19	21	.475
New York Black Yankees	13	19	.406
Philadelphia Stars	13	29	.310

• Washington won first half; Cubans won second half.
• Washington beat New York 2 games to 0 games in a play-off.

Events

January–March

• January 21 - Bob Feller signs with the Cleveland Indians for a reported $30,000.

April–June

• May 15 - In the first inning, Joe DiMaggio singles against the Chicago White Sox to start his 56 game hitting streak.
• 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–September

• July 8 - At the All-Star Game at Detroit's Briggs Stadium, Boston's Ted Williams, hitting .405 at the break, homers off Chicago Cubs pitcher Claude Passeau with 2 outs and 2 on in the 9th inning to give the American League a dramatic 7-5 victory. Williams' 4 RBIs are matched by National League shortstop Arky Vaughan, who hits home runs in the 7th and the 8th.
• 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.
• August 30 - Lon Warneke pitches a no-hitter, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 2-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
• 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. However, Williams decided to play in both games of a double-header at Shibe Park against the Philadelphia Athletics to make it completely legitimate; he would go 6 for 8 in the two games to leave his average at .406. It remains the last time any player has hit .400 in a season.
• September 29 - The Fort Custer team won the national amateur championship of the American Baseball Congress with a 3–2 victory over the Charlotte, North Carolina team. It was the last time the amateur World Series was held until after the war.

October–December

• 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.

• November 25 - Cleveland Indians shortstop Lou Boudreau is named as the new team manager. Boudreau takes over for Roger Peckinpaugh, who moves up to the front office as the Indians general manager. At age 24, Boudreau becomes the youngest player to manage a team in the 20th century. Jim McCormick, the first ballplayer born in Scotland to appear in a major league game, managed Cleveland in 1879 at age 23.

• November 27 - in a controversial vote, Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees is named American League MVP over Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox (291 points for DiMaggio, 254 for Williams). DiMaggio, who set a 56-game hitting streak record in the season, batted .357 with 30 home runs and led AL in RBI (125). Williams finished even stronger to close the season with a majors lead .406 average and 120 RBI, while led the American League in home runs (37), runs (135), OBP (.553) and SLG (.735). Both the 56-game hitting streak and the .400 plateau have not been touched since then.

Births

January–February

• January 3 - John Sullivan
• January 16 - Joe Bonikowski
• January 18 - Mickey McGuire
• January 21 - Dave Leonhard
• January 21 - Rich Beck
• January 27 - Nick Willhite
• February 11 - Sammy Ellis
• February 12 - Mike Joyce
• February 13 - Jim Brenneman
• February 17 - Dave Wissman
• February 18 - Leo Marentette
• February 20 - Clyde Wright
• February 23 - Ron Hunt
• February 23 - Gordy Lund
• February 25 - Dave Vineyard
• February 26 - George Kopacz

March–April

• March 5 - Phil Roof
• March 7 - Glen Clark
• March 18 - Pat Jarvis
• March 20 - Pat Corrales
• April 1 - Dick Kenworthy
• April 4 - Eddie Watt
• April 13 - John Stephenson
• April 14 - Frank Cipriani
• April 14 - Pete Rose
• April 21 - Dick Green
• April 22 - Steve Jones
• April 25 - Chuck Harrison

May–June

• May 2 - Clay Carroll
• May 5 - Tommy Helms
• May 10 - Ken Berry
• May 21 - Bobby Cox
• May 12 - Floyd Weaver
• May 19 - Mike Lee
• May 24 - Bill Wakefield
• May 27 - Dan Ardell
• May 29 - John Kennedy
• May 30 - John Miller
• June 1 - Dean Chance
• June 2 - Bob Saverine
• June 5 - Duke Sims
• June 12 - Gerry Arrigo
• June 13 - Marcel Lachemann
• June 18 - Paul Brown
• June 20 - Luis Alcaráz
• June 26 - Gil Garrido
• June 28 - Len Boehmer
• June 28 - Al Downing
• June 28 - Fred Talbot
• June 29 - John Boccabella
• June 29 - Larry Stahl

July–August

• July 3 - Casey Cox
• July 8 - Gary Kroll
• July 8 - Ken Sanders
• July 12 - Dick Rusteck
• July 13 - Don Bryant
• July 21 - Nelson Mathews
• July 21 - Gary Waslewski
• July 22 - Bart Zeller
• July 26 - Carroll Sembera
• July 30 - Bob Barton
• August 6 - Ray Culp
• August 9 - Paul Lindblad
• August 13 - Jim French
• August 15 - Tommie Reynolds
• August 16 - Gene Brabender
• August 16 - Bill Edgerton
• August 16 - Larry Loughlin
• August 17 - Boog Powell
• August 19 - Fred Lasher
• August 23 - Marty Martínez
• August 23 - John Morris
• August 26 - Fred Wenz
• August 30 - Archie Moore

September–October

• September 2 - Jerry Crider
• September 4 - Ken Harrelson
• September 4 - Bernie Smith
• September 11 - Larry Bearnarth
• September 15 - Jim Barbieri
• September 18 - Dick Dietz
• September 20 - Dennis Ribant
• September 29 - Jeff James
• September 29 - Rich Reese
• October 5 - Andy Kosco
• October 9 - Jeoff Long
• October 13 - Jim Price
• October 14 - Art Shamsky
• October 16 - Tim McCarver
• October 21 - Ron Davis
• October 22 - Wilbur Wood
• October 30 - Jim Ray Hart
• October 31 - Ed Spiezio

November–December

• November 2 - Bill Connors
• November 5 - Rudy Schlesinger
• November 7 - Clarence Jones
• November 12 - Dámaso Blanco
• November 13 - Mel Stottlemyre
• November 14 - Darrell Sutherland
• November 18 - Sterling Slaughter
• November 25 - Mike Ryan
• November 26 - Jeff Torborg
• November 27 - Al Raffo
• November 28 - Fritz Fisher
• November 29 - Bill Freehan
• November 29 - Roberto Rodríguez
• December 5 - Bob Sprout
• December 7 - Rupe Toppin
• December 8 - Ed Brinkman
• December 9 - Darold Knowles
• December 12 - Allan Lewis
• December 16 - Adolfo Phillips
• December 21 - Paul Casanova
• December 23 - Ken Hubbs
• December 27 - Phil Gagliano
• December 29 - Bruce Brubaker
• December 29 - John Upham

Deaths

January–March

• January 6 - Charley O'Leary, 58, shortstop for the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns between 1904 and 1934, who later coached for many years with the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs

• January 9 - Fred Smith, 77, pitcher who posted a 19-13 record with a .327 ERA in his only major league season with the 1890 Toledo Maumees

• January 20 - Jack Lelivelt, 55, outfielder for the Senators, Highlanders, Yankees and Naps from 1909–14, who also set an International League record with a 42-game streak in 1912, which was broken by Brandon Watson in 2007

• January 24 - Tommy Bond, 84, Irish 19th century pitcher who posted a 234-163 record for six different clubs from 1874 to 1884, and also was the first Triple Crown winner in 1877, leading the National League with 40 wins, 170 strikeouts, and a 2.11 ERA

• January 25 - Chris Lindsay, 62, first baseman who played from 1905 to 1906 with the Detroit Tigers

• January 28 - John Johnson, 71, pitcher for the 1894 Philadelphia Phillies

• February 2 - Ambrose McGann, 73, infielder/outfielder for the 1895 Louisville Colonels

• February 8 - Frank Beck, 79, pitcher who played with the Pittsburg Alleghenys and Baltimore Monumentals in the 1884 season

• February 9 - Eddie Boyle, 66, catcher for the Louisville Colonels and Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1890s

• February 17 - Happy Iott, 64, outfielder for the 1903 Cleveland Naps

• February 18 - Tom Connelly, 43, backup outfielder for the New York Yankees in 1920 and 1921

• February 21 - Frank Corridon, 60, pitcher from 1904-10 for the Cubs, Phillies and Cardinals, who is credited with being the first major league pitcher to use the spitball

• February 28 - Wilson Collins, 51, outfielder for the Boston Braves from 1913 to 1914

• March 1 - Ivey Wingo, 50, catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals (1911–14) and Cincinnati Reds (1915–26, 1929), who hit .571 as a member of the 1919 World Series Champions Reds

• March 3 - Doc Parker, 68, pitcher for the Chicago Colts and Cincinnati Reds between the 1893 and 1901 seasons

• March 8 - Buzz Wetzel, 46, pitcher for the 1927 Philadelphia Athletics and a minor league player/manager who in 1921 guided the London Tecumsehs to the Michigan-Ontario Baseball League championship

• March 10 - Doc Hazleton, 64, first baseman for the 1902 St. Louis Cardinals

• March 11 - Pi Schwert, 47, catcher for the New York Yankees from 1914 to 1915

• March 25 - Eddie Hickey, 68, third baseman for the 1901 Chicago Orphans

• March 31 - Kit McKenna, 68, pitcher for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1898) and Baltimore Orioles (1899)

April–June

• April 4 - Alex Jones, 71, pitcher for the Alleghenys, Colonels, Senators, Phillies and Tigers from 1889 to 1903

• April 13 - Germany Schultz, 47, outfielder from 1912-25 for every National League club with the exception of the New York Giants; later a minor league manager and MLB executive

• April 16 - Howard Wakefield, 57, catcher who played from 1905-07 with the Cleveland Indians and Washington Senators

• May 1 - Roxy Snipes, 44, pinch-hitter for the 1923 Chicago White Sox

• May 8 - Bill Joyce, 75, third baseman for five teams (1890–98) and manager of the New York Giants (1896–98), who tied for the National League home runs title with Ed Delahanty (1896) and finished second three times

• May 10 - Jim Pastorius, 59, pitcher from 1906-09 for the Brooklyn Superbas

• May 15 - William Lackey, 70, pitcher for the 1890 Philadelphia Athletics

• May 16 - Art Williams, 63, first baseman/outfielder for the 1902 Chicago Orphans

• May 17 - Bill Husted, 74, pitcher for the 1890 Philadelphia Athletics

• May 19 - Joe Gedeon, 47, second baseman for the Washington Senators, New York Yankees and St. Louis Browns from 1913 to 1920, who led American League batters with 48 sacrifice hits in 1920; suspended for life along with the eight Black Sox players

• May 19 - John Schultz, 75, catcher for the 1891 St. Louis Browns

• May 23 - Jack Clements, 76, left-handed catcher for six different teams between 1884 and 1900, who caught 1,073 games and also is credited with being the first catcher to wear a chest protector

• May 25 - Bob Higgins, 54, catcher from 1909 to 1912 for the Cleveland Naps and Brooklyn Dodgers

• June 2 - Lou Gehrig, 37, Hall of Fame first baseman for the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1939, a 2-time MVP, the 1934 Triple Crown winner, and the second player to hit 400 home runs, who retired to end a record 2,130-game playing streak upon being diagnosed with the terminal illness that now bears his name

• June 3 - Andy Cooper, 43, pitcher for the Negro Leagues' Detroit Stars and Kansas City Monarchs

• June 16 - Mike Flynn, 69, Irish catcher who played in one game with the Boston Reds of the American Association

• June 23 - Bill Nelson, 77, pitcher for the 1884 Pittsburg Alleghenys

July–September

• July 1 - Harry Adams, 78, National League and American League umpire.

• July 3 - Tom McCreery, 66, pitcher/outfielder for five different teams from 1895 to 1903, who is the only player in major league history to hit three inside-the-park home runs in a single game

• July 4 - Bruce Petway, 55?, Negro League catcher

• July 6 - Jack Theis, 49, pitcher for the 1920 Cincinnati Reds

• July 6 - Lucky Wright, 61, pitcher for the 1909 Cleveland Indians

• July 7 - Jack Gilbert, 65, outfielder for the Senators, NY Giants and Pirates from 1898 to 1904

• July 8 - Jack Wadsworth, 73, pitcher from 1890 to 1895 for the Cleveland Spiders, Baltimore Orioles and Louisville Colonels

• July 15 - Clarence Currie, 62, pitcher for the Reds, Cardinals and Cubs from 1902 to 1903

• July 15 - Frank Isbell, 65, White Sox first baseman, second baseman, and outfielder (1901–1909)

• July 17 - Rube Kisinger, 64, pitcher for the 1902-03 Detroit Tigers, who also led the Buffalo Bisons to their first Eastern League pennant in 1904

• July 20 - Ralph Kreitz, 55, catcher form the 1911 Chicago White Sox

• July 30 - Howie Shanks, 51, outfielder from 1912-25 for the Senators, Yankees and Red Sox

• July 30 - Mickey Welch, 82, the third pitcher to win 300 games, winner of 44 games in 1885 and over 30 in three other years

• July 31 - Jim Byrnes, 61, catcher for the 1906 Philadelphia Athletics

• August 8 - Ralph Works, 53, pitcher from 1909-12 for the Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds

• August 15 - Jacob Doyle, 85, outfielder for the 1872 Washington Nationals

• August 26 - Stoney McGlynn, 69, pitcher for the 1906-08 St. Louis Cardinals

• September 8 - Joe Boehling, 50, pitcher who posted a 55-50 record with a 2.97 ERA for the Senators and Indians from 1912–1920

• September 23 - Tom Morrissey, 81, third baseman for the 14 games in 1881 and 1884.

• September 24 - Lou Castro, 64, Colombian second baseman for the 1902 Philadelphia Athletics, who is regarded as the first Latin player to appear in a major league game

• September 27 - Monte Pfeffer, 49, infielder for the 1913 Philadelphia Athletics

• September 29 - John B. Foster^{[disambiguation needed ]}, 78, sportswriter and editor of The Spalding Guide

• September 30 - John McPherson, 72, pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Philadelphia Phillies from 1901 to 1904

October–December

• October 3 - Bert Inks, 70, 19th century pitcher who played from 1891-96 for six different clubs, mainly with the Louisville Colonels

• October 4 - Walt Justis, 58, pitcher for the 1905 Detroit Tigers

• October 13 - George Proeser, 77, pitcher/outfielder for the Cleveland Blues and Syracuse Stars (1888/1890)

• October 24 - Emmett Rogers, 71, catcher for the 1890 Toledo Maumees

• October 25 - Bill Phillips, pitcher for Pittsburgh and Cincinnati between 1890 and 1903, who is best remembered for managing the 1914 Indianapolis Hoosiers to the Federal League pennant

• October 29 - Harvey Hendrick, 43, infielder/outfielder who hit .308 for seven different teams between 1923 and 1934

• October 29 - Wilbur Murdoch, 66, outfielder for the 1908 St. Louis Cardinals

• November 5 - Varney Anderson, 75, pitcher for the Indianapolis Hoosiers and Washington Senators from 1889 to 1896

• November 9 - Fred Worden, 47, pitcher for the 1914 Philadelphia Athletics

• November 12 - Ernie Koob, 49, pitcher for the St. Louis Browns from 1915–19, who threw a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox on May 5, 1917

• November 15 - Bill Karns, 65, pitcher for the 1901 Baltimore Orioles

• November 18 - Charlie Kalbfus, 76, outfielder for the 1884 Washington Nationals

• November 19 - Davey Dunkle, 69, pitcher for the Phillies, Senators and White Sox from 1897 to 1904

• November 24 - John Henry, 51, catcher for the Washington Senators and Boston Braves from 1910 to 1918

• November 27 - Rudy Schwenck, 57, pitcher for the 1909 Chicago Cubs

• November 29 - Ed Hahn, 66, outfielder for the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox from 1905 to 1910

• December 9 - Ed Mars, 75, pitcher for the 1890 Syracuse Stars of the American Association

• December 15 - George Gillpatrick, 66, pitcher for the 1898 St. Louis Browns of the National League

• December 16 - Bill Garfield, 74, pitcher for the 1889 Pittsburg Alleghenys and 1890 Cleveland Spiders

• December 23 - Roy Witherup, 55, pitcher for the Boston Beaneaters and Washington Senators from 1906 to 1909

• December 28 - Jack Hickey, 60, pitcher for the 1904 Cleveland Naps

• December 25 - George Bell, 67, pitcher from 1907-11 for the Brooklyn's Superbas and Dodgers

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