1937 St. Louis Cardinals season

1937 St. Louis Cardinals
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1892)
Location
Sportsman's Park (since 1920)
St. Louis, Missouri (since 1882)
Results
Record	81–73 (.526)
League place	4th
Other information
Owner(s)	Sam Breadon
General manager(s)	Branch Rickey
Manager(s)	Frankie Frisch
Local radio	KMOX (France Laux, Jim Alt) KWK (Ray Schmidt, John O'Hara, Allan Anthony)
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The 1937 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 56th season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 46th season in the National League. The Cardinals went 81–73 during the season and finished 4th in the National League.

Offseason

At the start of January 1937, general manager Branch Rickey named Robert L. Finch vice president of all Cardinals minor league baseball teams.^[1] Their star pitcher, Dizzy Dean, spent the preseason in a contract dispute, even threatening to quit baseball. He finally signed for an estimated $24,000 on March 19.^[2]

Regular season

As the season was set to begin, the Cardinals were considered the favorites to win the National League and face the New York Yankees in the 1937 World Series.^[3]

Outfielder Joe Medwick won the MVP Award this year, batting .374, with 31 home runs and 154 RBIs. Conversely, Dizzy Dean battled injuries, staged a mid-game strike, engaged in multiple fights and was even suspended for a time. Dean finished with a 13–10 record and only one win after the All-Star Break and was named the "biggest bust of the year" by an Associated Press poll after the season.^[2]

Season summary

The Cardinals started their season strongly, winning seven of their first eight games and jumping out to a 1½-game lead by the end of April. They were in second place as late as June 27, just half a game out of first place with a record of 35–24. However, they never rose any higher, spending the rest of the year in either third or fourth place, ending the season by losing six of eight and with their largest deficit of the year of 15 games out of first place.^[4]

Season standings

National League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Giants	95	57	0.625	—	50–25	45–32
Chicago Cubs	93	61	0.604	3	46–32	47–29
Pittsburgh Pirates	86	68	0.558	10	46–32	40–36
St. Louis Cardinals	81	73	0.526	15	45–33	36–40
Boston Bees	79	73	0.520	16	43–33	36–40
Brooklyn Dodgers	62	91	0.405	33½	36–39	26–52
Philadelphia Phillies	61	92	0.399	34½	29–45	32–47
Cincinnati Reds	56	98	0.364	40	28–51	28–47

Record vs. opponents

1937 National League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	BR	CHC	CIN	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Boston	—	15–7	9–13	11–11	10–10	14–8	11–11	9–13
Brooklyn	7–15	—	8–14	12–10–1	6–16	10–11	12–10	7–15–1
Chicago	13–9	14–8	—	14–8	12–10	14–8	9–13	17–5
Cincinnati	11–11	10–12–1	8–14	—	8–14	11–11	1–21	7–15
New York	10–10	16–6	10–12	14–8	—	15–7	16–6	14–8
Philadelphia	8–14	11–10	8–14	11–11	7–15	—	11–11	5–17–2
Pittsburgh	11–11	10–12	13–9	21–1	6–16	11–11	—	14–8
St. Louis	13–9	15–7–1	5–17	15–7	8–14	17–5–2	8–14	—

Roster

1937 St. Louis Cardinals
Roster
Pitchers 29 Nate Andrews 27 Sheriff Blake 31 Johnnie Chambers 17 Dizzy Dean 21 Paul Dean 16 Jesse Haines 27 Ray Harrell 12 Si Johnson 24 Nub Kleinke 22 Howie Krist 24 Bill McGee 19 Mike Ryba 28 Tom Sunkel 18 Lon Warneke 20 Bob Weiland 22 Abe White 27 Jim Winford		Catchers 30 Herb Bremer  9 Bruce Ogrodowski  8 Mickey Owen Infielders 14 Frenchy Bordagaray 15 Jimmy Brown  2 Leo Durocher  3 Frankie Frisch  5 Don Gutteridge  6 Stu Martin 10 Johnny Mize 22 Dick Siebert		Outfielders  1 Pepper Martin  7 Joe Medwick 22 Randy Moore 11 Terry Moore  4 Don Padgett		Manager  3 Frankie Frisch Coaches 25 Mike González 26 Buzzy Wares

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	Medwick, JoeJoe Medwick	156	633	237	.374	31	154

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
Frisch, FrankieFrankie Frisch	17	32	7	.219	0	4

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
Dean, DizzyDizzy Dean	27	197.1	13	10	2.69	120

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

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
Blake, SheriffSheriff Blake	14	0	3	0	3.71	20
Andrews, NateNate Andrews	4	0	0	0	4.00	6
Dean, PaulPaul Dean	1	0	0	0	∞	0

Farm system

Level Team League Manager AA Columbus Red Birds American Association Burt Shotton AA Rochester Red Wings International League Ray Blades AA Sacramento Solons Pacific Coast League Bill Killefer A1 Houston Buffaloes Texas League Johnny Watwood, Mike Cvengros and Ira Smith A Cedar Rapids Raiders Western League Cap Crossley B Decatur Commodores Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League George Payne B Asheville Tourists Piedmont League Hal Anderson B Columbus Red Birds Sally League Fred Hofmann B Mobile Shippers Southeastern League Marty Purtell C Pine Bluff Judges Cotton States League Leroy "Cowboy" Jones C Jacksonville Jax East Texas League Tony Robello C Portsmouth Red Birds Middle Atlantic League Benny Borgmann C Springfield Cardinals Western Association Clay Hopper C Union City Springers Alabama–Florida League Tommy West D Albuquerque Cardinals Arizona–Texas League Bill DeLancey D Monett Red Birds Arkansas–Missouri League Ken Blackman and Joe Davis D Martinsville Manufacturers Bi-State League Bill Rea and Arnold Anderson D Kinston Eagles Coastal Plain League Krim Bess and Vernon Taylor D Cambridge Cardinals Eastern Shore League Fred Lucas D New Iberia Cardinals Evangeline League Don Motlow and Fred Hawn

Level Team League Manager D Daytona Beach Islanders Florida State League Jimmie Sanders D Albany Travelers Georgia–Florida League Bob Rice D Union City Greyhounds KITTY League John Antonelli D Grand Island Red Birds Nebraska State League Joe McDermott D Mitchell Kernels Nebraska State League Bud Knox D Shelby Cardinals North Carolina State League George Silvey D Caruthersville Pilots Northeast Arkansas League Harrison Wickel D Newport Cardinals Northeast Arkansas League Thorpe Hamilton D Crookston Pirates Northern League Julian Wera and Erwin Schueren D Duluth Dukes Northern League Dutch Dorman D Fostoria Red Birds Ohio State League John Cavanaugh, Red Jenkins, Rex Bowen and Harry Aldrick D Monessen Cardinals Pennsylvania State Association John Lynch and Ollie Vanek D Midland Cardinals West Texas–New Mexico League Wray Query and Joe Davis LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Columbus (AA), Cedar Rapids, Mobile, Jacksonville, Springfield, Albuquerque, Duluth Midland club folded, July 9, 1937[5]

References

1. "Rickey Names Finch Cardinal Official". Los Angeles Times. January 3, 1937. p. A7.
2. "Dean Biggest 'Bust' of Year". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. December 21, 1937. p. 9.
3. "Yankees, Cardinals Scribes' Favorites". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. March 24, 1937. p. 9.
4. 1937 Cardinals Schedule and Results
5. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 2nd and 3rd editions. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997 and 2007

External links

• 1937 St. Louis Cardinals
• 1937 St. Louis Cardinals team page at www.baseball-almanac.com