October 5, 1943. Yankee Stadium. The Cardinals were back. One year earlier, St. Louis had done something nobody thought possible -- they'd beaten the Yankees in the World Series, taking the 1942 Fall Classic in five games. It was the first time the Yankees had lost a Series since 1926. That was also against the Cardinals. Joe McCarthy remembered. The whole organization remembered.
The Grudge
The 1942 upset stung worse than the final score suggested. The Yankees had won 103 games that regular season and entered October as heavy favorites. The Cardinals' young, hungry roster had dismantled them anyway. McCarthy took it personally -- the way he took most things personally -- and spent the offseason preparing for a rematch he had no guarantee he'd get.
He got it. Both teams won their pennants again in 1943, setting up a rematch that carried the weight of unfinished business. The stakes went beyond the scoreboard. Both rosters had been gutted by World War II. The Yankees were missing DiMaggio, Rizzuto, Red Ruffing, and Tommy Henrich. The Cardinals had lost pitcher Howie Pollet and several others. This was wartime baseball -- weakened rosters, packed stadiums, and a country looking for something to cheer about.
Game by Game
Game 1 (October 5) -- Yankees 4, Cardinals 2. The Yankees set the tone immediately. After what happened in '42, there wasn't going to be any slow start this time. The Bombers controlled the opener at Yankee Stadium and sent a clear message: this wasn't going to be a repeat.
Game 2 (October 6) -- Cardinals 4, Yankees 3. St. Louis fought back. A one-run loss -- close enough to remind the Yankees that the Cardinals weren't going to roll over. This was the only game the Cardinals would win. They just didn't know it yet.
Game 3 (October 7) -- Yankees 6, Cardinals 2. The Series shifted, and the Yankees blew it open. A four-run margin with strong pitching put New York back in command. The Cardinals' offense couldn't generate enough pressure to stay in the fight.
Game 4 (October 10) -- Yankees 2, Cardinals 1. Marius Russo delivered what SABR later described as a "one-man show" -- contributing on the mound and at the plate in a game decided by a single run. The tightest game of the Series, and the Yankees found a way to win it.
Game 5 (October 11) -- Yankees 2, Cardinals 0. threw a complete-game shutout to end it. Bill Dickey -- 36 years old and a World Series veteran -- hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning. Those were the only runs of the game. They were the only runs Chandler needed. Championship over.
| Series Result | Yankees win 4 games to 1 |
| Game 1 | Yankees 4, Cardinals 2 |
| Game 2 | Cardinals 4, Yankees 3 |
| Game 3 | Yankees 6, Cardinals 2 |
| Game 4 | Yankees 2, Cardinals 1 |
| Game 5 | Yankees 2, Cardinals 0 (Chandler CG shutout) |
Dickey's Homer
The clinching moment deserves its own space. Dickey had been catching in the Bronx since 1928. He'd played alongside Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio. He'd caught in more World Series games than most players appear in regular-season games. In Game 5, he turned on a pitch in the sixth inning and drove it out. Two runs. Chandler was going to make them hold up, and everybody in the stadium knew it. The old catcher -- the last link to the Ruth-Gehrig teams -- providing the deciding blow. You couldn't have scripted it better.
Chandler had it the whole way. I just wanted to give him something to work with.
McCarthy's Seventh
The victory gave McCarthy his seventh World Series championship -- a record that stood for decades. He'd won in 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, and now 1943. Seven titles in twelve years. The '43 championship was the hardest to win, not because the competition was tougher, but because the roster was thinner. McCarthy managed without DiMaggio, without Rizzuto, without Ruffing, without Henrich -- and still beat the team that had embarrassed him a year earlier.
It was his last Series win. He didn't know that in October 1943, but history would record it that way. The wartime championship -- won with replacement players, a 35-year-old MVP pitcher, and a 36-year-old catcher who hit the biggest home run of the Series -- became the final title of McCarthy's career.
The Upset
The Cardinals stun the Yankees in the 1942 World Series, winning in five games. It's the first Series loss for the Yankees since 1926.
Game 1
The Yankees win the Series opener 4-2 at Yankee Stadium, establishing control of the rematch from the first pitch.
Game 2
The Cardinals take their only win of the Series, edging the Yankees 4-3 in a close game.
Game 4
Marius Russo's "one-man show" gives the Yankees a 2-1 victory and a 3-1 Series lead.
Game 5 Clincher
Chandler's complete-game shutout and Dickey's two-run homer close out the Series. Yankees 2, Cardinals 0. McCarthy wins his seventh title.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the 1943 World Series?
The Yankees defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 1 in the 1943 World Series. Spud Chandler won two complete games including a shutout in the clinching Game 5. Bill Dickey hit a two-run homer to provide the decisive runs. The Series was a rematch of 1942, when the Cardinals had upset the Yankees.
How many World Series did Joe McCarthy win?
Joe McCarthy won seven World Series championships as Yankees manager: 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, and 1943. The 1943 title was his last. His seven championships established a managerial record that stood for decades, and the '43 win was his most impressive given the wartime roster losses.
Did the 1943 World Series have a revenge storyline?
Yes. The Cardinals had upset the Yankees in the 1942 World Series, handing them their first Fall Classic loss since 1926 (also against St. Louis). The 1943 rematch carried significant emotional weight, and the Yankees controlled the Series from Game 1 onward, winning four of five games to avenge the prior year's defeat.