After 10 seasons, and an incredible 9 MVP awards, in a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform, Lou Gehrig is settling into his new digs in St. Louis after a trade to the Cardinals during the offseason. And the 36-year old first baseman has taken a shine to his new club, batting .361/.444/.721 with 6 HRs and 19 RBIs in his first 16 games as a Cardinal.
Gehrig’s rollicking start hasn’t translated to wins, however, as St. Louis is currently 7-9, 4 games back of the NL West-leading Reds.
Centerfielder Wally Judnich of the New York Giants was named National League Rookie of the Month for April 1940. The 23-year old Judnich, who hails from San Francisco, batted .340 with 14 RBIs.
How much things cost in 1940
Average cost of new house: $3,920.00
Average wages per year: $1,725.00
Cost of a gallon of gas: 11 cents
Average cost for house (rent): $30.00 per month
Radio: $16.95
Average price for a new car: $850.00
Battery for torch: 10 cents
Hoover: $52.50
Movies
Walt Disney’s animated film Pinocchio is released together with Fantasia The Great Dictator, starring Charlie Chaplin
Academy Award, Best Picture: Gone With the Wind (Selznick International Pictures; MGM)
Music
“Careless” Glenn Miller
“I’ll Never Smile Again ” Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra
“In the Mood ” Glenn Miller
“Pennsylvania 6-5000 ” Glenn Miller
“Only Forever” Bing Crosby
Born This Year
John Lennon October 9th
In the news
Federal spending: $9.47 billion
Federal debt: $50.7 billion
Consumer Price Index: 14
Unemployment: 14.6%
Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.03
The first Social Security benefit checks are paid out (Jan 30).
The Pennsylvania Turnpike opens. It is the first multilane U.S. superhighway. The first Los Angeles freeway opens.
The first McDonald’s hamburger stand opens in Pasadena, Calif.
CBS demonstrates color television in New York.
WNBT, the first regularly operating television station, debuts in New York with an estimated 10,000 viewers.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman! The radio show debuts.
The first Bugs Bunny cartoon.
Freeze drying is adapted for food preservation.
Plasma is discovered to be a substitute for whole blood in transfusions.
The 1940 World Series matched the Cincinnati Reds against the Detroit Tigers, with the Reds winning the Series in seven games for their second championship, their first since the scandal-tainted victory in 1919. Bill Klem worked the last of his record 18 World Series as an umpire.
The 1940 National Football League Championship Game, was the 8th in NFL history. The game was played at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. on December 8, 1940. The Chicago Bears defeated the Washington Redskins, 73-0, the most one-sided victory in NFL history.
Stanley Cup
NY Rangers d. Toronto (4-2)
Wimbledon
Women: Not held (World War II)
Men: Not held (World War II)
Kentucky Derby Champion
Gallahadion
NCAA Basketball Championship
Indiana d. Kansas (60-42)
NCAA Football Champions
Minnesota (8-0-0)
The Chicago White Sox defeated the Cincinnati Reds 4 games to 1 to capture their 2nd World Championship. The teams success can be attributed to some risky trades made during the 1937 season.
The Sox acquired 1B Jimmie Foxx and Adam Comorosky just before the trade deadline in 1937 for SP Daffy Dean and the Sox 1st, 2nd and 3rd round draft picks. Foxx was struggling with the Giants hitting only .230 and the Sox needed a power bat in the middle of their lineup. In 1938 “Double XX” proved he was worth the gamble as he hit .273 with 35 Hr’s and 140 Runs batted in. He also hit .340 in the post season with 3 homers and 14 RBi’s in 12 games. His walk off 2-run homer in the 9th inning of game one of the World Series gave the Sox a 2-1 victory. Comorosky plattoned in LF most of the year playing against lefties hitting . 278. He also came up big in the World Series as he came up the 7th inning of game 5. With the Sox trailing 4-0, Adam hit an Ed Brandt fastball for a game tying grand slam home run, the Sox went on to win 5-4. One more deadline trade in 1937 that didn’t seem like a big one had OF Moose Solters going to the Cubs for a 2nd round pick. That 2nd round pick turned out to be SP Joe Dobson. Joe made his 1st Major League start for the Sox on August 2nd of 1938 and pitched well enough to make the rotation for the playoffs. And pitch he did, as Joe pitched a complete game 3 hitter, beating the Reds in game 2 of the World Series 5-1.
As you can see the Sox had 2 trades that really made a difference to winning the title in 1938, but one player stood out in 1938 as the true hero. Ted Lyons entered his 16th season with the Sox in 38, appearing in 552 games with a record of 266-212. But at 37 years old he put together the best season of his long career. Not only did he have a 26-9 record during they regular season, but he went 4-0, with an ERA of just 1.00 with 4 complete game performances. The Sox had many heroes in 1938 hopefully they will continue to bring Championships to “sweet home Chicago.”
After a dismal 1937 campaign that saw them muster only 55 wins, the Philadelphia Phillies looked to begin their rebuilding process with the first pick in the 1937 amateur draft. Their selection? Seventeen-year-old outfielder Stan Musial from Donora, PA. Scouts report that Musial is a wizard with the bat, and with development can be amongst the best hitters in the league. But at age 17, can Musial help the Phillies now? All eyes will be on Philadelphia as the rest of the league watch to see how the Phillies handle the young phenom.
The Boston Red Sox defeated the Chicago Cubs four games to one to win their second straight World Series title. Boston, with a 90-64 regular season record, was led by AL MVP Augie Galan and AL Cy Young winner Al Hollingsworth.
It’s playoff time again, as the four division winners battle to see which team will lay claim to the title “World Series Champions.”
In the American League, the defending champion Boston Red Sox held off the New York Yankees to win the East division, earning them the right to face the upstart Cleveland Indians, led by Charlie ‘The Mechanical Man’ Gehringer.
Over in the senior circuit, the Brooklyn Dodgers, after dominating the National League East, are looking for their fifth trip to the World Series since 1930, despite managing only one World Series crown in that time.
The Dodgers will have to fend off NL West division champs, the Chicago Cubs, who are looking to reclaim the glory of their 1935 championship season.
The Philadelphia Athletics made LF Charlie “King Kong” Keller the number one pick in the recent 1936 amateur draft.
Coming off a 109-loss season, the A’s are hoping that Keller’s powerful left-handed bat can propel them to a better win total in ‘37. At just 20 years of age, Keller should be patrolling the left field grass in Shibe Park for years to come.
After amassing 97 wins in the regular season, the Boston Red Sox topped the Brooklyn Dodgers to become World Champions in 1936.
The baseball legends today welcomed to their exclusive club two new members — Rogers Hornsby and Harry Heilmann.
Over his career Hornsby batted .336 and collected 3359 hits, 306 home runs and 1680 RBIs. He played in 2685 games and retired from baseball at age 39.
Heilmann played in 3048 games, batted .326 with 234 home runs, 3621 base hits, 1966 RBIs and 1799 runs scored — stats great enough to be acclaimed a baseball immortal.
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