The two pennant winners in 1926, the National League’s Cardinals and the American League’s Yankees, were a study in contrasts. The Yankees were heavily composed of first- and second-generation Americans and based in New York, the epicenter of baseball; the Cardinals, on the other hand, were mostly a collection of farm boys playing at the western fringe of the major leagues. But both teams arrived battle-tested, as St. Louis had fought a long, close race with Cincinnati and New York had survived a dramatic late-season run by Cleveland. Their classic World Series meeting went seven games and produced one of the legendary pitcher-batter confrontations of baseball history.

Paul E. Doutrich, a retired professor at York College of Pennsylvania, lives in Brewster, Massachusetts.

Paul E. Doutrich
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 204
Bibliographic Info: 24 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2011
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4657-5
eISBN: 978-0-7864-6178-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      ix
Preface      1

1. A Radical Shift       5
2. Preparing for the Season       15
3. The Season Begins       31
4. Spring Sun, Spring Rain      48
5. The Summer’s Big Deals      69
6. The Summer Gets Hot       83
7. Dog Day Races      104
8. Winning Pennants       133
9. The 1926 World Series      150

Chapter Notes      185
Selected Bibliography      189
Index      191