The Wrecking Crew of ’33

In the spring of 1933, with a new president in office and a banking crisis narrowly averted, there was optimism in Washington, D.C., even among the baseball fans. The hard-luck Senators, who topped 90 wins in each of the previous three seasons only to finish well in back of the pennant winner, seemed full of promise. They secured a “new deal” of their own with 26-year-old Joe Cronin, their peppery shortstop, who had emerged as one of the best players in the American League. Newly signed as the youngest manager in the majors, Cronin was determined to lead the Senators to the pennant, though Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and the world champion New York Yankees stood in the way.

Gary A. Sarnoff has written for Nats News, Minor League News, and for the Biography Project of the Society for American Baseball Research. He also writes for the Silver Spring–Takoma Thunderbolts of the Cal Ripken Sr. League and lives in Arlington, Virginia.

Gary A. Sarnoff
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 245
Bibliographic Info: 23 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2009
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4291-1
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5482-2
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii
1933 Washington Senators Roster      1
Prologue: Nats Win Flag by Nosing Out Browns, 2–1      3

1. Spring Training      5
2. The Old Fox, the Big Train, and the Washington Senators (Nationals)      20
3. Joe Cronin      31
4. The Strange Season of 1928      40
5. The 1929 Season      48
6. The Surprising Senators (1930)      58
7. The 1931 Season      73
8. Damn Yankees (1932)      82
9. New Deal for the Senators      97
10. Opening Day, 1933      104
11. War at Griffith Stadium      111
12. The Incredible Double Play      118
13. The Old Washington Wrecking Crew      125
14. Baseball’s Dream Game      137
15. Heat of the Pennant Race      143
16. The Winning Streak      150
17. Winning the Pennant      163
18. The 1933 World Series      175
19. One More Cheer for the Senators      194

Appendix 1. Game-by-Game Results for the 1933 Senators      207
Appendix 2. 1933 Senators Statistics      210
Appendix 3. 1933 World Series Statistics      211
Chapter Notes      213
<Bibliography      227
Index      229

“Mr. Sarnoff’s book goes into great detail in how the last great Senators’ team was brought together. When reading this book it doesn’t take long for you to realize how much research went into writing the book. Mr. Sarnoff did a superb job in taking this wonderful information and turned it into an easy reading book”—NationalsPride.com; “meticulously researched…any baseball lover will enjoy going out to the ballpark, and into the dugout, with Sarnoff, who transforms past triumphs and tribulations into exciting cliffhangers once again.”—Jewish United Fund; “at long last, a book on Senators history that is as colorful and fun-filled as it is historically informative. The kind of book that will entertain the reader as much as it carries forth the rich history of the original Washington Senators.”—George Michael, host of The Sports Machine; “This is the period of Washington’s baseball history that has not been covered in depth—until now. Gary Sarnoff touches all the bases in this well-researched, well-written work.”—Jim Hartley, Washington baseball historian and author; “Gary Sarnoff’s intimate familiarity with the Senators is the key that unlocks the treasure trove of stories—with his latest work, a new generation of fans can fall in love with old-time baseball in the Nation’s Capital.”—Doug Feldmann, author of Dizzy and the Gas House Gang.