Courtesy of Jack McKillop our man in New Jersey, USA
The first game of the 1939 World Series between the National League pennant winner, the Cincinnati Reds, and the American League pennant winner, the New York Yankees, is played at Yankee Stadium in New York City. The Reds, managed by Bill McKechnie, had won 97 games and lost 57 on the season and finished 4-1/2 games ahead of the second place St. Louis Cardinals. The top hitter on the Reds was first baseman Frank McCormick who batted .332; the top pitcher was Paul Derringer with a record of 25-7 and a 2.93 ERA. The Yankees, managed by Joe McCarthy, had won 108 games and lost 45 for the season and finished 17 games ahead of the second place Boston Red Sox. The top hitter on the Yankees was center fielder Joe DiMaggio who batted .381 for the season; the top pitcher was Red Ruffing who was 21-7 with a 2.93 ERA. Both Derringer and Ruffing started and completed the game. Going into the bottom of the 9th inning, the score was tied 1-1. The Reds had scored first, one run in the top of the 4th inning and the Yankees scored their run in the bottom of the 5th inning. Yankee right field Charlie "King Kong" Keller led off the 9th inning with a triple just past the glove of the Reds right fielder Ivan "Goodie" Goodman. The next batter, Joe DiMaggio is given an intentional walk. Yankee catcher Bill Dickey then hits a single driving Keller home and the Yankees win 2-1 and lead the series 1-0.
Game 2 of the 1939 World Series is again played at Yankee Stadium. The starting pitchers are Bucky Walters, 27-11 with a 2.29 ERA on the season, for the Cincinnati Reds and Monte Pearson, 12-5 with a 4.49 ERA on the season, for the New York Yankees. Both pitchers complete the game. Monte Pearson pitches a no-hit, no-run game for 7-1/3 innings before Reds catcher Ernie Lombardi singles but the Reds remain scoreless throughout the game. The Yankees score four runs, 3 in the 3rd inning and one in the 4th inning on 1st baseman Babe Dahlgren's double and home run. The Yankees take a 2-0 lead in the series which will resume on 7 October in Cincinnati.
The third game of the 1939 World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Yankees is played at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. The starting pitchers are Lefty Gomez, 12-8 with a 3.41 ERA on the season, for the Yankees and Junior Thompson, 13-5 with a 2.54 ERA on the season, for the Reds. The Yankees win the game 7-3 on four home runs, two by right fielder Charlie "King Kong" Keller with one on each time, one by center fielder Joe DiMaggio with one on and one by catcher Bill Dickey. The Yankees scored two runs in the top of the 1st inning and the Reds scored one in the 1st and 2 in the 2d. Lefty Gomez was replaced by Bump Hadley, 12-6 with a 2.98 ERA on the season, in the 2nd inning. The Reds Junior Thompson pitched 4-2/3 innings bing replaced by Lee Grissom, 9-7 with a 4.10 ERA on the season, in the 5th inning. Whitey Moore, 13-12 with a 3.45 ERA on the season, pitched that last 3 innings for the Reds. Hadley is the winning pitcher and Thompson the loser. The Yankees now lead the series 3-0.
The fourth game of the 1939 World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Yankees is played at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. The starting pitchers are Oral Hildebrand, 10-4 with a 3.06 ERA on the season, for the Yankees and Paul Derringer, who lost the first World Series game, for the Reds. The game remains scoreless until the 7th inning. Hildebrand is replaced by Steve "Smokey" Sundra, 11-1 with a 2.76 ERA on the season, in the 5th inning. Johnny Murphy, who was 3-6 with a 4.40 ERA on the season, relieves Sundra in the 6th inning. The Yankees score two runs in the 7th inning and the Reds score 3 in the bottom of the 7th. In the 8th inning, Bucky Walters who lost Game 2 of the Series replaces Paul Derringer as the pitcher for the Reds and the Reds score one run in the bottom of the 8th giving them a 4-2 lead. The Yankees come back in the top of the 9th with two runs tying the game at 4-4. In the top of the 10th inning, the Reds commit three errors allowing the Yankees to score three runs and the game ends with a 7-4 Yankee victory; Murphy is the winning pitcher and Walters the losing pitcher. This is the Yankees seventh, and third consecutive, World Series win.