The 1934 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 53rd season in St. Louis, Missouri and the 43rd season in the National League. The Cardinals went 95–58 during the season and finished first in the National League. St. Louis won 18 of their last 23 games to overtake the New York Giants the last two days of the season. In the World Series, they defeated the Detroit Tigers in seven games, winning the last 11–0.
Offseason December 15, 1933: Ray Pepper was purchased from the Cardinals by the St. Louis Browns.Ray Pepper at Baseball-Reference
Regular season Pitcher Dizzy Dean won the MVP Award this year, with 30 wins, 195 strikeouts, and a 2.66 ERA. He was also named the Associated Press Athlete of the Year.
The Gashouse Gang The Gashouse Gang was a nickname applied to the Cardinals team of 1934. The Cardinals, by most accounts, earned this nickname from the team's generally very shabby appearance and rough-and-tumble tactics. An opponent once stated that the Cardinals players usually went into the field in unwashed, dirty, and smelly uniforms, which alone spread horror among their rivals.
According to one account, scrappy shortstop Leo Durocher coined the term. He and his teammates were speaking derisively of the American League, and the consensus was that the Redbirds – should they prevail in the National League race – would handle whoever won the AL pennant. "Why, they wouldn't even let us in that league over there", Durocher, who had played for the New York Yankees, observed. "They think we're just a bunch of gashousers." The phrase "gas house" referred to plants that manufactured town gas for lighting and cooking from coal, which were common fixtures in US cities prior to the widespread use of natural gas. The plants were noted for their foul smell and were typically located near railroad yards in the poorest neighborhood in the city.
Led by playing manager Frankie Frisch and the hard-nosed Durocher, as well as stars like Joe Medwick, Ripper Collins, Pepper Martin, Bill DeLancey and brothers Dizzy and Paul Dean, the '34 Cardinals won 95 games, the NL pennant, and the World Series in seven games over the Detroit Tigers.
The team featured five regulars who hit at least .300, a 30-game winner in Dizzy Dean (the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in a single season, and the last pitcher in Major League Baseball to do so until Denny McLain accomplished the feat for the 1968 Detroit Tigers), and four All-Stars, including player-manager Frisch. Not among the All-Stars was Collins, the first baseman who led the team in 16 offensive categories, with stats like a .333 batting average, a .615 slugging percentage, 35 home runs, and 128 runs batted in.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions May 4, 1934: Francis Healy was purchased by the Cardinals from the New York Giants.Francis Healy at Baseball Reference
Roster 1934 St. Louis Cardinals Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Manager
Coaches
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI C 107 347 104 .300 9 65 1B 154 600 200 .333 35 128 2B 140 550 168 .305 3 75 3B 110 454 131 .289 5 49 SS 146 500 130 .260 3 70 OF 154 647 184 .284 11 72 OF 149 620 198 .319 18 106 OF 105 337 101 .300 0 31
Other batters Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI 100 332 92 .277 1 24 93 253 80 .316 13 40 69 199 52 .261 0 26 29 72 17 .236 1 8 61 70 19 .271 0 16 16 33 10 .303 1 4 9 18 5 .278 0 1 15 13 4 .308 0 1 2 1 0 .000 0 0 1 1 0 .000 0 0
Pitching
Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 50 311.2 30 7 2.66 195 40 240.2 16 11 4.26 103 39 233.1 19 11 3.43 150 32 162.2 8 12 4.26 70
Other pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO 24 153.0 12 4 3.12 76 5 15.2 1 0 4.60 6 5 12.2 0 2 7.82 3
Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G W L SV ERA SO 37 4 4 1 3.50 17 32 2 4 1 5.47 27 19 1 1 1 3.66 33 11 0 1 1 6.43 7 4 2 1 0 3.52 1 1 0 0 0 4.50 0 1 0 0 0 4.50 1
1934 World Series
In the World Series, the Cards and Tigers split the first two games in Detroit, and the Tigers took two of the next three in St. Louis. St. Louis proceeded to win the next two, including an 11–0 embarrassment of the Tigers in Detroit to win the Series. The stars for the Cardinals were Medwick, who had a .379 batting average with one of St. Louis' two home runs and a series-high five RBI, and the Dean brothers, who combined for all four of the teams wins with 28 strikeouts and a minuscule 1.43 earned run average.
NL St. Louis Cardinals (4) vs. AL Detroit Tigers (3) GameScoreDateLocationAttendance1 Cardinals – 8, Tigers – 3 October 3Navin Field 42,5052 Cardinals – 2, Tigers – 3 (12 innings)October 4Navin Field 43,4513 Tigers – 1, Cardinals – 4 October 5Sportsman's Park 37,0734 Tigers – 10, Cardinals – 4 October 6Sportsman's Park 37,4925 Tigers – 3, Cardinals – 1 October 7Sportsman's Park 38,5366 Cardinals – 4, Tigers – 3 October 8Navin Field 44,5517 Cardinals – 11, Tigers – 0 October 9Navin Field 40,902
League leaders Ripper Collins #1 in NL in home runs (35) #1 in NL in slugging percentage (.615) #2 in NL in runs batted in (128) #3 in NL in hits (200) #3 in NL in runs scored (116)
Dizzy Dean #1 in MLB in wins (30) #1 in MLB in strikeouts (195) #1 in MLB in shutouts (7) #2 in NL in earned run average (2.66)
Paul Dean #2 in NL in shutouts (5) #3 in NL in strikeouts (150)
Pepper Martin #1 in NL in stolen bases (23)
Farm system
References
External links 1934 St. Louis Cardinals team page at Baseball-Reference.com 1934 St. Louis Cardinals team page at Baseball-Almanac.com