1942 Hall of Fame Game

As more than 6,500 fans descended upon Doubleday Field in Cooperstown to attend the third Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 3, 1942, they were treated to an afternoon of warm weather and Major League Baseball.

The fans at the historic baseball diamond saw the St. Louis Cardinals of the National League take on the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League in a game that featured a 5-2 victory for that year’s future World Series Champion Cardinals.

It was a hotly contested battle tied 2-2 entering the ninth inning until the Cardinals were able to break through with a three-run frame to secure the win.

St. Louis rode the complete-game effort of starter Whitey Moore to victory. The right-hander went the distance allowing only four hits to the A’s.

The A’s drew first blood off Moore scoring a run in the bottom of the first inning when Dick Siebert laced a single to center. The hit scored leadoff batter Mike Kreevich who had reached on an errant throw by Cardinals third baseman Whitey Kurowski.

It would be the first of three errors for Kurowski on the day.

Kurowski would atone for his miscues in the field, however, as he led off the fifth with a base knock to left. After an error and a sacrifice bunt, Cardinals center fielder Terry Moore dropped a single into center, plating two to give the Cards their first lead of the day.

The A’s trailed 2-1 until the bottom of the eighth when shortstop Pete Suder lined a double to score a run. The rally stalled there, however, as the A’s would leave the bases full to end the inning.

In the ninth, future Hall of Famer Stan Musial led off the inning for the Cardinals with a ground rule double. After a bunt single and an error, the bases were loaded for third baseman Harry Walker.

Walker laced a two-run single to center, and the Cards later added one more in the inning to put the game on ice.

The St. Louis victory meant the second in three years for the NL as the Chicago Cubs won the inaugural game in 1940.