CLASSIC ALWC - '54 Tribe defeats '48 Tribe 5-2

Two of the best Cleveland Indians teams of all-time, the 1948 and 1954 squads, battled in a knockout game to move into the playoffs, with managers Erik Nelson and Joe Pryweller hoping for a heated battle.


Pryweller's team had the early playoff jitters, as the 1954 team made three errors in the first two innings. However, Nelson's 1948 group could only get one run across as '54 great Bob Lemon pitched around a no-out, bases-loaded jam in the first.


WIth '48 ace Bob Feller pitching, the '54 team knew it had to capitalize on every opportunity to score runs. The chance to score arose in the third, when Jim Hegan singled, Lemon reached on a critical error  by '48 1B Eddie Robinson and Bobby Avila walked to load the bases with one out. Manager Pryweller made the decision to bring in infielder Hank Majeski to pinch hit for good-field, no-hit SS George Strickland, sacrificing defense for offense. Majeski lined a pitch up the middle, scoring two, while Al Rosen followed with a sac fly to give '54 Cleveland a 3-1.


The '54 Tribe didn't look back after that, as they scored two more in the fourth, keyed by a double from Hegan, who had a big day. Lemon shut down the '48 World Series champs after that, holding a 5-2 lead into the ninth. But after allowing two baserunners, he was lifted for closer Ray Narleski, who nailed down his seventh save.


Final Score: '54 Indians 5, '48 Indians 2.


Bring on Baltimore!


Joe P.