1944 Season

28 teams competing in 2 leagues

The 1944 Major League Baseball season was played by 28 teams. The St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series, defeating the St. Louis Browns. Bill Nicholson led with 33 home runs, Bill Nicholson led with 122 RBI, and Snuffy Stirnweiss led with 205 hits. This page carries the 1944 standings, league leaders, postseason results, and a link to every team's season.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
L (Losses):
Games charged to the pitcher of record when the opposing team took a lead it never surrendered.
Win% (Winning Percentage):
Wins divided by games decided.
GB (Games Back):
How far a team trailed the division or league leader.

Data updated

🏆 Postseason

1944 Bracket
World Series SLN def. SLA (4-2)
NWS HG def. BBB (4-1)

📂 Quick Links

📊 Full Leaders 📋 Standings ⚾ Batting 🎯 Pitching

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1934 1939 1943 1944 1945 1949 1954

⚾ Batting Leaders

1944 Home Run Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

Batting average and OPS list qualified hitters only: 3.1 plate appearances per team game — 477 plate appearances at 154 team games. Home runs, RBI, hits, runs and stolen bases are counting totals and list every player.

Batting Average qualified

1 Dixie Walker .357 2 Stan Musial .347 3 Joe Medwick .337 4 Johnny Hopp .336 5 Lou Boudreau .327

OPS qualified

1 Stan Musial .990 2 Mel Ott .967 3 Dixie Walker .963 4 Bob Johnson .959 5 Bill Nicholson .935

Home Runs all players

1 Bill Nicholson 33 2 Mel Ott 26 3 Nick Etten 22 4 Ron Northey 22 5 Whitey Kurowski 20

RBI all players

1 Bill Nicholson 122 2 Vern Stephens 109 3 Bob Elliott 108 4 Bob Johnson 106 5 Ron Northey 104

Hits all players

1 Snuffy Stirnweiss 205 2 Phil Cavarretta 197 3 Stan Musial 197 4 Tommy Holmes 195 5 Lou Boudreau 191

Runs all players

1 Snuffy Stirnweiss 125 2 Bill Nicholson 116 3 Stan Musial 112 4 Jim Russell 109 5 Phil Cavarretta 106

Stolen Bases all players

1 Snuffy Stirnweiss 55 2 George Case 49 3 Johnny Barrett 28 4 George Myatt 26 5 Wally Moses 21
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1944 Strikeout Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

ERA and WHIP list qualified pitchers only: 1 inning pitched per team game — 154 innings at 154 team games. Wins, strikeouts and saves are counting totals and list every pitcher.

ERA qualified

1 Dizzy Trout 2.12 2 Hal Newhouser 2.22 3 Tex Hughson 2.26 4 Johnny Niggeling 2.32 5 Ed Heusser 2.38

WHIP qualified

1 Tex Hughson 1.05 2 Ted Wilks 1.07 3 Ed Heusser 1.07 4 Bucky Walters 1.12 5 Tommy de la Cruz 1.12

Wins all pitchers

1 Hal Newhouser 29 2 Dizzy Trout 27 3 Bucky Walters 23 4 Mort Cooper 22 5 Rip Sewell 21

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 Hal Newhouser 187 2 Bill Voiselle 161 3 Dizzy Trout 144 4 Bobo Newsom 142 5 Max Lanier 141

Saves all pitchers

1 Ace Adams 13 2 Joe Berry 12 3 George Caster 12 4 Gordon Maltzberger 12 5 Joe Heving 10
View Complete Pitching Stats →

📋 Standings

NAL

Birmingham Black Barons ★ 50-24 Cincinnati-Indianapolis Clowns 46-31 Cleveland Buckeyes 42-41 Memphis Red Sox 44-55 Chicago American Giants 31-43 Kansas City Monarchs 26-45

NN2

Homestead Grays ★ 25-17 Philadelphia Stars 26-18 New York Cubans 20-17 Baltimore Elite Giants 26-23 Newark Eagles 23-23 New York Black Yankees 5-27

American League

St. Louis Browns ★ 89-65 Detroit Tigers 88-66 New York Yankees 83-71 Boston Red Sox 77-77 Cleveland Indians 72-82 Philadelphia Athletics 72-82 Chicago White Sox 71-83 Washington Senators 64-90

National League

St. Louis Cardinals ★ 105-49 Pittsburgh Pirates 90-63 Cincinnati Reds 89-65 Chicago Cubs 75-79 New York Giants 67-87 Boston Braves 65-89 Brooklyn Dodgers 63-91 Philadelphia Blue Jays 61-92

The 1944 season in brief

1944 belonged, by record, to the St. Louis Cardinals: 105-49. 5-27 left the New York Black Yankees with the lowest winning percentage of 1944. By season's end, the Negro National League ended with the Homestead Grays and the Philadelphia Stars level at 25-17, the Homestead Grays ranked first, the St. Louis Browns (89-65) edged the Detroit Tigers (88-66) in the American League, the Negro American League was not close, the Birmingham Black Barons finishing 50-24 to the Cincinnati-Indianapolis Clowns's 46-31, and the St. Louis Cardinals owned the National League with a 105-49 mark, the Pittsburgh Pirates next at 90-63. The 1944 standings include the Negro American League and Negro National League, Negro Leagues circuits that MLB now counts as major league, listed beside the American and National Leagues. 1944's champions were the St. Louis Cardinals, World Series winners against the St. Louis Browns, 4 games to 2. Earlier rounds sent through the Homestead Grays over the Birmingham Black Barons in the series the bracket labels NWS (4-1). On the home run tile, Bill Nicholson sat first with 33, ahead of Mel Ott with 26. Dixie Walker's .357 is the best average on the qualified board, with Stan Musial next at .347. The board counts only hitters with 477 or more plate appearances, which is what 154 team games require. Beyond the top five in each tile, the 1944 leaders page ranks the whole 1944 field.

1944 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the World Series in 1944?
The St. Louis Cardinals won the 1944 World Series, beating the St. Louis Browns.
How many teams played in 1944?
28 teams played in the 1944 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1944?
Bill Nicholson led with 33 home runs in 1944.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1944?
Bill Nicholson led with 122 RBI in 1944.
Who led MLB in hits in 1944?
Snuffy Stirnweiss led with 205 hits in 1944.
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