page_title: 1926 World Series
section_title: Game 3
hierarchical_section_title: 1926 World Series / Matchups / Game 3
caption_attribution_description: Walter Henry Ruether (1893-1970), an American baseball player
context_page_description: The 1926 World Series, the 23rd playing of Major League Baseball's championship series, pitted the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the American League champion New York Yankees. The Cardinals defeated the Yankees four games to three in the best-of-seven series, which took place from October 2 to 10, 1926, at Yankee Stadium and Sportsman's Park.
  This was the first World Series appearance for the Cardinals, and would be the first of 11 World Series championships in Cardinals history. The Yankees were playing in their fourth World Series in six years after winning their first American League pennant in 1921 and their first world championship in 1923. They would play in another 36 World Series through the end of the 2019 season.
  In Game 1, Herb Pennock pitched the Yankees to a 2–1 win over the Cards. In Game 2, pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander evened the Series for St. Louis with a 6–2 victory. Knuckleballer Jesse Haines' shutout in Game 3 gave St. Louis a 2–1 Series lead. In the Yankees' 10–5 Game 4 win, Babe Ruth hit three home runs, a World Series record equaled only four times since.
context_section_description: After Game 2 ended on October 3, the Yankees and Cardinals boarded trains to St. Louis, Missouri. The mayor of St. Louis, Victor J. Miller, ordered that the workday end by three the next afternoon so that the city could welcome the Cardinals at Union Station. The Cardinals players were treated like champions by fans and citizens alike. Just outside the station, Mayor Miller stood at a podium and presented club manager and player Rogers Hornsby with a brand new Lincoln sedan priced at US$4,000 and paid for by the city's top businessmen. Each member of the Cardinals' team received a new hat, a new pair of shoes, and an engraved white-gold watch valued at a manufacturer's price of $100. As the Cardinals were receiving special treatment from the people of St. Louis, fans were lining up outside Sportsman's Park with the hope of being able to purchase tickets to Game 3 for a price of $3.30.
  Sportsman's Park was filled with 37,708 people on October 5 for Game 3. On the mound for the Cardinals was right-handed knuckleball pitcher Jesse Haines, a future Hall of Famer with a 13–4 record and 3.25 ERA in 183 innings in 1926. Starting for the Yankees was southpaw pitcher Dutch Ruether, who had a 14–9 record with a 4.60 ERA in 1926.
  The game was rain delayed for 30 minutes during the top half of the fourth inning. Once the game resumed, the Cardinals came to bat and scored the first runs of the game. Les Bell, a .325 hitter with 17 home runs that season, led the Cardinals with a single to center field. Chick Hafey dropped a sacrifice bunt straight to Ruether, who then threw it to second baseman Tony Lazzeri. Bell beat Lazzeri's tag at second base and was called safe by the umpire. Bob O'Farrell was walked, and Tommy Thevenow hit a grounder to Lazzeri, who tossed it to Mark Koenig for the force out at second base. Koenig tagged O'Farrell out, but made an error in his throw to first baseman Lou Gehrig, which resulted in a run. Then, Haines hit a Ruether pitch for a two-run home run.
  The Cardinals were leading the Yankees 3–0 by the end of the inning. The Yankees failed to produce any offense in the fifth inning, but the Cardinals added to their lead by picking up a run when Billy Southworth beat the tag at home following a Jim Bottomley grounder to second base. Ruether was then replaced by Bob Shawkey, who closed out the inning by yielding two weak infield groundouts. The Yankees picked up one hit in each of the next two innings, but could not produce any runs. Yankees pitcher Myles Thomas came in to pitch a hitless ninth inning. With one out in the top of the ninth inning, Lou Gehrig hit a line drive single into right field, but Lazzeri grounded into a double play, ending the game as a 4–0 Cardinals victory. Haines pitched a complete game shutout, and only gave up five hits total, two of which came from Gehrig.
caption: Yankees pitcher Dutch Ruether in 1925
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