The Gashouse Gang was the nickname of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

baseball team of the early

1930s File:1930s decade montage.png, From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson shows the effects of the Great Depression; due to extreme drought conditions, farms across the south-central United States become dry a ...

. Owing to their success that started in 1926, the Cardinals would win a total of five

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

pennants from 1926 to 1934 (nine seasons) while winning three

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

championships (1926, 1931, 1934). Some baseball writers use the nickname to refer to a multi-year period. For example, Jack Cavanaugh has used the phrase, "the raucous Gas House era in the 1930s."

Background

The team started out in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

as a member of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

as the Brown Stockings; they won four straight AA pennants before moving to the National League in 1892. St. Louis struggled through three decades of mediocrity, which saw them finish above fourth place just six times that matched the amount of times they finished below 9th. The Cardinals, owned by

Sam Breadon Samuel Wilson Breadon (July 26, 1876 – May 8, 1949) was an American executive who served as the president and majority owner of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1920 through 1947. During that time, the Cardinals ro ...

with

Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...

as general manager and

Rogers Hornsby Rogers Hornsby Sr. (April 27, 1896 – January 5, 1963), nicknamed "The Rajah", was an American baseball infielder, manager, and coach who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1915–1926, 1933 ...

as player-turned-manager, would see their cultivation of talent pay off in

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

Flint Rhem Charles Flint Rhem (January 24, 1901 – July 30, 1969), born in Rhems, South Carolina, was a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals (1924–28, 1930–32, 1934 and 1936), Philadelphia Phillies (1932–33) and Boston Braves (1934–35). Before hi ...

was their only twenty game winner, while

Bob O'Farrell Robert Arthur O'Farrell (October 19, 1896 – February 20, 1988) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for 21 seasons with the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and the New Yo ...

was the National League MVP while

Jim Bottomley James Leroy Bottomley (April 23, 1900 – December 11, 1959) was an American professional baseball player, scout and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1922 to 1937, most prominently as a member of the St. Loui ...

drove in the most runs for a team that scored the most runs in the league as they narrowly beat the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

by two games with a 89–65 record to win the pennant. It was their first pennant since 1888. In the 1926 World Series, the Cardinals faced the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

. After winning two of the first three games, the Yankees roared back in the next two games to put them on the ropes for Game 6 and 7, which the Cardinals won in New York to win their first championship. The next year's team won three more games but fell short of the pennant by 1.5 games. However, the 1928 team won the league pennant with 95 victories, with Bottomley winning the MVP Award once again as the Cardinals narrowly beat the New York Giants by two games with

Bill McKechnie William Boyd McKechnie (August 7, 1886 – October 29, 1965) was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman during the dead-ball era. McKechnie was the first manager to win Wo ...

now as manager. In the

1928 World Series The 1928 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1928 season. The 25th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion New York Yankees versus the National League champion St. Louis Cardina ...

, they met the Yankees again but lost in a straight sweep. The 1929 season saw three different managers in McKechnie,

Gabby Street Charles Evard "Gabby" Street (September 30, 1882 – February 6, 1951), also nicknamed "The Old Sarge", was an American catcher, manager, coach, and radio broadcaster in Major League Baseball during the first half of the 20th century. As a catch ...

, and

Billy Southworth William Harold Southworth (March 9, 1893 – November 15, 1969) was an American outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). As a player in and and from to for five big-league teams, Southworth took part in almost 1,200 games, fell j ...

(who had played for the Cardinals for the last three seasons of his career) as they went 78–74. Street would be retained as manager for the 1930 season.

Overview

The nickname Gashouse Gang, by most accounts, came from the team's generally very shabby appearance and rough-and-tumble tactics. An opponent once stated 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,

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

Leo Durocher Leo Ernest Durocher (French spelling Léo Ernest Durocher) (; July 27, 1905 – October 7, 1991), nicknamed "Leo the Lip" and "Lippy", was an American professional baseball player, manager (baseball), manager and coach (baseball), coach. He playe ...

coined the term. He and his teammates were speaking derisively of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

, and the consensus was that the Redbirds—should they prevail in the

race—would handle whoever won the American League pennant. "Why, they wouldn't even let us in that league over there", Durocher, who had played for the

, observed. "They think we're just a bunch of gashousers." The phrase ''gas house'' referred to factories that turned coal into

town gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...

for lighting and cooking. Common in U.S. cities until the widespread use of

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

, the plants were noted for their foul smell and were typically located near railroad yards in the poorest neighborhood in the city. Another explanation holds that the name comes from

Dizzy Dean Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean (January 16, 1910 – July 17, 1974), also known as Jerome Herman Dean (both the 1910 and 1920 Censuses show his name as "Jay"), was an American professional baseball pitcher. During his Major League Baseball (MLB) career ...

, who played at City Park (renamed

McKechnie Field LECOM Park is a baseball field located in Bradenton, Florida. It is the spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates and is named after a 15-year naming rights deal was signed with the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, which has its m ...

in 1962), in

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...

, for

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in the 1930s. The story goes that Dean liked the city so much, he bought a local gas station and hung out there when he wasn't playing. The team was led by general manager

, playing

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Frankie Frisch Frank Francis Frisch (September 9, 1898—March 12, 1973), nicknamed "The Fordham Flash" or "The Old Flash", was an American Major League Baseball player and manager of the first half of the twentieth century. Frisch was a switch-hitting secon ...

and included other stars such as

Joe Medwick Joseph Michael Medwick (November 24, 1911 – March 21, 1975), nicknamed "Ducky" and "Muscles", was an American Major League Baseball player. A left fielder with the St. Louis Cardinals during the " Gashouse Gang" era of the 1930s, he also pla ...

and Ripper Collins. Many of the players on the Cardinals roster, including the

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

brothers A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

Bill DeLancey William Pinkney DeLancey (November 28, 1911 – November 28, 1946) was an American professional baseball player during the 1930s. As a 22-year-old rookie catcher in , he helped to lead the St. Louis Cardinals' fabled Gashouse Gang team to the wor ...

Pepper Martin Johnny Leonard Roosevelt "Pepper" Martin (February 29, 1904 – March 5, 1965) was an American professional baseball player and minor league manager. He was known as the "Wild Horse of the Osage" because of his daring, aggressive baserunning ab ...

Spud Davis Virgil Lawrence "Spud" Davis (December 20, 1904 – August 14, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Ci ...

, and

Burgess Whitehead Burgess Urquhart "Whitey" Whitehead (June 29, 1910 – November 25, 1993) was a Major League Baseball second baseman from 1933 to 1946. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Biography Whitehead was bo ...

, were Southerners or Southwesterners from working-class backgrounds. The 1930 St. Louis Cardinals season saw them win 92 games and have every hitter with 300 at-bats hit with a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .300, which was the first and so far only time this has happened in baseball history. They won the pennant by two games and faced the Philadelphia Athletics in six games. In the

1930 World Series The 1930 World Series featured the defending World Series champion (and 1930 American League (AL) champion) Philadelphia Athletics against the National League (NL) champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Athletics defeated the Cardinals in six games ...

, the Cardinals, a high-scoring offense, could only score more than three runs one time in the Series, which they lost in six games. The 1934 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 Dennis Dale McLain (born March 29, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for ten seasons in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher, most prominently as a member of the Detroit Tigers. In 1968, McLain became ...

accomplished the feat for the Detroit Tigers), and four All-Stars, including player-manager Frisch. Not among the All-Stars was Collins, the

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

who led the team in sixteen offensive categories with stats like a .333

, a .615

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

, 35

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, and 128

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. The following year was historic for the Cardinals, as they went 101–53 for their first 100-win season ever, winning the pennant by thirteen games, with

Bill Hallahan William Anthony Hallahan (August 4, 1902 – July 8, 1981) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball during the 1920s and 1930s. Nicknamed "Wild Bill" because of his lack of control on the mound—he twice led the National Leag ...

saving Game 7 to beat Philadelphia. The two following seasons saw them finish sixth and fifth before Street was replaced by

midway through the 1933 season. The 1934 team would receive the nickname that stuck that year, which saw

won thirty games to go alongside player-manager Frisch and other perennial stars. In the

1934 World Series The 1934 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1934 season. The 31st edition of the World Series, it matched the St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers. The Cardinals' "Gashouse Gang" won in seven gam ...

, the Cards and Tigers split the first two games in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, and the Tigers took two of the next three in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. 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 Cards were Medwick, who had a .379 batting average with one of St. Louis's two home runs and a series-high five RBI, and the Dean Brothers, who combined for all four of the team's wins with 28 strikeouts and a 1.43

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

Aftermath and legacy

While the next couple of years would see the Cardinals play well to their competition, they finished 2nd place four times in the next seven seasons with no pennants. It was a new generation of players alongside the return of Southworth as manager in 1940 that saw the Cardinals rise back up to champions, as they won three World Series titles in five seasons from 1942 to 1946. From the teams of 1926 to 1934, fourteen total individuals who played or managed the Cardinals would receive induction into the

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

Grover Cleveland Alexander Grover Cleveland Alexander (February 26, 1887 – November 4, 1950), nicknamed "Old Pete", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played from 1911 through 1930 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals. He ...

Chick Hafey Charles James "Chick" Hafey (February 12, 1903 – July 2, 1973) was an American player in Major League Baseball (MLB). Playing for the St. Louis Cardinals (1924–1931) and Cincinnati Reds (1932–1935, 1937), Hafey was a strong line-drive hitt ...

Jesse Haines Jesse Joseph Haines (July 22, 1893 – August 5, 1978), nicknamed "Pop", was a right-handed pitcher in for the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). After a lengthy stint in minor league baseball, he played br ...

Dazzy Vance Charles Arthur "Dazzy" Vance (March 4, 1891 – February 16, 1961) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a pitcher for five different franchises in Major League Baseball (MLB) in a career that spanned twenty years. Known for ...

Rabbit Maranville Walter James Vincent "Rabbit" Maranville (November 11, 1891 – January 6, 1954) was an American professional baseball shortstop, second baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, Ch ...

, and

Burleigh Grimes Burleigh Arland Grimes (August 18, 1893 – December 6, 1985) was an American professional baseball player and manager, and the last pitcher officially permitted to throw the spitball. Grimes made the most of this advantage, as well as his unshav ...

In popular culture

* Several Cardinal players participated in the informal "Mudcat Band." Lon Warneke played guitar and sang, Pepper Martin played harmonica and guitar, Bill McGee played a fiddle, Bob Weiland blew into a jug, and outfielder Frenchy Bordagaray "played a contraption that included a washboard, a car horn, a whistle, and an electric light." The band wore variants of the Cardinal uniform (with "Mudcats" replacing "Cardinals" on the birds-on-the-bat logo) and played gigs around the Midwest and South on off-days and during the off-season.The day the Cardinals played in Stamford: Excerpt from ''Season of '42''
''Stamford Advocate'' (Connecticut), Jack Cavanaugh, April 28, 2012. *In ''Goliath'' season 2 episode 3 "Yeah, well, I like to think that we're the Gashouse Gang, – so fuck the Yankees." *One of the teams in the 1946

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

cartoon ''

Baseball Bugs ''Baseball Bugs'' is a 1946 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' theatrical animated cartoon directed by Friz Freleng. The short was released on February 2, 1946, and stars Bugs Bunny. In the short, Bugs Bunny singlehandedly defeats the "Gas-House Go ...

'' was the "Gashouse Gorillas". *Country-bluegrass band

Old Crow Medicine Show Old Crow Medicine Show is an Americana string band based in Nashville, Tennessee, that has been recording since 1998. They were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on September 17, 2013. Their ninth album, '' Remedy'', released in 2014, won the Gr ...

refers to them in the song "Caroline" on their 2008 album ''Tennessee Pusher''. *In the 1938

George Cukor George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head of ...

remake of the 1930

Romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film ''

Holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

'', starring

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

and

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

, Professor Potter (played by

Edward Everett Horton Edward Everett Horton Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons. Early life Horton was born in Kings County ...

) and his wife (played by

Jean Dixon Jean Dixon (born Jean Jacques; July 14, 1893 – February 12, 1981) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Dixon was born in Waterbury, Connecticut. She attended St. Margaret's School in Waterbury, and was also educated i ...

) enter a sophisticated and pompous

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

Party where they feel uncomfortably under dressed and out of place. They escape to the fourth floor where they hear simple music coming from Hepburn's room, and Professor Potter happily says, "It's the Gashouse Gang, darling." *In 2015, author Carolyn E. Mueller and illustrator Ed Koehler, in association with Reedy Press, LLC published an illustrated book titled "Dizzy Dean and the Gashouse Gang." () The book showcases the antics of Dizzy and his brother Paul Dean,

, player/manager

, and the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals season in their quest to win their third World Series.

References

External links

Cardinals HistoryGashouse Gang on baseball-reference.com
{{St. Louis Cardinals 1934 Major League Baseball season St. Louis Cardinals Nicknamed groups of baseball players

Background

Overview

Aftermath and legacy

In popular culture

See also

References

External links