1946 Pittsburgh Pirates
LeagueNational League
BallparkForbes Field
CityPittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1]
OwnersBill Benswanger; Frank E. McKinney, Bing Crosby, John W. Galbreath and Thomas P. Johnson
General managersRay Kennedy
ManagersFrankie Frisch, Spud Davis
RadioWWSW
Rosey Rowswell, Jack Craddock
Seasons

The 1946 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 65th in the history of the Major League Baseball franchise and its jubilee of diamonds in the National League. The Pirates finished seventh in the league standings with a record of 63–91, and attracted 749,962 fans to Forbes Field.

It was a year of transition for the Pirates. Ralph Kiner made his debut, and he proceeded to lead the National League in home runs with 23. He was one of only two NL players to reach 20+ home runs that year (Johnny Mize was runner-up with 22), but 1946 would be the first of seven straight years in which Kiner would lead his league, or tie for the lead, in homers en route to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

On August 8, the Pirates changed hands for the first time since 1900 when the heirs of Hall of Fame owner Barney Dreyfuss sold the franchise to a syndicate led by Indianapolis banker Frank E. McKinney and including John W. Galbreath, Thomas P. Johnson and Bing Crosby. Galbreath became majority owner in 1950, and under his family's 35-year stewardship, the Pirates would win the 1960, 1971 and 1979 World Series championships.

The sale was accompanied by changes in the dugout and front office. Frankie Frisch, manager since 1940, resigned his post September 27 with three games to go in the season. After coach Spud Davis finished the campaign, the Pirates acquired 37-year-old Billy Herman, like Frisch a Hall of Fame second baseman, and named him playing manager for 1947. General manager Ray Kennedy, in only his first year in the position, was demoted by the new owners to farm system director and replaced by Roy Hamey.

In addition, the 1946 Pirates were the focus of an unsuccessful unionizing campaign by the recently formed American Baseball Guild. After the Guild successfully enrolled 34 of the club's 36 roster players when the season began, it was rebuffed by Pirates' then-president William Benswanger when it attempted to start collective bargaining talks. In response, the Guild called for a strike authorization vote on June 7 before a game at Forbes Field. Although 20 of the team's 36 players voted yes to a strike, the union fell short of the needed two-thirds supermajority, and the Guild movement collapsed. Players would form their own association in 1953, and the MLBPA would become their first official bargaining unit in 1966.

Regular season

Season standings

National League W L Pct. GB Home Road
St. Louis Cardinals 9858 0.628 — 49–29 49–29
Brooklyn Dodgers 9660 0.615 2 56–22 40–38
Chicago Cubs 8271 0.536 14½ 44–33 38–38
Boston Braves 8172 0.529 15½ 45–31 36–41
Philadelphia Phillies 6985 0.448 28 41–36 28–49
Cincinnati Reds 6787 0.435 30 35–42 32–45
Pittsburgh Pirates 6391 0.409 34 37–40 26–51
New York Giants 6193 0.396 36 38–39 23–54

Record vs. opponents

1946 National League record

Sources:
Team BOS BR CHC CIN NYG PHI PIT STL
Boston —5–1712–9–115–713–914–815–77–15
Brooklyn 17–5—11–1114–8–115–717–514–88–16
Chicago 9–12–111–11—13–917–512–1012–10–18–14
Cincinnati 7–158–14–19–13—14–88–14–113–98–14
New York 9–137–155–178–14—12–1010–1210–12
Philadelphia 8–145–1710–1214–8–110–12—14–88–14
Pittsburgh 7–158–1410–12–19–1312–108–14—9–13
St. Louis 15–716–814–814–812–1014–813–9—

Game log

1946 Game Log: 63–91 (Home: 37–40; Away: 26–51)
April: 5–8 (Home: 4–4; Away: 1–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 16@ Cardinals6–4Heintzelman (1–0)Brecheen—14,0001–0
2April 17@ Cardinals0–6LanierGables (0–1)—4,8191–1
3April 18@ Cardinals2–6PolletStrincevich (0–1)—6,3281–2
4April 20Reds2–1Sewell (1–0)Walters—27,8912–2
5April 21Reds2–8HeusserHopper (0–1)—2–3
6April 21Reds3–4BeggsHallett (0–1)—30,2372–4
7April 23Cubs1–3PasseauAlbosta (0–1)—8,2242–5
8April 24Cubs4–3Sewell (2–0)Schmitz—6,2873–5
9April 25Cardinals5–3Heintzelman (2–0)BrecheenRoe (1)10,5854–5
10April 26Cardinals2–3MartinOstermueller (0–1)—4,8854–6
11April 27@ Reds2–5BeggsStrincevich (0–2)—3,0864–7
12April 28@ Reds1–7HeusserSewell (2–1)—24,0024–8
13April 30Phillies4–1Hallett (1–1)Hughes—4,9705–8
May: 10–10 (Home: 8–5; Away: 2–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
14May 1Phillies0–8PearsonAlbosta (0–2)—4,4265–9
15May 2Phillies8–3Ostermueller (1–1)Judd—3,4586–9
16May 3Braves3–2Heintzelman (3–0)Sain—7–9
17May 5Dodgers5–4 (11)Hallett (2–1)Lombardi—8–9
18May 5Dodgers4–3 (6)Roe (1–0)Casey—37,9539–9
19May 8Giants0–1KosloOstermueller (1–2)—6,2679–10
20May 9Giants1–6VoiselleRoe (1–1)—7,7869–11
21May 12@ Cubs1–3PasseauHeintzelman (3–1)—22,0659–12
22May 14@ Braves1–5WallaceGables (0–2)—20,7629–13
23May 17@ Dodgers6–16HattenStrincevich (0–3)—9,3079–14
24May 19@ Giants3–1Ostermueller (2–2)Kennedy—10–14
25May 19@ Giants1–5KosloHeintzelman (3–2)—39,48210–15
26May 22@ Phillies2–6RoweHeintzelman (3–3)Karl4,81310–16
27May 23@ Phillies10–2Bahr (1–0)Hughes—4,74611–16
28May 24Cubs6–3Roe (2–1)Borowy—27,43212–16
29May 26Cubs8–2Heintzelman (4–3)Bithorn—13,00013–16
30May 28Reds6–3Bahr (2–0)HeusserStrincevich (1)16,99514–16
31May 29Reds6–7GumbertStrincevich (0–4)—4,11214–17
32May 30Cardinals9–3Ostermueller (3–2)Krist—15–17
33May 30Cardinals11–12SchmidtHallett (2–2)Wilks34,98515–18
June: 11–19 (Home: 8–9; Away: 3–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
34June 2Phillies5–1Sewell (3–1)Hughes—16–18
35June 2Phillies3–10JurisichBahr (2–1)Karl8,97116–19
36June 3Phillies4–8SchanzAlbosta (0–3)Karl2,17516–20
37June 4Dodgers4–3Ostermueller (4–2)Casey—17–20
38June 4Dodgers6–7 (11)WebberLanning (0–1)Head11,52117–21
39June 5Dodgers3–5HigbeRoe (2–2)Melton26,20617–22
40June 6Dodgers8–13BehrmanSewell (3–2)Herring3,09317–23
41June 7Giants10–5Bahr (3–1)VoiselleGables (1)16,88418–23
42June 8Giants3–5KosloStrincevich (0–5)—5,78518–24
43June 9Giants2–1Ostermueller (5–2)Kennedy—19–24
44June 9Giants5–1Lanning (1–1)Joyce—24,78720–24
45June 10Braves5–10WrightRoe (2–3)Posedel3,65220–25
46June 11Braves5–3Sewell (4–2)Cooper—17,18121–25
47June 15@ Phillies1–3RoweStrincevich (0–6)Mauney23,80421–26
48June 16@ Phillies3–4RaffensbergerSewell (4–3)Hughes21–27
49June 16@ Phillies10–1Ostermueller (6–2)Stanceu—36,91022–27
50June 17@ Phillies3–7MauneyGables (0–3)—16,52922–28
51June 18@ Dodgers6–3Heintzelman (5–3)Barney—32,56523–28
52June 19@ Dodgers0–7HattenRoe (2–4)—13,09323–29
53June 20@ Dodgers3–7HigbeStrincevich (0–7)—9,49023–30
54June 21@ Braves2–3CooperOstermueller (6–3)—13,25623–31
55June 22@ Braves3–4 (10)RoserSewell (4–4)—4,42123–32
56June 23@ Braves3–4LeeHeintzelman (5–4)Posedel23–33
57June 23@ Braves0–4SainRoe (2–5)—19,78423–34
58June 25@ Giants3–0Strincevich (1–7)Schumacher—20,31724–34
59June 26@ Giants0–4KosloBahr (3–2)—4,81224–35
60June 27Cubs5–6EricksonHallett (2–3)Schmitz3,01924–36
61June 28Cardinals1–5PolletRoe (2–6)—20,47524–37
62June 30Cardinals4–3Ostermueller (7–3)Brazle—25–37
63June 30Cardinals1–0Strincevich (2–7)Brecheen—20,04026–37
July: 11–19 (Home: 5–7; Away: 6–12)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
64July 1@ Cubs1–0Sewell (5–4)Wyse—18,82827–37
65July 2@ Cubs9–0Heintzelman (6–4)Chipman—12,97028–37
66July 3@ Cubs3–4KushGerheauser (0–1)—28–38
67July 3@ Cubs1–2EricksonRoe (2–7)—25,62328–39
68July 4@ Reds6–1Strincevich (3–7)Heusser—29–39
69July 4@ Reds3–4 (11)ShounAlbosta (0–4)—15,43729–40
70July 5@ Reds3–4WaltersSewell (5–5)—18,51929–41
71July 6@ Cardinals4–12WilksGables (0–4)—12,66029–42
72July 7@ Cardinals3–4DicksonOstermueller (7–4)—29–43
73July 7@ Cardinals0–6PolletHeintzelman (6–5)—16,62529–44
74July 11Phillies1–4RoweStrincevich (3–8)—3,77229–45
75July 12Phillies4–3Bahr (4–2)JuddRoe (2)15,04730–45
76July 13Phillies8–1Lanning (2–1)Schanz—5,01131–45
77July 14Braves1–4SpahnOstermueller (7–5)—31–46
78July 14Braves5–2Sewell (6–5)Wright—17,41432–46
79July 15Braves2–3NiggelingHeintzelman (6–6)—11,78732–47
80July 16Braves0–10CooperAlbosta (0–5)—2,38732–48
81July 17Giants8–5Strincevich (4–8)Trinkle—33–48
82July 18Giants7–3Roe (3–7)KosloLanning (1)3,39734–48
83July 20Dodgers1–4HerringHeintzelman (6–7)—7,73634–49
84July 21Dodgers0–3LombardiOstermueller (7–6)—34–50
85July 21Dodgers5–6BehrmanSewell (6–6)Gregg18,84434–51
86July 24@ Phillies0–2RoweStrincevich (4–9)—22,02534–52
87July 25@ Phillies2–1Lanning (3–1)Judd—35–52
88July 25@ Phillies2–9DonnellySewell (6–7)—10,25235–53
89July 26@ Dodgers5–0Ostermueller (8–6)Lombardi—26,91836–53
90July 27@ Dodgers3–4CaseyRoe (3–8)—33,64536–54
91July 27@ Dodgers3–4HigbeAlbosta (0–6)Casey33,64536–55
92July 28@ Dodgers7–3Strincevich (5–9)Barney—19,83637–55
93July 31@ Braves1–2SainLanning (3–2)—9,34337–56
August: 11–15 (Home: 9–10; Away: 2–5)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
94August 2@ Giants6–0Ostermueller (9–6)Koslo—11,87338–56
95August 2@ Giants2–3TrinkleHeintzelman (6–8)Thompson12,56138–57
96August 4@ Giants0–4BudnickStrincevich (5–10)—38–58
97August 4@ Giants1–10KennedyLanning (3–3)—27,70938–59
98August 7Cardinals1–8BrecheenOstermueller (9–7)—14,88838–60
99August 9Cubs3–9EricksonHeintzelman (6–9)—13,62438–61
100August 10Cubs3–2Strincevich (6–10)Schmitz—3,45239–61
101August 11Cubs10–9Gerheauser (1–1)Borowy—40–61
102August 11Cubs4–4—18,70040–61
103August 12Reds3–2Bahr (5–2)Heusser—2,76441–61
104August 13Reds3–2Hallett (3–3)Gumbert—15,57542–61
105August 14Reds3–2Strincevich (7–10)Malloy—3,89043–61
106August 16@ Cardinals3–0Heintzelman (7–9)Dickson—10,79544–61
107August 17@ Cubs1–2SchmitzBahr (5–3)—15,12744–62
108August 18@ Cubs0–8EricksonHallett (3–4)—30,96544–63
109August 20Dodgers10–0Strincevich (8–10)Lombardi—31,10645–63
110August 21Dodgers2–8HattenHeintzelman (7–10)—7,97445–64
111August 22Giants0–1 (10)KennedySewell (6–8)—3,95845–65
112August 23Giants7–3Bahr (6–3)Trinkle—15,30646–65
113August 24Giants1–8VoiselleLanning (3–4)—5,26046–66
114August 25Braves5–7WrightOstermueller (9–8)Barrett46–67
115August 25Braves5–10JohnsonStrincevich (8–11)Spahn20,04946–68
116August 26Braves3–2Heintzelman (8–10)Niggeling—2,16947–68
117August 27Braves1–9SpahnOstermueller (9–9)—3,09447–69
118August 28Phillies1–4JuddSewell (6–9)Donnelly11,59447–70
119August 29Phillies2–5RaffensbergerBahr (6–4)—1,12447–71
120August 31Cardinals6–1Strincevich (9–11)Dickson—6,07448–71
September: 15–20 (Home: 3–5; Away: 12–15)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
121September 1Cardinals6–7 (10)PolletSewell (6–10)—48–72
122September 1Cardinals2–1 (7)Ostermueller (10–9)Brecheen—28,16749–72
123September 2Cubs4–1Bahr (7–4)Erickson—50–72
124September 2Cubs3–7BauersSewell (6–11)—18,23750–73
125September 3Cubs0–2ChipmanHallett (3–5)—1,80250–74
126September 4@ Reds0–6BeggsStrincevich (9–12)—10,46550–75
127September 5@ Reds2–1Sewell (7–11)Vander Meer—1,25451–75
128September 6@ Cardinals6–7BeazleyHeintzelman (8–11)Burkhart17,49651–76
129September 7@ Cardinals9–2Ostermueller (11–9)Pollet—17,26652–76
130September 8@ Cardinals4–5 (11)MungerBahr (7–5)—52–77
131September 8@ Cardinals2–12BrazleStrincevich (9–13)—25,57252–78
132September 10@ Giants7–4Gerheauser (2–1)Trinkle—9,97153–78
133September 11@ Giants7–6Lanning (4–4)Thompson—54–78
134September 11@ Giants7–5Gables (1–4)VoiselleHeintzelman (1)6,35855–78
135September 12@ Braves1–0Hallett (4–5)Johnson—56–78
136September 12@ Braves1–2WrightStrincevich (9–14)—3,82256–79
137September 13@ Braves4–2 (14)Ostermueller (12–9)Cooper—57–79
138September 13@ Braves10–1Bahr (8–5)Lee—2,77658–79
139September 14@ Braves3–9SainGerheauser (2–2)—6,07758–80
140September 15@ Phillies5–6 (11)KarlSewell (7–12)—14,27958–81
141September 16@ Phillies0–2RaffensbergerHallett (4–6)—19,24758–82
142September 18@ Dodgers3–2Ostermueller (13–9)Higbe—59–82
143September 18@ Dodgers0–3BrancaHeintzelman (8–12)—26,65959–83
144September 19@ Dodgers0–7GreggStrincevich (9–15)—11,46259–84
145September 21Reds2–1 (13)Hallett (5–6)Gumbert—13,81060–84
146September 22Reds2–4BeggsLanning (4–5)—60–85
147September 22Reds5–6BlackwellWalsh (0–1)Malloy11,13860–86
148September 24@ Cubs3–13EricksonOstermueller (13–10)Chipman60–87
149September 24@ Cubs13–0 (8)Sewell (8–12)Lade—8,39661–87
150September 25@ Cubs6–5 (16)Gables (2–4)Lade—3,33962–87
151September 26@ Cubs3–5HanyzewskiHallett (5–7)Meyer5,36962–88
152September 27@ Reds0–8BeggsBahr (8–6)—1,12062–89
153September 28@ Reds10–3Strincevich (10–15)Blackwell—1,93063–89
154September 29@ Reds0–1Vander MeerHoward (0–1)—63–90
155September 29@ Reds2–3HetkiTate (0–1)—6,32963–91
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie
Bold = Pirates team member

Opening Day lineup

Notable transactions

Roster

1946 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Manager

Coaches

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
CAl López5615046.307112
1BElbie Fletcher148532136.256466
2BFrankie Gustine131495128.259852
SSBilly Cox121411119.290236
3BLee Handley11641699.238128
OFRalph Kiner144502124.2472381
OFBob Elliott140486128.263568
OFJim Russell146516143.277850

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Jimmy Brown7924158.241012
Bill Salkeld6916047.294319
Maurice Van Robays5914631.212112
Chuck Workman5814532.221216
Burgess Whitehead5512728.22005
Bill Baker5311327.23918
Al Gionfriddo6410226.255010
Hank Camelli429620.20805
Johnny Barrett327112.16906
Frank Colman26539.17016
Vinnie Smith7214.19000
Frankie Zak21204.20000
Roy Jarvis241.25000
Ben Guintini230.00000
Pete Coscarart321.50000
Alf Anderson210.00000
Vic Barnhart210.00000

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Fritz Ostermueller27193.113102.8457
Nick Strincevich32176.010153.5849
Ken Heintzelman32157.28123.7757
Rip Sewell25149.18123.6833

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Ed Bahr27136.2862.6344
Jack Hallett35115.0573.2964
Ken Gables32100.2245.2739
Johnny Lanning2791.0453.0716
Preacher Roe2170.0385.1428
Ed Albosta1739.2066.1319
Lee Howard313.1012.036
Junior Walsh410.1015.232
Al Tate29.0015.002
Jim Hopper24.10110.381

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Al Gerheauser352203.9732
Hank Gornicki70003.554
Lefty Wilkie700010.573
Bill Clemensen10000.002

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Hollywood Stars Pacific Coast League Buck Fausett and Jimmy Dykes
AA Birmingham Barons Southern Association Frank Snyder
A Albany Senators Eastern League Ripper Collins
B York White Roses Interstate League Boom-Boom Beck
B Anniston Rams Southeastern League Tommy West
B Selma Cloverleafs Southeastern League Frank Oceak
B Yakima Stars Western International League Spencer Harris and Harlond Clift
C Oil City Oilers Middle Atlantic League Charles Muse and Charles Harig
D Tallassee Indians Georgia–Alabama League Johnnie Heving
D Tallahassee Pirates Georgia–Florida League Art Doll
D Bartlesville Owls Kansas–Oklahoma–Missouri League Keith Willoughby
D Salisbury Pirates North Carolina State League Tuck McWilliams
D Hornell Pirates PONY League Lou Briganti and Phil Seghi

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Anniston, Tallassee

References

  1. ↑ From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Side in 1907.
  2. ↑ Frank Colman page at Baseball Reference
  3. ↑ Wally Westlake page at Baseball Reference
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