Joe Medwick

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Lore & Background

Medwick's tenure with the Cardinals was defined by intense competitiveness that sometimes bordered on combativeness. In Game 7 of the 1934 World Series, his hard slide into third baseman Marv Owen incited Detroit fans to pelt him with fruits and vegetables, prompting Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis to eject Medwick from the game for his own safety—a unique incident in baseball history. His dominance peaked in 1937 when he won both the Triple Crown and the National League Most Valuable Player Award, leading the league with a .374 average, 31 home runs, and 154 RBIs. That same year, he amassed 237 hits, 111 runs scored, 56 doubles, and 406 total bases. His 64 doubles in 1936 still stands as the National League record, and his seven consecutive seasons with 40 or more doubles remained a league record until Stan Musial surpassed it.

In Their Own Story

Former teammate Bob Bowman hit Medwick in the temple with a high inside fastball, rendering him unconscious. A mob of Dodgers led by manager Leo Durocher charged the mound and had to be restrained by umpires and uniformed New York City Police Department officers who sat in the dugout to protect Bowman. While Brooklyn's district attorney investigated for deliberate intent, Medwick refused to blame his former teammate, stating, "No direct threat had been made to me by Bowman." Despite the severity of the injury, he returned to hit .300 in 106 games with Brooklyn that season. His career also included a memorable 1944 USO tour where Pope Pius XII asked about his vocation; Medwick replied, "Your Holiness, I'm Joe Medwick. I, too, used to be a Cardinal." He finished his playing days back in St. Louis in 1947 and 1948.

Reader's Guide

Medwick's major-league career began in 1932 with the Cardinals after stints in the minor leagues with the Scottdale Scotties and Houston Buffaloes. He played for four teams: the St. Louis Cardinals (1932–1940), Brooklyn Dodgers (1940–1943), New York Giants (1943–1945), and Boston Braves (1945). In 1946, he briefly signed with the St. Louis Browns but was released before the season started, later rejoining the Dodgers for their National League tie-breaker series before returning to the Cardinals for his final two seasons. He recorded a career .980 fielding percentage and played in 12 World Series games across the 1934 and 1941 series. After retirement, he served as a hitting instructor in the Cardinals' minor-league system until his death from a heart attack on March 21, 1975, at age 63.

Did You Know?

• Medwick remains the only known player to be ejected from a game for his own personal safety after fans pelted him with produce in Game 7 of the 1934 World Series.
• He was nearly killed by a beanball thrown by former teammate Bob Bowman in June 1940, an incident that required 100 police officers to protect the pitcher from a charging mob.
• Medwick held the National League record for most doubles in a single season (64) and seven consecutive seasons with 40+ doubles until Stan Musial broke the streak.
• Before his 26th birthday, Medwick had accumulated 1,101 hits, the 12th highest total for any 25-year-old player in MLB history at that time.
• In 1948, he joked about his Hall of Fame election saying, "This was the longest slump of my career. I had gone 0 for 20 before, but never 0 for 20 years."