1941 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1941 Pittsburgh Pirates was a season in American baseball. The team finished fourth in the National League with a record of 81–73, 19 games behind the first-place Brooklyn Dodgers.

1941 Pittsburgh Pirates
League	National League
Ballpark	Forbes Field
City	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Owners	Bill Benswanger
Managers	Frankie Frisch
Radio	KDKA Rosey Rowswell, Jack Craddock
Seasons

Regular season

Season standings

National League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Brooklyn Dodgers	100	54	0.649	—	52–25	48–29
St. Louis Cardinals	97	56	0.634	2½	53–24	44–32
Cincinnati Reds	88	66	0.571	12	45–34	43–32
Pittsburgh Pirates	81	73	0.526	19	45–32	36–41
New York Giants	74	79	0.484	25½	38–39	36–40
Chicago Cubs	70	84	0.455	30	38–39	32–45
Boston Braves	62	92	0.403	38	32–44	30–48
Philadelphia Phillies	43	111	0.279	57	23–52	20–59

Record vs. opponents

1941 National League record Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Team	BOS	BR	CHC	CIN	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Boston	—	4–18–2	11–11	9–13	6–16	14–8	10–12	8–14
Brooklyn	18–4–2	—	13–9	14–8	14–8	18–4	12–10	11–11–1
Chicago	11–11	9–13	—	8–14	9–13	14–8–1	9–13	10–12
Cincinnati	13–9	8–14	14–8	—	15–7	16–6	12–10	10–12
New York	16–6	8–14	13–9	7–15	—	16–6	8–14–2	6–15–1
Philadelphia	8–14	4–18	8–14–1	6–16	6–16	—	6–16	5–17
Pittsburgh	12–10	10–12	13–9	10–12	14–8–2	16–6	—	6–16
St. Louis	14–8	11–11–1	12–10	12–10	15–6–1	17–5	16–6	—

Game log

1941 Game Log: 81–73 (Home: 45–32; Away: 36–41)
April: 3–10 (Home: 2–3; Away: 1–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 15 @ Cubs 4–7 Passeau Klinger (0–1) — 17,008 0–1 2 April 17 @ Cubs 7–2 Sewell (1–0) Olsen — 4,109 1–1 3 April 18 Reds 4–1 Butcher (1–0) Walters — 18,644 2–1 4 April 19 Reds 3–5 Derringer Bauers (0–1) — 10,465 2–2 5 April 20 Reds 3–7 Turner Bowman (0–1) Thompson 19,060 2–3 6 April 22 @ Cardinals 8–9 (12) Grodzicki Heintzelman (0–1) — 1,776 2–4 7 April 23 @ Cardinals 1–3 Nahem Butcher (1–1) — 1,875 2–5 8 April 24 Cubs 2–1 (11) Lanning (1–0) French — 1,959 3–5 9 April 25 Cubs 7–8 Page Heintzelman (0–2) — 3,902 3–6 10 April 26 @ Reds 3–10 Vander Meer Bauers (0–2) — 8,112 3–7 11 April 27 @ Reds 2–3 Walters Sewell (1–1) — 19,114 3–8 12 April 29 @ Phillies 2–6 Crouch Butcher (1–2) — 800 3–9 13 April 30 @ Phillies 4–8 Blanton Lanahan (0–1) — 3,385 3–10
May: 11–11 (Home: 7–4; Away: 4–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 14 May 1 @ Phillies 15–2 Bauers (1–2) Johnson — 1,500 4–10 15 May 2 @ Giants 7–7 (13) — 3,268 4–10 16 May 3 @ Giants 3–2 Butcher (2–2) Bowman — 7,417 5–10 17 May 4 @ Dodgers 6–4 Heintzelman (1–2) Hamlin — 27,015 6–10 18 May 6 @ Dodgers 3–7 Wyatt Sewell (1–2) — 7,443 6–11 19 May 7 @ Braves 6–7 Tobin Lanning (1–1) — 2,458 6–12 20 May 11 Cardinals 4–7 Nahem Butcher (2–3) Hutchinson 12,388 6–13 21 May 12 Cardinals 2–6 Warneke Heintzelman (1–3) — — 6–14 22 May 13 Phillies 6–3 Sewell (2–2) Grissom — 986 7–14 23 May 14 Phillies 12–7 Klinger (1–1) Bruner — 1,254 8–14 24 May 16 Dodgers 3–2 (11) Bowman (1–1) Brown — 3,984 9–14 25 May 18 Giants 4–5 Adams Sewell (2–3) Brown 13,659 9–15 26 May 19 Giants 2–1 Butcher (3–3) Hubbell — 2,574 10–15 27 May 20 Giants 7–5 Klinger (2–1) Schumacher — 3,050 11–15 28 May 21 Braves 8–4 Wilkie (1–0) Tobin — 2,311 12–15 29 May 23 @ Cardinals 1–2 Cooper Butcher (3–4) — 18,555 12–16 30 May 24 @ Cardinals 7–10 Nahem Sewell (2–4) Lanier 2,952 12–17 31 May 25 @ Cardinals 4–6 Gumbert Wilkie (1–1) White — 12–18 32 May 25 @ Cardinals 3–4 Krist Klinger (2–2) Lanier 18,749 12–19 33 May 26 @ Reds 3–7 Walters Strincevich (0–1) — 20,567 12–20 34 May 28 @ Reds 7–4 Butcher (4–4) Moore — 2,560 13–20 35 May 30 Cubs 6–7 Lee Sewell (2–5) — — 13–21 36 May 30 Cubs 5–4 Sewell (3–5) Passeau — 17,297 14–21
June: 14–12 (Home: 5–7; Away: 9–5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 37 June 2 @ Braves 0–2 Errickson Lanning (1–2) — 1,034 14–22 38 June 3 @ Braves 9–5 Heintzelman (2–3) LaManna Bowman (1) 1,776 15–22 39 June 6 @ Giants 5–4 Butcher (5–4) McGee — — 16–22 40 June 6 @ Giants 4–3 Sewell (4–5) Lohrman — 8,324 17–22 41 June 7 @ Phillies 0–2 Blanton Lanning (1–3) — 3,802 17–23 42 June 8 @ Phillies 12–2 Bowman (2–1) Hughes Sewell (1) — 18–23 43 June 8 @ Phillies 2–5 Podgajny Bauers (1–3) — — 18–24 44 June 9 @ Phillies 5–0 Wilkie (2–1) Grissom — 892 19–24 45 June 10 @ Dodgers 3–4 Fitzsimmons Heintzelman (2–4) — 6,426 19–25 46 June 11 @ Dodgers 8–1 Sewell (5–5) Higbe — 30,469 20–25 47 June 14 Braves 8–2 Butcher (6–4) Salvo — 2,908 21–25 48 June 15 Braves 1–5 Posedel Wilkie (2–2) — 12,562 21–26 49 June 17 Giants 3–6 Hubbell Sewell (5–6) — 1,586 21–27 50 June 18 Giants 2–2 (11) — 24,738 21–27 51 June 19 Giants 6–9 Brown Heintzelman (2–5) — 2,127 21–28 52 June 20 Phillies 7–6 Dietz (1–0) Pearson — 1,046 22–28 53 June 21 Phillies 2–0 Bowman (3–1) Grissom — 2,321 23–28 54 June 22 Phillies 4–1 Sewell (6–6) Blanton — — 24–28 55 June 22 Phillies 4–7 Hughes Butcher (6–5) Johnson 10,060 24–29 56 June 23 Dodgers 4–9 Fitzsimmons Klinger (2–3) Brown 2,335 24–30 57 June 24 Dodgers 0–8 Davis Lanning (1–4) — 20,537 24–31 58 June 25 Dodgers 4–5 Higbe Heintzelman (2–6) — 2,425 24–32 59 June 27 @ Cubs 4–2 Sewell (7–6) Passeau — 4,622 25–32 60 June 28 @ Cubs 2–3 Olsen Butcher (6–6) — 3,654 25–33 61 June 29 @ Cubs 8–2 Lanning (2–4) French — — 26–33 62 June 29 @ Cubs 3–2 Sullivan (1–0) Lee Sewell (2) 17,440 27–33 63 June 30 Cardinals 4–3 Heintzelman (3–6) Gumbert — 16,306 28–33
July: 22–9 (Home: 13–3; Away: 9–6) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 64 July 1 Cardinals 7–11 Warneke Sewell (7–7) — — 28–34 65 July 2 Reds 8–3 Butcher (7–6) Derringer — 1,941 29–34 66 July 4 @ Reds 0–6 Walters Lanning (2–5) — — 29–35 67 July 4 @ Reds 6–4 Heintzelman (4–6) Pearson — 14,391 30–35 68 July 5 Cubs 9–6 Sullivan (2–0) Lee Klinger (1) 4,571 31–35 69 July 6 Cubs 2–1 Sewell (8–7) Passeau — — 32–35 70 July 6 Cubs 13–4 (8) Butcher (8–6) Root Lanning (1) 14,306 33–35 71 July 10 @ Phillies 6–3 Sewell (9–7) Hughes Sullivan (1) — 34–35 72 July 12 @ Phillies 6–1 Lanning (3–5) Podgajny — 1,500 35–35 73 July 13 @ Giants 4–0 Heintzelman (5–6) Lohrman — — 36–35 74 July 13 @ Giants 2–8 Schumacher Butcher (8–7) — 22,865 36–36 75 July 14 @ Giants 2–3 Hubbell Sewell (9–8) — 3,125 36–37 76 July 15 @ Giants 5–1 Butcher (9–7) Melton — 3,296 37–37 77 July 16 @ Braves 1–4 Tobin Lanning (3–6) — — 37–38 78 July 16 @ Braves 13–5 Dietz (2–0) Hutchings Wilkie (1) 3,278 38–38 79 July 18 @ Braves 5–1 Heintzelman (6–6) Johnson — — 39–38 80 July 18 @ Braves 3–4 LaManna Wilkie (2–3) — 3,315 39–39 81 July 20 @ Dodgers 1–5 Davis Sewell (9–9) — — 39–40 82 July 20 @ Dodgers 5–1 Lanning (4–6) Wyatt — — 40–40 83 July 21 @ Dodgers 8–3 Heintzelman (7–6) Kimball — — 41–40 84 July 22 Phillies 4–3 Klinger (3–3) Podgajny — 1,730 42–40 85 July 23 Phillies 5–2 Butcher (10–7) Blanton — 13,109 43–40 86 July 24 Phillies 3–2 Klinger (4–3) Grissom — 1,326 44–40 87 July 25 Dodgers 8–4 Sullivan (3–0) Wyatt — — 45–40 88 July 25 Dodgers 8–2 Lanning (5–6) Davis — — 46–40 89 July 26 Dodgers 2–3 Hamlin Heintzelman (7–7) Higbe 7,009 46–41 90 July 27 Dodgers 4–3 Klinger (5–3) Davis — — 47–41 91 July 27 Dodgers 8–0 (8) Sewell (10–9) Casey — 40,093 48–41 92 July 29 Braves 5–3 (8) Sullivan (4–0) Javery Klinger (2) 4,860 49–41 93 July 30 Braves 2–3 (10) Tobin Bowman (3–2) — 11,362 49–42 94 July 31 Braves 9–8 Lanning (6–6) Errickson Dietz (1) 1,870 50–42
August: 18–15 (Home: 5–4; Away: 13–11) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 95 August 1 Giants 6–3 Butcher (11–7) Hubbell — 4,324 51–42 96 August 2 Giants 0–2 (10) Schumacher Sewell (10–10) — 5,550 51–43 97 August 3 Giants 5–4 Dietz (3–0) McGee — — 52–43 98 August 3 Giants 10–4 (6) Klinger (6–3) Wittig — 25,688 53–43 99 August 4 @ Reds 4–1 Lanning (7–6) Thompson — 2,109 54–43 100 August 5 @ Reds 7–5 Butcher (12–7) Turner Klinger (3) 2,390 55–43 101 August 6 @ Cubs 13–3 Sewell (11–10) Pressnell — 5,574 56–43 102 August 7 @ Cubs 4–3 Dietz (4–0) Mooty — 5,035 57–43 103 August 8 @ Cubs 0–1 Erickson Lanning (7–7) — 5,846 57–44 104 August 9 @ Cardinals 5–4 (13) Klinger (7–3) Hutchinson — 5,223 58–44 105 August 10 @ Cardinals 2–3 White Sewell (11–11) Crouch — 58–45 106 August 10 @ Cardinals 2–4 Cooper Heintzelman (7–8) — 26,513 58–46 107 August 13 Cubs 4–6 Eaves Lanning (7–8) Mooty 24,373 58–47 108 August 14 Cubs 2–6 Passeau Butcher (12–8) — 3,032 58–48 109 August 16 Cardinals 4–2 Heintzelman (8–8) White — — 59–48 110 August 17 Cardinals 1–7 Cooper Butcher (12–9) — — 59–49 111 August 17 Cardinals 8–2 Sewell (12–11) Warneke — 34,292 60–49 112 August 18 @ Dodgers 5–6 Casey Butcher (12–10) — 9,832 60–50 113 August 19 @ Dodgers 0–9 Davis Sullivan (4–1) — — 60–51 114 August 19 @ Dodgers 2–6 Drake Heintzelman (8–9) Casey 9,372 60–52 115 August 20 @ Dodgers 6–7 Allen Sewell (12–12) — 14,752 60–53 116 August 21 @ Giants 5–3 Butcher (13–10) McGee — 11,845 61–53 117 August 22 @ Giants 5–3 Lanning (8–8) Bowman — 2,439 62–53 118 August 23 @ Giants 3–5 Schumacher Dietz (4–1) — — 62–54 119 August 23 @ Giants 4–3 Klinger (8–3) Brown — — 63–54 120 August 24 @ Braves 3–4 (12) Salvo Sewell (12–13) — — 63–55 121 August 24 @ Braves 7–3 (6) Klinger (9–3) Javery — 13,411 64–55 122 August 26 @ Braves 3–4 Tobin Wilkie (2–4) — — 64–56 123 August 26 @ Braves 6–1 Butcher (14–10) Errickson — 3,527 65–56 124 August 27 @ Phillies 12–2 Lanning (9–8) Blanton — 1,748 66–56 125 August 28 @ Phillies 3–2 Dietz (5–1) Pearson Klinger (4) 5,500 67–56 126 August 30 @ Cubs 1–4 Erickson Sewell (12–14) — 6,777 67–57 127 August 31 @ Cubs 4–3 Butcher (15–10) Passeau — — 68–57
September: 13–16 (Home: 13–11; Away: 0–5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 128 September 1 @ Cardinals 3–5 White Heintzelman (8–10) — — 68–58 129 September 1 @ Cardinals 3–6 (8) Pollet Klinger (9–4) — 34,812 68–59 130 September 3 Reds 3–2 Lanning (10–8) Riddle — 18,428 69–59 131 September 4 Reds 4–0 (5) Sewell (13–14) Walters — 1,720 70–59 132 September 5 Reds 4–10 Derringer Butcher (15–11) Beggs — 70–60 133 September 5 Reds 1–0 (7) Dietz (6–1) Starr — 4,897 71–60 134 September 6 Cubs 6–4 Heintzelman (9–10) Mooty — 3,040 72–60 135 September 7 Cubs 1–3 Eaves Lanning (10–9) — 6,619 72–61 136 September 9 Giants 2–4 (10) Schumacher Sewell (13–15) — 1,873 72–62 137 September 10 Giants 10–7 Lanning (11–9) Lohrman Wilkie (2) 1,076 73–62 138 September 11 Braves 7–5 Heintzelman (10–10) Hutchings — — 74–62 139 September 11 Braves 0–10 Earley Gee (0–1) — 2,320 74–63 140 September 12 Braves 6–3 Dietz (7–1) Johnson — — 75–63 141 September 12 Braves 0–5 Javery Lanning (11–10) — 2,083 75–64 142 September 13 Braves 1–0 Strincevich (1–1) Salvo — — 76–64 143 September 14 Phillies 2–1 Butcher (16–11) Hoerst — — 77–64 144 September 14 Phillies 3–6 Hughes Sewell (13–16) — 7,495 77–65 145 September 17 Dodgers 4–6 Davis Heintzelman (10–11) Hamlin 6,206 77–66 146 September 18 Dodgers 6–5 Sewell (14–16) Casey — 6,803 78–66 147 September 20 @ Reds 1–2 Walters Butcher (16–12) — — 78–67 148 September 20 @ Reds 3–7 Derringer Strincevich (1–2) — 9,817 78–68 149 September 21 @ Reds 0–2 Riddle Dietz (7–2) — 10,248 78–69 150 September 23 Cardinals 4–0 Heintzelman (11–11) Cooper — — 79–69 151 September 23 Cardinals 0–9 Lanier Sewell (14–17) — — 79–70 152 September 24 Cardinals 0–4 Gumbert Lanning (11–11) — — 79–71 153 September 25 Cardinals 3–1 Butcher (17–12) White — — 80–71 154 September 26 Reds 3–4 Vander Meer Brandt (0–1) — 717 80–72 155 September 27 Reds 9–15 Riddle Gee (0–2) Beggs 1,695 80–73 156 September 28 Reds 3–2 Clemensen (1–0) Walters — 4,137 81–73
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie Bold = Pirates team member

Roster

1941 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 31 Russ Bauers 21 Joe Bowman 24 Bill Brandt 25 Mace Brown 19 Max Butcher 21,37 Bill Clemensen 37 Dick Conger 22 Dutch Dietz 24 Johnny Gee 32 Ken Heintzelman 20 Bob Klinger 28 Dick Lanahan 29 Johnny Lanning 30 Rip Sewell 25 Nick Strincevich 26 Joe Sullivan 39 Lefty Wilkie		Catchers  7 Bill Baker 11 Spud Davis 12 Al López 38 Joe Schultz  8 Vinnie Smith Infielders 15 Alf Anderson  2 Ripper Collins 38 Billy Cox  3 Elbie Fletcher 18 Debs Garms 16 Frankie Gustine  6 Lee Handley 10 Ed Leip  4 Stu Martin 21 Arky Vaughan		Outfielders  9 Vince DiMaggio  8 Bob Elliott -- Culley Rikard 14 Bud Stewart 17 Maurice Van Robays 10 Lloyd Waner		Manager 35 Frankie Frisch Coaches 11 Spud Davis 34 Jake Flowers 36 Mike Kelly 33 Honus Wagner

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
C	Al Lopez	114	317	84	.265	5	43
1B	Elbie Fletcher	151	521	150	.288	11	74
2B	Frankie Gustine	121	463	125	.270	1	46
3B	Lee Handley	124	459	132	.288	0	33
SS	Arky Vaughan	106	374	118	.316	6	38
LF	Maurice Van Robays	129	457	129	.282	4	78
CF	Vince DiMaggio	151	528	141	.267	21	100
RF	Bob Elliott	141	527	144	.273	3	76

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
Stu Martin	88	233	71	.305	0	19
Alf Anderson	70	223	48	.215	1	10
Debs Garms	83	220	58	.264	3	42
Bud Stewart	73	172	46	.267	0	10
Spud Davis	57	107	27	.252	0	6
Bill Baker	35	67	15	.224	0	6
Ripper Collins	49	62	13	.210	0	11
Billy Cox	10	37	10	.270	0	2
Vinnie Smith	9	33	10	.303	0	5
Ed Leip	15	25	5	.200	0	3
Culley Rikard	6	20	4	.200	0	0
Lloyd Waner	3	4	1	.250	0	1
Joe Schultz	2	2	1	.500	0	0

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
Rip Sewell	39	249.0	14	17	3.72	76
Max Butcher	33	236.0	17	12	3.05	61
Ken Heintzelman	35	196.0	11	11	3.44	81
Johnny Lanning	34	175.2	11	11	3.13	41

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
Bob Klinger	35	116.2	9	4	3.93	36
Dutch Dietz	33	100.1	7	2	2.33	22
Lefty Wilkie	26	79.0	2	4	4.56	16
Joe Bowman	18	69.1	3	2	2.99	22
Joe Sullivan	16	39.1	4	1	2.97	10
Russ Bauers	8	37.1	1	3	5.54	20
Nick Strincevich	12	31.0	1	2	5.23	12
Bill Clemensen	2	13.0	1	0	2.77	4
Johnny Gee	3	7.1	0	2	6.14	2
Bill Brandt	2	7.0	0	1	3.86	0
Dick Conger	2	4.0	0	0	0.00	2

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
Dick Lanahan	7	0	1	0	5.25	5
Mace Brown	1	0	0	0	0.00	0

Awards and honors

1941 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

• Arky Vaughan, starter, SS
• Bob Elliott, reserve
• Al López, reserve

League top five finishers

Vince DiMaggio

• #3 in NL in RBI (100)

Elbie Fletcher

• NL leader in on-base percentage (.421)

Rip Sewell

• NL leader in losses (17)

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
A	Albany Senators	Eastern League	Specs Toporcer
B	Harrisburg Senators	Interstate League	Les Bell
C	Gloversville-Johnstown Glovers	Canadian–American League	Buster Blakeney
C	Hutchinson Pirates	Western Association	Johnny Gooch
D	Moultrie Packers	Georgia–Florida League	Buzz Arlitt
D	Oil City Oilers	Pennsylvania State Association	George Norton
D	London Pirates	PONY League	Jimmy Jordan

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Harrisburg

References

• 1941 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Reference
• 1941 Pittsburgh Pirates at Baseball Almanac
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-17-6.