In a game that epitomized the creative spark of a league redraft, the retooled Chicago Cubs wasted no time, seizing an early advantage against the Cincinnati Reds on April 16, 1946. The Cubs’ new-look lineup—featuring familiar faces now in unexpected roles like Johnny Pesky, Ted Williams, and Peanuts Lowrey—set the stage in the top of the first. Pesky drew a walk that moved him into scoring position, and a fly out by Williams brought him home in dramatic fashion, while a wild pitch later allowed Peanuts Lowrey’s efforts to pay off, as Carl Furillo circled the bases for the second run. It was an explosive start that showcased the Cubs’ blend of patience and opportunism in a redrafted world where every play writes a new chapter.
The Reds, reassembled with fresh identities and bolstered by talents like Babe Young, Frankie Hayes, and Whitey Kurowski, quickly responded to the early onslaught. In the bottom of the second, Young’s single and daring steal set the wheels in motion, with Hayes’s timely hit and clutch RBI single by Eddie Miller tying the game at 2–2. The turning point came in the bottom of the fifth when Kurowski launched a towering two-run homer—a 382-foot missile—that gave Cincinnati the lead. In the sixth, a masterful display of baserunning by Miller and Elmer Valo, capped by a double from Valo, extended the Reds’ advantage to 7–3. Despite a late surge from the Cubs with singles from Clyde McCullough and Buddy Blattner, the Reds’ relentless execution and redrafted chemistry proved too potent, culminating in a memorable 7–3 victory that left no doubt about which new alliance reigned supreme on the diamond.
