[Nick Soulis]

Series #250



“Where the Quiet Men Endure”
A Grantland Rice Reflection on Series 250



In the long annals of this game—where memory stretches out like a dusty road disappearing into horizon light—there come moments when triumph does not roar but whispers, steady and sure. Such was the tale of these six games between the Washington Senators of 1946 and the Boston Red Sox of 1952, a contest less about glory than about endurance, less about crowns than the simple right to journey on.

For two games, Boston held the stage, their bats singing beneath the Fenway sun, their confidence ringing as true as a well-struck line drive. But baseball has never pledged itself to the certainty of beginnings, and from the deep shade of adversity the Senators rose—first in a marathon of fifteen innings where heart outlasted fatigue, then in a string of steady triumphs forged not by thunder, but by patience.

There was Mickey Vernon, whose bat shone like a lantern through long extra frames. There was Stan Spence, lifting a grand slam that turned a once-inclined series upright. There was Johnny Niggeling, knuckling the ball as if coaxing destiny itself. And at last, Dutch Leonard, calm of soul and certain of touch, silencing a Boston crowd that had grown accustomed to its own prevailing.

These Senators did not conquer—they endured. They absorbed the early blows, steadied their resolve, and allowed the slow, even pulse of baseball’s ancient rhythm to guide their hand. When the final out drifted into their grasp, they claimed no laurels, asked for no banners, summoned no great celebration. They merely walked forward, as all pilgrims of this game must do, toward the next test waiting beyond the outfield grass.

For on this field—this strange, eternal field—victory is not a destination but a permission granted by the game itself: the right to remain, to dream, to step once more into the light.

And so Washington advances, quiet and unadorned, bearing with them the truth Grantland Rice believed with all his heart—
that baseball, like life, is seldom won by the mighty,
but instead by those who simply refuse to fade.
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SERIES 250
GAME 1 — Fenway Park
1952 Boston Red Sox 3
1946 Washington Senators 2
Winning Pitcher: Mickey McDermott (1–0)
Losing Pitcher: Roger Wolff (0–1)
Save: Walt Masterson (1)
Home Runs: Clyde Vollmer (BOS) — Solo HR, 1st inning
Mickey Vernon (WSH) — 2-run HR, 1st inning
Player of the Game: Mickey McDermott — 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 5 K, earned the win in the Series 250 opener.
Series Score: Boston leads 1–0

Game 1 of Series 250 unfolded as a taut, old-fashioned duel at Fenway Park, where the 1952 Red Sox outlasted the 1946 Senators 3–2 behind eight determined innings from Mickey McDermott. Washington struck instantly—Mickey Vernon’s towering two-run homer in the first gave the Senators a 2–1 lead after Clyde Vollmer had opened Boston’s scoring with a solo shot of his own—but that early burst proved to be the extent of their offense. Washington repeatedly put runners on, drawing six walks and collecting seven hits, yet stranded eleven men as McDermott bent without breaking, mixing fastballs and angles to escape every jam. Boston chipped away methodically: Vern Stephens’ steady contact, Sammy White’s spark, and finally Billy Goodman’s RBI single in the sixth, a quiet opposite-field knock that pushed the Red Sox ahead for good. Roger Wolff pitched valiantly across seven innings, allowing only six hits, but Boston’s efficiency and McDermott’s resilience defined the afternoon. Walt Masterson closed the door in the ninth, sealing a one-run victory that gives Boston a 1–0 lead in the milestone series.

SERIES 250
GAME 2 — Fenway Park
1952 Boston Red Sox 2,
1946 Washington Senators 1
Winning Pitcher: Mel Parnell (1–0)
Losing Pitcher: Dutch Leonard (0–1)
Save: None (Parnell CG)
Home Runs:
Dom DiMaggio (BOS) — 2-run HR, 3rd inning
Player of the Game: Mel Parnell — 9.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 K, complete-game victory.
Series Score: 1952 Boston leads 2–0

Game 2 of Series 250 unfolded as a taut, almost suffocating pitchers’ duel at Fenway Park, where Mel Parnell’s complete-game masterpiece carried the 1952 Red Sox to a 2–1 victory and a commanding 2–0 series lead. Washington never solved the Boston left-hander, who scattered five hits across nine innings and calmly defused every rally the Senators mounted, inducing ground ball after ground ball to keep the game in his hands. The decisive blow came early: in the bottom of the third, Dom DiMaggio turned on a pitch from Dutch Leonard and sent it over the wall for a two-run homer, the only moment all afternoon when offense took the spotlight. Leonard was brilliant in defeat—three hits allowed over eight innings, only one earned run, and complete control of Boston’s lineup—but a lone error behind him and a silent Washington offense proved too much to overcome. Mickey Vernon’s two-out RBI single in the eighth finally put the Senators on the board, but Parnell quickly restored order and closed the door in the ninth. Boston’s precision, patience, and pitching defined the day, and as the series shifts to Griffith Stadium, Washington finds itself searching not for answers, but for oxygen.

SERIES 250
GAME 3 — Griffith Stadium
1946 Washington Senators 5
1952 Boston Red Sox 4 (15 innings)
Winning Pitcher: Walt Masterson (1–0)
Losing Pitcher: Randy Gumpert (0–1)
Save: None (walk-off win)
Home Runs:
Dom DiMaggio (BOS) — 2-run HR, 3rd inning
Player of the Game: Mickey Vernon — 6-for-8, 6 singles, catalyst of multiple rallies, sets extra-inning postseason hits record.
1952 Boston leads 2–1

Game 3 of Series 250 became an instant classic at Griffith Stadium, a 15-inning epic that swung on willpower, endurance, and one of the greatest individual offensive performances in Field of Dreams history. The Senators, desperate to avoid a 3–0 series deficit, played with relentless urgency, pounding out 19 hits yet needing every last one to finally subdue the Red Sox 5–4. Boston twice seized control—scoring two in the third and two more in the seventh—but Washington kept answering, tying the game three separate times, including Jerry Priddy’s two-out RBI single in the seventh that reignited a stadium already bracing for heartbreak. From that moment through the fifteenth, both teams lived on a knife’s edge: Boston stranded runners, Washington ran into double plays, and inning after inning slipped away with no breakthrough. Through it all, Mickey Vernon authored a masterpiece, going 6-for-8 and setting multiple extra-inning postseason records, his bat steadying the Senators every time the game threatened to drift toward Boston. The Washington bullpen—Hudson, Scarborough, and Masterson—was airtight across six scoreless frames, giving the offense the space it finally needed. In the bottom of the fifteenth, after nearly five hours of baseball, the Senators pushed across the winning run, sending Griffith Stadium into a roar and dragging themselves back into the series. A marathon, a classic, and a reminder that Washington will not exit Series 250 quietly.

SERIES 250
GAME 4 — Griffith Stadium
1946 Washington Senators 4
1952 Boston Red Sox 3
Winning Pitcher: Johnny Niggeling (1–0)
Losing Pitcher: Walt Masterson (0–1)
Save: None (complete game win)
Home Runs: None
Player of the Game: Johnny Niggeling — 9.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 4 K, 121 pitches in a complete-game victory.
Series Score: Tied 2–2

Game 4 at Griffith Stadium unfolded as a tense, beautifully balanced contest that showcased Washington’s growing momentum and Boston’s refusal to yield, with the Senators ultimately prevailing 4–3 to even Series 250 at two games apiece. Johnny Niggeling authored a complete-game triumph built on craft rather than power, scattering five Boston hits over nine innings while leaning on his knuckleball to keep the Red Sox perpetually off balance. Washington chipped away early, scoring single runs in the second and fourth, and looked poised to ride Niggeling’s rhythm into a stress-free finish—until the eighth inning erupted. Boston stormed back with three runs, highlighted by Frank Hatfield’s double and Del Gernert’s sharp RBI single, igniting sudden panic in a stadium that had been quietly confident all afternoon. Yet Washington answered immediately in the bottom half when Jerry Priddy, with two outs and the bases loaded, laced a decisive two-run single that flipped the game—and perhaps the series—back in the Senators’ favor. Niggeling steadied himself with a flawless ninth, sealing a victory defined by resilience, precision, and a team that refuses to let history write its ending without a fight.

SERIES 250
GAME 5 — Griffith Stadium
1946 Washington Senators 5
1952 Boston Red Sox 0
Winning Pitcher: Roger Wolff (1–1)
Losing Pitcher: Mickey McDermott (1–1)
Save: None (complete-game shutout)
Home Runs: Stan Spence (WSH) — Grand Slam, 3rd inning
Player of the Game: Roger Wolff — 9.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 5 K, 127 pitches.
Series Score: Washington leads 3–2

Game 5 at Griffith Stadium delivered the most authoritative performance yet from a suddenly surging Washington club, as Roger Wolff’s complete-game shutout powered the Senators to a 5–0 victory and a stunning 3–2 series lead after once trailing 0–2. Wolff was masterful from the opening inning, mixing late movement with pinpoint control, scattering five Boston hits and never allowing the Red Sox to string together any momentum. His calm, unhurried approach set the tone for a Senators team that seized the game with one decisive swing: Stan Spence’s towering third-inning grand slam, a two-out jolt that electrified the ballpark and cracked Boston’s composure. Mickey McDermott battled gamely, but Washington’s patience and efficiency—drawing four walks while needing only three hits to produce all five runs—proved too much on an afternoon when Boston’s offense sagged under the weight of frustration. Every Washington defensive turn was crisp, every inning Wolff recorded seemed to tighten the screws further, and by the ninth the Senators were playing with the confidence of a team that suddenly believes in destiny. With the shutout complete and the series flipped on its head, Washington heads back to Fenway needing just one more win to finish a comeback that now feels not only possible, but inevitable.

SERIES 250
GAME 6 — Fenway Park
1946 Washington Senators 2
1952 Boston Red Sox 0
Winning Pitcher: Dutch Leonard (1–1)
Losing Pitcher: Mel Parnell (1–1)
Save: None (complete-game shutout)
Home Runs:None
Player of the Game: Dutch Leonard — 9.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 5 K, 127 pitches.
1946 Washington wins series 4 games to 2

Game 6 at Fenway Park carried the tension of a season hanging by a thread, and the 1946 Senators met the moment with precision and poise, shutting out the Red Sox 2–0 to take the series and advance in the Field of Dreams bracket. Dutch Leonard delivered a masterclass in quiet dominance, scattering four hits over nine innings while never allowing Boston’s lineup to breathe. His knuckleball floated with just enough late life to frustrate hitters, and whenever the Red Sox mounted even a hint of a threat, Leonard responded with soft contact or a well-spotted pitch to end the inning. Washington built its lead through disciplined, incremental offense—Jerry Priddy’s extra-base work set the early tone, Gene Torres punched home a critical two-out RBI in the second, and Leonard helped his own cause with a sacrifice fly in the seventh to make it 2–0. Boston pressed throughout but never found the swing that could crack Leonard’s rhythm, stranding runners and watching their season slowly narrow to a final out. When the last fly ball settled into a Washington glove, the Senators did not celebrate a championship—they simply earned the right to keep going, moving one step deeper into the vast, endless road of the Field of Dreams.

1946 Washington Senators Win Series 4 Games to 2

Series MVP:

(.448, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1.053 OPS, 5 R, 1 2B)