Books and articles about Bobby Doerr

Owner Tom Yawkey had recently spent thousands of dollars to purchase established stars like Joe Cronin, Jimmy Foxx, and Lefty Grove in an effort to rebuild the forlorn Red Sox. But future Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr arrived as a 19-year-old rookie in 1937, having played pro ball since 1934. He was signed by Eddie Collins on the same scouting trip that netted Ted Williams. As the team's established second baseman in 1938, Doerr batted .289 and never hit below .270 in his next 13 seasons with the Red Sox, his only major league team. In those years Doerr thrice topped .300 and led the league in slugging in 1944. Doerr played in eight All Star games. During his career his chief rivals in all-round second base play were the fading Charlie Gehringer of the Tigers and Joe Gordon of the Yankees.

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RELATED LINKS » 1989: A. Bartlett Giamatti, 1938-1989 Photos » Photo: Bobby Doerr from Baseball Between the Wars Book Excerpts » Tales from the Red Sox Dugout by Jim Prime with Bill Nowlin » "The only one I was real close to then and for a long time was Bobby": Ted Williams » The Toughest Outs from Bob Feller's Little Black Book of Baseball Wisdom » Breaking the Slump: Baseball in the Depression Era by Charles C. Alexander Around the Web » History class in session from boston.com (5/24/05) » Bobby Doerr from baseball-reference.com » Bobby Doerr from thebaseballpage.com Jump directly to Library content from any website!

Although generally ineffective at bat in All-Star play, Doerr was a tower of strength in his only World Series appearance. Returning from military service, Doerr helped the Red Sox land the 1946 pennant by batting .271 with 18 homers and 116 RBI. In the World Series that year, Doerr batted .406 with a homer and three RBI to pace the Red Sox in their losing seven-game struggle with the Cardinals.

Retiring after the 1951 season, Doerr later served the Red Sox as a coach and was still active as a coach with the 1980 Toronto Blue Jays. In 1986 Doerr was voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. (DV)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » May 25, 1938: Bobby Doerr's 2nd inning single for Boston is the only hit that Bob Feller allows. Ken Keltner belts three homers as Cleveland coasts 11–0. » April 20, 1939: The Red Sox show off their prize rookie Ted Williams before 30,278 in the opener in New York, delayed two days because of rain. After striking out twice, Williams collects a double off Red Ruffing, who wins 2–0. Gehrig makes an error, goes hitless, and lines into two double plays in the only game featuring the two great sluggers. Other notables in what will become a historic box score include Joe DiMaggio, Bill Dickey, Jimmie Foxx, Joe Cronin, Bobby Doerr, Red Rolfe, and losing pitcher Lefty Grove. The Yanks score their first run on a homer by Dickey and their 2nd tally on an error by Jimmy Foxx. Boston has baserunners in each inning, but Ruffing tosses just the 2nd opening day shut out in Yankee history. Four umpires work the game including 3B ump George Pipgras, the starting pitcher for the Yankees in the 1929 Opener; his opponent for the Red Sox that day was Red Ruffing. » May 2, 1942: At Fenway, Ted Williams cracks a 9th-inning home run off Eldon Auker to give the Red Sox an 10-10 tie with the Browns, and Bobby Doerr's RBI double wins it, 11–10. Johnny Pesky pulls off a hidden ball trick in the 9th, but it is for naught as Doerr, unaware of the play, calls time out before the play. Auker goes the distance allowing 17 hits in the loss. » May 30, 1943: The Red Sox are also having trouble hitting the major league's balata ball, as Jim Tabor hits the first Sox homer at Fenway Park in a DH sweep of the Tigers. The Bosox win 3–0 behind Dick Newsome, and 5–1 behind Lou Lucier. In 33 games, the only other Boston homers are Leon Culberson's dinger in Detroit on May 23, and Bobby Doerr's inside the park liner at Washington on May 15th. » July 13, 1943: The AL edges the NL 5-3 at Shibe Park in the first All-Star Game played under the lights. Bobby Doerr of the Red Sox is the hitting hero with a 3-run HR off Mort Cooper in the second inning. Vince DiMaggio of the Pirates has a single, triple and HR in three trips. Doerr also handled six fielding chances. At the All-Star break he had handled 307 errorless chances, dating back to May 20th. His AL streak will end at 349 chances, a record he will break in 1948. » May 3, 1944: Joe Cronin, making his 1944 debut at 1B, makes putouts at both ends of a double play, one out at 1B and the other at 3B. The Sox make four DPs and collect 15 hits in beating the Senators, 11–10. Stan Spence and Bobby Doerr each hit a home run, double, and single. The Nats have 16 hits in the loss. » May 17, 1944: In the nitecap of a doubleheader, Bobby Doerr hits for the cycle, but last-place Boston loses to the Browns, 12–8. The loss leaves the Browns just a half game behind the Yankees. Boston outhits the Browns, 15–14, but Red Sox hurlers, including a 2-inning stint by infielder Eddie Lake, walk 14 batters. Emmett O'Neill is the loser to Al Jurisich. In the opener, Boston's Tex Hughson allows four hits in the 5–1 win. » May 9, 1946: At Fenway, Boston (20-3) runs its win streak to 14 by edging Chicago, 7–5. Bobby Doerr's 2-run homer in the 4th inning is the big blow. Mickey Harris, in relief, wins his 2nd game in two days. » July 2, 1946: The Yankees nip the Red Sox 2-1 before a Stadium crowd of 69,107. Spud Chandler walks nine in the first 4 innings but takes a no-hitter into the 9th before Bobby Doerr hits a one-out single. » May 13, 1947: Ted Williams hits two home runs to LF, the first to that pasture in his career at Fenway Park, as the Red Sox wallop the White Sox 19–6. Earlier in the day, Williams had promised a boy in the Malden hospital that he would hit a homer for him. Bobby Doerr cycles for the 2nd time in his career, the first Sox to do that, and has a double and single in the 9-run 8th to complete his cycle. Bill Zuber is the winner over Earl Harrist. » June 6, 1948: Ted Williams, Stan Spence, and Vern Stephens hit successive HRs for the Red Sox against Fred Hutchinson of the Tigers. It is the second 3-straight-HR game by the BoSox during the season, with Spence, Stephens, and Bobby Doerr having accomplished the feat off Phil Marchildon of the A's on April 19. » July 4, 1948: Ted Williams faces three pitchers in the 7th inning, a first in American League history, as Boston snaps a 5–5 tie by scoring 14 runs on 14 RBIs to beat the visiting Philadelphia Athletics, 20–8. A's pitcher Charlie Harris retires one batter in 14 and cough up 12 runs, before Bill McCahan takes over. Williams, who makes the final out in the inning, and Bobby Doerr tie records by drawing two walks apiece. Pitcher Ellis Kinder has two hits, off Harris and McCahan. The 14 runs in one inning is a record, but five years later they will do even better with 17 in one inning. » July 10, 1948: For the 6th time this year, Vern Stephens and Bobby Doerr of the Red Sox hit back-to-back homers as Boston beats the 2nd-place A's, 4–0. Jack Kramer scatters nine hits in the shutout to win his 7th straight. Ted Williams sits out the game with a damaged ligament, the result of being hit in the ribs while playfully sparring with Sam Mele on the train down from Boston yesterday. » July 19, 1948: At Boston, Mel Parnell wins stopping the Browns, 4–1 as his infielders tally 11 assists. The Sox score all their runs in the 1st on Bobby Doerr's grand slam. » July 23, 1948: After missing 15 games with a torn rib cartilage, Ted Williams is 2-for-4 to help the Red Sox down the White Sox, 13–1. Bobby Doerr collects his 18th homer and adds a double and single to back Mickey Harris. Boston has now won nine straight to pull within a game-and a half of the first-place Indians. » July 29, 1948: The Red Sox rout the Tigers, 8–1, behind Jack Kramer's 10th straight win. Billy Goodman's grand slam, along with homers by Kramer and Bobby Doerr, pace the attack. The victory extends the Red Sox American League-lead to a half-game over the idle A's. » May 5, 1949: At Cleveland, Bob Feller, making his first start since pitching two innings in the season opener and coming up with a sore shoulder, beats the Red Sox, 7–3. The Tribe scores six in the 2nd inning, including Ken Keltner's three run homer off Jack Kramer. On the next pitch, Minnie Minoso making his second start, hits his first major-league homer. Ted Williams and Bobby Doerr hit 8th-inning homers for Boston, while Joe Gordon adds a homer in the 5th for Cleveland. » April 30, 1950: The A's are pummeled by the Red Sox in a doubleheader, 19–0 and 6–5. First-game highlights are an 11-run 4th inning and a 17-hit barrage, which includes home runs by Ted Williams (2), Vern Stephens, and Bobby Doerr. A's pitcher Bobby Shantz ends the slaughter with 4-plus innings of relief, as Joe Dobson is the winner for Boston. » June 8, 1950: In the most lopsided score in history, the Boston Red Sox annihilate the St. Louis Browns at Fenway Park, 29–4. Bobby Doerr has three home runs and eight RBI; Walt Dropo, two home runs and seven RBI, and Ted Williams, two home runs and five RBI, all collecting a round tripper in the 8th inning. Pitcher Chuck Stobbs walks four times in four innings, Al Zarilla adds four doubles, including two in one inning, and a single—with no ribbies—as the Sox set a major-league record with 58 total bases. Another mark is set of most extra bases on long hits (32) in a game, and the most extra bases on long hits in consecutive games (51). The Red Sox have 28 hits, with four players collecting four hits apiece, to total a record 51 for two days against the woeful Browns. Leadoff batter Clyde Vollmer goes to the plate eight times in eight innings, the only time this has happened in history. Boston has now scored 104 runs in their last seven games and a record 49 in two straight games. » June 13, 1950: Chuck Stobbs allows two hits as the Red Sox open their road trip with an 8–1 win over the Indians. Bobby Doerr leads the offense with a pair of homers, a triple and single to chase Bob Feller. Doerr raises his average to .306, putting every Sox regular over .300. » July 1, 1951: Before 58,815 at Yankee Stadium, the Yanks top the Red Sox, 5–2, behind Eddie Lopat's 6-hitter. The win moves the Yankees ahead of the White Sox by four percentage points. Jerry Coleman homers off Mel Parnell, while Johnny Pesky connects for the Sox. Bobby Doerr singles for his 2,000th career hit. » August 7, 1951: Bobby Doerr suffers a severe sacroiliac pain that forces the future Hall of Famer into early retirement. The Red Sox regular 2B for 13 seasons, Doerr will become a Red Sox coach. » March 10, 1986: Ernie Lombardi, the NL MVP in 1938, and Bobby Doerr, a 9-time AL All-Star, are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee. » August 3, 1986: Willie McCovey, Bobby Doerr, and Ernie Lombardi are inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.