Column: Remembering the last series to be played in one park

The last time the World Series was held in a single ballpark, there was a bit of a conundrum over where the two managers would stay.

It was 1944. World War II was raging. The major leagues carried on with rag-tag rosters. And the lowly St. Louis Brown actually managed to win the AL pennant.

That set up a “Streetcar Series” against St. Louis' far more popular Cardinals, who cruised to the NL pennant while sharing Sportsman Park with the Browns.

Here's the catch: Since there was a shortage of housing during the war, and the teams were never at home at the same time during the regular season, the two managers — Luke Sewell of the Browns and Billy Southworth of the Cardinals — shared an apartment.

Of course, they'd both have to be in St. Louis for the World Series.

“However admirable this display of interleague cooperation might have appeared during the season, it would never do for the opposing managers to sit in the same living room after a World Series game, sipping bourbon and chatting politely with their wives," wrote William B. Mead in his book “Even The Browns: The Zany, True Story of Baseball in the Early Forties.'"

“Besides, Sewell wanted to invite his mother, and Mrs. Southworth could hardly be expected to put up with a mother-in-law from the wrong family and, indeed, the wrong league.”

Fortunately, according to Mead, another resident of the apartment building was out of town for the month. The Southworths were able to move into the unoccupied unit during the series, snuffing out that potential crisis.

Managerial housing is not likely to be an issue when this year's World Series is held entirely at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas because of the coronavirus pandemic. But there will be plenty of other logistical matters to sort out at the...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Column-Remembering-the-last-series-to-be-played-15578927.php