1944 World Series

The 1944 World Series was an all-St. Louis World Series, matching up the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns at Sportsman's Park. It marked only the third time in World Series history in which both teams had the same home field (the other two being the 1921 and 1922 World Series in the Polo Grounds in New York City).

1944 saw perhaps the nadir of 20th-century baseball, as the long-moribund St. Louis Browns won their only American League pennant. The pool of talent was depleted by the draft to the point that in 1945 (but not 1944), as the military scraped deeper and deeper into the ranks of the possibly eligible, the Browns actually used a one-armed player, Pete Gray. Some of the players were 4-Fs, rejected by the military due to physical defects or limitations which precluded duty in the trenches. Others divided their time between factory work in defense industries and baseball, some being able to play ball only on weekends. Some players avoided the draft by chance, despite being physically able to serve. Stan Musial of the Cardinals was one. Musial, enlisting in early 1945, missed one season. He rejoined the Cardinals in 1946.

1976 World Series

The 1976 World Series matched the defending champions Cincinnati Reds of the National League against the New York Yankees of the American League, with the Reds sweeping the Series to repeat. The Reds became (and remain) the only team to sweep an entire multi-tier postseason. The Reds are also the last National League team to win back-to-back World Series. It also marked the second time that the Yankees were swept in a World Series (the Los Angeles Dodgers were the first to sweep them in 1963).

The Cincinnati Reds won the National League West division by 10 games over the Los Angeles Dodgers then defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, three games to none, in the National League Championship Series. The New York Yankees won the American League East division by 10 ¹⁄₂ games over the Baltimore Orioles then defeated the Kansas City Royals, three games to two, in the American League Championship Series.

This World Series was the first in which the designated hitter rule, which had been introduced in the American League three years prior, was in effect. The use of the DH wound up benefiting the Reds, who were able to get utility infielder Dan Driessen's bat in the lineup. Driessen hit .357 with one home run. Elliott Maddox, Carlos May, and Lou Piniella shared the role for the New York Yankees. Game 1, played at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, marked the first time the DH was used in a National League ballpark. Game 2, also at Riverfront Stadium, was the first World Series weekend game to be scheduled at night.

Chronicle-Telegraph Cup

The Chronicle-Telegraph Cup was the trophy awarded to the winner of a postseason competition in American professional baseball in 1900. The series, played only once, was a precursor to the current World Series.

The Pittsburg Pirates finished in second place, 4.5 games behind the Brooklyn Superbas in the 1900 National League (the only Major League in American baseball at the time). Fans of the Pittsburgh club felt their club was every bit the equal of the Brooklyn nine. While Brooklyn led the league in offense, Pirates rooters claimed their team, which led the NL in strikeouts with the league-best ERA, boasted the pitching to best Brooklyn. A local newspaper, the Pittsburgh Chronicle Telegraph, offered to award a silver cup to the winner of a best-of-five series between the two teams.

Despite the series being held in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed into Pittsburgh in 1907, the Superbas prevailed, 3–1. The teams were evenly matched in most statistical categories — both totalled 15 runs apiece, batted about .230 and had comparable numbers of extra-base hits (neither team hit any home runs) and walks. Both teams' ERAs were below 1.30.