United League of American Base Ball Clubs          est. 1951
 
LEAGUE FILE (6/30) · HEADLINES · NEWS LOG · TRANSACTIONS · INJURIES · FINANCES
STANDINGS · BOX SCORES · SCHEDULE · BATTING · PITCHING · FIELDING · LEADERS
LEAGUE RULES · TEAM INFO · ROSTERS · FREE AGENTS · TOP PROSPECTS · TOP FARMS
TOP PERFORMANCES · RECORD BOOK · PAST LEADERS · CAREER LEADERS
BEGINNINGS · CITIES · BALLPARKS · PLAYER PHOTOS (1957) · OOTP 6.1 PATCH
TOTAL UL  · 1951 · 1952 · 1953 · 1954 · 1955 · 1956 · 1957 DRAFTS
4/7 · 4/17 · 5/1 · 5/16 · 6/1 · 6/16 · 7/5 · 7/16 · 7/31 · 8/16 · 9/1 · 9/17 · 9/24 · 10/1 · World Series

1957 WORLD SERIES
Mossi Clinches Title 
BROOKLYN (Oct. 9) -- Don 'Sphinx' Mossi held St. Louis to two runs in eight innings, earning his second win, as the Brooklyn Superbas won the first United League World Series four games to one.

GAME FIVE (box)     Brooklyn 4, St. Louis 2
Don Mossi won his second game of the series another solid outing, holding the Maroons to seven hits and two runs in eight innings in a 4-2 Game Five win.  The Bas grabbed the lead early against rookie righthander Jack Sanford, manufacturing a run in the first inning on two singles and a sacrifice bunt.  The score held a 1-0 until the sixth inning, as Mossi and Sanford settled into a pitchers duel.  But after Hobie Landrith's one-out double, Frank Thomas' two-run homer gave the visitors a three-run lead.  Pinch hitter Johnny Wyrostek led off the sixth with a homer, and Dave Philley doubled, but the rally fizzled when Mossi retired Woodling, Kokos, and Musial in order to end the inning.  Brooklyn pinch hitter Stan Lopata restored the three-run lead with a leadoff homer in the eighth, but the Maroons rallied again in the bottom half of the inning.  Bill White singled and scored on Woodling's double.  Then Dick Kokos belted a booming shot down the right field line that was just foul, before bouncing harmlessly to the pitcher.  Hoyt Wilhelm closed the books in the ninth for his second save, and the Superbas celebrated their second United League championship in three seasons.
   Mossi was named World Series MVP.  "The Sphinx" was 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA in two starts, striking out 11 in 17 innings.  Sandy Amoros was a close runner-up, batting .294 with five hits, six walks, and seven RBIs.

Pierce Keeps Maroons Alive
Four-Hit Shutout Forces Game Five, Bruton Stars with Four Hits
BROOKLYN (Oct. 8) -- Facing elimination after losing a Game Three blowout, the St. Louis Maroons used pitching and defense to shut down Brooklyn 6-0 Wednesday, forcing a fifth game.

GAME THREE (box)  Brooklyn 14, St. Louis 3
Bullpen Implosion Buries Maroons
Bill White hit a dramatic clutch two-run homer to give St. Louis a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth, but by the time the game was over, that was ancient history, buried under the deleterious of an 12-run Brooklyn onslaught.  Lew Burdette and Spec 'Naugatuck' Shea were evenly matched through four innings, but the Superbas went ahead on Minnie Minoso's double in the top of the fifth, which scored Bobby Brown who had reached on Shea's error to lead off the inning.  In the bottom half, Luis Aparicio singled and stole second, then scored when White sent Burdette's first pitch 395 feet down the right field line for a 3-2 lead.  But reliever Billy Hoeft did not have his best stuff, allowing two runs on three hits and wild pitch, including Al 'Fuzzy' Smith's clutch pinch double, which tied the game.  After Fuzzy moved to third on Hoeft's wild throw, Richie Ashburn drove him in with one of four hits in the game, and the Bas were back on top 4-3.  The floodgates opened in the seventh, especially after centerfielder Bill Bruton dropped a fly ball with two outs and the score 5-3.  The error allowed one run to score, and George Kell put the game out of reach with a two-run double.  Sandy Amoros' three-run home run highlighted a five-run ninth, but by then the game was far out of reach.  Lew Burdette pitched five good innings, allowing five hits and three runs, and the Brooklyn pen held the hosts to just two baserunners in the last four innings.

GAME FOUR (box)     St. Louis 6, Brooklyn 0
Facing elimination and long odds to turn back a three games-to-none deficit, St. Louis turned in an all-around dominating performance in Game Four, using solid pitching and a string of great defensive plays to shut down Brooklyn 6-0 and extend the series at least one more day.  Southpaw Billy Pierce faced Gene Conley in a rematch of Game One, and St. Louis got on the board early, as Bill Bruton leadoff with a double and scored on Gene Woodling's single.  Conley ripped a ball down the first base line for what would have been a two-run double had first baseman Stan Musial not made a diving stop to end the inning.  Musial and Bruton hit solo shots in the fourth and fifth innings to build the lead to 3-0.  St. Louis manager Timothy J. Smith nearly benched Musial (who was 1-for-11 in the series) in favor of Game Three's would-be hero Bill White, but instead left 'Stan the Man' in the lineup, dropping him to sixth.  The insertion of Bill Bruton into the leadoff spot proved to be a stroke of genius, as the swift glove man made a couple key catches in center field and collected four hits, including a home run to lead the offense.  The Dark Reds put the game out of reach by doubling the lead in the sixth, chasing Conley.  Pierce pitched seven shutout innings, allowing just four hits and a walk, and striking out three.  Rookie Billy Muffett preserved the shutout with two no-hit innings.  Game Five will feature a rematch of Game Two, with Don 'Sphinx' Mossi going up against rookie Jack Sanford.  In his first start in five weeks, 'Sphinx' five-hit the Maroons in Game Two, while Sanford showed some rookie jitters with a career high six walks in 6.2 innings.  If St. Louis wins, the series will shift back to Frank Thomas Memorial Stadium in Brooklyn for the final two games.

Superbas Seize Series Lead
Amoros' Clutch Hits Lift Brooklyn in Game Two Nailbiter
BROOKLYN (Oct. 5) -- The Brooklyn Superbas jumped to a 2-0 lead in the inaugural United League World Series today.  Cy Young winner Gene Conley pitched out of multiple jams, allowing just a pair of leadoff home runs, as Brooklyn topped Billy Pierce 4-2 in Game One.  In Game Two, Sandy Amoros slapped clutch RBI singles in the seventh and ninth innings to first tie, then win the game, as Don "Sphinx" Mossi returned from the DL in style with a five-hit shutout.  

GAME ONE (box)    Brooklyn 4, St. Louis 2
In a battle of Cy Young winners in Game One, Billy Pierce ('54) faced Gene Conley ('57).  St. Louis struck first on Gene Woodling's leadoff homer in the third, but the Bas immediately leveled the score when George Kell singled home Johnny Logan, who hit a leadoff single and stole second on an aborted hit-and-run.  The Maroons took the lead back in the fourth, when Willard Marshall belted a leadoff homer for the second straight inning, but as before, the Brooks responded, this time with three runs, on a triple, an error, and three singles, including Johnny Logan's squeeze bunt single.  That was all the scoring as Conley, Collum, and Wilhelm shut down the visitors the rest of the way.  Veteran outfielder Johnny Wyrostek ignited a rally with a leadoff double in the seventh, but was gunned by right fielder Frank Thomas trying to stretch it to a triple.

GAME TWO (box)     Brooklyn 3, St. Louis 2
St. Louis went ahead in the top of the seventh after Mossi got into a jam.  Gene Woodling reached on an infield single, Dick Kokos doubled, and Mossi loaded the bases with a free pass to Stan Musial.  After whiffing Hector Lopez, Sphinx walked Del Crandall, plating the go-ahead run, before inducing a Luis Aparicio 1-2-3 double play to escape with no further damage.  It proved to be a pivotal inning as Brooklyn came right back to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh.  Rookie Maroon starter Jack Sanford pitched out of jams all afternoon, allowing 12 baserunners in 6.2 innings, but was relieved after Minnie Minoso's two-out double.  League MVP Granny Hamner was intentionally walked to set up a forceout, but Amoros singled to right, scoring Minoso and tying the game 2-2.  The score held until the bottom of the eighth, as Mossi and Lefty Minner took control.  But in the bottom of the ninth, Richie Ashburn reached on an infield hit, moved to second on Minoso's groundout, and then scored when, again, Hamner was walked and Amoros made them pay with an RBI hit.