1964 World Series | |||||||||||||
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Teams | |||||||||||||
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Dates | October 7–15 | ||||||||||||
MVP | Bob Gibson (St. Louis) | ||||||||||||
Umpires | Frank Secory (NL), Bill McKinley (AL), Ken Burkhart (NL), Hank Soar (AL), Vinnie Smith (NL), Al Smith (AL) | ||||||||||||
Hall of Famers |
Cardinals: Lou Brock, Bob Gibson. Yankees: Yogi Berra (mgr), Whitey Ford, Mickey Mantle. |
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Broadcast | |||||||||||||
Television | NBC | ||||||||||||
TV announcers |
Harry Caray and Curt Gowdy (Games 1–2, 6–7) Phil Rizzuto and Joe Garagiola (Games 3–5) |
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Radio | NBC | ||||||||||||
Radio announcers |
Phil Rizzuto and Joe Garagiola (Games 1–2, 6–7) Harry Caray and Curt Gowdy (Games 3–5) |
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Team (Wins) | Manager | Season | |
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St. Louis Cardinals (4) | Johnny Keane | 93–69, .574, GA: 1 | |
New York Yankees (3) | Yogi Berra | 99–63, .611, GA: 1 |
The 1964 World Series pitted the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the American League champion New York Yankees, with the Cardinals prevailing in seven games. St. Louis won their seventh world championship, while the Yankees, who had appeared in 14 of 16 World Series since 1949, did not play in the Series again until 1976.
In an unusual twist, the Yankees fired Yogi Berra after the Series ended, replacing him with Johnny Keane, who had resigned from the Cardinals after the Series. His job had been threatened by Cardinals management, and it was unexpectedly saved by the Cardinals' dramatic pennant drive.
This was also the last World Series that matched the Yankees up against the Cardinals; in the previous four meetings, each team had won twice, with the Yankees winning in 1928 and 1943, and the Cardinals in 1926 and 1942.
This pennant for the Yankees concluded their remarkable run of 15 World Series appearances over 18 years. Indeed, they had won 29 American League championships in the 44-year span from 1921 through 1964.
The 1964 World Series, and the season leading up to it, later became the subject for the David Halberstam New York Times bestseller October 1964. The Series is seen as a bellwether point in baseball history as it was the last hurrah for the 1950s Yankee Dynasty of Mantle, Maris, Ford and Berra, among others, and it demonstrated that the National League's growing enthusiasm to sign black and Latino players (such as those of the '64 Cardinals) was a permanent paradigm shift in fielding a championship team.