Dizzy Dean and the Gashouse Gang Win Game 7

On October 9, 1934, Dizzy Dean shut out the Detroit Tigers 11-0 in Game 7 of the World Series, giving the St. Louis Cardinals their third championship in nine years. Dean allowed six hits over nine innings while his teammates pounded Detroit pitching for 17 hits. Every player in the Cardinals lineup recorded at least one hit.

The Cardinals, known as the Gashouse Gang for their rough-edged style and dirt-stained uniforms, had stormed through the National League with Dean and his younger brother Paul combining for 49 wins during the regular season. Dizzy went 30-7, the last National League pitcher to win 30 games in a season. Paul added 19. In the World Series, the brothers accounted for all four Cardinals victories.

The game's most memorable incident had nothing to do with pitching. In the sixth inning, Joe Medwick slid hard into Tigers third baseman Marv Owen. The Detroit crowd at Navin Field responded by pelting Medwick with bottles, fruit, eggs, and garbage when he returned to left field. The barrage stopped play for nearly 20 minutes. Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, seated in the stands, summoned Medwick and Owen to his box and ordered Medwick removed from the game for his own safety. It was the only time a commissioner has pulled a player from a World Series game.

Dean's shutout capped a personal postseason performance of 26 innings pitched, two complete-game victories, and an ERA of 1.73. He was 24 years old. Arm injuries would cut his career short within a few seasons, but the 1934 World Series remained the peak of the Gashouse Gang's swagger.