1940 Pittsburgh Pirates season

The 1940 Pittsburgh Pirates season was the 59th season of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise; the 54th in the National League. The Pirates finished fourth in the league standings with a record of 78–76.

1940 Pittsburgh Pirates
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1887)
Location
Forbes Field (since 1909) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[1] (since 1907)
Other information
Owner(s)	Bill Benswanger
Manager(s)	Frankie Frisch
Local radio	KDKA Rosey Rowswell, Jack Craddock
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Offseason

• Prior to 1940 season: Billy Cox was signed as an amateur free agent by the Pirates.[2]

Regular season

Season standings

National League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Cincinnati Reds	100	53	0.654	—	55–21	45–32
Brooklyn Dodgers	88	65	0.575	12	41–37	47–28
St. Louis Cardinals	84	69	0.549	16	41–36	43–33
Pittsburgh Pirates	78	76	0.506	22½	40–34	38–42
Chicago Cubs	75	79	0.487	25½	40–37	35–42
New York Giants	72	80	0.474	27½	33–43	39–37
Boston Bees	65	87	0.428	34½	35–40	30–47
Philadelphia Phillies	50	103	0.327	50	24–55	26–48

Record vs. opponents

1940 National League Records Sources:
Team	BOS	BR	CHC	CIN	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Boston	—	9–13	8–14	9–12	7–15	15–6	9–13	8–14
Brooklyn	13–9	—	10–12	8–14–1	16–5	17–5	15–7–1	9–13–1
Chicago	14–8	12–10	—	6–16	12–10	12–10	11–11	8–14
Cincinnati	12–9	14–8–1	16–6	—	15–7	15–7	16–6	12–10–1
New York	15–7	5–16	10–12	7–15	—	12–10	12–10	11–10
Philadelphia	6–15	5–17	10–12	7–15	10–12	—	6–16	6–16
Pittsburgh	13–9	7–15–1	11–11	6–16	10–12	16–6	—	15–7–1
St. Louis	14–8	13–9–1	14–8	10–12–1	10–11	16–6	7–15–1	—

Game log

1940 Game Log: 78–76 (Home: 40–34; Away: 38–42)
April: 4–6 (Home: 3–3; Away: 1–3) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 1 April 16 @ Cardinals 6–4 Klinger (1–0) Davis Lanahan (1) 16,600 1–0 2 April 22 Cubs 9–5 Bowman (1–0) Passeau Butcher (1) 10,461 2–0 3 April 23 Cubs 3–2 Brown (1–0) French — 4,138 3–0 4 April 24 Cubs 4–9 Lee Butcher (0–1) — 3,809 3–1 5 April 25 Cardinals 9–10 Shoun Klinger (1–1) Russell 3,394 3–2 6 April 26 Cardinals 10–4 Brown (2–0) Bowman — 3,912 4–2 7 April 27 @ Reds 0–3 Walters Bowman (1–1) — 5,950 4–3 8 April 28 @ Reds 2–8 Thompson MacFayden (0–1) — 19,337 4–4 9 April 29 @ Reds 2–3 Derringer Butcher (0–2) — 1,549 4–5 10 April 30 Phillies 2–6 Mulcahy Klinger (1–2) — 2,015 4–6
May: 5–15 (Home: 3–8; Away: 2–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 11 May 5 Bees 1–5 Strincevich Brown (2–1) Coffman 10,992 4–7 12 May 6 Bees 7–10 (12) Swift Swigart (0–1) Sullivan 2,142 4–8 13 May 7 Bees 9–11 Earley Lanning (0–1) Swift 2,098 4–9 14 May 8 Giants 6–10 Melton Klinger (1–3) Schumacher 3,564 4–10 15 May 9 Giants 6–17 Hubbell Butcher (0–3) — 3,492 4–11 16 May 10 @ Cubs 8–3 Brown (3–1) Lee — 3,448 5–11 17 May 11 @ Cubs 5–7 Page Bowman (1–2) — 7,211 5–12 18 May 12 @ Cubs 5–7 Olsen Lanahan (0–1) Passeau 17,955 5–13 19 May 14 @ Giants 7–2 Klinger (2–3) Melton — 4,373 6–13 20 May 15 @ Giants 2–5 Hubbell Brown (3–2) — 4,324 6–14 21 May 18 @ Bees 5–15 Piechota Butcher (0–4) — 4,264 6–15 22 May 19 @ Phillies 5–6 Johnson Sewell (0–1) — 8,981 6–16 23 May 20 @ Phillies 7–8 Hoerst Lanahan (0–2) — 1,000 6–17 24 May 22 @ Dodgers 1–3 Fitzsimmons Klinger (2–4) — 3,149 6–18 25 May 25 Cubs 12–7 Bowman (2–2) French — 2,806 7–18 26 May 26 Cubs 3–2 Klinger (3–4) Lee — 8,771 8–18 27 May 27 Reds 1–2 Beggs Brown (3–3) — — 8–19 28 May 27 Reds 3–7 Turner Bauers (0–1) — 6,258 8–20 29 May 28 Reds 5–2 Butcher (1–4) Thompson — 1,359 9–20 30 May 29 Reds 0–4 Walters Bowman (2–3) — 2,259 9–21
June: 15–13 (Home: 7–7; Away: 8–6) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 31 June 2 Giants 2–1 Klinger (4–4) Schumacher MacFayden (1) — 10–21 32 June 2 Giants 3–7 (8) Melton Brown (3–4) Gumbert 18,634 10–22 33 June 3 Giants 3–4 Lohrman Butcher (1–5) — 1,987 10–23 34 June 4 Bees 14–2 Bowman (3–3) Callahan — 20,310 11–23 35 June 6 Bees 7–6 Sewell (1–1) Sullivan — 1,165 12–23 36 June 7 Phillies 10–4 Lanning (1–1) Johnson — 1,174 13–23 37 June 8 Phillies 6–5 Heintzelman (1–0) Johnson Brown (1) 3,055 14–23 38 June 9 Phillies 1–6 Mulcahy Klinger (4–5) — 14,450 14–24 39 June 9 Phillies 11–5 (8) Brown (4–4) Pearson — 14,450 15–24 40 June 10 Dodgers 7–8 Fitzsimmons Lanahan (0–3) — 2,659 15–25 41 June 12 Dodgers 4–5 Wyatt Brown (4–5) — 20,179 15–26 42 June 14 @ Giants 6–8 Lohrman Klinger (4–6) Brown 5,955 15–27 43 June 15 @ Giants 1–12 Schumacher Bowman (3–4) — 5,941 15–28 44 June 16 @ Giants 5–0 Butcher (2–5) Hubbell — 34,282 16–28 45 June 16 @ Giants 5–3 Sewell (2–1) Gumbert Heintzelman (1) 34,282 17–28 46 June 17 @ Bees 3–5 Posedel Lanning (1–2) — — 17–29 47 June 17 @ Bees 1–5 Piechota Brown (4–6) — 5,224 17–30 48 June 19 @ Bees 5–1 Bowman (4–4) Errickson — 1,771 18–30 49 June 20 @ Bees 8–7 Butcher (3–5) Fette Brown (2) 1,445 19–30 50 June 21 @ Dodgers 8–10 Fitzsimmons Klinger (4–7) Tamulis 6,106 19–31 51 June 22 @ Dodgers 7–2 Sewell (3–1) Carleton — 10,850 20–31 52 June 23 @ Dodgers 8–5 MacFayden (1–1) Wyatt Brown (3) — 21–31 53 June 23 @ Dodgers 4–4 (13) — 24,239 21–31 54 June 25 @ Phillies 9–7 Lanning (2–2) Higbe Klinger (1) 1,000 22–31 55 June 26 @ Phillies 2–4 Blanton Bowman (4–5) — 12,565 22–32 56 June 26 @ Phillies 11–6 Sewell (4–1) Beck Brown (4) 12,565 23–32 57 June 28 Cardinals 2–8 McGee Heintzelman (1–1) — 20,490 23–33 58 June 30 Cardinals 0–1 Cooper Klinger (4–8) — — 23–34 59 June 30 Cardinals 2–0 Butcher (4–5) Shoun — 25,096 24–34
July: 18–12 (Home: 7–5; Away: 11–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 60 July 1 @ Cubs 4–3 (10) Brown (5–6) Olsen — 4,335 25–34 61 July 2 @ Cubs 0–10 Lee Bowman (4–6) — 5,120 25–35 62 July 3 @ Cubs 5–7 Passeau Bauers (0–2) — 5,678 25–36 63 July 4 @ Reds 1–9 Walters Klinger (4–9) — — 25–37 64 July 4 @ Reds 1–3 Thompson Butcher (4–6) — 19,399 25–38 65 July 5 @ Reds 4–5 Beggs MacFayden (1–2) — 5,682 25–39 66 July 6 @ Cardinals 15–8 Klinger (5–9) Russell Lanning (1) — 26–39 67 July 6 @ Cardinals 4–3 (10) Brown (6–6) Warneke — 3,537 27–39 68 July 7 @ Cardinals 7–6 Sewell (5–1) Shoun Lanahan (2) — 28–39 69 July 7 @ Cardinals 4–1 Heintzelman (2–1) Cooper — 7,303 29–39 70 July 12 Phillies 3–6 Mulcahy Bowman (4–7) — 9,042 29–40 71 July 13 Phillies 9–8 MacFayden (2–2) Johnson Bowman (1) 2,375 30–40 72 July 14 Dodgers 6–2 Sewell (6–1) Hamlin — 33,336 31–40 73 July 14 Dodgers 0–2 Fitzsimmons Heintzelman (2–2) — 33,336 31–41 74 July 15 Dodgers 1–10 Wyatt Butcher (4–7) — — 31–42 75 July 15 Dodgers 4–3 Klinger (6–9) Pressnell — 12,215 32–42 76 July 16 Dodgers 5–3 Lanning (3–2) Pressnell — 2,271 33–42 77 July 18 Giants 1–6 Hubbell Heintzelman (2–3) — 25,188 33–43 78 July 19 Giants 2–5 Schumacher Sewell (6–2) Gumbert 2,481 33–44 79 July 20 Bees 17–6 Brown (7–6) Errickson — 2,661 34–44 80 July 21 Bees 5–3 Lanahan (1–3) Salvo Brown (5) — 35–44 81 July 21 Bees 16–2 (8) Bowman (5–7) Posedel — 11,071 36–44 82 July 23 @ Giants 1–9 Hubbell Klinger (6–10) — 12,428 36–45 83 July 25 @ Giants 2–1 Sewell (7–2) Schumacher — 3,265 37–45 84 July 26 @ Bees 9–0 Heintzelman (3–3) Posedel — 1,093 38–45 85 July 27 @ Bees 10–4 MacFayden (3–2) Sullivan — 1,509 39–45 86 July 28 @ Bees 5–2 Lanahan (2–3) Errickson — — 40–45 87 July 28 @ Bees 7–3 Butcher (5–7) Javery — 5,471 41–45 88 July 29 @ Dodgers 6–7 Pressnell Brown (7–7) — 3,537 41–46 89 July 30 @ Dodgers 8–2 Sewell (8–2) Head — 19,910 42–46
August: 20–12 (Home: 15–6; Away: 5–6) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 90 August 1 @ Dodgers 3–8 Wyatt Heintzelman (3–4) — — 42–47 91 August 1 @ Dodgers 7–8 Casey Lanahan (2–4) — 19,393 42–48 92 August 2 @ Phillies 5–2 (10) Bowman (6–7) Johnson Klinger (2) 7,521 43–48 93 August 3 @ Phillies 8–0 Brown (8–7) Higbe — 1,000 44–48 94 August 4 @ Phillies 6–1 Sewell (9–2) Mulcahy — — 45–48 95 August 4 @ Phillies 6–4 Lanning (4–2) Frye Heintzelman (2) 7,182 46–48 96 August 6 Cardinals 3–1 Heintzelman (4–4) Cooper — 8,582 47–48 97 August 7 Cardinals 10–9 Klinger (7–10) Shoun Lanning (2) 5,640 48–48 98 August 7 Cardinals 12–6 Butcher (6–7) Lanier Bowman (2) 5,640 49–48 99 August 9 Cubs 6–2 Sewell (10–2) Raffensberger — 29,978 50–48 100 August 10 Cubs 0–1 Olsen Klinger (7–11) — 4,474 50–49 101 August 11 Cubs 7–3 Lanning (5–2) Raffensberger — — 51–49 102 August 11 Cubs 5–1 Lanahan (3–4) Passeau — 28,968 52–49 103 August 12 Reds 4–2 Butcher (7–7) Walters — 42,254 53–49 104 August 13 Reds 3–4 (10) Beggs Heintzelman (4–5) — 6,810 53–50 105 August 14 @ Cardinals 6–7 (11) Shoun Brown (8–8) — 11,077 53–51 106 August 16 @ Cardinals 6–5 Lanning (6–2) McGee — 4,218 54–51 107 August 16 @ Cardinals 5–9 Warneke Butcher (7–8) — 4,218 54–52 108 August 17 @ Cubs 5–6 (13) Passeau MacFayden (3–3) — 6,003 54–53 109 August 18 @ Cubs 1–9 French Sewell (10–3) — 7,597 54–54 110 August 19 Bees 0–3 Errickson Bowman (6–8) — 1,803 54–55 111 August 20 Bees 6–3 Lanahan (4–4) Salvo — 1,050 55–55 112 August 21 Bees 3–2 Heintzelman (5–5) Coffman — 2,281 56–55 113 August 22 Giants 4–5 (12) Dean MacFayden (3–4) — — 56–56 114 August 22 Giants 4–0 Sewell (11–3) Melton — 12,523 57–56 115 August 23 Giants 13–10 Heintzelman (6–5) Hubbell — 2,562 58–56 116 August 24 Giants 6–7 Hubbell Heintzelman (6–6) — 7,630 58–57 117 August 25 Dodgers 4–3 Lanahan (5–4) Wyatt — 22,257 59–57 118 August 25 Dodgers 1–8 Fitzsimmons Klinger (7–12) — 22,257 59–58 119 August 28 Phillies 5–0 Sewell (12–3) Mulcahy — 4,100 60–58 120 August 28 Phillies 5–2 Bowman (7–8) Higbe — 4,100 61–58 121 August 29 Phillies 4–0 Brown (9–8) Pearson MacFayden (2) 2,239 62–58
September: 16–18 (Home: 5–5; Away: 11–13) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record 122 September 1 Cardinals 10–0 Heintzelman (7–6) Shoun — — 63–58 123 September 1 Cardinals 5–5 (11) — 20,945 63–58 124 September 2 Cubs 5–2 Sewell (13–3) Root — — 64–58 125 September 2 Cubs 1–7 Olsen Bowman (7–9) — 26,120 64–59 126 September 4 @ Reds 2–3 (12) Beggs Lanahan (5–5) — 30,543 64–60 127 September 5 @ Reds 3–6 Vander Meer Lanning (6–3) — 7,661 64–61 128 September 7 @ Cardinals 14–9 MacFayden (4–4) Doyle Brown (6) 2,065 65–61 129 September 8 @ Cardinals 16–14 Lanahan (6–5) McGee Heintzelman (3) — 66–61 130 September 8 @ Cardinals 5–4 (5) Klinger (8–12) Warneke Butcher (2) 10,718 67–61 131 September 10 @ Phillies 11–3 Bowman (8–9) Mulcahy — — 68–61 132 September 10 @ Phillies 11–1 Sewell (14–3) Frye — 1,000 69–61 133 September 11 @ Phillies 9–3 Brown (10–8) Pearson — 2,500 70–61 134 September 12 @ Dodgers 0–7 Casey Heintzelman (7–7) — — 70–62 135 September 12 @ Dodgers 4–7 Casey Lanahan (6–6) — 10,570 70–63 136 September 13 @ Dodgers 2–8 Head Klinger (8–13) — 2,769 70–64 137 September 14 @ Dodgers 0–5 Fitzsimmons Lanahan (6–7) — — 70–65 138 September 14 @ Dodgers 2–4 Carleton Lanning (6–4) — 16,278 70–66 139 September 15 @ Giants 10–3 Sewell (15–3) Melton — — 71–66 140 September 15 @ Giants 4–3 Bowman (9–9) Gumbert — 9,240 72–66 141 September 16 @ Giants 7–6 Butcher (8–8) Lohrman Klinger (3) 1,262 73–66 142 September 17 @ Bees 5–10 Errickson Lanahan (6–8) Strincevich 1,077 73–67 143 September 18 @ Bees 1–4 Tobin Bowman (9–10) — 2,013 73–68 144 September 19 Cardinals 1–2 McGee Sewell (15–4) — — 73–69 145 September 19 Cardinals 2–8 Hutchinson Heintzelman (7–8) — 5,048 73–70 146 September 21 Reds 1–8 Walters Butcher (8–9) — — 73–71 147 September 21 Reds 8–7 (10) MacFayden (5–4) Riddle — 6,395 74–71 148 September 22 Reds 1–2 Turner Swigart (0–2) — — 74–72 149 September 22 Reds 8–1 Lanning (7–4) Vander Meer — 14,865 75–72 150 September 23 Reds 12–9 Heintzelman (8–8) Beggs Brown (7) 2,098 76–72 151 September 25 @ Cubs 1–2 (11) Lee Sewell (15–5) — — 76–73 152 September 25 @ Cubs 4–6 Olsen Brown (10–9) Raffensberger 7,828 76–74 153 September 26 @ Cubs 7–6 Lanning (8–4) Bryant Sewell (1) 1,789 77–74 154 September 27 @ Reds 4–3 (10) Sewell (16–5) Moore — 3,173 78–74 155 September 28 @ Reds 5–6 Turner Dietz (0–1) Moore 6,603 78–75 156 September 29 @ Reds 3–11 Walters Rambert (0–1) Vander Meer 13,860 78–76
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Tie Bold = Pirates team member

Roster

1940 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers 31 Russ Bauers 21 Joe Bowman 25 Mace Brown 19 Max Butcher -- Dutch Dietz 27 Ray Harrell 32 Ken Heintzelman 20 Bob Klinger 17,28 Dick Lanahan 29 Johnny Lanning 22 Danny MacFayden -- Pep Rambert 30 Rip Sewell 26 Oad Swigart		Catchers 12 Ray Berres 11 Spud Davis 38 Ed Fernandes 12 Al López 14 Ray Mueller 38 Joe Schultz Infielders 15 Bill Brubaker 3,5 Elbie Fletcher 9,18 Debs Garms 16 Frankie Gustine 4,6 Lee Handley 10 Ed Leip 21 Arky Vaughan 4,6 Pep Young		Outfielders 17 Vince DiMaggio 8,37 Bob Elliott -- Frank Kalin  7 Johnny Rizzo 17,28 Maurice Van Robays 10 Lloyd Waner 9,18 Paul Waner Other batters 37 Fern Bell		Manager 35 Frankie Frisch Coaches 34 Jake Flowers 36 Mike Kelly 33 Honus Wagner

Player stats

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Spud Davis	99	285	93	.326	5	39
1B	Elbie Fletcher	147	510	139	.273	16	104
2B	Frankie Gustine	133	524	147	.281	1	55
SS	Arky Vaughn	156	594	178	.300	7	95
3B	Lee Handley	98	302	85	.281	1	19
OF	Vince DiMaggio	110	356	103	.289	19	54
OF	Bob Elliott	148	551	161	.292	5	64
OF	Maurice Van Robays	145	572	156	.273	11	116

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Debs Garms	103	358	127	.355	5	57
Paul Waner	89	238	69	.290	1	32
Al López	59	174	45	.259	1	24
Lloyd Waner	72	166	43	.259	0	3
Pep Young	54	136	34	.250	2	20
Bill Brubaker	38	78	15	.192	0	7
Joe Schultz Jr.	16	36	7	.194	0	4
Ed Fernandes	28	33	4	.121	0	2
Ray Berres	21	32	6	.188	0	2
Johnny Rizzo	9	28	5	.179	0	2
Ed Leip	3	5	1	.200	0	0
Ray Mueller	4	3	1	.333	0	1
Frank Kalin	3	3	0	.000	0	1
Fern Bell	6	3	0	.000	0	1

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Rip Sewell	33	189.2	16	5	2.80	60
Joe Bowman	32	187.2	9	10	4.46	57
Max Butcher	35	136.1	8	9	6.01	40

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Mace Brown	48	173	10	9	3.49	73
Ken Heintzelman	39	165	8	8	4.47	71
Bob Klinger	39	142	8	13	5.39	48
Johnny Lanning	38	115.2	8	4	4.05	42
Dick Lanahan	40	108	6	8	4.25	45
Danny MacFayden	35	91.1	5	4	3.55	24
Oad Swigart	7	22.1	0	2	4.43	9
Dutch Dietz	4	15.1	0	1	5.87	8
Pep Rambert	3	8.1	0	1	7.56	0

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Russ Bauers	15	0	2	0	7.63	11
Ray Harrell	3	0	0	0	8.10	3

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AA	Syracuse Chiefs	International League	Dick Porter
A	Albany Senators	Eastern League	Specs Toporcer
B	Gadsden Pilots	Southeastern League	Billy Bancroft
B	Harrisburg Senators	Interstate League	Les Bell
C	Gloversville-Johnstown Glovers	Canadian–American League	Steve Yerkes and Buster Blakeney
C	Hutchinson Pirates	Western Association	Jimmy Jordan and Buzz Arlitt
D	Carthage Pirates	Arkansas–Missouri League	Buzz Arlitt
D	Fort Lauderdale Tarpons	Florida East Coast League	Herb Thomas
D	McKeesport Little Braves/Oil City Oilers	Pennsylvania State Association	Elmer Klump
D	London Pirates	PONY League	Mickey LaLange and Jimmy Jordan

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Fort Lauderdale

Arkansas–Missouri League folded, July 1, 1940; McKeesport franchise moved to Oil City and renamed, July 1, 1940

Notes

1. From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Shore in 1907.
2. Billy Cox page at Baseball Reference

References

• 1940 Pittsburgh Pirates team page at Baseball Reference
• 1940 Pittsburgh Pirates Page at Baseball Almanac
• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-1-932391-17-6.