Nat CastañedaComment

AP Was There: Indians win the 1948 World Series

Nat CastañedaComment
AP Was There: Indians win the 1948 World Series

The Cleveland Indians had won their only World Series appearance in 1920 when they returned in 1948.

The Indians made it 2 for 2 when the defeated the Boston Braves to win the 1948 championship in six games. The Indians defeated the Braves 4-3 in Game 6 on Oct. 11, 1948. The Indians would go on to win three more American League pennants but not another World Series championship.

Here's a photo gallery of the 1948 World Series from our archive.

Johnny Sain, right, of the Boston Braves, shakes hands with Cleveland’s Bob Feller, before the two hurling aces took mound, Oct. 6, 1948 at Braves Field, Boston, for the opening game of the 1948 World Series. (AP Photo) 

Second base pick off play in the second game of the World Series between the Boston Braves and Cleveland Indians, Oct. 6, 1948, in Boston. Boston catcher Phil Masi heads for the bag as Cleveland manager Lou Boudreau moves in to take the throw with umpire Bill Stewart watching at right. (AP Photo/John Lindsay)

Jackie Price, Cleveland Indian clown, catches ball while strapped upside down to screen at the first day of Boston Braves vs. Cleveland Indians World Series in Boston on Oct. 6, 1948. (AP Photo/Frank C. Curtin) 
The Boston Braves meet the Cleveland Indians in the first game of the World Series before 40,135 spectators at Braves Field in Boston, Ma., Oct. 6, 1948. Boston won, 1-0. (AP Photo) 
Lou Boudreau and his wife are shown in Boston during the first game of the World Series against the Braves on October 6, 1948. (AP Photo) 
Phil Masi, Boston Braves catcher, clutches his cap as he crosses the plate to score the only run of the game in the World Series opener with the Cleveland Indians in Boston on Oct. 6, 1948.   Masi scored from second on Tommy Holmes single to le…
Lefthander Warren Spahn throws the first ball in the second game of the 1948 world series at Braves Field Oct. 7, 1948. Leadoff batter for Cleveland is left fielder Dale Mitchell. Braves catcher is Bill Salkeld and calling play is umpire Bill Summer…
John Lindsay, New York Associated Press photographer, operates the K-25 camera during the second World Series game at Boston, Mass., Oct. 7, 1948. (AP Photo) 
Bob Lemon Cleveland Indian pitching in World Series game, Oct. 7, 1948. (AP Photo) 
In this Oct. 7, 1948, photo, Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Lemon, center,  is cheered by his teammates after the Indians defeated the Boston Braves in the second game of the 1948 World Series in Boston. Congratulating Lemon at left, facing came…
This trio of wives of Cleveland Indian pitchers show their reaction to the Indians 4-1 victory over the Braves in the second series game on Oct. 7, 1948, in Boston as they prepare to depart for Cleveland. From Left to right are Mrs. Robert Feller, w…
View section of the grandstand at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland on Oct. 9, 1948, for the fourth game of the World Series. The crowd was announced as 81, 897 a new record for the series. (AP Photo) 
A crowd of 86,288 persons in Cleveland, OH, the largest ever in baseball history, makes its way across a railroad bridge from the Municipal Stadium after the fifth game of the 1948 World Series between the Cleveland Indians and Boston Braves on Octo…
This Oct. 10, 1948, photo, shows a view of Municipal Stadium in Cleveland as the largest crowd in baseball history, 86,288 persons, watched Game 5 of the 1948 World Series between the Boston Braves and the Cleveland Indians. The Indians defeated the…
Indians crowd home plate to greet Jim Hegan, Cleveland catcher, scoring of his three-run home run in the fourth inning of the fifth World Series game in Cleveland, Oct. 10, 1948. Greeters are Dale Mitchell (34) Ken Keltner and Walt Judnich (35). Kel…
Bob Elliott, Boston third baseman, comes into third base on his back as the ball (lower left) skips past Ken Keltner, Cleveland third baseman, in the seventh inning of the fifth World Series game in Cleveland, Ohio on Oct. 10, 1948. Elliott got up a…
Winning pitcher Warren Spahn, center, of the Boston Braves is flanked by joyous teammates Bob Elliott, left, and Tommy Holmes in the dressing room in Cleveland, October 10, 1948, after an 11 to 5 win over Cleveland in the fifth World Series game. &n…
This is a general view of scoreboard during the World Series, Oct. 11, 1948 in Cleveland. (AP Photo) 
Relief pitcher Gene Bearden runs off the infield at Braves Field, Oct. 11, 1948, in Boston, Massachusetts, after the Cleveland Indians defeated the Boston Braves, 4-3, to take the 1948 World Series by a games score of 4-2. (AP Photo) 
Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Gene Bearden, center, embraces his teammates starting pitcher Bob Lemon, left, and catcher Jim Hegan as they celebrate in the dressing room after winning the World Series in Boston, Ma., on Oct. 11, 1948.  The I…

Text from the AP news story, AP Was There: Indians win the 1948 World Series. 

See these photos on APImages

Follow AP photographers on Twitter

Written content on this site is not created by the editorial department of AP, unless otherwise noted. 

Visual artist and Journalist