MONTGOMERY (AP) - Jake Miller's strong performance, a complete game three-hit shutout to go with two doubles, along with Lloyd Waner's thunderous home run in the seventh inning, paved the way to a 4 to 0 victory for the Montgomery Burns in Game Six over the Pawtucket Flying Dutchmen. The victory clinched the 1929 championship for Montgomery in the 2nd annual Classic.
Miller, who after the game was named most valuable player of the Series, was 2 for 3 at the bat with two doubles and scored two runs. However, Miller, a 17-game winner during the regular season, fashioned a 0.50 ERA in two Series starts, including a dominating, three-hitter in Game Six.
A crowd of 50,414 arrived at the Montgomery Power Plant early and was very vocal, attempting to assist their team their first world's championship. Hollywood screen star Joan Crawford sang the National Anthem, followed shortly afterwards by a ceremonial first pitch from former boxing heavyweight champion of the world Gene Tunney. Other luminaries in attendance at Game Six were movies Lionel Berrymore and the nefarious George "Bugs" Moran.
Pre-game festivities also included a press conference by the Motorola Company.
The Motorola auto radio was introduced by University of Illinois engineering school graduate Paul Vincent Galvin, 34, and is the first commercially successful radio for automobiles. Galvin started a business in a Chicago garage last year with $565 in capital, but his first radio plays in a moving car it is twice the size of a tackle box, its bulky speaker is stuffed under the floorboards, and its audio qualities leave much to be desired.
With the pre-game over, Game Six was underway, and Jake Miller immediately set the tone for the Montgomery Burns. Miller retired the first nine Dutchmen batters in succession, and did not allow a hit until the fifth inning. Miller's assortment of off-speed pitches and his unorthodox delivery confused the Dutchmen and into many easy groundouts.
Against Dutchmen starter Sam Gray, the Burns initially fared little better. The workhorse of Game Three, who pitched an 11 gutsy innings, set down the Burns in the first two frames, but was touched for a run in the bottom of the third.
After he notched two quick outs, Gray hung a curveball to his counterpart Miller, who smoked it into right field for a double. With two out and first base empty, Dutchmen manager Honus Wagner ordered the right-handed Gray to walk the left-handed Burns leadoff man Lloyd Waner, and pitch to Fresco Thompson.
Initially, it proved to be a wise decision. Lloyd had laced a triple off of Gray earlier in the Series, and Thompson was batting a miniscule .095 entering Game Six. Thompson defied logic by lacing a single into center, scoring a breaking Miller with the first run of the ballgame, and an early 1-0 Montgomery lead.
The first Pawtucket scoring opportunity came in the top of the fourth when leadoff man Johnny Frederick reached base on an error with no one out. A sacrifice moved him to second, but he remained there when the heart of the Pawtucket order was unable to bring him home. Similarly, the Dutchmen put the leadoff man, Del Bissonette, on in the fifth inning. After a stolen base, Miller quickly got the next three Dutchmen in succession. It would be the last time in the game that Pawtucket would put a base runner into scoring position.
Gray held the slim 1-0 score until the bottom of the seventh. Again, he got two quick outs before allowing a double to Miller, his second of the game. This time, Manager Wagner allowed Gray to pitch to Lloyd Waner, and he hammered Gray's first offering 375 feet into the upper deck in right field. The blast was an unexpected one for Lloyd, who is not known for his power, but it gave the Burns a commanding 3-0 lead.
The Burns would add one more run in the eighth. With two out and Pie Traynor on second, Paul Waner chopped a slow grounded to third. Dutchmen third baseman Pinky Whitney got to the ball quickly, but his throw was wide an eluded first baseman Del Bissonette. The miscue allowed Traynor to score and close the scoring at 4-0.
An anxious Miller took the mound in the ninth with the crowd growing louder on each pitch. The tension was broken with two out when Harry Heilmann singled, but Pinky Whitney closed the Series and the 1929 DBS season with a ground ball to Pie Traynor who threw to Dale Alexander for the final out.
Miller was named MVP of the Series in part for his dominating performance in Game Six, but also for his strong no-decision in Game 3. Although Sam Gray was more statistically impressive in Game 3, Miller stranded eight runners in scoring position before he left the game in the ninth inning. This performance in close 1-1 game enabled his team to stay close and gave them the opportunity to win the game in extra innings. In all, Miller pitched 18 innings, allowed 1 earned run, 12 base hits, struck out seven and walked only one.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
Flying Dutchmen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 5 1
Burns 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 x 4 10 2 7 1
Flying Dutchmen AB R H BI Burns AB R H BI
Frederick cf 4 0 0 0 LWaner cf 3 1 2 2
Allen lf 3 0 0 0 Thompson 2b 4 0 1 1
Hornsby 2b 4 0 0 0 Manush lf 4 0 1 0
Heilmann rf 3 0 1 0 Alexander 1b 4 0 0 0
Whitney 3b 4 0 1 0 Traynor 3b 4 1 1 0
Bissonette 1b 3 0 1 0 Cochrane c 4 0 2 0
Cissell ss 3 0 0 0 PWaner rf 4 0 1 0
Picinich c 3 0 0 0 English ss 4 0 0 0
Gray p 3 0 0 0 EMiller p 3 2 2 0
30 0 3 0 34 4 10 3
Pawtucket INN H R ER BB K
Gray L 0-1 8.0 10 4 4 1 3
Montgomery INN H R ER BB K
EMiller W 1-0 9.0 3 0 0 1 3
E-Whitney, Traynor, Cissell, EMiller. 2B-Cochrane, Miller 2. HR-LWaner (1).
SB-Bissonette. CS-Cochrane.
K-PWaner, Alexander, English, Gray 2, Allen.
BB-LWaner, Allen.
GWRBI: Thompson.
Umpires: Home, McCormick; 1b, Klem; 2b, Wilson; 3b, Nallin; lf, McGowan; rf, Owens