Harlem - Jim Tabor's three-run home run gave Harlem the lead and Bucky Walters held the Plague scoreless over the last 6 innings as the Knights beat St Louis, 4-2, to take the first game of the 1939 DBS World Series.

Walters, 23-4 on this season and the favorite for the Cy Young Award, was to start against last year's Cy Young winner, 20-year old Bob Feller. St Louis was still without slugger Jimmie Foxx, who should return when the series shifts to St Louis for game 3.

The Plague drew first blood in the second when Walters walked Bob Johnson and then gave up a double to Cecil Travis. After getting Ben Chapman and George McQuinn to pop up, Buddy Myer lined a single to right to score Johnson and gave the Plague a 1-0 lead.

In the top of the third with two out, Cecil Travis drilled one into the gap to score Bill Dickey from second, but Travis was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.

St Louis took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of fourth inning where Feller got Ival Goodman to ground out before hitting Rudy York. Joe Cronin followed with a single, and then Jim Tabor hit an 0-2 pitch into the leftfield stands to give Harlem a 3-2 lead.

Walters and Feller both exchanged goose-eggs until the bottom of the eighth, when Harlem added an insurance run on a Joe Cronin double. Walters got St Louis in the ninth to give him the complete game victory. Feller also went the distance, striking out 6 but hit two batsmen and had two wild pitches.

Game 2 will be tomorrow, when Lefty Grove (18-7) will face Marius Russo (13-5).

                       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP
1939 Plague            0  1  1  0  0  0  0  0  0     2  8  2     9  0
1939 Knights           0  0  0  3  0  0  0  1  x     4  8  2     9  0
 
Plague               AB  R  H BI   AVG    Knights              AB  R  H BI   AVG
Rolfe             3b  5  0  1  0  .200    Selkirk           cf  5  0  0  0  .000       
Cramer            cf  5  0  1  0  .200    Gehringer         2b  4  0  1  0  .250       
Dickey            c   4  1  0  0  .000    Keller            lf  3  0  2  0  .667       
Johnson           lf  3  1  0  0  .000    Greenberg         1b  4  0  0  0  .000       
Travis            ss  4  0  2  1  .500    Goodman           rf  4  1  2  0  .500       
Chapman           rf  4  0  0  0  .000    York              c   3  1  0  0  .000       
McQuinn           1b  4  0  1  0  .250    Cronin            ss  4  1  2  1  .500       
Myer              2b  4  0  2  1  .500    Tabor             3b  4  1  1  3  .250       
Feller            p   2  0  0  0  .000    Walters           p   2  0  0  0  .000       
 Padgett          ph  1  0  1  0 1.000                         33  4  8  4             
                     36  2  8  2                                                    
 
Plague                           INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Feller           L 0-1           8.0  8  4  4  2  6 129  73  4.50
                                 8.0  8  4  4  2  6 129  73 
 
Knights                          INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Walters          W 1-0           9.0  8  2  2  2  2 125  77  2.00
                                 9.0  8  2  2  2  2 125  77 
 
STL: Padgett batted for Feller in the 9th
 
E-Travis 2, Cronin 2. 2B-Travis, Goodman, Cronin. HR-Tabor(1). K-Rolfe, 
Johnson, Selkirk, Greenberg, Goodman, York 2, Tabor. BB-Johnson, Feller, 
Keller, Walters. HBP-York, Walters. HB-Feller 2. WP-Feller 2. 
GWRBI: Tabor
Temperature: 54, Sky: clear, Wind: in from center at 14 MPH.