An accomplish hitter and fielder, Danny Litwhiler hit a career .281 in 11 major league seasons and played in two World Series with the Cardinals in 1943 and 1944. He started his pro career in the minors at age 19 with Charleroi of the Pennsylvania League in 1936, moved up the minor league ladder, and although he missed all of 1939 with a knee injury, he hit a very solid .345 in 36 games with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1945. A line drive hitter, Danny Litwhiler batted a career-high .305, including a 21-game hitting streak, with highs in doubles with 29 and in homers with 18, and scored a high of 79 runs in 1940 with Philadelphia. Traded to the St Louis Cardinals on June 1 1943, he lined 35 extra base hit combined for the two clubs. In the 1943 World Series, batting seventh in the batting order, he hit .267 with 4 hits in 15 at bats, hit a double and had 2 RBIs. The Cards lost the WS in 5 games to the Yankees. In the 1944 World Series in Game 5 against the St. Louis Browns with the Cardinals leading 1-0 Dan Litwhiler powered a homer to help the Cards win the game 2-0, behind the shutout pitching of Cards starter Denny Galehouse. Danny Litwhiler got 4 hits in 20 at bats, adding a double to his homer, scored twice and had an RBI. The Cardinals took the Series in 6 games, winning 4 games. In 1952 he was a player coach with the Cincinnati Reds and after his retiring from playing he was a long-time coach at Michigan State University until 1982. Baseball History |