The Mad Dash, or Slaughter's Mad Dash, refers to an event in the eighth inning of the seventh game of the 1946 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox.
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The game was played in Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, Missouri on October 15, 1946. After Dom Dimaggio drove in two runs in the top of the eighth, the score was tied at 3. Dimaggio pulled a hamstring during the play and was forced to the bench. Leon Culberson took over for him in center field when the St. Louis half of the inning began, with the game still tied at 3. St. Louis outfielder Enos Slaughter led off with a single, but neither of the next two batters were able to either get a hit of their own or advance the runner. With one out left in the inning, Cardinal outfielder Harry Walker stepped to the plate. After he had worked the count to two balls and one strike, a hitter's count, the Cardinals called for a hit-and-run.
As the runner started, Walker lined the ball to left-center field. Red Sox center fielder Leon Culberson was the first to reach the ball. As he threw a relay to shortstop Johnny Pesky, Slaughter rounded third base, running right through the stop sign being given by third base coach Mike González, heading for home plate.
What exactly happened when Pesky turned around is still a matter of contention. Some claim that Pesky, assuming that Slaughter would not be running home, checked Walker at first base instead of immediately firing home, while others contend that Pesky was so shocked to see Slaughter on his way to score that he had a mental lapse that accounted for the delay. Whatever the reason, the delay and a weak and rushed throw home allowed Slaughter to score just as Red Sox catcher Roy Partee caught it up the line from home plate.
The run put the Cardinals ahead 4-3 and proved to be the winning run.
Mel Allen describing the play for a re-created radio broadcast:
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