The 1948 Season

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BOSTON BRAVES—J. SAIN & W. SPAHN,  ca. 1948. Leslie Jones Collection, BPL Print Department. 

The extraordinary pitching duo of right-hander Johnny Sain and lefty Warren Spahn inspired Boston Post sports editor Gerald V. Hern to write a poem later popularized as “Spahn and Sain and Pray for Rain.” 

During the outstanding 1948 season, Braves Field hosted the first and only World Series for the home team. The city of Boston came very close to hosting a “subway series” that year; across town, the Red Sox lost a heartbreaking one-game playoff to the Cleveland Indians for the American League title. 

Cleveland would go on to win the World Series championship over the Braves in six games.