The Cincinnati Reds’ 1940 World Champion team doesn’t get its due. Among the franchise’s World Series winners, they are overshadowed by the Big Red Machine, the Black Sox scandal, the wire-to-wire Reds – even the popular Ragamuffin Reds from 1961 that didn’t win the crown.
Yet, after a hard-fought seesaw World Series against the Detroit Tigers, the Reds brought home the championship banner for the first time in 21 years and washed away the stain from their 1919 victory over the infamous White Sox that were charged with “fixing” the Series.
Now, 80 years later, the 1940 squad should be recognized for their perseverance during a trying and tragic season.