The war ended, and many star ballplayers returned to their regular jobs. The St. Louis Cardinals, bolstered by the return of such stars as Stan Musial, Enos Slaughter, and Howie Pollet, won their fourth pennant in five years. They also won their third World Championship of the decade, defeating the Red Sox in a classic Series.

         Howie Pollet was only 20 years old when he made his debut for the Cardinals in 1941. He spent his first three seasons pitching in limited roles, but showed tremendous promise. Ready to take a regular turn in the Cardinals' staff, Pollet instead joined the war effort for two years. Now, at age 25, he returned to have a magnificent season. Unfortunately, Pollet did not have a consistent career; he struggled the next two seasons, then had another great season in 1949. After that he moved around the league, and his career gradually ran into the ground.
        Johnny Sain was another pitcher who got his chance to show his stuff. Sain made his debut in 1942, but he too spent three years in the war. Now, Sain was 29 years old; he recorded his first of four 20-win seasons for the Boston Braves. Sain was a big man and a workhorse; he and Warren Spahn would later form the backbone of the best team the Braves had had in over 30 years.
        Most of the other pitchers listed above were also returning from the war. Kirby Higbe was a hard thrower who was hard to hit, but didn't have good control. Higbe won 22 games for Brooklyn in 1941, and now returned from two years overseas. He was still tough to hit, but still lacked control; this was his last good season. Murry Dickson also returned from two years overseas; this was Dickson's first full season, and he was already 30 years old. Dickson pitched for 18 years, and was a decent pitcher. But he usually ended up with some ugly losing seasons, especially when he was pitching with the terrible Pirates teams of the 1950's. Dickson won 172 games in his career, but lost 181.
        Harry Brecheen was, like Pollet, another good left-hander for the Cardinals. Brecheen was a very good pitcher, but had some bad luck this year, and didn't have a great won/loss record. The World Series, however, gave "Harry The Cat" a chance to shine. Brecheen won three games against the Red Sox in the Series, including Game Seven in relief. He gave up just 1 run in 20 innings, and joined Enos Slaughter as one of the Cardinals' heroes in the Series.