June 21, 1941: Ernie White Fires His Second Consecutive Two-Hitter

     On June 21, 1941, Cardinals hurler Ernie White tossed his second consecutive two-hitter, as he led the way to a 6-0 win over the New york Giants at Sportsman's Park. The 24-year-old southpaw was assisted by a Enos Slaughter's 2 for 3 day which included three RBIs, and White helped his own cause by knocking in one of the runs as well. The offense was hardly the story of the day as White had pitched consecutive gems. The only hits given up by White came off the bat of Bill Jurges in the second, and in the fourth future Hall of Famer Mel Ott tagged him for another single. White walked five men in the contest, but never broke a sweat as he picked apart the Giants lineup. Six days earlier he had frustrated the Dodgers by allowing two hits as they visited St. Louis.

     White enjoyed the best year of his career in 1941, as he won 17 games, and only lost 5. he would run into arm troubles in '42, but did pitch a pivotal game Game 3 of the World Series against the Yankees. White went the distance in that contest, struck out six, and locked down a complete game shutout, as the Cardinals beat the New York club 2-0. It was the first time that the Yankees had been shutout at home during the World Series since 1926, when another Cardinals hurler by the name of Jesse Haines was able to keep them off the board on their home turf. After missing the the entire '44 and '45 seasons due to his service in the Armed Forces, White returned the the Cardinals in '46 where he continued to struggle with arm issues. He was released that Spring. He went onto pitch for the Boston Braves until the end of the '48 season, before turning to the coaching ranks, where he spent the rest of his days teaching the game to the next generation.

If you would like to learn more about the life and times of Ernie White check this out:
http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/b505a3b0

Check out the box score here: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/whiteer01.shtml