Hall of Famer Slaughter Dies

Enos “Country” Slaughter, the hustling Hall of Famer who made a “Mad Dash” home to win the 1946 World Series, died Monday at age 86.

Slaughter had been in the intensive care unit of Duke University Medical Center after colon surgery July 25 and an operation to repair perforated stomach ulcers July 29. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in June.

He batted .300 in 19 seasons and played in five World Series. He spent the first 13 years of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals.

“He was one of the great hustlers of baseball,” Hall of Fame teammate Stan Musial said Monday. “He always ran hard and played hard.”

Pete Rose, nicknamed “Charlie Hustle” in the 1960s for his hard-nosed play, copied Slaughter’s habit of running to first base on a walk.

Slaughter is best remembered for his “Mad Dash” from first base that scored the winning run for the Cardinals against the Boston Red Sox in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 1946 Series.

With the score tied, 3-3, and two out, Slaughter took off for second on what he said later was an attempted steal and scored on a soft hit to the outfield for the deciding run.

Slaughter joined the Cardinals in 1938 and, except for missing three years to serve in World War II, stayed in St. Louis until being traded to the New York Yankees in 1954. Known as an outstanding clutch hitter, he played in 10 consecutive All-Star games; in 1946 he hit .391 and led the National League with 130 RBIs.

Slaughter had career 2,383 hits, including 169 homers, and 1,304 runs batted in in 2,380 games. He retired in 1959 and was eligible for the Hall of Fame in 1964, but wasn’t elected until 1985.

“I think with my record, I deserved to be in there at least 10 to 15 years before I went in,” he said in 1994. “A lot of guys went through that era, but I hit better than they did. They went in and never did get to .300. I think when you stay in the big leagues and hit .300, I think you need consideration.”