Ranking every World Series winners in history

By Staff | Nov 3, 2015

UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 05: Brooklyn Dodgers president Walter O'Malley and his manager, Walter Alston, exchange hugs and grins after bringing Brooklyn its first World Series championship in history. Flock did it the hard way, winning the final game in Yankee Stadium. (Photo by NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images) /

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Charlie Keller of the Yankees, left and Stan Musial of the Cardinals at the 1943 World Series between the New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals. (Photo by Sporting News/Sporting News via Getty Images) /

85. 1943 New York Yankees

98-56, AL Champions, Won World Series 4-1 Over St. Louis

The New York Yankees have long been the crown jewel of Major League Baseball, winning at least two World Series titles in every decade from the 1920s through the 2000s, with the 1980s as the only exception. Much of that success was built on star-studded rosters build around Ruth and Gehrig, DiMaggio and Berra, Mantle and Maris, and Jeter and Rivera.

The 1943 New York Yankees were different. With World War II ranging across the Atlantic, many big league stars left the diamond for the battlefield. Back in the states, the Yankees were still the class of the American League, and won the pennant by 13.5 games with a 98-56 record, but the star of the team was Charlie Keller, who led the AL in OPS (.922), OPS+ (167) and hit a career-high 31 home runs and drove in 86 runs for the league’s highest scoring offense.

Spud Chandler served as the ace of the pitching staff in ’43, and posted an impressive 20-4 record and a 1.64 ERA at the age of 35. Tiny Bonham (15-8, 2.27), Butch Wensloff (13-11, 2.54) and Hank Borowy (14-9, 2.82) also pitched extremely well and the Yankees led the AL with a team 2.93 ERA.

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