Cubs vs. Tigers: The 1945 World Series

Future Hall of Fame pitcher Hal Newhouser took the loss for the Tigers in Game 1.

Hank Greenberg, the Tigers' biggest slugger, returned to the team after a four-year stint in the Army on July 1, 1945 and hit a home run in his first game. In the World Series, Greenberg hit the Tigers' only home runs -- 2 of them -- led the team with 7 RBI and hit .304.

Tigers left fielder Hank Greenberg, left, and Chicago Cubs first baseman Phil Cavaretta chat before Game 2 of the World Series in Detroit.

Pitcher Virgil Trucks, who returned from two years' service in the Navy, joined the Tigers at the end of the season. A few days later, in Game 2, he pitched nine innings as the Tigers beat the Cubs, 4-1.

Tigers left fielder Hank Greenberg, right, is welcomed by teammates Eddie Mayo (3), Roger Cramer (8) and Ray Cullenbine (6) as he crosses home plate with a fifth-inning, three-run homer against the Chicago Cubs in the second game of the World Series on Oct. 4, 1945 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit.

Tigers fans pack Briggs Stadium for the first three games of the 1945 World Series. The last four games were played at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Cubs pitcher Claude Passeau was the star of Game 3, shutting out the Tigers 3-0 and going all 9 innings.

The crowd in the stands at Briggs Stadium watches intently.

Gordon "Mickey" Cochrane, left, the former Tigers catcher and manager, visits with Tigers owner Walter O. Briggs Sr. in the stands at Briggs Stadium during the World Series. Cochrane would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947.

Paul "Dizzy" Trout got the Tigers back in the win column in Game 4, pitching a complete game in a 4-1 victory in Chicago.

Hal Newhouser, who won 25 games during the regular season, would take the mound in Game 5 and pitch the Tigers to a complete-game, 8-4 victory.

The Tigers had to feel good going into Game 6, leading three games to two, and with Game 2 winner Virgil Trucks, above, on the mound.

Trucks pitched well for four innings, but was chased in the fifth as the Cubs scored four runs. Detroit rallied in the eighth, with the game-tying run coming on a Hank Greenberg homer. Game 6 went to extra innings.

The Cubs' Stan Hack knocked in the winning run in the 12th inning. Cubs manager Charlie Grimm celebrates the 8-7 victory in Game 6 at Wrigley Field.

In this Oct. 10, 1945 photo, fans wait to buy bleacher tickets at Wrigley Field in Chicago for the seventh game of the World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers.

Baseball commissioner A.B. "Happy" Chandler, right, talks with National League President Ford Frick before the final World Series game in Chicago on Oct. 10, 1945.

Shortstop James "Skeeter" Webb crosses the plate for the Tigers in Game 7 in front of Hank Greenberg. Once again, Hal Newhouser rose to the occasion for the Tigers, pitching 9 innings.

Tigers second baseman Eddie Mayo slides safely across home plate in the eighth inning of the seventh game of the World Series in Chicago on Oct. 10, 1945. Chicago Cubs catcher Mickey Livingston (11) tried to trap the outfield throw, which bounced in back of the plate toward Roy Cullenbine, right, the next batter. The Tigers won the game 9-3 and the 1945 World Series.

The 1945 World Series champions, the Detroit Tigers.