September 19, 1942: Whirlaway vs. Alsab

September 19, 1942: A match race is held between champion American thoroughbred horses Whirlaway and Alsab.

Despite being a son of an English Derby winner, Blenheim, Whirlaway was bred, foaled and trained at Calumet Farm outside Lexington, Kentucky. In 1940, he was voted American Champion Two-Year-Old. In 1941, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, "Mr. Longtail" won the Triple Crown: The Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. That Summer, at Saratoga Race Course, he won the Travers Stakes. He remains the only horse ever to win all 4 of those races.

Arcaro was suspended for the 1942 racing season, for racing infractions. George Woolf, who had previously stepped in for the injured Red Pollard to ride Seabiscuit to some big wins, became Whirlaway's rider.

Alsab was also a Kentucky-bred horse. He was the 2-year-old champion in 1941, and in 1942, ridden by Basil James, he won the Preakness, finishing 2nd Shut Out in both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont.

It might have made sense, in an era when match races, races between 2 major thoroughbred horses, were occasionally done, to match up Whirlaway and Shut Out, winners of 5 of the last 6 Triple Crown races. Instead, one was set up for September 19, 1942, at Narragansett Park in Pawtucket, Rhode Island -- 6 miles northeast of downtown Providence, and 41 miles southwest of Boston -- between Whirlaway and Alsab, who, despite being only 2, finished 2nd to Whirlaway for Turf and Sport Digest magazine's Horse of the Year award the year before.

That poll wasn't the reason. The reason was that the Narragansett Special was scheduled for a week before, on September 12. Both horses were supposed to run in it, but Alsab's owners scratched him. It's impossible to call a horse a coward, so Alsab's handlers were accused of cowardice. So, since both horses were already in Pawtucket, the match race was scheduled for 7 days later. It was a winner-take-all race with a $25,000 prize -- about $276,000 in 2022 money. Neither horse was ridden by his usual jockey: Woolf was still aboard Whirlaway, while Alsab was ridden by Carroll Bierman.

A crowd of 35,000 came, and all 3 national radio networks then considered "major" were covering it. Whirlaway was the heavy favorite, at odds of 3-10; Alsab went off at 8-5. Nevertheless, Alsab led the whole way: He jumped out to an early lead, leading by as much as 2 1/2 lengths. Twice, Whirlaway tried to move ahead, once as they neared the far turn, and again as the horses entered the backstretch. However, both times, Bierman kept Alsab ahead. Whirlway made a late charge, resulting in a photo finish. But Alsab won the race by a nose. It is the greatest horse race in New England history.

Nevertheless, the horses opposed each other in one more race before the year was out, and Whirlaway won. It may have made a difference, as Whirlaway, having won 12 races on the year to Alsab's 9, was named Horse of the Year again.

Whirlaway lived until 1953, Alsab until 1963. Eddie Arcaro rode Citation to the Triple Crown in 1948, and he remains the only jockey ever to ride 2 Triple Crown winners. He lived until 1997, and Basil James died the following year. George Woolf wasn't so lucky: He died as the result of a racing accident in 1946. Carroll Bierman also died relatively young, in 1970.

Opened in 1934, Narragansett Park closed in 1978. The year before, it hosted the largest concert audience in Rhode Island history, with The Beach Boys. The clubhouse burned down in 1981, in a fire considered suspicious. An industrial park is on the site today.

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September 19, 1942 was a Saturday. Singer Freda Payne was born.

This baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 9-6 at Yankee Stadium. Spud Chandler pitched 9 strong innings, but ran out of gas in the 10th, allowing 3 runs. Ted Williams went 1-for-2 with a home run and 3 walks. Joe DiMaggio went 1-for-5. The next season, both would be in the service.

* The New York Giants beat the Boston Braves, 7-6 at Braves Field in Boston. Mel Ott went 2-for-5 with a grand slam.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4 at Ebbets Field. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Si Johnson started the bottom of the 11th by walking Pee Wee Reese. He got 2 outs, then walked Dixie Walker, walked Arky Vaughan to load the bases, and walked Pete Reiser to force in the winning run.

* The Washington Senators swept a doubleheader with the Philadelphia Athletics, 8-3 and 11-9 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

* The Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers were rained out at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Indians won the opener, 2-0. Mel Harder pitched a 2-hit shutout. The Tigers won the nightcap, 6-5. The Indians scored a run in the 8th and 2 in the 9th, to take a 5-4 lead. But in the bottom of the 9th, Rudy York drew a bases-loaded walk, and Dutch Meyer singled home the winning run.

* The Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals, arch-rivals, were rained out at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader the next day. The Cardinals won the 1st game, 1-0. Mort Cooper pitched a 4-hit shutout. The only run came in the top of the 4th, when Johnny Hopp stole home plate. The Cubs won the 2nd game, 3-0. Claude Passeau pitched a 5-hit shutout.

* And the Chicago White Sox and the St. Louis Browns were not scheduled.

This was the 1st full week of college football for the new season, but the manpower drain of World War II meant that many players were already playing on military base teams -- which the NCAA, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, generously counted as "collegiate":

* Florida lost to the Jacksonville Naval Air Station, 20-7 at Fairfield Stadium in Jacksonville, the stadium that would be expanded into the Gator Bowl.

* The U.S. Navy's Iowa Pre-Flight School, located at the University of Iowa, beat Kansas, 61-0 at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.

* Missouri beat Fort Riley, of Junction City, Kansas, 31-0 at Central High School in St. Joseph, Missouri.

* Baylor hosted Blackland Field, which was also based in Waco, Texas, and beat them, 68-0.

* Georgia beat Kentucky, 7-6 at McLean Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.

* Iowa Pre-Flight did not take the place of the University of Iowa, which beat Washington University of St. Louis, and beat them, 26-7 at Iowa Stadium (now Kinnick Stadium).