St. Louis Cardinals History

The Franchise was formed as a part of the American Association in 1882, were they enjoyed much success under owner Chris Von Der Ahe. In the beginning they were known as the “Brown Stockings”, but the team’s nickname was quickly changed to the “Browns.” The Browns won four American Association pennants in a row, 1885-1888. The Browns played the National Leagues Chicago White Stockings twice in an early version of the World Series. The series of 1885 ended with no resolution. St. Louis won the 1886 series, and was the only team of that era from the AA to defeat a National League team.

Following the bankruptcy of the American Association in 1892, the Browns joined the National League. After the Browns changed their uniform colors from brown to red, the team name was also changed to the Cardinals because the team colors were Cardinal red.

During the mid-1920s, the Cardinals enjoyed their first successful years as an American League team. In 1926, led by second baseman/manager, Rogers Hornsby, St. Louis won their first pennant in 39 years. With players such as catcher Bob O’ Farrell, who was the 1926 NL MVP, first baseman Sunny Jim Bottomley, and third baseman Les Bell, the Cardinals beat the heavily favored New York Yankees in seven games thanks to Cards shortstop Tommy Thevenow who had a .417 BA, a homer, and four RBI’s in the series to be named series MVP.

In 1928, the Cards beat out the Chicago Cubs and the New York Giants to win the NL flag, but were dominated by the Yankees who won the World Series in a one-sided sweep.

After the Cardinal’s disappointing World Series, general manager Branch Rickey established a minor league farm system that would produce great players and keep them in contention for decades to come. In the years between 1926 and 1946, the Cards would become fierce rivals with the Cubs and the Giants, having the trio win 17 NL pennants in those 20 years.

During the 1930s the Cardinals had all-star players like Dizzy Dean, Pepper Martin, Joe Medwick, Paul Dean, and Leo Durocher. This group of talent were known as the “Gashouse Gang” after the street gangs of one of Manhattan’s worst neighborhoods.

In 1930, the Cards won the NL pennant. During the season, the Cardinals scored a whopping 1,004 runs and batted .314. This was clearly a team effort: All eight Cardinals starters batted over .300. The Cards lost in the World Series to the Philadelphia A’s in six games.

The 1931 Cardinal team won the NL pennant for the second straight year, posting a 101-53 record, thanks to an MVP year from second baseman Frankie Frisch and Pepper Martin. The Cards faced off against the A’s, in a rematch of the 1930 World Series. This time it was the Cards that prevailed, led by offensive star Pepper Martin, who batted .500.

In 1934, the “Gashouse Gang” were at it again as they won the NL pennant by 2 games in an exciting race. Dizzy had been ridiculed for his preseason promise that the Dean brothers would win 45 games. By season’s end, they had exceeded that total by four, and the 30-7 Dizzy was voted NL MVP. The other principal Gashousers were Frankie Frisch, who hit .305; Ripper Collins, who batted.333 and drove in 128 runs; Leo Durocher, the league’s top-fielding shortstop; Pepper Martin, the league’s stolen base leader; and Ducky Medwick, who hit .319 with 40 doubles and 18 triples.

In the 1934 World Series, the Dean duo was the deciding factor in the close-fought, seven game World Series. The brothers each recorded ERA’s under 2.00 and won all four games the Cards needed to win the World Series. The series ended on a bizarre note, in the midst of a St.Louis rout, the Detroit crowd interrupted the game to shower left fielder Medwick with garbage to protest his sixth inning hard slide into Tiger first baseman Marv Owen. Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis ruled that Medwick leave the game for his own safety. The departure made no difference to the Tigers, who went on to lose the seventh game by a score of 11-0.

In 1937, Dizzy Dean’s toe was broken by a line drive in the all-star game and injured his arm during recovery. Dizzy lost his famous fast ball, signaling a brief decline by the Cardinals.

The Cardinals dominated the National League in the early 1940s. The ’42 St. Louis team represented the finest hour for Branch Rickey as the General manager of the Cards. St. Louis was paced by homegrown products Stan Musial, who hit .315; Enos Slaughter, who hit .318; Marty Marion, who lead the league in doubles with 38; Terry Moore and catcher Walker Cooper. Mort Cooper, who is Walker Cooper’s brother, copped the NL MVP Award, winning 22 games and leading the league with a 1.77 ERA. And 24-year-old Johnny Beazley, who was second to Cooper in wins, led the league’s finest pitching staff to a team ERA at 2.13.

In the 1942 World Series, the Cards became the first team since 1923 to beat the Yankees in the World Series, winning the series in five games. Pitcher Johnny Beazley is the series hero with two CG wins.

In 1943, the Cards lost key players to World War II. Star players like Enos Slaughter, Terry Moore and Johnny Beazly were lost due to the war. Stan “The Man” Musial was voted NL MVP, as he led the NL in hitting at .357, triples with 20, doubles with 48, hits with 220, and total bases with 347. The Cards still managed to get to the World Series, but lost to the Yankees.

In 1945, the Cards finished 3 games behind the Cubs, after losing Musial to World War II.

The ’46 Cardinals had a season long battle with the Brooklyn Dodgers in the NL pennant race. The Dodgers led by 7 1/2 games in July, but faded down the stretch. The Cards managed to catch the Dodgers, and beat Brooklyn in a best-of-three pennant playoff. MVP Musial and Enos Slaughter were the twin engines that powered the Cardinals attack. Musial batted .365, and also led in runs with 124, doubles with 50, and triples with 20.

The Cards won the ’46 World Series in seven well-pitched games. The key play was in the seventh game, when Enos Slaughter scored the winning run with his ” Mad Dash” around the bases, coming all the way from first base to home on a single from Harry Walker.

In 1953, Cardinals owner, Fred Saigh was convicted of tax invasion and sold the team to the Anheuser-Busch brewery. August Busch took over as team president. Soon after, St.Louis Brown’s owner Bill Veeck was forced to sell Sportsman’s Park to the Cardinals. Busch heavily renovated the 44-year old park and renamed it Busch Stadium.

In 1963, Stan Musial retired, which signaled an end of an era. Musial retired as the holder of NL record for hits with 3, 630 (since broken). Musial still holds the record for most career homers by a player who was never a league leader in home runs. Musial left as the first ML player to play 1,000 or more games at two different positions-first base and outfield.

1964 saw one of the wildest pennant races in baseball history. The Philadelphia Phillies had a commanding lead, but fell apart during the last couple of weeks of the season. The Cardinals swept the Phillies in a 3 game series, to take over first place, then clinch the pennant on the last day of the season. The ’64 Cardinals featured MVP Ken Boyer, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Tim McCarver and Curt Flood.

The Cards beat their post-season rival New York Yankees in the ’64 World Series. Tired Bob Gibson beat tired Mel Stottlemyre in game seven, as both start third series game on only three days rest. This was the last World Series appearance by the “Old” Yankee dynasty.

The day after the World Series ended, St.Louis manager Johnny Keane resigned his post and replaced fired Yankee manager Yogi Berra.

In 1967, the Cardinals destroyed the competition in the National League. Led by MVP Orlando Cepeda, Lou Brock, Steve Carlton, Roger Maris, and Bob Gibson, who came back after breaking his leg, missing a third of the season. The Cards defeated the Boston Red Sox in the World Series in seven games.

In 1968, Bob Gibson finished the season with an ERA of 1.12, the lowest in ML since 1914, and was named the NL MVP and Cy Young winner. The Cards repeated as NL champs, but lost in the World Series in seven games to the Detroit Tigers. This was the last World Series Appearance for this St. Louis dynasty.

In 1970, Curt Flood was supposed to be traded to the Phillies. However, Flood would challenge the reserve clause since he did not want to play for the worst team in the league. Flood was soon compensated and that set the tone for free agency. Also in 1970, Bob Gibson continued his dominance as he went 23-7 winning his second Cy Young Award.

The Cards continued to be NL contenders in the 70s, placing second in the NL Eastern Division and finishing above .500 six times during the decade. In 1974, the Cards challenged the Pittsburgh Pirates for the NL East title, but finished a game-and-a-half behind the Pirates. In that year Lou Brock set a single season record for stolen bases with 118, breaking Maury Wills record of 104 steals. Bob Gibson became just the second pitcher to record 3,000 Ks in 1974.

In 1979, Keith Hernandez was the co-NL MVP, while Pete Vuckocich and Silvio Martinez each won 15 games. Garry Templton became the first switch hitter to collect 100 hits from both sides of the plate and lead the league in triples for a third consecutive year. Hall of Famer Lou Brock recorded his 3,000 hit, then retired at the end of the season.

In 1980, Whitey Herzog became the new manager for the Cardinals. Herzog’s brand of play catered to the Astroturf of Busch Stadium and featured speed on base paths and great defense. The 80s era of Cardinals included stars Darrell Porter, Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee, John Tudor, Tom Herr, Jack Clark, Bruce Sutter, Keith Hernandez, Terry Pendleton and Joaqiun Andujar.

In 1982, Herzog’s speedy St. Louis Cardinals edged out the Phillies to win the NL East flag. The Cards then beat the Braves in the NLCS. In the World Series, the Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers in seven games, behind pitcher Joaquin Andujar who had two series victories.

In 1985, the Cards won the NL East, thanks to MVP Willie McGee and his NL best .353 batting average. The Cardinals then defeated the Dodgers in the NLCS in six games thanks to Ozzie Smith’s game winning home run. The World Series was dubbed the “I-70 Series” because it featured the Cards in-state rival Kansas City Royals. The Royals defeated the Cards in seven games.

In 1987, the Cards won their third NL flag in the 1980s. St. Louis won 95 games behind Jack Clark, Vince Coleman, and Ozzie Smith. In the NLCS, the Cards beat the Giants in seven games, shutting out San Francisco in games six and seven. In the World Series, the Cards were unable to get a win in Minnesota, as the Twins won the series in seven games.

After August Busch Jr died in 1989, the Cards finished in last place in 1990, with Whitey Herzog resigning. He was replaced by Schoendienst and the Joe Torre became the new pilot.

In 1995, Anheuser-Busch, Inc, sold the Cardinals team and Busch Stadium to a new ownership group headed by Southwest bank’s Drew Baur, Fred Hanser and William Dewit, Jr. A year before Anheuser-Busch sold the team, they hired baseball executive Walt Jocketty as the new general manager.

In 1996, the Cards hired long-time Oakland manager Tony La Russa to become the new pilot. La Russa quickly got the Cards in the playoffs in his first year as manager. The Cardinals blew a three games to one lead to the Braves in the NLCS.

In 1997, the Cards signed Mark McGwire who hit 24 home runs in only 51 games and Delino DeShields led the league with 14 triples.

The 1998 season was a spectacular one for the baseball world as Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa battled each other for the single season home run record. On September 8, Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris’s 37-year old record of 61 home runs with a line drive over Busch Stadium’s left field fence. McGwire went on to finish the season with 70 home runs, a record that was broken by Barry Bonds in 2001.

In 2000, the Cardinals posted their best record since they went to the World Series in 1987 going 95-67. The Cards reached the postseason and was defeated by the New York Mets in the NLCS.

In 2001, the Cards finished the season with a 95-67 record. The Astros and Cardinals finished the season with identical records. The Astros received the NL playoff seeding and the Cards won the wild card berth. Helping the Cards was 21 year old rookie third baseman Albert Pujols, who hit 37 home runs and won the National League Rookie of the Year. On September 3, Bud Smith became the ninth Cardinal and 18th rookie since 1900 to throw a no-hitter. St.Louis lost in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual champion Arizona Diamondbacks. After the season, Mark McGwire retired due to injuries.

In 2002, the Cards reached the NLCS, only to lose to the Giants in five games. The year was marked by tragedy for the Cardinal family. Beloved Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Buck died at the age of 77. The biggest shock came when pitcher Darryl Kile died suddenly at the age of 33 of heart failure while in Chicago for a series against the Cubs.

After the Cards missed the playoffs in 2003, they bounced back and their 105 wins was the best record in ML. Facing off against their rival Houston Astros in the NLCS, the Cards took a 2-0 lead, then lost three straight in Houston. The Cards beat the Astros in seven games to win their first NL flag in seventeen years. Albert Pujols was named series MVP.

The Cardinals faced the Boston Red Sox in the World Series, the third time the two franchises’ met in the fall classic. The Red Sox defeated the Cards in four games. The Cards had another great year in 2005, but lost in the NLCS against the Astros.

That off-season, Chris Carpenter won the Cy Young Award and Albert Pujols won the NL MVP. This made the Cardinals the first team since the ’91 Braves to have somebody on their team win both of these awards in the same year. Also in the off-season, Busch Stadium was demolished and a new Busch Stadium was set to open in 2006.

In 2006, the Cards clinched the NL Central title with a 83-78 record. In the postseason, the Cardinals defeated the San Diego Padres in the first round and defeated the New York Mets in the NLCS, who was the heavy favorite to win the NL pennant. In the World Series, the Cards were again underdogs, this time against the Detroit Tigers. Behind David Eckstein’s .364 batting average, the Cards upset the Tigers and won the series in five games. Eckstein was series MVP, and the Cards joined the Yankees as the only Major League teams with double digit World Series wins.

After the Cards World Series triumph, the team knew their 2007 season was not shaping up to be their kind of year. Ace pitcher Chris Carpenter came down with elbow problems after his Opening Night start, and didn’t pitch for the rest of the year. From there it only got tougher. The hardest blow came when they lost Josh Hancock in a car accident. Scott Spiezio had to seek treatment for substance abuse, and Juan Encarnacion was struck in the eye by a foul ball and may or may not play again. The Red Birds gave it all they had, but still finished the season with a 78-84 finish, third in the NL Central. Albert Pujols led the team in home runs (32), RBI (103), batting average (.327), runs ( 99) and doubles ( 38).